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College student in Tokyo asks strangers, 'What's it like being Black in Japan?'

Japan is one of the world’s most racially homogeneous countries.

College student in Tokyo asks strangers, 'What's it like being Black in Japan?'

TAKASHii/ YouTube

TAKASHii is a young college student in Tokyo who travels around the city having chats with random strangers he meets. His YouTube channel is filled with all sorts of candid, man-on-the-street type interviews, usually focused on one social topic question, usually beginning with “What’s it like…?"

The amateur journalist recently asked, “What’s it like being Black in Japan?” to people originally from America, Africa and Jamaica currently living there.

Japan is one of the world’s most racially homogeneous countries. As racism continues to be a huge issue in more diverse nations, how would being an even smaller minority affect quality of life?

“When I first came here, I felt like a spectacle,” answered the first woman, an African American who had lived in Japan for six years teaching academic English. Though she noted, “it just feels like I would living anywhere else…people are just gonna look because they have this notion of Black people.”

TAKASHii then asked the young woman her opinion on young teenagers wearing dreadlocks in their hair. “Some people say ‘it’s appropriation’ and other people say ‘it's appreciation’. I personally don’t like it but I can’t make anybody do anything,” she replied.

As another African American, in Japan since 2016, put it: “In America they like Black people as a culture, not as a people. It’s kind of the same here.”

However, two women from Kenya shared a different view.

“In my opinion Japanese are very welcoming. And even the stares you get, it’s not malicious. People are just curious. And people are friendly. There are so many cases where I’ve been helped by Japanese strangers,” one noted.

She did add that Japanese people tended to “relate more” to Black Americans from consuming their music and movies, whereas the first thing that comes to mind when meeting a Black African is “the national parks and animals.”

The last interviewee, a man from Jamaica, came to Japan to escape his home and expand his world view.

“A lot of the time I forget what color I am,” he quipped, saying that “Japanese people are not outwardly racist, thank god.”

He also joked that some of the major “positive stereotypes” usually associated with Black people tended to work out in his favor. “They think I can play basketball, that I’m a good singer, or that I have these super star qualities.

“The more you interact with Japanese people and you enter their social circle, the more they treat you like one of them,” he added.

Our world is opening up in many ways. Perhaps by having more conversations like these, we can learn how to better build a more accepting society.

You can find even more of TAKASHii’s interviews here.

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Mother whose three daughters are CEOs and a doctor shares her one 'unpopular' parenting rule

Did she go too far?

via Wikimedia Commons

Author, educator and mother Esther Wojcicki.

Esther Wojcicki has earned the right to tell people how to raise their kids. She’s an educator, journalist and bestselling author of "How to Raise Successful People" who has raised three daughters—two are CEOs and the other a doctor.

Susan Wojcicki is the CEO of YouTube, Anne Wojcicki is the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe and Dr. Janet Wojcicki is an anthropologist and epidemiologist who works on HIV progression and obesity risk in children.

In "How to Raise Successful People" Esther Wojcicki says the secret to success is the result of “TRICK”: trust, respect, independence, collaboration and kindness. In a new article she wrote for NBC Chicago, she boiled that down to one rule, “Don't do anything for your kids that they can do for themselves.”

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This is the most important van in NYC… and it’s full of socks.

How can socks make such a huge difference? You'd be surprised.

all photos provided by Coalition for The Homeless

Every night, the van delivers nourishment in all kinds of ways to those who need it most

True

Homelessness in New York City has reached its highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Over 50,000 people sleep each night in a shelter, while thousands of others rely on city streets, the subway system and other public locations as spaces to rest.

That’s why this meal (and sock) delivery van is an effective resource for providing aid to those experiencing homelessness in New York City.

Every night of the year, from 7pm to 9:30, the Coalition for the Homeless drives a small fleet of vans to over 25 stops throughout upper and lower Manhattan and in the Bronx. At each stop, adults and families in need can receive a warm meal, a welcoming smile from volunteers, and a fresh, comfy new pair of Bombas socks. Socks may be even more important than you think.

Bombas was founded in 2013 after the discovery that socks were the #1 most requested clothing item at homeless shelters.

Access to fresh, clean socks is often limited for individuals experiencing homelessness—whether someone is living on the street and walking for much of the day, or is unstably housed without reliable access to laundry or storage. And for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness —expenses might need to be prioritized for more critical needs like food, medication, school supplies, or gas. Used socks can’t be donated to shelters for hygienic reasons, making this important item even more difficult to supply to those who need it the most.

Bombas offers its consumers durable, long-lasting and comfortable socks, and for every pair of Bombas socks purchased, an additional pair of specially-designed socks is donated to organizations supporting those in need, like Coalition for the Homeless. What started out as a simple collaboration with a few organizations and nonprofits to help individuals without housing security has quickly become a bona fide giving movement. Bombas now has approximately 3,500 Giving Partners nationwide.

Though every individual’s experience is unique, there can frequently be an inherent lack of trust of institutions that want to help—making a solution even more challenging to achieve. “I’ve had people reach out when I’m handing them a pair of socks and their hands are shaking and they’re looking around, and they’re wondering ‘why is this person being nice to me?’” Robbi Montoya—director at Dorothy Day House, another Giving Partner—told Bombas.

Donations like socks are a small way to create connection. And they can quickly become something much bigger. Right now over 1,000 people receive clothing and warm food every night, rain or shine, from a Coalition for the Homeless van. That bit of consistent kindness during a time of struggle can help offer the feeling of true support. This type of encouragement is often crucial for organizations to help those take the next difficult steps towards stability.

This philosophy helped Bombas and its abundance of Giving Partners extend their reach beyond New York City. Over 75 million clothing items have been donated to those who need it the most across all 50 states. Over the years Bombas has accumulated all kinds of valuable statistics, information, and highlights from Giving Partners similar to the Coalition for the Homeless vans and Dorothy Day House, which can be found in the Bombas Impact Report.

In the Impact Report, you’ll also find out how to get involved—whether it’s purchasing a pair of Bombas socks to get another item donated, joining a volunteer group, or shifting the conversation around homelessness to prioritize compassion and humanity.

To find out more, visit BeeBetter.com.

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