Nail art is one of many beauty practices that highlights parallels in cultural and temporal evolution. The sociopolitical landscape of the nail industry in America highlights the nuances behind the ritual of beauty and the way it may well be framed as a tool for cultural understanding and collaboration.

The influence of black and Vietnamese on contemporary American and global nail culture has been evident over the past 50 years, especially for those living in Southern California and Los Angeles County. This influence paints a history of class relations, migration, and ethnic identity—stemming from major world events.

The Vietnam War sparked justifiable division and social unrest across the country, as many Americans protested unnecessary violence motivated by U.S. imperial and capitalist goals. As a result, Vietnamese civilians fled the country and sought refuge in America. Their presence It has aroused hostility amongst many individuals and support from others, especially American figures corresponding to Tippi Hedren.

Tippi Hedren is an American Hollywood star of the Nineteen Fifties and Sixties whose starring role in Hitchcock’s 1963 cult classic brought her national recognition. Acrylic nails were already a thing when the film debuted, but seeing them on the massive screen cemented their popularity in mainstream conversation.

Hedren’s beauty practice became something of a buzzword, which she capitalized on in 1975 when the war became a turning point. After her community service led her to the experience of Vietnam War refugees in California, she decided to assist them with their financial circumstances. Together along with her personal manicurist, Hedren trained the primary twenty Vietnamese nail technicians, who later mobilized a complete generation of Vietnamese and other members of the Southeast Asian community to enter the nail industry as a method of financial security and social advancement.

Documentary film Directed by Adele Free Pham, the film details Hedren’s influence, the rise of Vietnamese nail salons in America, and the contributions of Vietnamese and black women to the business. The film also explores the cultural and political significance of beauty in society.

Black women leading the best way in style and cultural innovation is a trend as constant as time itself. Beauty icons like Diana Ross, Donna Summer, and Florence “FloJo” Griffith-Joyner set trends and defied stereotypes with their daring acrylic styles and posed as black women because the faces of daring nail art. The stylistic influence of black women has permeated every layer of culture, starting within the hood, making it to the foremost stage, and continuing throughout the culture to at the present time. Similarly, Wanna Thompson details the importance of nail art for the non-public expression of Black women throughout history and highlights its role for many ladies of color today.

“Base” nail salons, as Kevin Saint Pham affectionately calls them within the documentary, were the birthplace of modern nail culture and creativity. In the Eighties, black women visiting Vietnamese nail salons played an energetic role in cultivating this avant-garde culture and making a space for 2 seemingly different cultures to attach through beauty and art.

The unique collaboration between Vietnamese nail technician Charlie Vo and a black skilled at Olivetta Robinson salon revolutionized the wonder industry and ushered in the primary era of beauty salon chains.

Their pioneering nail shop “Trap” sprouted in a number of locations in South Los Angeles and further developed the American nail industry. The union of Vo and Robinson embodied a fusion of cultural ingenuity and prolonged the legacy of marginalized diasporas who use artistic expression as a method of survival.

However, this cooperation was rare. Hatred and tension, fueled by anti-Black racism, xenophobia and manufactured by white supremacy scarcity mentality has caused conflict between the black and Asian communities for generations. The densely populated but segregated communities comprised of black American, black immigrant, and Asian immigrant communities have had exclusionary and sometimes dangerous experiences on account of racial profiling from all sides.

The brutal murder of 15-12 months-old Latasha Harlins by Korean merchant Soon Ja Du in 1991 in South Los Angeles painted a horrifying picture of the socio-political environment that leaves communities of color in conflict. Racial profiling of black consumers by store owners, together with xenophobic behavior toward non-native English-speaking employees, are ingrained social practices that proceed to divide ethnic groups today.

Having lived in Los Angeles for nearly a decade, there are select Asian-owned, Black beauty supply stores that I can not bring myself to go to on account of the baseless accusations, racist profiling, and aggression I actually have experienced firsthand. While experiences of unity might be transformative, each truths still matter.

In an earlier conversation with Professor Omise’eke Tinsley, which discussed the politics of black femininity, the scholar speaks to the potential for conversations about Asian and black relationships through beauty and politics, noting that she is more enthusiastic about the chances of intersectional solidarity between these groups than in marginalized attempts to realize acceptance through assimilation of beauty standards.

Tinsley states that “Black and Asian women are portrayed as opposites, which always ends up benefiting white supremacy, [but] if we can find a way to work together and have these conversations, it will be truly subversive.” By difficult these narratives, we are able to counter white supremacists around beauty and politics that seek to divide us.

Some of essentially the most moving elements of cross-cultural beauty spaces emerge through the communal environments they cultivate. The deeply resonant love that salon owners have for his or her longtime clients who’ve develop into family, and the mutual support between Asian merchants and their black patrons, are poignant reminders of the unifying power of beauty. Beauty is a strong tool that, when used compassionately, pushes people to see the humanity in one another. A recognition that is crucial to the work of movement and survival.

While cross-cultural solidarity could also be complicated by the inescapable anti-Blackness that permeates the globe, one fact is definite: we is not going to achieve complete liberation by perpetuating the tools of white supremacy—whether through racism, xenophobia, or another means. We would do well to heed Audre Lorde’s admonition: “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”

The differences and similarities between Black and Asian communities world wide are each beautiful and difficult. Yet, through universal media of self-actualization corresponding to beauty and commerce, we are able to find common ground to weather the storms of global capitalism that plague all of our communities and threaten our collective existence and well-being.

Nail art is one example that proves that beauty is just not simply a practice of vanity. Rather, it’s a method of expression and solidarity.

A big fight between multiple customers at an IHOP store in Florida ended with the arrest of a lady accused of assaulting an adolescent.

According to NBC6, a fight broke out in June at an IHOP in North Miami Beach, with several adults and youngsters, who were caught on cellphone video, throwing syrup bottles at one another and trashing the restaurant.

The fight began after a confrontation between 34-year-old Precious Williams and a 14-year-old girl.

Williams allegedly confronted the 14-year-old with accusations that the girl’s family had been badmouthing her children at a restaurant, after Williams’ son claimed he heard the teenager’s family call them the N-word.

After the teenager’s family denied the allegations, Williams reportedly exploded and started attacking the teenager, resulting in an all-out brawl between the 2 sides.

Police were called to the restaurant, where they arrested Williams and charged her with child abuse.

Although the teenager claims Williams threw the primary punch, Williams reversed the accusation, claiming the teenager pushed her first.

In court, Williams’ lawyer argued that cellphone footage corroborated his client’s version of events.

“The video shows someone putting their hands on my client, Ms. Williams, and then Ms. Williams punching me back,” attorney Matthew Goldkind said. he said.

In one video, which shows the moments before the fight, Williams may be seen yelling at a customer while one other person appears to calmly shove her. That was the moment the 34-year-old began punching the person she was yelling at.

State prosecutors offered Williams a plea deal that might give her a yr of probation if she pleads guilty. During that yr, she would need to take anger management classes, a parenting class and abide by an alcohol ban.

Williams rejected the plea deal and decided to take her case to trial. The judge informed her that if convicted by a jury, she could resist five years in prison.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Rev. Lee Scott publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for president during an Aug. 14 Zoom call of evangelicals for Harris, the Presbyterian pastor and farmer said he was taking a risk.

“The easiest thing we could do this year would be to keep our heads down, go to the polls, keep our vote a secret and mind our own business,” Scott told the group, which organizers said drew about 3,200 viewers. “But right now, I just can’t do that.”

Scott lives in Butler, Pennsylvania, the identical town where the potential killer was staying. shot former President Donald Trump in July. Scott told the Associated Press that the attack and its aftermath impact on his community prompted him to talk out against Trump and the “vitriolic” and “acceptable violence” he delivered to politics.

Trump maintained strong support amongst white evangelical voters. About 8 in 10 white evangelical voters voted for him in 2020, based on AP VoteForged, a survey of the electorate. But a small and diverse coalition of evangelicals is seeking to lure their coreligionists away from the previous president by offering not only an alternate candidate to support but additionally an alternate vision of their faith.

“I’m tired of watching meanness, bigotry and recreational cruelty being the global witness to our faith,” Scott said in the course of the conversation. “I want transformation, and transformation is risky business.”

Exploiting Cracks in Trump’s Evangelical Base

Trump was very courteous white conservative evangelicals since he got here onto the political scene almost a decade ago. Now he’s selling Trump-themed Biblespersuading overturning Roe v. Wade and he begged Christians to steer him to vote.

Some evangelicals, nonetheless, have seized on alleged cracks in his political allegiances to further distance themselves from the previous president, especially as Trump and his deputies I used to be hesitant whether he would do it sign a federal abortion ban should develop into president.

The Rev. Dwight McKissic, a Baptist pastor from Texas who weighed in on the evangelicals’ call to support Harris, said he saw “no moral superiority of one party over the other,” citing the Republican Party’s decision to “abandon its commitment to banning abortion through a constitutional amendment” and soften its stance on same-sex marriage in its platform.

McKissic said that while he has historically voted Republican, he’ll vote for Harris because he believes she has stronger character and qualifications.

“I certainly disagree with her on all policy issues,” said Scott, who identifies as an evangelical and is ordained within the mainline Presbyterian Church in the usA. “I’m pro-life. I’m anti-abortion. But at the same time, she has a pro-family platform,” citing Harris’ education policies and promise extend child tax relief.

Grassroots groups like Evangelicals for Harris are hoping to persuade like-minded evangelicals to support Harris relatively than vote for Trump or not vote in any respect.

With modest funding in 2020, the group, formerly generally known as Evangelicals for Biden, has been targeting evangelical voters in swing states. This election, the Rev. Jim Ball, the organization’s president, said they’re expanding and plan to spend $1 million on targeted ads.

While white evangelicals overwhelmingly vote Republican, not all evangelicals are GOP protected bets, and in a closely contested race, every vote counts.

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In 2020, Biden won amongst about 2 in 10 white evangelical voters but fared higher amongst evangelicals overall, based on AP VoteForged, winning a couple of third of that group. A September AP-NORC poll found that about 6 in 10 Americans who discover as “born again” or “evangelical” have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Harris, but a couple of third have a positive view of her. A majority — about 8 in 10 — of white evangelicals have an unfavorable view of Harris.

The same group, Vote Common Good, led by progressive evangelical pastor Doug Pagitt, has a straightforward message: political identity and spiritual identity usually are not related.

“There’s a whole group that felt very uncomfortable voting for Trump,” Pagitt said. “We’re not trying to change their minds. We’re trying to work with them once they change their minds to act on that change.”

Working with the campaign

In August, the Harris campaign hired Rev. Jen Butler, a Presbyterian minister (USA) and veteran faith organizer, to steer faith outreach.

Butler told the AP she has been in contact with evangelicals for Harris. With lower than two months until Election Day, she wants to make use of the facility of grassroots groups to quickly engage much more voters of the religion.

“We want to mobilize our voters, and we think we have real potential to reach people who have voted Republican in the past,” Butler said.

They deal with black and Latino evangelicals, especially in key swing states. They reach out to Catholics and mainline Protestants within the Rust Belt and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona and Nevada. Butler’s colleagues work with Jewish and Muslim constituencies.

Catholics for Harris and Interfaith for Harris are each within the works. Mainstream Protestant groups like Black Church PAC and Christians for Kamala are also campaigning on behalf of the vice chairman.

Butler, who was raised an evangelical in Georgia, said Harris’ campaign could find common ground with evangelicals, especially suburban evangelicals.

“There are a whole range of issues that they care about,” she said, citing compassionate approaches to immigration and abortion. “They know that the way to solve any pro-life issues is to really support women.”

Hard sell

Even for evangelicals who dislike Trump, supporting the Democrat could also be difficult.

Russell Jeong, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and a speaker on the Evangelicals for Harris rally, told the AP that the group “doesn’t agree with everything Harris stands for” and that evangelicals can “hold the party accountable by getting involved.”

Other participants within the conversation noted that they’d use their voices to pressure Harris on issues they disagree with. Latinx evangelical activist Sandra Maria Van Opstal said she would push for a possible Harris administration “to better address the Palestinian-Israeli relationship, as well as immigration.”

Soong-Chan Rah, a professor of evangelism at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, describes himself as a nonpartisan progressive evangelical and a “prophet speaking to broken systems.” Although he has never endorsed a candidate before, he said the stakes on this election are so high that he desires to throw his public support behind Harris.

“Not only do I find this candidate, Trump, disgusting and repulsive,” Rah said, “but it’s so extreme that I want to support his opposition.”

Yet the chorus of evangelicals who find voting for Democrats unacceptable stays loud.

Pro-Trump evangelical cult leader Sean Feucht ridiculed the existence of pro-Harris evangelicals on X: “HERETICS FOR HARRIS rings so much truer!”

The Rev. Franklin Graham, a longtime Trump supporter, took issue with one in every of the group’s ads and its use of footage of his late father, the Rev. Billy Graham. “Liberals are using everything they can to promote candidate Harris,” he wrote on his public Facebook page, which has 10 million followers.

Imagining a New Gospel Identity

But the project of supporting democratic evangelical voters goes beyond partisan politics. It goes to the guts of what evangelicalism means.

The term “evangelical” itself is loaded with meaning and has develop into synonymous with the Republican Party, said Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University.

“Most people are probably evangelical theologically,” Burge said, “but they don’t get that word because they don’t vote for Trump or they’re moderate or liberal.”

Evangelicalism has historically referred to Christians who hold conservative theological beliefs about issues comparable to the meaning of the Bible and being born again. However, this has modified because the term has develop into more related to Republican Party voters.

Many imagine that evangelicalism must be defined primarily along racial and sociopolitical lines, and by endorsing Harris, Rah hopes to “show that there are other voices in the church besides the religious right and Trump evangelicals.”

Latasha Morrison, a speaker on the Harris Zoom evangelical conference, told the AP that as a black woman, “I never identified with the word ‘evangelical’ until I started attending predominantly white churches.”

For years, her anti-abortion views led her to vote Republican, but now the Christian writer and variety coach says, “I believe women and children have a better chance under the Harris administration than they did under the Trump administration.”

Ball, an organizer of Evangelicals for Harris, doesn’t intend to “tell people whether they’re evangelical” or not.

“Diversity is our strength. We are not looking for total unanimity. We are looking for unity,” Ball said. “We can be united as long as we have differences.”