The work is wherever you are

A year after America’s racial reckoning, little has changed. Americans have learned to talk about racial inequality, but they’ve done little to solve it. 967 people have been killed by police since George Floyd’s murder. And while there was an unprecedented outcry in the streets and social media, too many have gone back to business as usual.

But fair-weather activism isn’t going to bring down systems of oppression. Only sustained, accountable and persistent action will transform our world. In the words of @ohioma:

Now’s the time to be anti-racist.

Now’s the time to be loud.

Now’s the time to be intentional.

Now’s the time to be active.

Now’s the time to be intersectional.

Now’s the time to be consistent.

Now’s the time to be proactive.

Now’s the time to be accountable.

Now’s the time to be uncomfortable.

Now’s the time to be anti-racist.

The work is wherever you are. It is an everyday commitment to divest from white supremacy and build something better. It is how we change our lives and risk our comfort for equity and liberation. And it is who choose to be for the wellbeing of all.

Now’s the time to show up.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @doodlesmarkus

1. At least 15 states are trying to ban schools from teaching critical race theory and the 1619 Project. This fight to whitewash US history stretches back to the 1920s and the KKK. [click to tweet]

2. Samaria Rice is the mother of Tamir, not a “mother of the movement.” Imani Perry on why we need to stop hustling Black death. [click to tweet]

3. The pandemic’s trauma won’t just go away. How to navigate the open wounds that are still lingering and what we can expect from the long road to recovery. [click to tweet]

4. Believing in an abolitionist future does not make us immune to the violent conditions that we are raised within. Community safety in tumultuous times. [click to tweet]

5. This is Trumpism’s Second Coming — And It’s Even More Dangerous Than the First. Why the GOP is Committed to Destroying American Democracy. [click to tweet]

The conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd was significant. The settlement George Floyd’s family was awarded was important. Minneapolis City Councillors pledging to defund the police matters. But in most places around the country, police departments are still well funded and killing Black and Brown people with impunity. Here’s how we can keep going:

GIVE to Black organizations fighting for abolition including Critical Resistance, Project NIA, INCITE and Black Visions Collective.

ADVOCATE to defund the police. Here’s the Movement for Black Lives policy platform.

LEARN about abolition. Here’s a reading list on policing, rebellion, and the criminalization of Blackness.

COMMITMENT (for WP). A foundational practice from Resmaa Menakem of community accountability.

On the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, it is hard not to draw comparisons between Black Lives Matter and growing international solidarity with the Palestinians. But African American organizers have long been allies of Palestine. From Angela Davis to Nelson Mandela to Malcom X, the fight for Black liberation has always been tied up with Palestinian struggle. Black communities in the US and the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation have a lot in common - colonization, police brutality and discrimination are just some of issues they face. Understanding the intersectional nature of our struggles is how we organize for collective liberation. Intersectionality is a framework for understanding how forms of oppression (such as racism, sexism, and homophobia) combine to deepen injustice and how movements can work together to holistically tackle oppression. Check out more stories, tactics, theories and principles of creative activism in the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

Art by @thinkingabolition

In Sagittarius, the eclipse asks us to rethink the philosophical paradigms we’ve been operating within both personally and collectively and live into the questions. Chani Nicholas breaks down this super moon/eclipse. What is pulling you?

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