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The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action today for Black people. Of course, it still exists for white people in the preserved policy of “legacy admissions”, one of the long standing inheritances of white supremacy.

Affirmative action was a corrective policy that emerged out of decades of organizing to address the historical and present inequities impacting Black and Brown Americans due to the legacy of slavery (then Jim Crow, then mass incarceration). But “ignoring race will not equalize a society that is racially unequal…Equality requires acknowledgment of inequality.” said Justice Sotomayor in her dissent.

There is NO neutral. We are either affirming freedom or we are affirming oppression. We are either affirming democracy or we are affirming fascism. We are either affirming life or we are affirming death. It is that simple.

“And then they came for me” is a cautionary tale for all of us given the dangerous backwards slide we are on. The only question is: Will you speak out?

Kerri (she/her)

NTK (need to know)

1. The End of Affirmative Action: The scale of what has been lost is difficult to assess in the moment. But not entirely impossible.

2. The Supreme Court’s Conservatives Are Breaking History and Our Future. SCOTUS has shown near-lockstep adherence to the right-wing project of upending the infrastructure of Civil Rights measures that have been working to confront and frustrate the legacy of this nation’s white supremacist history.

3. Race neutral is the new ‘separate but equal’. Race neutral admissions don’t exist. And pretending they do only benefits dominant groups who want their unfair advantages in a rigged system to remain invisible.

4. We Need To Talk About The Carbon Footprints Of The Rich. Dramatically unequal consumption lies at the heart of the climate crisis.

5. The age of insecurity. Many people think of insecurity as an individual problem and try to ease their anxieties by turning to self-care, or by finding ways to be more productive, but this only makes us more insecure.

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Solidarity

With news about orcas fighting back and attacking boats, I'm reminded about how people (esp. more privileged ones) often underestimate the power of organizing, or orcanizing as it seems :) Organizing reveals the power of ordinary people to do extraordinary things together. It creates space for us to come together in practice and values, get engaged around issues that matter and focus our collective action towards a more healthy society that ensures the wellbeing of all its people. Circles (also known as pods, squads, small groups) are the vehicle of our movement. In small groups of shared practice and ongoing relationships, we grow in our depth of commitment and our ability to take action. By starting and replicating circles across the country, our potential  grows in reach, scale, and power. They also are a means for expression of our diversity, agency, and creativity to respond to local needs, varying issues, or represent different communities. Our power comes from the diversity and unity of people coming together in mutual care for the wellbeing of all. 

So here is a tool to get you started from Mia Mingus called “pod-mapping”:

“A pod is a tool to address and prevent harm, violence, emergency or crisis. Pods can also be used to address specific needs and aid in general support. Pods are made up of people in our lives who have consented to being there for us either for general or specific purposes. Pods invite us into a more connected way of living that resists isolation, fear and hopelessness, some of the many factors that allow for harm to occur. If everyone had a pod imagine how much more resourced and supported we would all be. Imagine how much more accountable and brave we might attempt to be. Imagine what could be possible inside our communities, neighborhoods, cities and movements for justice.”

Image from Slow Factory

Digging Deeper

True healing and liberation calls us to unpack and unlearn all that we’ve accumulated along the way: limiting beliefs, habitual patterns, attachments and addictions – so that we can break down the barriers and breakthrough to freedom.

This inquiry acknowledges that liberation is not a destination but a praxis and helps us create the conditions for ongoing inquiry, healing and transformation. Using the wisdom and guidance of the 12 steps, we will journey through an inside out process of healing to build capacity and resilience, cultivate skills for application and action and embrace a readiness and responsiveness to the path of recovery and wholeness.

Recovering ourselves: A 12-step Approach to Liberation weaves new/old wisdom, neuroscience research, somatic healing, rites and rituals, and relational organizing towards a shared practice detox and recovery. Led by recovery specialist, Nikki Myers and movement organizer, Kerri Kelly, this training will be a deep and embodied exploration into how we've been shaped by dominant culture rooted in separation, supremacy and scarcity, and what it’s going to take to heal.

Join us for an online deep dive July 16th - 23rd! Open to graduates of Embodied Social Justice Certificate and students of Nikki Myers and Kerri Kelly.

We-ness

Sending love.

Art and words by Femislay

Thanks for subscribing to WELLREAD. For the last six years we’ve been providing folks with the need to know (NTK) news, calls to actions and resources for how to stay engaged and resourced along the way. But now, we’ve added an option to “upgrade to paid” to help sustain our work. While we will never put our content behind a pay wall, we depend on the support of our community to keep us going. 💛