They're coming for you too

First, we’ve got a special Community Meet Up TOMORROW (7EST) featuring Octavia Raheem, author of Pause. Rest. Be. who will be leading a radical practice of rest. Join us!

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse…Texas is literally waging a war on trans kids.

Gov Greg Abbott has officially directed Family and Protective Services to begin investigating all trans children in Texas and prosecuting their parents as child abusers. He has also instructed all teachers, doctors, and caregivers to begin reporting any trans students they see.

These attacks on trans people are happening alongside abortion bans, voter suppression legislation, don’t say gay bills, anti-mask panic, and absurd restrictions of books, history and words in the classroom.

In a recent episode of Movement Memos, Kelly Hayes noted “The public’s creeping tolerance for the dehumanization of targeted communities is ultimately what enables atrocity. When dehumanization is codified, and that goes unchallenged, we are always looking at a cycle of escalation.”

It reminds me of what Resmaa and Rev angel were preaching in last week’s Embodying Social Justice Summit. “They’re coming for you too”, they said, referring to how, despite the false assumption of security, white supremacy is coming for white people too. White supremacy was always designed to protect power at all costs. And if white people don’t start to take the threat seriously and get some skin in the game, we won’t ever defeat white supremacy.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @ctznwell

1. As liberation movements bloomed, they offered a vision of reproductive justice that was about equality, not just “choice.” How Black Feminists Defined Abortion Rights. [click to tweet]

2. @mskellymhayes and @chasestrangio talk about the avalanche of anti-trans legislation Republicans have been generating, the role of fascist politics in this onslaught, and the scarcity of solidarity. [click to tweet]

3. The dirty secret of inflation: corporations are jacking up prices and profits. And if Democrats fail to speak to the realities of the economic moment, it could cost them in the midterms. [click to tweet]

4. Stop covering elections as if white women are the only voters that matter. When there is too much focus on white women it is to the detriment of women of color and women’s collective political power. [click to tweet]

5. Paul Farmer remodeled the field of global health to make it more human - an approach based on what people need, not on the limits of what wealthy nations will give them. [click to tweet]

Black Climate Week honors the innovative climate solutions and environmental justice work that Black folks have been leading for years, while simultaneously calling in philanthropy & the media to do a better job centering Black voices from the ground up and the top down. To create equitable climate solutions that honor the leadership, voices, and stories of Black communities, philanthropy MUST dismantle historical barriers & move forward with transparency, accountability & solidarity. Here is five Black-led environmental organizations you should learn about and amplify today:

• New Alpha CDC

• PS Equity

• RootspringsMN

• Soulardarity

• UrbanTilth

And check out this essential reading list!

Art by @100isnow with permission

As we are trying to live into a culture of accountability, we believe in learning in public. And so we want to share a bit about how we messed up, what we are learning and how we are committed to doing better. It was brought to our attention last week that it is not enough to source and attribute art in WELLREAD but to go further - to ask for permission, build relationships and offer to pay for usage when requested. This feels particularly important at a time when dominant systems fail to value and compensate artists for their work (hi spotify). We regret not doing more due diligence to build relationships with the artists we feature here and are committed to doing better to uplift and support the people who make this newsletter possible. We are sharing this with the hopes that you will learn with us and maybe do more/different in in how you source, credit, compensate and uplift artists in your work.

Art by @ctznwell

What does your activism look like?

Art by @ryanlemere with permission Words by Katie Lonke

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