My name is Ibrahem Hasan. I’m a Palestinian-American artist based in New York. I made Love Is Why to raise money to purchase laptops for the Brooklyn Democracy Academy. BDA is a transfer high school for over-age and under-credited students in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Earlier this year, the students of BDA lost their beloved principal Dez-Ann Romain to COVID-19. She was 36. I hope to make this year a little easier for these students; I see their potential, and I want to see them win. Working with BDA’s Dean, Doyle LaShawn, we will distribute the laptops to the students. As the school has been shut down due to the pandemic, these laptops are a step towards the accessible education Dez-Ann Romain dedicated herself to.

The book is a non-linear experimental storytelling piece: A thank you to my childhood mentors, Malcolm X and five Black gentlemen on Maxwell Street. It’s the visualization of their teachings, the conversations I had with them growing up on the South Side of Chicago — powered by Black voices. It includes my photography and art alongside contributions from photographers, artists, and writers I respect and love.