It's ok to not be ok

This week AOC hosted an IG live where she recounted her traumatic experience of the Capitol attacks. It was a powerful story that articulated not just circumstances of the event, but the impact of the insurrection on so many. She spoke of what she knows about trauma from being a sexual assault survivor, how it does not just go away but lives in the body.

Of course the twitter universe mansplained her experience away, dismissing it as “emotional”, “dramatic” and encouraging her to “move on” and “get over it” (sound familiar?)

But when you understand trauma and the cycle of abuse, you know that her experience is a fully appropriate and rational response. That it’s OK to not be ok right now. And that feeling into our vulnerability is a part of how we heal.

But it’s not just about trauma, it’s about accountability. And how this moment is calling us to refuse to cooperate with our abusers and demand accountability. Allowing those responsible and complicit to get away with it only allows them to do the same or worse again.

If we want a different future, we must stop the cycle and demand accountability for those who cause harm. Then we must practice that with each other.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @sofzabala

1. Banning White Supremacy Isn’t Censorship, It’s Accountability. Claiming that de-platforming racists violates First Amendment rights shows a distorted understanding of how speech, race, and power work online. [click to tweet]

2. From survival to solidarity: Emerging from the wreckage of the Trump era and organizing towards an abolitionist future. [click to tweet]

3. Unpacking the Embodied Plantation Backpack. Resmaa Menakem on The White Body's Burden and an embodied practice to help white people examine what they are carrying. [click to tweet]

4. “Why?” can be a revolutionary question. adrienne maree brown on cancel culture, accountability and a new method of care and community-building. [click to tweet]

5. “These are the tactics that abusers use”. AOC on trauma, sexual assault, and a powerful plea for accountability that can’t be ignored. [click to tweet]

Black history is all of our history. Here are some things white people can do to celebrate:

1. Get educated about Black history.. Here are the 10 best political books by Black women recommended by Ibram X Kendi. Read them. And 10 must-watch Black history documentaries. You can also join Push Black, a non-profit organization that uses the power of Black History to educate and inspire Black people to build personal power and create lasting economic and political change for our communities.

2. Participate in transforming economic inequality with #BuyBackBlackDebt, a relational program designed to address spiritual (white people) and material (Black people) debt. Join here.

3. Fight for liberatory policies that close the racial wealth gap like cancel student debt. Sign on to demand that Biden cancel ALL student debt in his first 100 days.

Art @whenweshowup

Gaslighters are everywhere. They’re in congress, they’re in our communities, they’re in our health and wellness spaces, they’re in our homes. This technique is used by the insecure people to diminish and demean the people around them. Just look at what happened to AOC this week! And with increased division and disinformation, gaslighting is just getting worse. Subtle and unsuspecting stabs like “I don’t know what you’re talking about” to “stop taking things so seriously” to “I didn’t see it that way” leave you feeling like it must of been you. But it’s not you. It’s gaslighting. Here are some gaslighting phrases you didn’t see coming and what to do about it.

Oppression is rooted in the lies of supremacy, separation and scarcity. Liberation is loving without bounds. Self care is refusing to comply with a system that holds us back from each other and limits love. Healing is loving more.

Art and words @sarahailemariam

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