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This week marks a significant turning. The electoral college (to be abolished in the future state) voted in Biden/Harris and the first vaccines were distributed to front-line workers.
But inside of this transition we have a choice: will we continue to pledge allegiance to a system that is clearly not serving us? Or will we imagine into being new ways of surviving and thriving together?
This blog [[link removed]]by Brian Stout captures this choice point. In it, he talks about two theories of revolution as articulated by the late Myles Horton:
“The first is born of desperation and despair: it focuses on what we have lost”. But the “second theory of revolution is born of rising expectations, a growing belief that we deserve better. We deserve better not because of what we do, or what we’ve sacrificed… but because of who we are.”
It is up to us to imagine a better future, confront everything that is in the way of it and joyfully bring it to fruition. That is hope in action.
Join us THIS THURSDAY for a special year-end community gathering [[link removed]] to reflect on the year past and imagine forward. Plus, dancing.
Kerri (she/her)
87 million Americans will lose paid leave on Dec. 31. [[link removed]] These women’s stories show us the consequences. [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
“Getting the solutions right requires listening to those who know the problems most intimately”. The new economy will be built by movements. [[link removed]] [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
We Need to treat artists as workers, not decorations. The dangerous illusion of art as a labor of love. [[link removed]] [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
“This is not just something you do to feel better”. Resmaa Menakam on somatic abolitionism [[link removed]]and leaning into discomfort. [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
“Right now white manhood is on a suicide mission. It is standing at the edge of disaster with a gun in its hands, and it’s willing to take us all down with it.” Ijeoma Oluo on her new book about mediocre white men. [[link removed]] [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
Good vibes don’t end a pandemic. Here’s what you can do to reduce harm over the next few weeks:
Stay home: While it is tempting to travel and visit with family during the holidays, spikes in cases can be directly correlated to increased travel and gathering. Stay home this holiday, for all of us.
Offer mutual aid: Mutual aid is collective coordination to meet each other’s needs, usually stemming from an awareness that the systems we have in place are not going to meet them. Check out this HUB to find a mutual aid network or need near you [[link removed]].
Support local businesses/restaurants: Local restaurants and businesses have been particularly hard hit due to COVID restrictions. Order take out or buy a gift card at your favorite restaurant. And donate to Restaurant Workers Relief Fund. [[link removed]]
Wear a Mask and get vaccinated: Wearing a mask and getting vaccinated is collective care. It’s how we show up for the whole of who we are. Here are all your vaccine questions answered [[link removed]].
Imagining better challenges us to imagine beyond the systems that we know. It invites us to imagine abolition and new systems that take care of all of us including abolishing prisons, health care for all, paid sick leave and mutual aid. This episode [[link removed]] of Prison Culture with Mariame Kaba shares her view of abolition as a collective project that embraces people who sense there is a problem with American institutions and are interested in figuring out what to do about it. She explains what she means when she says hope is a discipline, not an emotion or sense of optimism, and how this informs her organizing. Essential listening for your imagination.
In case you missed it, the last three episodes of CTZN Podcast [[link removed]] have been in collaboration with our friends at Faith Matters Network. It features a series of conversations centered around “How We Get Through: Collective Resilience in a World on Fire”. These conversations have been blessed with the wisdom of people like adrienne maree brown, Prentis Hemphill, Kazu Haga, Francisca Porchas Coronado and more. It is medicine for this moment as we navigate the transition into whats next. Check it out! [[link removed]]
We’re coming together one last time in 2020 to reflect, give thanks and imagine forward. Join us THIS THURSDAY at 7EST for a powerful gathering of community and practice. [[link removed]]
CTZNWELL is community powered and crowd-sourced. That’s how we keep it real. Please consider joining us on Patreon [[link removed]] for as little as $2/month so that we can keep doing the work of creating content that matters for CTZNs who care.

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