The opposite of denial is truth.

This week, old wounds resurface; a reminder that the past lives on until it is acknowledged and healed. From Tulsa (100th anniversary of Black Wall Street) to Texas (trying to pass laws to rewrite their racist history) to Canada (215 innocent children found in a mass grave at a residential school), white colonial patriarchy insists on denying or deliberately forgetting the truth of how we got here.

But with denialism, history is destined to repeat itself.

“Countries that skip the accountability phase end up repeating 100 percent of the time — but the next time the crisis is worse. […] People who think that the way forward is to brush this under the rug seem to have missed the fact that there is a ticking time bomb under the rug.” (Advisor to War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leonne).

There is so much pain and suffering to be unearthed from our unbearable pasts. But if we can face up to it and hold ourselves accountable, perhaps there is the possibility for healing and repair.

May the truth set us free.

Kerri (she/her)

1. "It turns out, relieving a lot of everyday hardship can be done very simply and directly by giving poor people money and support. Who knew?" Study finds Covid survival checks reduced food insecurity and alleviated anxiety. [click to tweet]

2. The notion of a neutral and moderate middle is a prejudice of people for whom the system is working, against those for whom it’s not. Stop glorifying centrism. [click to tweet]

3. “Naomi Osaka is demonstrating the power of refusal…To refuse work at the expense of our health, wellness, & more. To refuse humiliation under the guise of professionalism. Refusal is beautiful.” [click to tweet]

4. In the face of environmental collapse, deepening inequalities and capitalism in crisis, resisting violence requires challenging its colonial constructions. [click to tweet]

5. Critical race theory is a lens. Here are 11 ways looking through it might refine your understanding of history. [click to tweet]

The spirit of a “memorial” is to serve as a remembrance of something. And yet there is so much we have chosen to forget and deny in this country.

And so this week, our call to action is to REMEMBER and to reclaim the truth of who we are and where we come from. Read. Learn from those who were there. Share our ‘hidden’ history with your friend and followers. Take action towards accountability and healing for harm that was done. And be a part of how we change course and demand something better for our shared future.

1. This week marks 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre; when in 1921 a white mob destroyed Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood known as Black Wall Street. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands of structures were burned to the ground. The descendants of these business owners and landowners need your support and solidarity.

2. Also, forgotten and erased is the horrific history of genocide against Indigenous people in North America. This past weekend, a mass grave with 215 children’s remains was discovered at a residential school in BC - a brutal reminder of the long history of forced assimilation and genocide of native peoples. NDN Collective joins the call for continued searches for mass and unmarked graves on all properties of former Indian residential schools across Canada and the United States. Support their work.

June is National Indigenous History Month. The recent discovery of a mass grave in Canada with 215 unnamed children buried under the Kamloops Indian Residential School reminds us that the violent legacy of colonization is still getting uncovered. The long history of forced assimilation also encompasses US Indian boarding schools and continues to affect Native peoples and communities today. This is not an event of the past. Healing requires justice and accountability in the continued searches for mass and unmarked graves on all properties of former Indian residential schools across Canada and the United States. We must actively engage in making the invisible visible and doing what is necessary for repair. All of which is part of a practice of decolonization. Decolonization theory raises questions about whether or how it’s possible to use the “master’s tools” (including all the legal and theoretical concepts inherited from modernity) to dismantle the master’s house, and to construct something better. It’s about breaking with dominant practices, refusing to comply and resisting subordination in all of its forms. And it’s about making #beautifultrouble where ever you are. #PracticeDecolonization

Reaading: Indigeneity and Decolonial Resistance

Toolkit: Beautiful Trouble

Art: @justseeds

When Naomi Osaka announced she wouldn't "do any press" ahead of the French Open, she chose to care for her well-being. Here's how you can too. #RefusalIsBeautiful

Art @selfcareissacred

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