Poem: "The Most Powerful Predictor"
This poem is spillover from the March 5, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Dreamwidth user Nsfwords. It also fills the "Imposter Syndrome" and "Snags" squares (both from the prompt) in my 3-1-24 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored anonymously. It belongs to the series Polychrome Heroics.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes environmental racism, environmental illnesses, other racism and sexism and general bigotry, discrimination in STEMZ, imposter syndrome, quitting to escape discrimination, and other mayhem. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
"The Most Powerful Predictor"
[2005-2015]
Hedy Jemison grew up
in poor neighborhoods of
grungy cities, most of those
industrial (or at least formerly so).
It was as if her address had been
somehow written in her light brown skin,
her black eyes, and her coily black hair.
New York, Onion City, Cleveland, Motor City,
Milwaukee, Lincoln -- a litany of neglect
and filth and environmental injustice.
Hedy watched her friends and family
get sick from the pollution around them.
It made her so angry, especially when
white people who lived in clean suburbs
complained about "playing the race card"
in arguments about the contamination that
plagued the poorer neighborhoods of color.
"When you look at the most powerful predictor
of where the most industrial pollution is, race is
the most potent predictor," Hedy argued. "Not
income, not property values, but race. If you
leave out race, how are you going to fix that?"
The white people rarely had an answer
for that, which hardly surprised her.
That inspired her interest in
environmental justice, so she
studied engineering, computers,
and earth sciences in search of
solutions to the crushing problems.
Hedy enjoyed nature as long as
the environment was healthy, though.
She liked quiet outdoor activities such as
birdwatching, biking, canoeing, and hiking.
It was so much easier to learn things
without other people hovering over her
and bedeviling her about everything.
Hedy struggled in school due to racism,
sexism, classism, and other discrimination.
Teachers constantly told her that she wasn't
as pretty or smart as she thought she was,
she couldn't work in STEMZ, and she didn't
deserve anything better from her life than
the menial labor that wore out her parents.
The words soaked in like muddy water and
left her constantly second-guessing herself.
Hedy taught herself how to knit, and she
learned the complicated patterns of cableknit.
She preferred natural fibers such as cotton and
wool in muted colors like faded nature prints.
Just touching the rich textures of Celtic braid
or corduroy helped her to calm down some.
Hedy made several attempts at college,
only to wind up forced out or dropped out
due to unfair pressures placed on her.
"Why don't you let me lead a lab group?"
she demanded. "Some of the boys
have gotten to do it more than once!"
Hedy filed complaint after complaint
with the administration, but none of
those protests ever did her any good.
After the last incident in which a professor
had told her that she was no good and then
took credit for her work, she said "fuck it"
and left academics in favor of mad science.
She supported herself as a handywoman,
fixing whatever broken crap people brought
to her -- snow blowers and weed whackers,
vacuum cleaners and toasters and cars.
Most of the time, Hedy worked on her own
with computer engineering, robotics, math,
environmental science, and related fields.
She built a variety of filters, scrubbers,
robots, and other super-gizmos to clean up
the environmental messes that nothing else
could release from all the contamination.
Hedy had tools for cleaning air, water, and
earth. She was even working on methods
to remove the heavy metals such as lead.
"Isn't it just like white folks," she muttered,
"to shit all over their own nest and then
leave it for a black woman to clean up?"
However, her patchy education made it
difficult for Hedy to manifest her inventions.
She often hit snags and then didn't know
how to solve them. It made her resent
the constant interruptions of college more.
It didn't help that Hedy had to keep moving
her mad science lab any time it looked like
the authorities might catch up with her.
She tended to choose rural locations
near one of the dirtier cities so that she'd
be close to useful testing sites, mostly in
the midwest, and more north than south.
No matter how many times people chased
her away, she always found a place to rebuild.
No matter how bad the voices in her head got,
she never listened to them or let them stop her.
"If I don't fix this ridiculous shit, then who will?"
Hedy said to herself. "Nobody, that's who!
So she never quit, because she couldn't.
* * *
Notes:
Hedy Jemison -- She has light brown skin, black eyes, and coily black hair to her shoulders. She wears glasses. Her heritage is African-American; she speaks English. She is 23 years old in 2015.
Hedy grew up in poor neighborhoods of grungy cities including New York, Eastbord, New York; Chicago, Onion City, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Motor City, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Lincoln, Nebraska. She watched friends and family get sick from pollution. That inspired her interest in environmental justice.
As a girl, Hedy struggled in school due to racism, sexism, classism, and other discrimination. People constantly told her that she wasn't as pretty or smart as she thought she was, couldn't work in STEMZ, and didn't deserve better than the menial labor that wore out her parents. She wound up with imposter syndrome as a result of the pervasive abuse. Hedy made several attempts at college, only to wind up forced out or dropped out due to unfair pressures. Complaining to the administration never did any good. After the last incident in which a professor told her that she was no good and then stole her work, she said "fuck it" and left academics for mad science.
Currently Hedy works on her own with computer engineering, robotics, and related fields. She builds filters, scrubbers, robots, and other equipment to clean up environmental messes. She has tools for cleaning air, water, and soil. However, her patchy education makes it difficult for Hedy to navigate her inventions. She often hits snags and then doesn't know how to solve them. Also she has to keep moving her mad science lab any time it looks like the authorities might catch up with her. She tends to choose rural locations near one of the dirtier cities, mostly in the midwest, and more north than south.
Hedy enjoys nature when the environment is healthy. She likes quiet outdoor activities such as birdwatching, biking, canoeing, or hiking. As a hobby, she knits, and she prefers natural fibers like cotton and wool. She supports herself as a handywoman, fixing whatever broken crap people bring to her.
Origin: Her superpowers are growing in slowly.
Uniform: Hedy favors practical women's wear for warm and cool weather, with lots of texture such as cableknit and corduroy that she likes to touch for grounding. Her base colors are beige, gray, and white accented with butter, denim, peach, and sage. Most of her accessories are in shades of gray or blue.
Qualities: Expert (+4) Mechanical Intelligence, Good (+2) Dexterity, Good (+2) Environmentalist, Good (+2) Handywoman, Good (+2) Knitting
Poor (-2) Imposter Syndrome
Powers: Average (0) Super-Gizmologist
Motivation: Environmental justice.
1. New York City, New York
Insider Monkey’s Score: 8.25
New York City is the largest city in America and houses a whopping 8.8 million people. It is part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area, which is the largest metropolitan area in the world in terms of population as a stunning twenty million people live within its boundaries. New York is a financial hub for both America and the world.
17. Chicago, Illinois
Insider Monkey's Score: 20
Chicago is one of the largest cities in America with a population of 2.7 million people. It is part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.
18. Cleveland, Ohio
Insider Monkey's Score: 20.25
Cleveland is part of the Cleveland-Elyria metropolitan statistical area. It is one of the smaller cities on our list with a population lower than 400,000.
24. Detroit, Michigan
Insider Monkey's Score: 22.75
Detroit is the largest city in Michigan and houses more than six hundred thousand people. A variety of financial firms, automotive manufacturers, and technology companies are based in the city.
25. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Insider Monkey's Score: 23
Milwaukee houses more than half a million people and houses several Fortune 500 firms including energy and industrial firms.
Lincoln, Nebraska
According to a list compiled by LawnStarter, the dirtiest cities in Nebraska are Lincoln and Omaha in that order.
* * *
"When you look at the most powerful predictor of where the most industrial pollution is, race is the most potent predictor," said Robert Bullard, a professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University and a pioneer in the environmental justice movement. "Not income, not property values, but race. If you’re leaving race out, how are you going to fix this?"
-- Robert Bullard
Environmental racism means that people of color tend to live in polluted or otherwise hazardous places without amenities such as greenspace or proper water handling. Here is an environmental justice toolbox for communities to address these problems.
Women and people of color face heavy discrimination in STEMZ. It is sadly common that white men take credit for black women's work. Follow the steps to improve diversity and inclusivity. Because hey, if mad science offers a better workplace experience, people might prefer it, and that would suck.
Crafting, crochet, and knitting can all serve as therapy in addition to hobbies. All Free Crochet offers crochet tutorials and beginner patterns for crochet. All Free Knitting provides knitting tutorials and beginner knitting patterns. Cable knitting patterns are more advanced and use a variety of stitch patterns.
Imposter syndrome comes in many flavors. This is particularly prevalent among women, especially in STEMZ fields, people of color, and women of color. Know how to deal with imposter syndrome.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes environmental racism, environmental illnesses, other racism and sexism and general bigotry, discrimination in STEMZ, imposter syndrome, quitting to escape discrimination, and other mayhem. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
"The Most Powerful Predictor"
[2005-2015]
Hedy Jemison grew up
in poor neighborhoods of
grungy cities, most of those
industrial (or at least formerly so).
It was as if her address had been
somehow written in her light brown skin,
her black eyes, and her coily black hair.
New York, Onion City, Cleveland, Motor City,
Milwaukee, Lincoln -- a litany of neglect
and filth and environmental injustice.
Hedy watched her friends and family
get sick from the pollution around them.
It made her so angry, especially when
white people who lived in clean suburbs
complained about "playing the race card"
in arguments about the contamination that
plagued the poorer neighborhoods of color.
"When you look at the most powerful predictor
of where the most industrial pollution is, race is
the most potent predictor," Hedy argued. "Not
income, not property values, but race. If you
leave out race, how are you going to fix that?"
The white people rarely had an answer
for that, which hardly surprised her.
That inspired her interest in
environmental justice, so she
studied engineering, computers,
and earth sciences in search of
solutions to the crushing problems.
Hedy enjoyed nature as long as
the environment was healthy, though.
She liked quiet outdoor activities such as
birdwatching, biking, canoeing, and hiking.
It was so much easier to learn things
without other people hovering over her
and bedeviling her about everything.
Hedy struggled in school due to racism,
sexism, classism, and other discrimination.
Teachers constantly told her that she wasn't
as pretty or smart as she thought she was,
she couldn't work in STEMZ, and she didn't
deserve anything better from her life than
the menial labor that wore out her parents.
The words soaked in like muddy water and
left her constantly second-guessing herself.
Hedy taught herself how to knit, and she
learned the complicated patterns of cableknit.
She preferred natural fibers such as cotton and
wool in muted colors like faded nature prints.
Just touching the rich textures of Celtic braid
or corduroy helped her to calm down some.
Hedy made several attempts at college,
only to wind up forced out or dropped out
due to unfair pressures placed on her.
"Why don't you let me lead a lab group?"
she demanded. "Some of the boys
have gotten to do it more than once!"
Hedy filed complaint after complaint
with the administration, but none of
those protests ever did her any good.
After the last incident in which a professor
had told her that she was no good and then
took credit for her work, she said "fuck it"
and left academics in favor of mad science.
She supported herself as a handywoman,
fixing whatever broken crap people brought
to her -- snow blowers and weed whackers,
vacuum cleaners and toasters and cars.
Most of the time, Hedy worked on her own
with computer engineering, robotics, math,
environmental science, and related fields.
She built a variety of filters, scrubbers,
robots, and other super-gizmos to clean up
the environmental messes that nothing else
could release from all the contamination.
Hedy had tools for cleaning air, water, and
earth. She was even working on methods
to remove the heavy metals such as lead.
"Isn't it just like white folks," she muttered,
"to shit all over their own nest and then
leave it for a black woman to clean up?"
However, her patchy education made it
difficult for Hedy to manifest her inventions.
She often hit snags and then didn't know
how to solve them. It made her resent
the constant interruptions of college more.
It didn't help that Hedy had to keep moving
her mad science lab any time it looked like
the authorities might catch up with her.
She tended to choose rural locations
near one of the dirtier cities so that she'd
be close to useful testing sites, mostly in
the midwest, and more north than south.
No matter how many times people chased
her away, she always found a place to rebuild.
No matter how bad the voices in her head got,
she never listened to them or let them stop her.
"If I don't fix this ridiculous shit, then who will?"
Hedy said to herself. "Nobody, that's who!
So she never quit, because she couldn't.
* * *
Notes:
Hedy Jemison -- She has light brown skin, black eyes, and coily black hair to her shoulders. She wears glasses. Her heritage is African-American; she speaks English. She is 23 years old in 2015.
Hedy grew up in poor neighborhoods of grungy cities including New York, Eastbord, New York; Chicago, Onion City, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Motor City, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Lincoln, Nebraska. She watched friends and family get sick from pollution. That inspired her interest in environmental justice.
As a girl, Hedy struggled in school due to racism, sexism, classism, and other discrimination. People constantly told her that she wasn't as pretty or smart as she thought she was, couldn't work in STEMZ, and didn't deserve better than the menial labor that wore out her parents. She wound up with imposter syndrome as a result of the pervasive abuse. Hedy made several attempts at college, only to wind up forced out or dropped out due to unfair pressures. Complaining to the administration never did any good. After the last incident in which a professor told her that she was no good and then stole her work, she said "fuck it" and left academics for mad science.
Currently Hedy works on her own with computer engineering, robotics, and related fields. She builds filters, scrubbers, robots, and other equipment to clean up environmental messes. She has tools for cleaning air, water, and soil. However, her patchy education makes it difficult for Hedy to navigate her inventions. She often hits snags and then doesn't know how to solve them. Also she has to keep moving her mad science lab any time it looks like the authorities might catch up with her. She tends to choose rural locations near one of the dirtier cities, mostly in the midwest, and more north than south.
Hedy enjoys nature when the environment is healthy. She likes quiet outdoor activities such as birdwatching, biking, canoeing, or hiking. As a hobby, she knits, and she prefers natural fibers like cotton and wool. She supports herself as a handywoman, fixing whatever broken crap people bring to her.
Origin: Her superpowers are growing in slowly.
Uniform: Hedy favors practical women's wear for warm and cool weather, with lots of texture such as cableknit and corduroy that she likes to touch for grounding. Her base colors are beige, gray, and white accented with butter, denim, peach, and sage. Most of her accessories are in shades of gray or blue.
Qualities: Expert (+4) Mechanical Intelligence, Good (+2) Dexterity, Good (+2) Environmentalist, Good (+2) Handywoman, Good (+2) Knitting
Poor (-2) Imposter Syndrome
Powers: Average (0) Super-Gizmologist
Motivation: Environmental justice.
1. New York City, New York
Insider Monkey’s Score: 8.25
New York City is the largest city in America and houses a whopping 8.8 million people. It is part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area, which is the largest metropolitan area in the world in terms of population as a stunning twenty million people live within its boundaries. New York is a financial hub for both America and the world.
17. Chicago, Illinois
Insider Monkey's Score: 20
Chicago is one of the largest cities in America with a population of 2.7 million people. It is part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.
18. Cleveland, Ohio
Insider Monkey's Score: 20.25
Cleveland is part of the Cleveland-Elyria metropolitan statistical area. It is one of the smaller cities on our list with a population lower than 400,000.
24. Detroit, Michigan
Insider Monkey's Score: 22.75
Detroit is the largest city in Michigan and houses more than six hundred thousand people. A variety of financial firms, automotive manufacturers, and technology companies are based in the city.
25. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Insider Monkey's Score: 23
Milwaukee houses more than half a million people and houses several Fortune 500 firms including energy and industrial firms.
Lincoln, Nebraska
According to a list compiled by LawnStarter, the dirtiest cities in Nebraska are Lincoln and Omaha in that order.
* * *
"When you look at the most powerful predictor of where the most industrial pollution is, race is the most potent predictor," said Robert Bullard, a professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University and a pioneer in the environmental justice movement. "Not income, not property values, but race. If you’re leaving race out, how are you going to fix this?"
-- Robert Bullard
Environmental racism means that people of color tend to live in polluted or otherwise hazardous places without amenities such as greenspace or proper water handling. Here is an environmental justice toolbox for communities to address these problems.
Women and people of color face heavy discrimination in STEMZ. It is sadly common that white men take credit for black women's work. Follow the steps to improve diversity and inclusivity. Because hey, if mad science offers a better workplace experience, people might prefer it, and that would suck.
Crafting, crochet, and knitting can all serve as therapy in addition to hobbies. All Free Crochet offers crochet tutorials and beginner patterns for crochet. All Free Knitting provides knitting tutorials and beginner knitting patterns. Cable knitting patterns are more advanced and use a variety of stitch patterns.
Imposter syndrome comes in many flavors. This is particularly prevalent among women, especially in STEMZ fields, people of color, and women of color. Know how to deal with imposter syndrome.