Letting Go of Latinidad
This Latinx Heritage Month, I’m calling for non-Black Latinxs to reflect on the ways in which we’re aiding white supremacy and how we can instead be accomplices for the liberation of Black people.
black lives matter
Portland’s Black Lives Matter Protests Prove the Power of Mutual Aid
Donald Trump has described Portland’s Black Lives Matter protesters as “sick and deranged anarchists and agitators.” But after more than 100 nights of collaboration, protesters describe the crowd as “the most welcoming and caring community I’ve ever seen or been a part of.”
How to Avoid Performative Allyship: The Moment Is Over, Time to Join the Movement
Performative allyship isn’t helping. If you’re interested in building more than just a “woke” brand and want to be part of lasting, systemic change, here’s where to start.
Foolish Child #75: The Instructions Are Right There, People
Trying to erase the past doesn’t HELP Black folks.
Black Trans People Have Been Modeling Mutual Aid Before It Became a Buzzword
For the Gworls is a prime example of how Black trans organizers have found ways to keep one another safe, housed, and healthy despite violence at every turn.
On Juneteenth, Heed the Calls of Black Trans Freedom Fighters
On a day commemorating Black freedom, we, particularly non-Black people, must recommit to freedom for Black trans people.
Juneteenth: A Celebration Syllabus
Just as the Emancipation Proclamation meant nothing to the people who its message hadn’t yet spread to, Juneteenth reminds us that it takes work and time for the joy of liberation to reach everyone.
Living While Black, Queer and Sometimes Mistaken for Male
My white queer friends don’t know why it’s such a big deal for them to not do any of the stupid and obviously illegal things they tend to do if I’m the one behind the wheel.
Yelling His Name: Black Trans Mourning and the Murder of Tony McDade
Friends and family lovingly called him Tony the Tiger and recalled that he was big hearted. Tony is not the perfect victim — no Black person is in this nation’s eyes. So again and again I add #BlackTransLivesMatter to every post and plea I make.
How to Talk to Your White Friends and Family About Racism
As annoying as it is, probably, to hear it, you really have to lead with love. It’s not our responsibility to love people who hate us or wish us ill, but if those people are your friends or family, it is yours. If you genuinely care about your family and want them to be and do better, let that ground your conversation.
Showing Up For Black People Is a Duty, Not a Transaction
Real commitment to Black lives requires us to consider why we’re fighting and for whom. It’s time we ask ourselves: if our liberation weren’t intertwined, if your well-being weren’t tied to that of Black people, would you still defend Black life?
Also.Also.Also: 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests Are “Unprecedented In Scope” and Just Getting Started
In today’s link roundup: Minneapolis will dismantle its police department, Trump truly could just refuse to leave office, justice for Breonna Taylor, #8toAbolition, more on what defunding the police means, an interview with the “I yield my time” guy and more from the thousands of really important stories in the world today.
Black Rage as Catharsis
White supremacy thrives off of keeping us obsessed with respectability, when there is nothing respectable about kneeling on a man’s neck while he cries for his life. There is a time for everything, and right now is a time for rage.
Black August: A Feminist and Queer Syllabus for Black Liberation
There’s a long and proud Black radical history of fighting back against the prison industrial complex and criminal (in)justice systems. So why is it that most of the voices that are upheld come from cis men?
74 Bail Funds You Can Absolutely Support Right Now
Donate to a bail fund. We don’t have to wait for others to commit to upholding the value of Black life and materially improve the lives of Black people. We can take care of each other instead.
Asian Communities Must Desert the American Empire and Protect Black Lives
We have been drafted to protect white institutions that come at the cost of Black lives. We have been named a “model minority” to convince us that we’ve been saved a seat at the table among white peers — but that table was cut, assembled, and varnished by Black slaves. Asian Americans should look into the face of Tou Thao and see their own brother. It is our responsibility to bring him to justice, because he is not the only one.
What Do We Do Now: An Open Thread on May 29, 2020
There is so much to feel. There is so much to be done. What are you doing, today, tomorrow, the next day, and the next?
Extra! Extra!: There Must Be an End to the Long List of Names We Memorialize
This week’s Extra! Extra! honors all the victims – past, present and future. Oh it needs to stop – there must be an end to the long list of names we memorialize. But I’m not naive enough to think more lives won’t be lost before we reach that point.
Also.Also.Also: We Can’t F*cking Breathe
With the murder of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tony McDade by the police and the threatened lynching of Christian Cooper weighing heavily on my mind, in lieu of our “traditional” twice-a-week link roundup, here are some really smart reading about blackness, mourning, state violence, and rebellion that have gotten me through.
Extra! Extra!: Mourning Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery While a Pandemic Rages, and More
This week’s Extra! Extra! brings a sobering reminder that racist violence continues in America, even during the pandemic, with news of the tragic murders of two Black young adults now making national headlines. Additionally, we have an update on America’s broken judiciary, the state of authoritarianism in different parts of the world, another report about our impending climate-change-induced hellscape and an explainer on that bizarre failed coup attempt in Venezuela.
15 Activists to Follow Right Now for Some Much-Needed Hope and Empowerment
I don’t scroll mindlessly through Twitter and Facebook anymore. What I do instead is engage with the women activists who are leading our way in the battle through the darkness.