March 20th, 2020
español abajo Dear friends and family of GGJ,
We step into this moment with the collective and political clarity that no matter how each day unfolds, nothing will ever be the same. Our movements, our communities, our families, our
realities, and our work will undoubtedly encounter deep shifts as we redefine, reassess and reorganize in this critical moment.
The COVID-19, or the Novel Coronavirus, pandemic has already brought tremendous loss and illness to many members of our global family—from China to Korea, Iran, North Africa, much of Europe, and now here across the Americas.
GGJ is deeply committed to being a part of the collective response to how we navigate this new terrain and leverage collective power toward the survival needs of our people and our movements globally.
We Remain Vigilant Against the Shock Doctrine We have learned, again and again, that moments of deep fear and vulnerability become opportunistic openings for rightwing interventions when our movements are not vigiliant against these attacks. Particularly under the current US administration—which is deeply aligned with white nationalist, neoconservative and neofacist forces; we must anticipate and prepare for repressive actions that
undermine basic human rights and protections, especially for Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Muslim, LGBT and other marginalized communities.
We recognize that this global pandemic has been magnified by years of neoliberal policies that include the privatization of public goods such as healthcare for profit, elimination of social safety nets such as worker protection laws, cuts in government spending to CDC and other public welfare agencies, all the
while deregulating, bailing out, and giving tax breaks to corporations and financial institutions that only allows them to further amass enormous profits and deepen economic inequality. We have much to learn in this moment from folks who have mobilized in response to global health pandemics, and are still fighting for their lives today. Queers, communities of color, poor folks are dying at high rates of pandemics like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, which are driven by the capitalist model that sends brown bodies into mines and into the prison industrial complex. Prisons are one of the biggest
driving causes of the tuberculosis pandemic, which remains the top cause of death by infectious disease even though it is curable and treatable. We should be paying attention to pandemics not only when they impact the global north, but also the ones that have been killing poor communities for decades. As the Trump administration and US corporate forces align to profit off this pandemic and use this moment to reinforce authoritarian rule, racism and xenophobia, we need to organize around our vision for our alternative—a regenerative feminist economy that centers the people who are underpaid, unpaid, undervalued, often invisibilized but continue to be the backbone of our society’s survival. This includes, to name a few but not all: - the care workers—nurses and healers on the frontlines of this pandemic caring for the sick putting their own lives at stake because our government fails to provide them with adequate safety gear;
- the farm workers who continue to labor out in the fields because people need to eat well to fight this pandemic;
- the public service workers who have to keep basic services afloat like water and trash collection;
- the grocery store workers whose work is vital to keep the community fed;
- the mothers, parents, and caregivers who take care of the children and the sick at home even as they worry about where to get the
money to cover costs in the next weeks because many work precarious low wage service jobs that have been suspended;
- the prisoners, immigrants who are locked up in substandard facilities ripe for outbreaks;
- and the people in Iran, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Cuba, North Korea and others that have suffered huge loss due to US sanctions denying access to life saving medical resources. Seize Opportunities for Radical & Visionary DemandsAt the same time that we guard against attacks from the Right, we are also seeing new openings for the Left to advance radical demands that were not possible before. From moratorium on evictions to free quality health care, this pandemic necessitates an end to ICE raids and immigrant detention, liberation of prisoners, living wages for family care, paid sick leave, student loan forgiveness, and redirection of military and homeland security funds —this is a moment where radical demands and programs have new
relevance as real concrete responses within this global pandemic. We are in a historic moment that, through radical transformative organizing, could break the back of neoliberalism as we unite across different fronts. We echo all the demands that you all are putting out such as the Community Platform by SF United in Crisis, Emerging Community Priorities from Florida Grassroots Organizations, and CJA’s Demands of an Immediate End to Trump’s Xenophobia and Negligence led by an array of our members and allies. For movement resources around COVID-19 response click HERE. It is up to us to utilize the energy of this moment to disrupt and defeat neofacist and neoliberal agendas, take back our stories, sharpen our assessments and strategy to demand and organize for the radical changes we know are not only quite possible but absolutely critical for our survival. We call for international solidarity and cooperation that centers substantial systems of care for ALL peoples across the globe and reject isolationist and retributive policies like border closures and sanctions that are being led by the US while internal xenophobic violence is rapidly escalating
against our communities. Collective Care and Healing JusticeAmidst panic, fear, and individualistic notions of survival, this moment challenges us to evolve a new consciousness and practice of collective care and reminds us we are inextricably connected. Therefore we pledge to fiercely organize and protect the most vulnerable amongst us as we continue the struggle against global health pandemics and the crises created by global capitalism of
hunger, houselessness, dehumanization, disease, criminalization, and endless war and terror. We call on the wisdom of movements led by people with chronic illness and disability, organizing for disability justice and healing justice; of Indigenous peoples calling for decolonizing community care in response to
COVID-19; of somatic trainers offering centering practices. Strong rains and turbulent winds make for fertile ground and lasting change. Let us find shelter from the unrelenting storms under our collective love, righteous rage, and radical resilience. Let us remember and harness the wisdom and fortitude that lay within the deep complex root systems of our movements as we continue to nourish our seeds for a new tomorrow. In love and power
and with the always relevant wisdom of Octavia Butler, "Let us SHAPE change together”
In love and solidarity,
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
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