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These are a handful of ideas, articles, podcasts, and art I've learned from and enjoyed over the past handful of weeks, mostly from US and SA perspectives- these being very critical, Black, Black n queer, and joyous (!).
These are a handful of ideas, articles, podcasts, and art I've learned from and enjoyed over the past handful of weeks, mostly from US and SA perspectives- these being very critical, Black, Black n queer, and joyous (!).
Like many of us, I really enjoyed this piece by @KeeangaYamahtta . This covers a lot of ground in a concise and engaging way- traces interesting history and cites history being made now from grassroots Black, queer, and feminist organizing. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/13/opinion/sunday/black-politicians-george-floyd-protests.html
I loved this sharp piece from @proseb4bros abt the underpinnings of anti-racist reading lists & how they both encourage a 'curing' of racism thru consumption as well undermine the depth of Black authors cause ppl go fishing for ally 101 lessons in Beloved https://www.vulture.com/2020/06/anti-racist-reading-lists-what-are-they-for.html
This episode of @Vsthepodcast from last month was sooo lush. I loved the ground this podcast covered which was about the limitations, the potentials, and the flexibility of language across Black diasporas. Such an evergreen conversation https://www.poetryfoundation.org/podcasts/153449/chris-abani-vs-entanglement
This was a good and accessible piece of lit about abolition and police brutality, w/ recent data abt the lockdown from a South African context. "Given the significant influence of African elites and white liberals during the liberation movement of the late 1900s,...
the formation of a post-apartheid state
has been built upon these undercurrents of white supremacy which has covertly
declared whose rights the state exists to protect."
Link to the PDF is with @copsareflops
has been built upon these undercurrents of white supremacy which has covertly
declared whose rights the state exists to protect."
Link to the PDF is with @copsareflops
Loved the past couple of T-talks hosted by @BTFAcollective . As a writer/scholar/feeler, the work of Kiyan Williams resonates with me so deeply. Their work conveys the depth of the ideas they works with. Their art is intentional in truth finding & meaning making, of getting us...
closer to who we are- so it was a treat to listen to them. I am thankful for brilliant work (using this with the seriousness of this word) of Kiyan, Jamie Lee(who has been facilitating these convos), and Tourmaline and for making it visible, which I feel like is its own battle
I could talk much longer about these past couple of convos, but I will say I have been so moved by the importance of curating one's joy. Everyone in these chats looks physically calm while talking about their work, which pretty explicitly deals with violence in our
explicitly violent world. In this way, we not only deserve, but we *need* joy, we need space, we need to believe in ourselves so we can continue the legacy of dignifying ourselves which so many have done before us- that is part of revolution. Range yall, range!!!
Of course the generous conversation hosted by @Dreamdefenders about abolition in many forms- abolition of prisons, schools, the ideology of policing, gender, and so on. https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=615123319385564
Very grateful for @LTintheCity 's newsletter. Such a thoughtful curation of Black femme reflections, links to online events, and media and journo job opps. We, Black femmes, are the ones who got us.
(On a side, but perhaps very related note, I miss intimacy.)
. @freeradsorg has been rounding up and sharing a lot of dope work in the fields of tech and science that are Black, Black queer, and Black trans led. Very grateful for the highlighting of #OurDataBodies (head to http://odbproject.org for interviews and our published work)
On that note, @ruha9 recently wrote about the potential of increased surveillance in calls for defunding the police. In pointing this out, I think it adds to the needed urgency to dismantle all extensions of white supremacy, surveillance being one of them https://www.wnyc.org/story/defunding-police-could-lead-more-surveillance/
And lastly, I've been thinking about the falling of statues and what makes these moments possible and what comes out of them. Additionally, thinking about what we want out of these moments- many of these statues, if they aren't toppled and thrown somewhere, they are moved by
institutions or govs. This is not b/c they too agree that commemorations of genocide shouldn't have a place, but for preventative measures. This happened in KY with the J. Davis statue last week as well as w/ Rhodes in Cape Town in 2015. They get moved for "preservation".
So this is a US centered list of statues that have fallen recently https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/09/us/confederate-statues-removed-george-floyd-trnd/index.html
as well as an article about how to topple said statues https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32870657/remove-statue-science/
(quietly plugs my own work/my first large feature with a major outlet about being and belonging as Black people in settler colonies with an orientation towards having intimate conversations with ourselves while divesting from whiteness at every turn.) https://www.newframe.com/long-read-cape-towns-garden-of-good-and-evil/
