A tale of two Americas

I’ve had to rewrite this issue of WELLREAD three times. Not exactly what I had imagined for the first week of 2021, but here we are.

We literally saw the best and worst of our country this week. The best in the powerful victory in Georgia led by Black Women who helped us regain control of the senate. And the worst in an attack on our country, on our people, brought on by a president who refuses to accept that millions of us turned out to stand with and for each other and elect Joe Biden by overwhelming margins.

This didn’t materialize out of nowhere. It was stoked by the fear and lies of Donald Trump and enabled by the Republicans who were both encouraging and complicit to its emergence. And yesterday it came to a head.

In an unprecedented attack on our democracy, terrorists walked (not stormed) into the Capital and committed multiple felony offenses. Then, they walked out free. Why? Because they were white.

It is the tale of two Americas. A white America that is literally allowed to get away with violence, murder and sedition. And a Black America that is unjustly harassed, surveilled, policed and killed.

And while we have officially taken back the White House and Senate, white supremacy is bigger than Trump and some “bad apples”.

Now begins the real work. We must go to the root and repair what has been lost to white supremacy. And we must build, together, the future that we all deserve.

Happy New Year.

Kerri (she/her)

Art @thesweetfeminist

1. Trump is to blame for capitol attack. The president incited his followers to violence. There must be consequences. [click to tweet]

2. Biden won. Now comes the hard part. What it’s going to take to put our country on the track towards peace and justice. [click to tweet]

3. Stacey Abrams is not your superhero, mule or god. She is a Black Woman with a vision you can honor by showing up for Black Women, too. [click to tweet]

4. We should think about prison abolition as a love story that centers imagination and possibility and centers presence not absence. [click to tweet]

5. When the President of Mediocrity Incites an Insurrection. Rebecca Solnit on how white identity politics is out of control. [click to tweet]

Art @thesweetfeminist

And let us not allow white supremacy to overshadow the glorious victory in Georgia led, once again, by Black Women.

This and many other historic and transformational change moments in our country have come from the leadership of Black Women. Why? Because the issues that Black Women fight for benefits EVERYONE. This is what Barbara Smith and the Combahee River Collective meant when they said “If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression.” Here are some of the Black Women who helped take back our country. Follow. Donate. Support:

• Nse Ufot of New Georgia Project

• Melanie L Campbell of National Coalition of Black Participation

• Tamieka Atkins of Pro Georgia

• LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matter Project

• Deborah Scott of Georgia STANDUP

• Helen Butler of The People’s Agenda

• And, of course, Stacey Abrams of Fair Fight Action

AND:

Call WH cabinet members and demand they invoke the 25th Amendment.

Sign Cori Bush’s petition to expel seditious members of Congress.

Make 5 Calls to demand that Trump be impeached.

Now that we have the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate, the real work begins. It’s not enough to get people elected. We the people need to govern. This is what it means to be a “citizen”. It is an everyday practice of taking care of ourselves and one another; of building and defending the policies that ensure everyone has what they need to thrive. Deepa Iyer breaks down how to practice social activism into 2021: 1) align with your values 2) map your roles 3) connect more deeply with your ecosystem 4) practice everyday. It is a must-have handbook for the emerging, sustainable revolution.

What is your 2021 practice of activism?

Art @15percentpledge

Everything about this moment is reminding us that we are not alone in our suffering and we are not alone in our hope. Healing cannot happen in isolation. It is made possible in connection. Reach out to someone today. Ask for what you need. Give what you can. And take care of each other.

Art @thewellcollectiveto

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