this is a lesson that anyone doing movement space work needs to learn:

people are not willing or able to learn ANYTHING if they feel unprotected and do not have their basic necessities met on a day to day basis.

i have literally SAT in the worst neighborhood in Kansas City and tried to explain misogyny/patriarchy to niggas who spent all week dodging bullets/running plays. they spent half of their time looking around to make sure no weird shit was happening around us.

the ability to learn about LGBTQIA+, misogyny, patriarchy, transformative justice, etc are PRIVILEGES.

one must first have basic knowledge (statistically a lot of our communities don’t have adequate education systems.)

then you have to have ACCESS. yes there are queer black people in these areas. i am not referring to access to people, i’m talking about access to resources in order to expand your knowledge about ALL ideals.

candid moment: i was physically jumped in an organization here. my natural defense was anger/ to call my cousins and shut all that shit down. the non-black members of my org sent my black ass resources about harm reduction/transformative justice.

every bit of hood in me did not/ could not understand coming together/harm reduction after two people put their hands on me

i did not have access to these resources growing up and frankly would not have cared as i worked hella hours at Kmart and went home to a drug addicted mom

my basic necessities weren’t met so i wasn’t even able to do anything outside of survive and make it to the next day.

this is the predicament that much of the black community is in. when you are trying to SURVIVE, your mind is on nothing but that.

that’s why the Black Panther Party focused on a breakfast program. they recognized that we can’t attain knowledge/ liberate our people on empty stomachs. we can’t read books in houses with no lights on.