PRAISEFORUNAPOLOGETIC

“Unapologetic isabeautiful, insightful,andpowerfulanalysisof thismoment,Blackmovements, andBlack radical futures.BothCharleneCarruthers’sworkasanorganizerandorganicintellectualandherwritinginUnapologeticembodythe Black radical tradition and the best of Black feminism today. Carruthersconfronts the difficulties of organizing in this era, while also detailing thepossibilities of collective struggle. She helps us understand the contours of aBlackqueerfeministfutureandwhatweallmustdotogetthere.Thisisamust-readforanyonecommittedtofreedomandliberation.”

—CathyJ.Cohen,DemocracyRemixed:BlackYouthandtheFutureofAmericanPolitics

“Unapologetic is asmuchanarrative about collectiveyouth-drivenorganizingby those affiliatedwith the currentMovement forBlackLives as it is a storyabout how one young Black woman from the South Side of Chicago foundherselfleadingoneofthemostconsequentialformationsofthepastdecade.Thebook offers practical tips for organizers along with a critical analysis of thepromiseandpitfallsofthiscurrentiterationoftheBlackradicaltradition.Asanorganizer,IfoundmyselfnoddingalongasIreadthisterrificbookwhiletakingnotestoimprovemyownpractice.”

—MariameKaba,founderofProjectNIAandcofounderofSurvived&Punished

“CharleneCarrutherscarriestheburden,thebeauty,thewisdomoffourhundredyearsofBlackstruggle.Butshealsobringsacriticalperspectiveandacreativevision, rooted in her extensive experience as an organizer and organicintellectual, and in her fierce and fearless commitment to truth. This is aninspiring,powerful,butdifficultbookbecausesheconfrontsourmovements,ourpeople, our closeted silences, toxicmasculinity, patriarchal violence, romanticandselectivehistoricalmemory,andourfuturehead-on,througharadicalBlackqueerfeministlens.WelcometotheBlackradicaltradition.”

—RobinD.G.Kelley,authorofFreedomDreams:TheBlackRadical

Imagination

“Unapologetic serves as our marching orders. Charlene gives us not just amanualbutaprayer,anintention,acriticalpathforward,andadeepanalysisonwhere we’ve been. She educates us about community violence and stateviolence,andprovidestheclaritytoshowwhyBlackliberationiscrucialforusall.”

—PatrisseKhan-Cullors,coauthorofWhenTheyCallYouaTerrorist:ABlackLivesMatterMemoir

“Leadershipistheabilitytonotonlymakeyourownwaybuttoreturntogiveothers a roadmap that they, too, can follow.This iswhatCharleneCarruthersdoeswithUnapologetic.Sheoffersusaguidetogettingfreewithincisiveprose,yearsofgrassrootsorganizingexperience,andadeeplyintersectionallens.Shedoesn’t forget anyofus and remindsus that bringing all of ourselves andourpeoplewithusistheonlywayanyofuswillgetfree.”

—JanetMock,authorofRedefiningRealnessandSurpassingCertainty

“CharleneCarruthers isapowerfulorganizer, radical thinker,paradigmshifter,and one of the most influential political voices of her generation. Anyoneseriouslyinterestedin thestruggleforBlackliberationin thiscountryneedstolistencarefullytowhatshehastosay.”

—BarbaraRansby,authorofEllaBakerandtheBlackFreedomMovementandMakingAllBlackLivesMatter

“With this clear call to action, Charlene Carruthers’s Unapologetic is adesperately needed analysis of the past, the present, andwherewemust headinto the future. It’samust-read foreveryonewhowantsdeeper,honest insightinto thestruggleshappening inourcountry rightnow,clarifyingwhystoppinganti-Black racism,homophobia,andsexismandbuilding transformativepowerintersectionallyareurgentnecessitiesforourfamilies,ourcommunities,andthenation.”

—KristinRowe-Finkbeiner,author,executivedirector,andcofounderofMomsRising.org

“CharleneCarruthersspeakswiththeauthenticityandauthorityofanorganizerfromthefrontlinesofstruggle.CutfromtheclothoftheSouthSideofChicago,Carruthers offers a critical perspective into the experience of organizing and

buildingamovement from the inside.Asanorganizer,Charleneprovides rareinsight into the strategies, tactics, and raging debates that animate thephenomenonofBlackLivesMatter. If youwant to understand thismovementandthepeoplewhosehandsaredirtyfromworkingwiththegrassroots,thenyouneedthisbook.”

—Keeanga-YamahttaTaylor,authorofFrom#BlackLivesMattertoBlackLiberation

“ThisbrilliantandpowerfulbookisaclarioncalltokeepalivetheBlackradicaltradition in these reactionary times. Charlene A. Carruthers is an exemplaryorganic intellectual rooted in the struggles of black poor andworking people,especiallyLGBTQyouth,withasubtleanalysisandaninternationalvisionforfreedom. She stands in the great lineage of Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, andMarsha P. Johnson—grand fighters and great lovers of everydayblackpeopleandoppressedfolkeverywhere!”

—Dr.CornelWest

Formymother;myfather;mybrotherandsisterandniece;HarrietTubman,whosegunisatmyback;mygrandparentswhomigratednorth;themembersofBYP100;MaryHooksandthemandate;myancestors,elders,andcomrades.Thisbookispossiblebecauseofyou.ThankyouforbeingmyNorthStar.

CONTENTS

Author’sNotePreface

CHAPTER1AllofUsorNoneofUs

CHAPTER2RevivingtheBlackRadicalImagination

CHAPTER3TheCaseforReimaginingtheBlackRadicalTradition

CHAPTER4ThreeCommitments

CHAPTER5FiveQuestions

CHAPTER6TheChicagoModel

CONCLUSIONTheMandate

AcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

AUTHOR’SNOTE

Unapologetic isabookforallpeoplewhoarecuriousaboutandcommitted tothestruggleforBlackliberation.Thereareatleast twowaysthatyoucanreadthis book. The first is to read it to build, sharpen, or deepen your analysis orunderstanding of core concepts and practices to use in building social justicemovementsforcollectiveliberation.Whiletherearemanytypesofanalysisonecanuse, thisbook isbased inBlackradical, feminist,queer,andanti-capitalisttheoriesandpractices.TheideasIsharearetheresultofrigorousreading,filmwatching, conversations with comrades, family members, and neighbors, andmovement-building experiences on the ground. I encourage all readers to usethis book to engage in principled struggle through direct communication andhonestdialogue.You can also read this book for a historical account of the Black radical

tradition that centers the stories and movements led by people who are nottypicallylauded.Therearestoriesthroughoutthisbookthatshouldbeexploredmoredeeplyandsubjectswarrantingbooksoftheirown.MyintentionistosharestoriesyoumaynothaveheardbeforeandofferperspectivesonstrategiesBlackfolkshaveusedforcenturies.UnapologeticincludesanumberofcomplexideasandtermsthatIattemptto

makeclearthroughstoriesandpracticalexamples.Idonotexpectallreaderstounderstandalloftheconceptsequally.Don’tbeafraidtouseadictionary.IuseonewhenIreadtoo.Below,definedconcisely,aresomekeytermsIuseinthisbook.

Anti-Blackness:asystemofbeliefsandpracticesthatdestroy,erode,anddictatethehumanityofBlackpeople.

Abolition:asdefinedbyCriticalResistance,along-termpoliticalvisionwiththegoalofeliminatingimprisonment,policing,andsurveillanceandcreatinglastingalternativestopunishmentandimprisonment.

Blackradicaltradition:acollectionofcultural,intellectual,action-oriented

laboraimedatdisruptingsocial,political,economic,andculturalnormsoriginatinginanticolonialandantislaveryefforts.

Capitalism:aneconomicsysteminwhichthemeansofproduction,accesstogoods,andthevalueofgoodsarecontrolledbyprivateindividualsandcorporations.Racialcapitalism,astheorizedbyCedricRobinson,arguesthatthissystemwasbuiltandflourishedthroughtheexploitationofpeoplethroughslavery,imperialism,andgenocide.Neoliberalismisamodelofcapitalismthatoperatesthroughtheprivatizationofpublicgoods,deregulationoftrade,diminishmentofsocialservices,andemphasisonindividualfreedoms.

Feminism:intheviewofbellhooks,amovementtoendsexism,sexistexploitation,andoppression.Thisincludespolitical,social,andideologicalmethodsandwork.

LGBTQ:theacronymcommonlyusedasanumbrellatermforlesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,andquestioning(orqueer)peopleandcommunities.Iusetheterminterchangeablywith“queer”throughoutthebook.“Queer”generallymeansoutsidethenormordeviant.Theuseoftheterm“femme”throughoutthebookreferstoagenderidentitythatistakenupinvariouswaysthroughoutthequeerandtranscommunitybypeoplewhomaynotidentifyaswomenanddoidentifyasfeminine.Myuseofthetermisinthecontextofcampaignsanddoesnotreferto“femme”asusedbylesbianandqueerwomen.Allofthesetermswillcontinuetoevolve.

RadicalBlackfeminismsarerootedinthelivedexperiencesandinterlockingoppressionsofBlackpeopleonthebasisofrace,class,andgenderandaimtodismantleallformsofsystemicoppression.IrelyheavilyonradicalUSBlackfeminismsthroughoutthetext,buttherearemanyotherformsacrossthediaspora.

Reparations:asdefinedbytheNationalCoalitionofBlacksforReparationsinAmerica,arepoliticaldemandsandprojectsthatentailrepairing,healing,andrestoringapeopleinjuredbygovernmentsorcorporationsbecauseoftheirgroupidentityandinviolationoftheirfundamentalhumanrights.Inadditiontobeingamatterofjustice,itisaprincipleofinternationalhumanrights.

Transformativejustice:asdefinedbyGenerationFive,isaliberatoryapproachtoviolencethatseekssafetyandaccountabilitywithoutrelyingonalienation,punishment,orstateorsystemicviolence,includingincarcerationorpolicing.

ThoughUnapologetic reflects insights gained on my journey thus far as anactivist, communityorganizer, and leader, it is not a comprehensivehistoryofmycommunityorganizingexperiences,BYP100,ormypersonallife.Thebookabout thehistoryofBYP100hasyet tobewritten,and it’snot time forme towriteamemoiraboutmylifeandorganizing.Myintentistobalancestoriesofmycommunity-organizingexperiences,BYP100,andmypersonal life inordertoinspirerevolutionaryaction.Thisbookisaninvitationandguide,notafinalplan.

PREFACE

Unapologeticisanofferingtoourancestors,myfamily,ourmovement,andthegenerations who will hold the struggle for Black liberation to come. I beganwriting this book over five years ago as a personal exploration of freedom,liberation,andmovementbuilding.Muchlikemylifeingeneral,whereIlandedin thebook isboth farawayfromandclose towhere Ibegan. IwasbornandraisedontheSouthSideofChicagotoparentswhoseownparentsmigratedfromtheDeepSouth.Theirwaysoftalking,eating,anddealingwithlifestillliveinmybodyandinthechoicesImake.IlefthomeateighteenandspentnearlytenyearsexploringtheUnitedStates

andtheworld.AsmuchasChicagomademe,theworldhasraisedme.WhethermyworktookmetoMurfreesboro,Tennessee, todoor-knockandgainsupportforcomprehensivehealth-carereformortoHaititolearnhowtosupportnation-buildingefforts,Ilearnedthatchangewasnotonlypossible,itwasinevitable.Ialso learned that the changeneeded formypeoplehasonly comebecauseweinsisted on it. Frederick Douglass famously observed that “power concedesnothingwithoutademand.”Ibelievethatwemustgofurtherandsaythatpowerconcedesnothingwithoutanorganizeddemand.Growing up in Chicago taughtme about power even before I could define

what itmeant formymother,myfamily,andmyselfasa littleBlackgirl.MyearliestmemoriesaboutpowercomefromthevisitsItookwithmymothertothepublicaidoffice.IrememberwalkingintoanondescriptbrownbuildingonRootStreetwherewewouldenteraroomfullofBlackandBrownwomen.Mostofthewomen had childrenwith them and, likemymother,were there to securefoodstampsorcashtosupporttheirfamilies.Theroomwascolorfulandalwaysnoisy.Wewouldwalkuptothefrontdesk,whichwasplacedonhigh,andeventhen the symbolism of this was evident to me, and I found the arrangementuncomfortableandodd.Ialsodidn’tunderstandwhywehadtowaitinaroomalldayforaconversationofnomorethanfifteenminuteswithacaseworker.Ididn’tunderstandwhythecaseworkeraskedmymotherinvasivequestionsaboutmyverypresentfather.Ididn’tknowthegovernmentviewedBlackfathersasabarriertoneedandBlackmothersasunworthyofdignifiedtreatment.

Thosechildhoodvisits to thewelfareofficewithitsfluorescent lights,alongwith experiences of growing up in Back of the Yards, Woodlawn, and GagePark,stuckinsidemeasIbegantolearnaboutcommunityorganizing.Butitwasa visit to South Africa at the age of eighteen that blew my mind and was awatershedmoment.AsayoungBlackwomanfromtheraciallysegregatedcityofChicago,Ihadlittleunderstandingofwhatapartheidmeantinaglobalsense.Butunlike thehoursofdocumentaries Iwatchedabout theUScivil rightsandBlackPowermovementsasachild, thatexperienceaffectedmeviscerallyandsparked my commitment to improving the conditions of oppressed peopleworldwide.Reflectingback, incollege,whereIshouldhavebeenexposedtobooksand

materialsabouttheBlackradicaltradition,Ididn’thavethelanguageInowhavetounderstandoppressionbasedonrace,class,andgenderidentity.Ididn’thavethe words to explain why Black students had access to vastly differenteducational environments depending on their zip code. I surely did notunderstand why Blackness was most often talked about in the media asmonolithic,why identities and experiences that most closely fit the dominantculturewere praised, andwhy anyone on themargins of gender and sexualitywascriminalized,degraded,orrenderedinvisible.UndertheguidanceofDr.VenusEvansWinters,Ireadsociologicaltextsthat

matchedmypersonalexperiencesof racism,housingsegregation,andpolicingthathelpedbringglobalanti-Blackness,patriarchy,andcapitalismintofocussoIcouldfitthepiecestogether.Historycoursesexposedmetotheroleofthe“racewomen”who,at the turnof thecentury,practicedBlackactivism in theSouthafter thedisenfranchisementofBlackmen. Iwashookedon racial justice andstarted to understand the expansive nature of Blackness and what it meantworldwide.Peopleinsocialjusticemovementstaughtmetothinkmoreexpansivelyabout

Blackfreedomandcollectiveliberation.Sittingatthefeetofreproductivejusticeleaders,queerandtransgenderleaders,andeldersandhearingtheirstoriestaughtmewhatIdidn’tlearnasacollegestudent.Beinginmovementworktaughtmehowtotakeinformation,putitintocontext,andproducemyownknowledgetounderstand current conditions and to create a vision for the future.MovementworkputthehistoriesofBlackfeministandLGBTQmovementsonmyradar.Inpoliticaleducationsessions,Ilearnedaboutanti-Blackness.Unapologeticisbasedoncenturiesofsuchinformationandcontextcreatedby

peoplecommitted to collective liberation.Blackabolitionists, racewomenandmen,nationalists,communists, socialists, feminists, theologians,andqueerandtransgenderliberationistshavebuiltthefoundationforwhatmustbedonetoday.

Ourmovementtaughtmethevalueofstudy,rigorousthinking,anddisciplinetotake action. Thanks to themovement, I knowwhat actions are necessary andwhywemust take action. Themovement taughtme thatwork for justice hasalways been done and that my generation has a responsibility to carry thestruggle for liberation forward.And themovement taughtme the necessity ofshowingupforalloppressedpeople.I am one ofmanywho have taken up that responsibility inmy generation.

Since 2013, I have steered the growth and development of BYP100 (BlackYouth Project 100), one of the most prolific and integral Black liberationmovementorganizationsofthetwenty-firstcentury.Ourteamisfullofbrilliantliberationists who believe that a Black freedom movement is possible in ourlifetimeandthat itmustbeBlack,queer,andfeminist.FollowingthevisionofBYP100 leader Fresco Steez, we made it cool and relevant to be“unapologetically Black.” It was not popular to build an all-Black activistorganizationorcommonforamembership-basedorganizationsuchasourstobeledbyyoung,BlackwomenandLGBTQfolks,butwediditanyway.Weintendedthattheorganization’schaptersbeitslifeblood,butevenwithour

bestefforts,wedidn’talwaysget it right.As thesolestaffmemberduring thefirst year, I also helped build the Chicago chapter from the ground alongsideJasson Perez, Rose Afriyie, Asha Ransby-Sporn, Janae Bonsu, and JohnaeStrong, who soon expanded their roles to become national leaders in theorganization. As BYP100 developed, our roles grew and lines blurred. Myefforts were split—with half in Chicago and the other half in the nationalorganization. Sometimes it felt I couldn’t do justice to either effort, andsometimesIlongedtofocusonlocalorganizing.Still,Irecognizedthatmuchofourstrengthcamefromthevaryingperspectivesandlandscapesthroughoutthecountry. So, when I was not developing the Chicago chapter leadership, ItraveledtosupportthebuildingofchaptersinNewYorkCity,Philadelphia,theSan Francisco Bay Area, and Washington, DC. With little money at thebeginning,Ioftensleptoncouches.Iwasn’tatypicalexecutivedirectorinthatIdid at least as much work building chapters as I did fund-raising and doingmediawork.ItwashardtoknowifIalwaysmadetherightcallinhowIspentmy time, but I believe that our influencewill continue to be felt for years tocome.BYP100isapartofourgeneration’svanguard,andIfeelblessedbyourancestorstobeamongitsleaders.In today’s struggle for Black liberation, I have been a witness to grave

injusticesagainstourpeople.Becausewearenotyetfree,IcontinuetoputmybodyonthelineinBlack-leduprisingsandrebellionsacrosstheUnitedStatesofascalenotseensincethe1960sand1970s.Becauseofmyexperiencesandwhat

Iknowofhistory,IcarrytheknowledgeandtraumasofBlackinsurgencyintothetwenty-firstcentury.My journey has been mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually

challenging. I’ve doubted my leadership and abilities on several occasions.Whenitwouldhavebeeneasytoboast,Iremainedquietandworked.Whereitwouldhavebeeneasytofirebackpubliclyagainstcharacterattacks,Isharedmyangerandremorsewithacircleoftrustedcomradeswhoarenowfamily.Sincethen, though, I’ve learned thatgrace is an insufficient response to injustice. Inthepast,onoccasion,Ihavebeenafraidtospeakforfearofbeingtooaggressiveandtakinguptoomuchspace.UnapologeticisapublicdeclarationthatIamnolongerafraidtosaywhatmustbesaidandthatourmovementhasamandatethatwillnotbesilencedordisappeared.Unapologetic exists at the crossroads of retrospection and vision. It is a

testamenttomyownandourcollectivepastandpresent,aswellasalooktothefuture.Itisaworkofhistory,theory,practice,andvision.Useittohelpexpandyour understanding of the Black radical tradition. Use its examples ofcommunity organizing and intellectual labor to answer old questions and asknewones. Forme, completing this bookwas a riskworth taking. Iwanted tobear witness and to state clearly a mandate for what must be done in ourmovementtoday.Unapologeticcontainshistoriesthathelptellamorecompletestoryof theBlack radical tradition. It is alsoacall for commitment, a call foraction, a call for us all to be transformed, dismantlingwhat doesn’t serve ourcollective work, and for contemporary examples that illuminate how thisgenerationofBlackactivistsiscarryingforththeBlackradicaltradition.I don’t expectmywork to end here, with these pages.Whether yourwork

begins or continues after digesting this,my greatest hope is that of any goodorganizer. I hope it shakes you, agitates you, and leaves you uncomfortableenoughtotakerevolutionaryactionforthesakeofourcollectiveliberation.IfIsucceedin that, thenI’llbedeeplygratefulandconsider this laborof loveandcommitmentajobwelldone.

CHAPTER1

ALLOFUSORNONEOFUSThis focusinguponourownoppressionisembodiedin theconceptof identitypolitics.Webelievethat themostprofoundandpotentiallymostradicalpoliticscomedirectlyoutofourownidentity.. . . IfBlackwomenwere free, itwouldmean that everyoneelsewouldhave tobe free sinceourfreedomwouldnecessitatethedestructionofallthesystemsofoppression.

—COMBAHEERIVERCOLLECTIVE,1977

NothingbringsoutthetruecolorsofpeopleintheUnitedStatesaseffectivelyorhonestlyasapresidentialelection.Thebestandworstofhumanityhaveawayof showing themselves in a never-ending cycle. Of course, we know thatcandidateswillsayanddoalmostanythingtowin.WealsoknowthateveryfouryearsDemocratsandRepublicansraiseastronomicalamountsofmoneytospendonconsultants,ads,fieldoperations,hats,yardsigns,dataanalysis,directvoteroutreach,andahostofotherthings.Candidatesvisitchurches,hostrallies,kissbabies,andeatfriedchicken,whichtheyhopedemonstratesthattheyunderstandwhatpeoplecareabout.Andthoughthisperformancehelpsthemraisemoney,itisallultimatelytowinonElectionDay.Campaign strategistsmakechoicesaboutwhichgroupswill amass themost

moneyandbestservetheirinterestsandconsiderwhichmessageswillresonatemost.The2016presidentialelectioncampaignswereaprimeexampleofhowthe messages matter. Unsurprisingly, just what groups were targeted and themessagetheyreceivedareatthecenterofthedebateofwhyHillaryClinton—whoseparty,campaigncommittee,andsupportingSuperPACsraisedabout$1.2billion dollars—lost the election to an opponent, Republican Donald Trump,withlessmoney,multipleaccusationsofsexualassault,andnoexperienceasanelectedofficialorpublicservant.1Regardlessofwhatnewsmediayoureadandwatched,thechatterpredicteda

Clinton victory. Polling-data darling Nate Silver predicted that Clinton wouldwininalandslide.Shewaspro-choiceandbackedbyahostofmajorfeministorganizations, labor unions, and mainstream progressive organizations. Whitewomenwereanassumedconstituency.FirstLadyMichelleObamaevenhitthe

campaigntrailtosupportClinton,whilePresidentBarackObamaventuredthatitwould be a “personal insult” if Black voters did not turn out and vote forClinton.Aswenowknow,shewon theBlackvoteand thepopularvote—andlostintheElectoralCollege.Iwas among thosewhowere fooled into believing that this countrywould

never elect a racist billionaire who had multiple accusations of rape and noexperienceasapublicservant.ManycomradesandIwerereadyingourselvestofinally take up a real fight with the Democratic Party with the Obamaadministrationleaving.WhenIwokeat2:30a.m.tolearnthatClintonhadlosttheelection,Iwasnotaloneinmyshockormyprofoundlackofunderstandingofwhathadhappened.Everyone—pundits,progressives,andcountlessordinarypeople—soughttounderstandwhoandwhatwastoblameforClinton’sloss.Unsurprisingly,whatsurfacedwastypicaloftheso-calledAmericanLeft.In

nomorethantwodaysaftertheelection,the“failureofidentitypolitics”articlesstartedtorollout.Identitypoliticsentailstancesandactionsbasedonpeople’sidentification along lines of race, gender, class, religion, disability, and otherlivedexperiences.Oddly(butintentionally)enough,theidentitiesthesearticlestargetedasbeingdivisivematchedupwellwith thegroupsTrump’scampaigntargeted:women,Muslims,andBlackandBrownpeople.Formerbelieversinthepositivepossibilitiesofidentitypolitics—likeJohnB.

Judis, author of The Emerging Democratic Majority, who once exalted thepotential for “professionals, women and minorities” to create Democraticmajorities—nowwrotescathingindictments,changingtheirmindsovernight.Asto why the Democrats failed, Judis concluded that “they overestimated thestrengthofacoalitionbasedonidentitypolitics.”2Political scientistMarkLilla called for the complete elimination of identity

politics in liberalism. He claimed that there was a “moral panic about racial,genderandsexualidentitythathasdistortedliberalism’smessageandpreventeditfrombecomingaunifyingforcecapableofgoverning.”3Thiscallfortheendofidentitypoliticsilluminatestheneedtoendliberalism.

Whenliberalssayweneedchangeinmoderation,Ihear“notyou”and“notyet.”Whenpaleandmalescholarsarguethat“Democratscan’twinelectionssimplybyappealingtotheidentitygroupsoftherisingAmericanelectorate”(asJudiswrote), I hear a poor and inaccurate analysis of how the Democratic Partyoperates.4TherewasnosingleDemocraticPartystrategytoinvestinwomenandBlack andBrown communities in the 2016 election campaign. Blackwomen,one of the party’smost loyal constituencies, are consistently undervalued andunder-resourcedascandidates.Thesecallstoendidentitypoliticsemergedinamomentofshockfeltaround

the world. But what they failed to fully acknowledge is how whiteness,maleness, and working-class and upper-class status—all identities—playedmajor roles in the election’s outcome. Additionally, the targeting of women,Blacks,andLatinxpeopleaspoorpoliticalinvestmentsdemonstratesdishonestyand lack of rigor in explaining Clinton’s defeat. Clinton was defeated partlybecause the media, progressive organizations, and Democratic Party leadersunderestimated the power of sexism,white anxiety, fear-mongering, and votersuppressionthatkeptmanymarginalizedpeople(e.g.,formerlyincarceratedandthosewithoutgovernment ID)fromthepolls.Althoughsomepeoplepredictedthedefeat, therewasavastmiscalculationof support forTrump, and likewisethe effectiveness and attractiveness of the Democratic Party were overratedthroughoutthecampaign.Theelectiondeliveredinsightintotherealunmaskedfeelings of the progressives and liberals who showed not even amodicum ofsolidarity with oppressed people. The liberal “Left” sentiments I’ve read andheard are not markedly different from those of the Trump supporters theyadmonish.Changingthisdynamicwouldrequirerestructuringpower in theDemocratic

National Committee, all affiliated party institutions, and the progressivephilanthropiccommunity.AtrueshiftinUSpoliticswouldrequirewhiteliberaland progressivewomen to pull thewool from over their eyes and accept thatwhite women consistently vote against the interests of women’s rights bysupporting anti-choice, classist, racist, and sexist candidates. As I previouslyargued, power concedes nothing without an organized demand. Whether thatdemandisorganizedbeforethe2020electionsisyettobedetermined.IdentitypoliticsintheUnitedStatesareasoldasthenation’sfounding.Back

then,whitemenwithvarying levelsofwealthandaccess to resourcesdebatedand made choices to protect the interests of the ruling, slaveholding, andlandowningclass.The identitypoliticsofwhiteChristianmen in theKuKluxKlan—from its founding in 1865 through its many resurgences—have meantrapeandmurderofBlackpeople.Themostpowerfulinthiscountry,includingthosewhocontrolpublicschoolcurricula,themedia,andgovernment,usedtheircommonidentitytoencouragecollectiveamnesiaanddistortperceptionofwhattrulymakesupthefabricofthiscountry.Butidentitypoliticsarenotinherentlyornecessarilydivisive.Itcanbeeasyto

forget this, but it’s people and the oppressive systems they uphold that createsocialdivisions.Despitethedurabilityofoppressivesystemsandthestoriesthathelptoupholdthem,thereisanotherway.Itiswhenidentitypoliticsmovefromthemarginsthatliberationbecomespossible.TheCombaheeRiverCollective,aBlackfeministgrassrootsorganizationfoundedin1974andledbyBlackwomen

(including Black lesbians), authored a manifesto and led campaigns in whichthey not only articulated liberatory identity politics but also practiced them.5Trulytransformativeidentitypoliticscomefromthefeministandqueerstreamswithin theBlack radical tradition. The promise of collective liberation and itspowerexistsintheiroverlapandevenintheirdivergence.

BLACK,QUEER,ANDFEMINISTPOSSIBILITIES

I’mnevermoretargetedbyhatredfromwithintheBlackmovementcommunitythan I am when our work is highly visible. I’ve been called out for being adangerous lesbian and someoneparents shouldkeepaway from their children.Feminism and queer politics (and the people who engage in them) are oftenslanderedandcalleddivisive.This isnothingnew.BarbaraSmith’s“TowardaBlack Feminist Criticism” essay, written in 1977, aired a deep and righteousfrustrationabouttheinvisibilityofBlackfeministwritersinallareasofcultureand society. She understood the publishing of this essay as dangerous butnecessary in a time when a movement advancing Black feminism wasdesperately needed. Writing as Black women, lesbians, and feminists meanscontendingwithviolencethatnooneshouldhavetodealwith.VerbalandphysicalattacksonBlacklesbianfeministsmayseemsurprisingto

some,asiftheybelongtoalessenlightenedera,buttheyarepredictableintimesof our high activity and visibility. Regardless of the risk, however, we Blackqueer and transwomen have been on the front lines of anti-police andBlackliberationorganizingintheUnitedStates.WehavebeenthereafterBlackmenandboyshavebeenslainbypoliceofficersandvigilantes.Wehaveshownup,evenwhenmasses have not, after a Blackwoman, girl, or trans, or queer, orgender-nonconformingpersonhasbeenkilled.Andwewillcontinuetoshowup.Whatwechoosetosupportandopposedefinesourpolitics.Blackfeministshavecoinedtermsintheorizingaboutthemultiplicityofour

experiencesandexpertise:“doublejeopardy,”“tripleoppressions,”“interlockingoppressions,” and “intersectionality.”No one experiences theworld through asingle identity.Understanding and expressingwhat itmeanswhen one’s race,class,gender,andsexualitysimultaneouslyshapeone’spoliticalvaluesispartofa long traditionofbeingaBlackwomanwho isqueeror transgenderorboth.While the languagehasevolvedover theyears (fromthe likesof“Negro”and“transsexual”),theconditionsandsystemsofoppressionhavebeenconsistentlyviolent.Today’smovementsarefortunatetohavereadyaccesstobooks,poetry,films,

and social media to help make sense of what liberation requires. Decades ofintellectual labor and community organizing have created the stories andunderstandings we have today about living at the intersections of race, class,gender,andsexuality.Unfortunately,fartoomanyofustakethisforgranted,aswe take for grantedBlack radical lesbianAudreLorde’swise declaration that“thereisnothingasasingle-issuestrugglebecausewedonotlivesingle-issuelives.”Ourluminariesdeservemorethantobedistilledintopithyquotes.Theirintellectuallaborshouldbeusedtoguideourstrategiestobuildmovements.HistoricallytheBlackradicaltraditionhasrelatedtothefreedomstrugglesof

otheroppressedpeoplesworldwideandbuiltitselfalongsidethem.FeministandPan-Africanist leaderAmy JacquesGarvey, editor of thewomen’spage in theNegro World, the weekly newspaper of the United Negro ImprovementAssociation (UNIA),wroteextensivelyabout theneed tobeanti-capitalist andanti-imperialist and about the interlocking oppressions due to race, class, andgender. Founded by Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey and his first wife, AmyAshwoodGarvey, theUNIAhadover sixmillionmembers at its height,moreBlackpeoplethanweremembersofanyotherorganizationoftheirtimeorours.Therewereconflictingideasaboutwomen’scapabilitiesandroleintheUNIA,buttheorganizationwasaplacewhereBlackwomencouldanddiddevelopaspoliticalleaders.6The resilience evident after decades of Black, queer, feminist organizing

provesthatidentitypoliticscanexpandourpathstocollectiveliberation.Therearecountlessexamplesofwhathappenswhenmarginalizedpeople takeupbigstructural issues: all people can benefit. For example, theBlackPanther PartyFree Breakfast Program and the ongoing Fight for $15 campaign for a livingwagesetouttoimproveconditionsforallpeople.Black feminists andLGBTQactivists are labeled“hijackers” and said tobe

divisive or co-opting or distracting from what is important, and what is“important”isthemainstreamnarrativeproppedupbypatriarchyandmisogyny(straight-uphatredofwomen).InthepopularstoriesofsocialmovementsintheUnited States and the broaderAfrican diaspora, the Black feminist and queerliberationmovements,whichintersectanddiverge,areoftenrenderedinvisible.Identity doesn’t dictate behavior or values. We learn values and choose

politicalcommitments. Justbecauseaperson isBlack,awoman,andqueerortransgender (or both) does not mean one is automatically radical or arevolutionary. Being radical is a choice, and it takes work. A person with amarginalizedidentitycanengageinconservative,oppressivepoliticalwork,andactivists,organizers,andintellectualslivingundercapitalism,colonialism,anti-Blackracism,andpatriarchyrequireyearsofunlearningordecolonization.Our

customs, beliefs, values, behaviors, and even our bodies are shaped by thesocietiesandpowerfulsystemswegrowupin.Atbest,asmarginalizedpeople,wechoosetoresist.Atworst,weinternalizeoppressionandliveinwaysthatdonotserveourcollectiveliberation.

THEBLACKQUEERFEMINISTLENS

ItmightbesurprisingtoreadthatIbelieveitisnormaltobeprejudiced,racist,homophobic, transphobic, classist, and ableist in this country. I believe thisbecause in the United States—and arguably across the world—values-basedinstitutions that amajority of people engagewith, including schools—usuallysupportastatusquoinwhichwhatisnormalandacceptableisnarrowlydefined.And those furthest away from what is seen as normal are most likely to betargetsofviolence.Livingpassivelywiththestatusquo,maintainingwhatthosewith political and economic power deem acceptable, is a survival tactic formany. Others use the status quo actively, to seek to gain from oppression ofothers.MybeliefstodayhaveevolvedbecauseImadeaconsciouschoice,oftenasaresultofdirectagitation,toseethroughdifferentlenses.Justasimportantly,I had access to knowledgeable people and to information that allowedme tothinkthroughdifferentideasandrealities.Alensisagoodmetaphorsinceinitsliteral sense changing it changes the way its viewer sees the world. And themetaphoricallenseswechoosearecrucial,havingthepowertomagnify,createbetterfocus,andcorrectourvision.In my first years as an activist and working as an organizer, my level of

understanding came from viewing through someone else’s lens. I had learnedabout how to understand structural racism as a college student at apredominantly white university. I had one Black feminist teacher in my firstsixteenyearsofschooling.Ifirstheardtheword“capitalism,”Irecall,throughreadingsoneconomicsandhistorydocumentaries.IreceivedformalcommunityorganizingtrainingfromexperiencedorganizerswhoworkedwithintheAlinskytradition, working as an apprentice at Virginians Organized for InterfaithCommunity Engagement (VOICE), an Industrial Area Foundation (IAF)affiliate.Tothisday,IcarrymanyoftheorganizinghabitsIlearnedfromMartinTrimble and Kathleen O’Toole. Even then, I knew that my training was notenough.Iknewsomethingwasmissing.As a result, I intentionally sought Black feminist sources in order to

understandmyexperiencesasaBlackwomanandconnectthemtotheworld’sbiggestandoldestsystemsofoppression.TheBlackfeministmovement(andthe

fruitofitslabor)taughtmetounderstandthevalueofpoliticsconnectedtolivedexperiences. As I developed a deeper understanding of myself and of thechallenges facingBlack organizing, I also gained understanding of the role oflesbian,bisexual,gay,transgender,andqueermovementsforliberation.Becauseof this I don’t understand feminisms that supportwar, capitalism, transphobia,homophobia,anti-choicereproductivecare,anti-Blackracism,prisons,orpolice.In the process of working alongside brilliant young Black people to buildBYP100,Imadesenseofmyqueerness.TogetherwemadeachoicetoembodythebestoftheBlackradicaltraditionwhileworkinghardtoavoidmistakesandchoicesthatdidn’tserveourdesiretobefree.To this day, I don’t remember the first time BYP100 used the phrase

“organizing throughaBlackqueer feminist lens.”What Ido remember is thatthe decisionwasmade very early in our formation and not in a vacuum.Wedrew heavily on Black radical and feminist traditions. Our work follows alineage of Black women, feminists, gay men, queer and transgender folks,disabledpeople,andformerlyandcurrentlyincarceratedfreedomfighters.Noneofuswokeupknowingwhatweknewthenorunderstandnow.It’snotcommonformost people in theUnited States to attend schoolswhere the story of ourfreedomstrugglesandvictoriesareasimportantasreadingErnestHemingway,learningalgebra,orunderstandingphotosynthesis.Wehadtounlearnbeforewelearned—andthiscontinuestoday.WeareinanongoingprocessofdefiningtheBlackqueerfeministlensandhowitworks.As I define it, the Black queer feminist (BQF) lens is a political praxis

(practice and theory) based in Black feminist and LGBTQ traditions andknowledge, throughwhichpeopleandgroupsseetobringtheirfullselvesintotheprocessofdismantlingallsystemsofoppression.Byusingthislens,weareaidedincreatingalternativesofself-governanceandself-determination,andbyusing it we can more effectively prioritize problems and methods that centerhistorically marginalized people in our communities. It is an aspiration andliberatory politic that Black folksmust take up for the sake of our collectiveliberationandactsonthebasicnotionthatnoneofuswillbefreeunlessallofusare free. Organizing through a BQF lens is inherently collaborative and notantagonistic to other radical feminisms or liberatory politics and practices. ItspecificallyhonorsBlackfeministandLGBTQliberationmovements.TakingupaBlack queer feminist praxis of community organizing recognizes thosewhocamebeforeusandhelpsusseewherewewanttogo.For some of us who organize through a Black queer feminist lens, this is

solelyaboutpoliticsandbuildingpower.Forsome,ourworkisderivedfromandrooted in personal identity as a queer person or as a Black feminist. But it

requiresusalltohavepoliticsthatvalueidentityandlivedexperiences.“Queer”isn’tsimplyanotherwordforbeinggay, lesbian,orbisexual.“Queer,”asIamdefining it here, represents a continuum of possibilities outside of what areconsidered tobenormalsexualorgender identitiesandbehaviors.Affirmationofqueernesscreatespossibilityoutsidethenorm.MygoodfriendandcomradeJessicaByrdonceremarkedthatitwasinqueernessthatshefelttheworldhadendlesspossibilities.Andinmorewaysthanone,blacknessisinherentlyqueer.IunderstandqueerpoliticsaslaidoutbyCathyCoheninherarticle“Punks,

Bulldaggers and Welfare Queens,” which holds out the radical potential forliberation for all while honoring its origins to those deemed deviant for theirrace,gender, and sexuality.7Ultimately,usingaBlackqueer feminist lens is acriticalintervention,whetherinconversations,organizing,andorinenvisioningmovementbuildingtowardBlackliberation.Those who use the BQF lens oppose queer activists who espouse liberal,

individualistic, and white supremacist politics. Activists who have enteredmovementworkintheseconddecadeofthenewmillenniummayhavemissedafew things as a result of hyper-reactionary tendencies after police killings andtheplethoraofinjusticesenacteduponBlackpeople.Fartoomanypeoplehavecomein thinkingthatactivismissolelyaboutwhat the individualwants todo,who the individual is, and what the individual believes should be done. Ourmovementwouldbenefit ifeachperson tookamoment toreflect.Thework isonly as strong as the peoplewithwhomwework.Lonewolves inmovementworkcanmovefast,butcanonlyadvancetransformativechangeasfarastheyare connected with people. Paris Hatcher, Black feminist leader, blames theneoliberal identity politics in today’s movement on white queers’ presence inmovement spaces, self-absorbed people who promote individualism overcollectivestruggle.Organizingbyusing theBlackqueerfeminist lenscalls forustobeindividualsandtoworkcollectively,withneitherbeingattheexpenseoftheother.What we believe to be true matters for our movements. What we believe

impacts how we move in the world, what we imagine is possible, what wechoose to fight for, andwhat we fight against. But believing in something isneverenough.Wemustturnourbeliefsintocollectiveaction.

BYP100StatementonRadicalInclusivity,2014

BYP100isaspacewhereyourBlacknessisyourown.WeknowthatBlacknesscomprisesseveralidentities.

BYP100isnotonlyunapologeticallyBlack,butalsounapologeticallyqueer,feminist/womanist,andsexpositive.Wedonotblameanyinstanceofsexualviolenceonvictims/survivors.

BYP100doesnotadvocate“respectabilitypolitics,”meaningwedonotlooktothemiddleclassforexamplesforhowBlackpeopleshoulddressoract.

BYP100doesnotadoptoracceptpracticeswhichassumethatallBlackpeopleareheterosexual,cis-bodied,orable-bodied.

BYP100strivestoincludeBlackpeoplefromvariouseconomicbackgroundsandcitizenshipstatuses.

BYP100takesaradicallyinclusiveapproachtoorganizingbysupporting/creatingcampaignsthatfocusoninterlockingoppressionsofmarginalizedpeoples.

BYP100believesthatBlackfamiliesdonothavetolookacertainway.

COMMUNITYORGANIZINGTHROUGHABLACKQUEERFEMINISTLENS

It isprobablya truism thatpracticinganysetofvalues ismuchmoredifficultthan simply saying one believes in those values. This is especially true inmovementspaceswhereloftyideasreignandwherestructuresforaccountabilitydonotalwaysexist.WhileIhaveforyearswrestledwithfiguringoutwhatrealaccountability looks like, that challenge was actualized, with little room forhesitation,onNovember25,2015,afterIreceivedareportthatMalcolmLondonhad sexually assaulted a youngBlackwoman about threeyears earlier.At thetime, in 2015,Malcolmwas one of theBYP100Chicago chapter co-chairs, avisibleleaderintheorganization,andapopularpoet.What follows is my personal account about what happened, which I have

neversharedinwritingandonlydiscussedinaverylimitedwayinpublic.Themuchlongerstory,fromtheperspectivesofpeoplemoredirectlyimpacted,hasbeensharedpublicly.8IhavetoemphasizehowexcruciatingitisformetowriteaboutwhathappenedfollowingMalcolm’sarrest.I’mchoosingtodosobecausemyhopeisthatourapproachcanbeacasestudyforhowourcommunitiescandevelopmoreholisticandhelpfulresponsestoallformsofsexualviolence.ThenightbeforeIreceivedthereport,onNovember24,2015,Malcolmwas

kidnapped and arrested by the Chicago Police Department (CPD) during theJustice for Laquan McDonald protests BYP100 Chicago had organized with

Assata’sDaughters, Fearless Leading by theYouth (FLY), the #LetUsBreatheCollective, and theBlackLivesMatterChicagochapter.After thekidnapping,Malcolmwaswrongfullychargedwithfelonybatteryagainstapoliceofficer.Weusedsocialmediaandwordofmouthtoengagethousandsofpeople.Acrossthecountry, people spread the story of his arrest, amplified the local call for hisfreedom, and contributed thousands of dollars to bail him out.Many of thesepeoplealsofollowedmediacoverageofthepolicekillingofseventeen-year-oldLaquan McDonald and the subsequent CPD cover-up. Chicago and itsorganizingcommunityenteredcenterstage innationaland internationalstoriesaboutpolicingintheUnitedStates.Thefollowingday,whilegatheringthefundstobailhimoutandasthe“Free

Malcolm”campaigncontinued,IbegantoseetweetsreportingthatMalcolmhadsexuallyassaultedsomeone. Ialsobecameawareofanopen letter toBYP100fromtheassaultsurvivorpostedonFacebook.IthencontactedthepersonwhosentsomeofthetweetsandaskedifIcouldbeconnectedtothesurvivor.It didn’t take long forme andotherBYP100 leaders to understand that our

organizationwasabouttobeinthenationalspotlight,whereitsintegritywouldbequestioned.The firstpersonI spokewithwasRoseAfriyie,BYP100’s firstnationalmembership chair. From there,we spokewith otherBYP100 leaders,includingFrescoSteez,andbegantoformaplanofaction.Whilewrappingourheads around the reports we also had to figure out the status of Malcolm’scharges,deliverthenewsofthereportstohim,andbailhimout.I remember thatpainful timevividly. Iwassoscared.Theeveningbefore, I

hadbeenshakingwithanxietybecauseMalcolmwasbeingheldatCookCountyJail.Ididn’tknowwhatwasgoingtohappentohim.Now,adaylater,thingshadentirely changed.When I arrived at the courthouse, it was packed with folksdemanding Malcolm’s immediate release. I had never dealt with anything sointenseandexplosive,andIwasholdingbacktheinformationaboutthereportofsexualassault.Iwas in thehallwaywaiting toget inwhenwesawacomradecomeout in

tears. I thought the worst had happened to Malcolm, but instead all of hischarges had been dropped.Relieved, I left the courthouse andwalked over toCathy Cohen, who was standing outside waiting for us to come out. I alsoremember talking then to Mariame Kaba, who would later support us indeterminingnextsteps.Distraughtandintears,Itoldthembothaboutthetweetsandaskedtheiradvice.AndIrealizedthatIwasgoingtohavetobethepersontotellMalcolmnewsthatwouldrockhisworld.AsIstoodoutsidethecourthouse,intears,Malcolmwalkedouttocheersand

screams.Supporterswereallsoelated,asifaChristmasmiraclehadtranspired.

AfterMalcolmaddressedthemedia,Rose,Fresco,andIwentoverandwalkedhimfromthecelebration.I’llneverforgethisface.Iwonderedifhe’deverbeenhappier.Formypart, I’dneverbeensadder,angrier,andmorefearful,andmybodyandspiritfelttheweightofwhatRose,Fresco,andIhadtodo.Rose,Fresco,andIweresurvivorsofsexualviolencefrommen—andwehad

decidedtohandleMalcolmwithcare.Weneededtobecompassionate,butIfeltpain,asifI’dbeenhitinthegut.Itwashardtonotjustsay,“Fuckthisdude;heain’tworthit.”Butwedidn’twalkaway.I trust Black women—always. The internal conflict and dialogue looping

throughmymindtoldmethatweneededtodisownourbrother,anditalsotoldmethatwehadtoholdoursister,aBlackwomanaccusingMalcolmofassault,with compassion, even thoughwedidn’t knowher.Our politics told us that asurvivor-ledprocesswasrequired;ourexperiencesaswomentoldusthatitwasnecessary. We delivered the news to Malcolm as he sat in the back of mycompactcar.Malcolmwasshockedanddeflatedasherecountedhismemoryofwhathadhappened.ThenextweekendRose and ImetwithKyra, the survivor. Flankedby two

friends,Kyra recountedwhat had happenedwithMalcolm.We listened, and Ileftfeelingsomewhatnumbandveryunsureaboutwhatactuallyhadhappenedand how to move forward. Questioning how her story varied from his andworking tomaintain our commitment to a survivor-led process, I doubtedmyownvaluesasaBlackfeminist.Wedidnothavea full toolkit todealwithsuchacomplicatedanddifficult

situation.Oneofourorganization’s leaders,apopular,straightBlackman,hadbeen scooped up by the Chicago Police Department, putting our organizationcenter stageat thesame time thataBlackwomanwasaccusinghimof sexualassault.Chicago’smayor,policesuperintendent,andthepoliceingeneralwerethenunderanationalspotlight.Despitealackofexperienceinnegotiatingthisterrain,ourcommunityhadexpertiseandpeoplewillingtohelpmoveusthrougha survivor-led process of transformative justice. Malcolm was placed on amembership hiatus, and BYP100 leaders began to develop plans for internalstructuralchangestoaddressandpreventharmwithinourorganization.Malcolmand Kyra committed to a transformative justice process led by experiencedpractitioners,somethingthatrequiredoverayearofwork,withdeepcommunitysupport.IamgratefulforKyra,Malcolm,MariameKaba,MayadetCruz,XavierDanaeMaatRa,andthecommunitymemberswholedtheprocess.While BYP100 had not even existed when the assault took place, our

organization and its leaders chose to be accountable to the survivor and thebroader community. In the days following Malcolm’s arrest and in the

transformativejusticeprocess,IcametorealizewhatitmeanttoembodyBlackqueerfeminismasapraxis.Thewaywasnoteasybutfulloftwists,turns,andmissteps, resulting in changes in the people involved and structural changeswithinourorganization.The experience withMalcolm was not the last crisis we would face as an

organization.We received awide rangeof public critique and support. Peoplequestionedwhetherourorganizationanditsleaders(mostlyBlackwomen)couldhandleasurvivor-ledprocess.Wewerecriticizedbypeoplewhohadnotspokenwith Rose orme or anyone else at BYP100. A chorus of activists inside andoutsideof theorganizationheldus responsible for the actionsof aBlackmanthattookplacebeforetheorganizationevenexisted.Itwasbecauseofourstatedvaluesthatpeoplecalledustotask.Wetookagreatriskinamomentwhenourorganizationhadneverbeenmorevisible. I, as a leader, hadnever beenmorevisible,andChicagowasinthespotlightafterthereleaseofthevideodepictingLaquan McDonald’s execution by police. I feel strongly that few peopleunderstood the potential firestorm of that moment, when we were held tostandardsthatIhadneverwitnessedbefore.Wemadeit throughthattime—andwecontinuetoday—becauseofthedeep

loveofBYP100 leaders andelderswho respondedwithpatienceandwisdom.Andformetherearelessonsforourmovementinthoseevents.First,youmustunderstandthattrustingBlackwomenisnotcommonpractice.Blackwomenareconsistentlydenigrated,treatedasandseenasliars,whores,andstrongenoughforanything.Blackwomenaretold,encouraged,andsometimesforcedtoplayverylimitedrolesinsocietyandinsocialjusticemovements.Asamovement,wecannotjumptodefendanyoneaccusedofsexualviolence

without compassion for the person (or people) reporting having been harmed.The worst of the culture created by gender-based oppression shows up whensexualviolenceoccurs.Almostnoonewillbelievesurvivorsatfirst,andsomewill never believe them. I’vewitnessedBlackwomen support peoplewho areaccused of sexual violence, taking their sidewithout any evident solidarity orcompassionorsupportforBlackwomenaccusers,andithasbrokenmyheart.Nooneshouldbediscardedordisowned,andwehadtodecidetostickwith

bothKyraandMalcolm,despitecallsbymanythatwewashourhandsofthemboth.The truth isalso thatwomen,moreoften thannot,have todealwith thefallout after such crises. In our organization, women have primarily had tomanage the crisis of sexual violence accusations, thus they have been mostcriticizedpublicly,especiallyonFacebook,forwhatdoesanddoesnothappenintheir aftermath. When it comes to sexual violence accusations in queerrelationships, particularly with two people of the same gender, this becomes

evenmorecomplex.Oftentimes,powerdynamicsarenotasclear,andneitheristhe articulation of harm. Women seen as being masculine can be abused bywomen seen as feminine. There is no rulebook once we introduce queerrelationshipsintothediscussion.Somanywomeninourmovementhaveexperiencedsexualtraumaandhave

neverreceivedrestorationfromaperpetrator.Survivorsareaskedtoacceptanddo the most impossible, unreasonable, and painful things every day. So Iunderstandtheimpulsetoreactwithextremedoubtandfrustration.WhatIaskisthatwehabituallypracticecompassion foreveryone inourmovement.All toooften our responses to our people mirror our responses to the state. Ourcomradesshouldnotbecomeourtargets.TheBlackqueerfeministlensatitsbestshowsusthefullhumanityofthose

inourcommunity,evenwhenourownhumanity isnot fully recognized in thebroaderworld.Butourworkrequiressystemsandinstitutions,andnoneofitiseasyorcomfortable. In2016,BYP100formed itsNationalHealingandSafetyCounciltogeneratetransformativeaccountabilityprocessesincaseswheretherehasbeenhurtandharminvolvingaBYP100member.Thisself-governingbodydoes our prevention and intervention work. The Healing and Safety Councilholds potential and promise for our organization, and ifwe get it right itwillbenefit theentiremovement.Like thedevelopmentofachild, therehavebeenmanybumpsandfallsandmistakesalongtheway.Black queer feminism as a praxis is full of contradictions because we are

peopleworkingtopracticeandexplainwhatitmeans.Ihavemuddiedthewateronthistopic,andBYP100hastoo.Eachofusfallsshortoflivingthepoliticswecommitto,andthereisalwaysmoreworktodosothatthetraumaandviolencewe experience through systemic oppression no longer exists. Did we setourselves up for failure by opening a space that espouses values no one cancompletelyliveupto?Icanacceptthat.Wearefightingforourlivesagainstformidableenemies,butweareoptimistic

and steadfast in the idea that we can learn to treat each other better.We areparticipating in various projects of abolition—abolition of prison, abolition ofcapitalism, and abolition of patriarchal violence. We are practicing andtheorizing as we go. We are seeking to eradicate oppressive systems in theworld.Andalloureffortisworthit.

CHAPTER2

REVIVINGTHEBLACKRADICALIMAGINATION

Whataretoday’syoungactivistsdreamingabout?Weknowwhattheyarefightingagainst,butwhataretheyfightingfor?

—ROBIND.G.KELLEY,FreedomDreams

Contemporary Black youth-led rebellions and organizations are evidence thatRobinKelley’squestionsinhis2002bookFreedomDreamsarestillgermane.Itis an ongoing project: “What are today’s young activists dreaming about?Weknowwhattheyarefightingagainst,butwhataretheyfightingfor?”Whetherornot we possess ancestral memory and knowledge of our predecessors, youngBlack activists in the United States and abroad embody the newwave of theBlack radical tradition. The Black radical tradition comprises cultural andintellectualworkaimedatdisruptingoppressivepolitical,economic,andsocialnorms,anditsrootsareinanticolonialandantislaveryeffortsofcenturiespast.OurworkbuildsonthelegaciesoftheHaitianRevolution,Maroonsocietiesinthe Caribbean, quilombos of Brazil, the Student Nonviolent CoordinatingCommittee (SNCC), and the Combahee River Collective. We are dreamingaboutandfightingforaworldwithoutprisons,withoutgender-basedviolence,wheredefinitionsofvaluableworkaretransformed,andwherethelandweliveonisliberatedalongsideitspeoples.Theformationsthroughwhichweworktobuild thismovement arediverse, andwe includepeoplewithin andoutsideoforganizations,scholarsandintellectualswithinandoutsideoftheacademy,andcommunity organizers.We are amovement ofmany leaderswith a structuralanalysisofoppressionadvancingamulti-issuestruggletotransformtheworld.Some say that today’sBlack liberationmovement has novisionor plan, no

meaningfulexperiences,asabasis.Theyareskepticaloftoday’scropofactivistsandourpluralisticapproachtomovementbuildingandseeouractivismasshort-lived.Othersseeamovementthatisbothapartofalonghistoricaltraditionand

thebeginningof anewera.Basedonmy studyofhistoryand involvement inBlackliberationworkformorethantwelveyears,Iamsidingwiththelatter.This contemporary era of the Black liberation struggle approaches the

dismantlingofcapitalism,patriarchy,andanti-Blacknessinnewwayswhilestillbeing grounded in earlier movements. Our work revisits the boundaries ofgender and blackness and challenges binaries of male or female,lesbian/gay/bisexual/queer or straight, and transgender or cisgender. None ofthese binaries hold true when it comes to Black people, yet we must stillconfront and reconcile identities rife with contradictions. This new approach,employedoverasustainedperiod,isgroundstovalidatethisasamovementandnotsimplyamomentintime.Theprecisebeginningofthiseraisdebatable.WasitonSeptember20,2007,

whenoverfifteenthousandpeopleralliedinasmallLouisianatowninsupportof the “Jena 6,” after six Black teenage boys were charged with attemptedmurderafterbeatingawhiteschoolmate?Diditstartinthesummerof2011atthe height of a decades-long fight to saveTroyDavis from a state-sanctioneddeathsentenceafterhisunjustconvictionformurderingapoliceofficer?Orwasit the national mobilizations sparked by the killing of Trayvon Martin by aneighborhoodvigilante inFlorida inFebruary2012and thekiller’ssubsequentacquittal on grounds of self-defense? Some may argue it was the historicaluprising sparked by the militarized response in the small town Ferguson,Missouri,aftertheAugust9,2014,killingofMikeBrownbyaFergusonpoliceofficer.Wasit theaftermathofHurricaneKatrinaoroneoftheothercountlesspoliceshootingsthatmotivatedmasspublicaction?Wemaynotagreeonwhen thismovementerabegan,butwemustcome to

termswith the context inwhich it exists.Thismovement is active in aperiodwhenBlackpeoplearelivingundertheheelsofaneoliberalstate,aglobalcrisisof capitalism, and further entrenchment of anti-Blackness through policy andculturealike.It isa timeofunprecedentedlevelsofstatesurveillance,unequaland questionable definitions of terrorism, and an obscene expansion of themilitary-industrial complex. The circumstances we face today are largely theresult of decades of decisions to solidify the control of the government by aruling class of wealthy elites. The consequences of those decisions affectordinarypeople,theeconomy,theearth’secology,and,yes,ourmovementtoo.Amid global crises including clean water shortages, an ongoing war in

Afghanistan,forcedmigrations,andmasshousinginstability,thisgenerationofactivistsoperateswithinahistoricalera.WearethefirsteraofthelargerBlackfreedommovement to experience a political terrain that included a BlackUSpresident. The election of Barack Obama raised so much hope and signaled

changetoourpeopleandtotheworld.I’dbealiarifIdidnotadmittofeelingmomentsofjoyastheObamastookupresidenceinWashington,DC.Unprecedented legislation, albeit far from perfect, passed during Obama’s

tenure as president. TheAffordable CareAct (better known as “Obamacare”)opened access to health care for twenty million uninsured people. Obama’sadministration began working to normalize relations with Cuba. He grantedclemency to political prisoners, includingChelseaManning andOscar Lopez.TheObamaadministrationwas full of brilliant and talentedpeople—includingmanyBlackandLGBTQfolkswhoprovidedvaluable leadership,a fact Iwillnotdiscountorundersell inmyreadofwhereweare today.ButI’mclear thatourwayforwardcannotstayinaplaceofcomfortablereminiscing.Wehavetogodeeper.IfwearewillingtoholdontothesymbolismofObama’spresidencyandits

progress, thenwemust also contendwith its violence and regression. BarackObama was a war president and led an administration that deported moreundocumentedimmigrantsthananypreviousone.Thecivilrightsestablishmentfailed to criticize Obama for this, which I find appalling. I watched asindividuals and organizations, lauded as the voice ofBlackAmerica, failed toadvanceaclearagenda to improve the livesofourpeopleandprovideaclearpipeline to leadership roles for the growing masses of young Black activistsmobilizedintheaftermathofpolicekillings.Isharetheangstofmanywhosawthemselves outside of the established organizations such as the NAACP, theNationalUrbanLeague,andtheNationalActionNetwork.AstheObamayearspassed, the critiques of his administration grew, even if unevenly andinadequately.I heard repeatedly, “Obamawas elected to represent allAmericans, not just

Black people.” I heard almost as often, “If he can pass legislation for LGBTpeople and immigrants, then he can do something for Black people.” BlackwomenshowedupasObamacampaignstaff,asvolunteers,andonElectionDaywith the highest turnout rate of any Democratic voter constituency. Obamagainedover90percentof theBlackvote inhis2008and2012elections.NowthatObamaisoutofoffice,weinthe“allAmericans”blocstillhaveeveryrighttoexpectaccountability fromanyU.S.president.Republicansdidnotcease toadvancetheirpartygoalsafteraDemocratwonthepresidency.Whyshouldwedodifferently?ThereareBlackLGBTpeopleandBlackimmigrants(andthosewhoareboth)

fightingforallofthoseissues.Blackfreedomdreamsandfreedomfightinghavealwaysentailedmultiple issues.Blackpeoplehaveconsistently takenactionasLGBTQpeople,asimmigrants,aswomen,asdisabledpeople,asrefugees,and

as poor people. Virtually all the problems of the world affect Black peoplethroughouttheAfricandiaspora.Electedofficialsholdtoomuchpoweroverourlives,andwemustthinkbiggerandholdtheirfeettothefire.The Obama administration did not lead the advancement of radical Black

politics in the twenty-first century. He was the leader of a nation-state thatremains deeply entrenched in politics of imperialism and self-interestedintervention,anation-statewithapopulationofwhitepeopleincreasinglyafraidof losing their hold on power. His administration’s record shows bothmeaningfulreformsandentrenchmentofcapitalistpolicy,confirmingthatBlackpolitics and politicians are not inherently radical or transformative.Transformativechange,meaningchangethatdismantlesoppressivesystemsandfundamentally shifts power into thehandsof communities, takes time.That iswhat thisneweraofmovementhashad tocontendwith—thecontradictionofprogressandtransformation.Transformationiswhatweneed,butreformiswhatwasofferedtimeandtimeagainbytheObamaadministration.Ouryoungmovementisconstantlyconfrontingthiscontradictionalongwith

manyothers.Weweremetwithquestionsofhowtofundthework.Shouldourorganizations become nonprofits for the sake of fund-raising, or should wedevelop other structures? What do we do with hyper-visible activists withpolitics that actively thwart radicalagendas?Also, as Iwrote inchapter1,westrugglewith issuesofaccountability in theaftermathof sexualviolence.Thisdynamic, while situated in a unique context, is normal for any liberationmovement.Movements ebb and advance. There are flash points, everyday peoplewith

visions, and mass actions that happen with and without planning. Yes,movements have architecture. They also require spontaneity and theirparticipants experience moments of deep uncertainty and contradiction. Thepursuitoffreedomandcollectiveliberationisneverlinearbecausehumanityistoocomplexforthat.Humanhistoryandprogressdonotmakeupaneatchainofevents.Amovementcanbecatalyzedthroughmomentsofdeeptragedyaswellas throughvictories.Youngactivistsandorganizers, likeourmovementelders,livewithin the tensionbetween theworldas it isand theworldas itwe thinkshouldbe.Likewiseourworkmayormaynotfitexpectationsofhowmovementbuilding should happen. I remember a SNCC veterans meeting I attended in2015.Thedisconnectbetweengenerationstherewaswide.Therewasamomentwhenwehadtodemonstratethatourorganizingusedmanyofthesametacticsoureldershaddeployedduringthecivilrightsmovement.Atthetime,somedidnotrealizethatdoor-knockingandcanvassingweretacticsofthepresentandnotjustthepast.

Ourhistoryofresistanceshowswhatoppressedhumanswilldowhenfreedomandcollectiveliberationareonthehorizon.Ourresistanceisrichlytextured,andour tactics range from armed rebellion and self-defense to various forms ofnoncooperation (e.g., sit-ins and boycotts) to cultural preservation—all undervariousthreatsofviolence.KnowingwearepartoftheBlackradicaltradition,youngBlackpeoplefeeladuty tofightforourfreedom,asdirectedbyAssataShakur.Thisresponsibilityisbothabirthrightandaburden.At itsbest, theBlack radical tradition represents thedeepestofour thinking

andthemosteffectiveactionforBlackliberation.This traditionincludesthosewhosawthesystemaround themandbelieved that itcouldbedismantledandcompletely transformed. Black feminism, communism, socialism, liberationtheology, and hip-hop are all part of the Black radical tradition and havetransformed the shape of Black struggle and life by influencing thought andaction. At its worst, this tradition addresses race while failing to advance thedestructionofallclassandgenderhierarchies.Ithasproducedmassorganizingwherewomenhavebeenquarantinedtodotheworkdeemedbeneathmen.IthasoustedpeoplewhoareLGBTQ,not college-educated, or otherwise considerednot respectable. Radical movements can do awful things in the name ofliberation,oftenunderthepremisethattheendsjustifythemeans.Black folks living under slavery and colonialism and in its aftermath have

alwaysimaginedthatfreedomandliberationwerepossible.Herethedistinctionbetween freedomand liberation is that of individual freedomversus collectiveaccesstoourfullhumanity.Theformercanbegainedandfeltonvariouslevels,butthelatterisanongoingprocess.Wecangainorholdvariousfreedoms—forexample, the freedom to vote, the freedom to marry, the freedom to chooseabortion.But liberation isacollectiveeffort inwhich,evenafter freedomsarewon, continual regeneration and transformation are necessary.Liberationmustentailresistancetothedominantoppressivesystemsthatpermeateoursocieties(e.g.,capitalism,patriarchy,andanti-Blackracism).Thus there is constant tension, constant struggle. There are always forces,

sometimes even within a social justice movement, that fight to kill theimaginationofthoseactivelyengagedinthestruggle(andforthatmattertolimitall thinking about radical possibilities). But oppressed people have alwaysimaginedthatfreedomispossible,andtheirimaginationwillnotbevanquished.TheBlackradicaltraditionrequiresanongoingandpersistentcultivationoftheBlack radical imagination. It is within the spaces of imagination, the dreamspaces, that liberatorypractices areborn andgrow, leading to the space to actandtotransform.

KILLINGTHEBLACKIMAGINATION

Likemanypeople in social justicemovements, I learned about generic racismandwhiteprivilege in school and inorganizationsbefore I learnedabout anti-Blackness and anti-Black racism. I also learned about racism before I learnedabout patriarchy and capitalism. While white supremacy, patriarchy, andcapitalismaffecteveryone,Blackpeopleareuniquelyoppressed.Anti-Blacknessisasystemofbeliefsandpracticesthatattack,erode,andlimitthehumanityofBlack people. It was cultivated through the transatlantic slave trade andcontinues today in the policies and practices of nation-states, corporations,individuals,andentiresocieties.Anti-Blackness,broadly,isthebeliefthatthereissomethingwrongwithBlackpeople,thatwearenotfullhumanbeings.Thatmightsoundextreme,buthistoryandthepresentholdcountlessexamplesofthedehumanization ofBlack people—in print, films, advertising, and virtually allformsofexpression.Anti-Blackness works 24/7 to kill the Black imagination. This takes place

whenourchildrenarerequiredtoattendschoolswithnoartandmusicprograms.It takes place when Black women’s hairstyles are deemed unprofessional,“ghetto,” or simply ugly. The destructiveness is ongoing, chronic, but it ismanifestedacutely.It tellsourchildrentodreamofabetterfuture insteadofabetter now, in the communities where they live. The killing of the Blackimaginationhappenswhenwearetoldweshouldaspiretoworkdowntownandnoton thecornernext towherewe live.Killing theBlack imagination isbothplace-based and psychological. It permeateswhatwewatch on television andreadonsocialmedia.Black folks have always been vulnerable to violence by state-supported

individuals and institutions. And what it means to be Black in the worldmanifestsdifferentlydependingonone’slocationandotherfactors.InalecturebyFrankWildersonin2011,thescholarandactivist laidoutarguments(citingOrlando Patterson, SaidiyaHartman, andHortense Spillers) thatBlack peopleare perpetual slaves-in-waiting. This status entails the imminent threat ofphysical,psychic,orspiritualviolenceandthelackofcontroloverone’sbody.Itentailsbearing thebruntofactions thatdiminishone’sability to live fullyandeven to be perceived as fully human.ForBlack folks in theUS, the threat ofviolencepersistsregardlessofwhatwedoordonotdo.SaidiyaHartman’sworkhighlightshowtheviolenceBlackpeopleexperience

doesn’trequireconsentorreason.Whensomeonerebels,anopposingforcewillstrikeback.There’sareactiontoeveryaction.ButwithAnti-Blacknessyouwillget hit even if you don’t rebel. Black people are repeatedly told that there’s

something inherently criminal about us and thatwe deserve to be hit. There’ssomething about us. “Well, you didn’t work hard enough,” we hear, andsometimesthosewordsarespokenbyaBlackperson.“Youdon’tspeakEnglishwell enough.” You didn’t go to the right schools. You don’t have the propereducation. You should be straight! “Why are you so gay?” “Why are you sotrans?”“Whyareyousoqueer?”Weliveinacountrywherepeopleworkfortyormorehoursaweekandstill liveinpovertybecausetheydon’tearnalivingwage,soit’sneversimplyaboutworkinghardenough.Meritocracyisalie.Anti-Blackness is inextricably tied to the mass criminalization of Black

people.Criminalization isaprocesswhereaperson is incriminated foractionsthat wouldn’t be deemed criminal if done by a white, wealthy, or otherwiseprivileged person. The person who killed seventeen-year-old Trayvon MartinassumedthatTrayvonwasnotsupposedtobeintheneighborhood.HeassumedthatatallBlackboywearingahoodiewasnotsupposedtobethereandwasuptonogood.Hetookituponhimselftoact,andheultimatelytookTrayvon’slife.Thatisanti-Blackness.Thatisanti-Blackracismspecifically.Trayvonwasnotawhiteboyinahoodie.Hewasnotawhite-passingLatinoinahoodie.HewasnotanAsianinahoodie.TrayvonwasaBlackboyinahoodie.AndsoTrayvonwaskilled.I’ve seen things inmy life that Iwillnever forget.Asa result, I’ve learned

thathumanshaveatremendouscapacityforactingviolently.Packedawayinmymemories are images of apartheid, institutionalized control, and collectivepunishment. I packed them deeply, but they come up at the most unwantedtimes.WalkingpastNationalGuardtroopsstandinginfrontofCityHallduringtheBaltimoreuprisingof2015tookmebacktoaconfrontationcomradesandIexperiencedwhiletravelingtotheoccupiedterritoriesofPalestine.Thepresenceof a force that you know has the power to assault and even kill you withimpunityinducesfear, intimidation,andterror.Idon’teverwanttogetusedtoseeingarmedsoldierswalkingamongordinarypeopletryingtolivetheir lives.Yetthisisrealityforoppressedpeoplearoundtheworld.

COLLECTIVEPUNISHMENT

ItraveledtoGhanain2016withmycomradeJanaeBonsu,andmyworldwasrocked. Standing in Elmina Castle’s slave dungeons, I felt a disconnect as Iwitnessedpeoplemakejokesandlaughthroughoutthetour.Throughitall,IfeltthatIwasmissingsomethingwhileinGhana.Yes,Iwaslearningabouthumanresistance and culture-making, but I was far from home, far from the Great

Migration,thecreationofjazz,andtheculinarytraditionsmyancestorscarried.IrealizedthatIhadatbestasuperficialunderstandingofhowBlacknessintheUSisconnectedtoBlacknesselsewhereintheAmericasandintheworld.Ibecamehungry to learn. Beatriz Beckford, a friend and comrade, told me that myexperienceinGhanawassimilartoSaidiyaHartman’sstoryastoldinherbookLoseYourMother:AJourneyAlongtheAtlanticSlaveRoute.ThecontradictionsofseekingwhereIcomefrominAfricawhilenotknowingenoughaboutBlacklifehistoryintheUSSouthagitatedmeintoanewcommitment.Descendantsofenslaved Africans are too often taught to be ashamed of our past. We areencouragedtoskipoverwhathashappened.ThedungeonsofElminaCastleinGhana jolted me, in fact traumatized me, and I needed to ask new questionsaboutmyidentityandwhereIcomefrom.Therearelessonstobelearnedfromapeoplewhosurvivedandcreatedundercenturiesofunconscionableviolence.I am the daughter of the enslavedAfricans forcibly brought to theWestern

Hemisphere. There is no me without the journey of my ancestors across theAtlantic.Thesamecanbesaidofallmypeopletoday.Thesamecanbesaidofmymother,mygrandmother,andhermother.OurancestorsfoughtandmanagedtoholdontoIndigenoustraditionswhilealsocreatingnewones.Theyembodiedresilience. Freedom-dreaming is one of themost significant things any humancando.TheBlackradicaltraditionbeginswiththedreamsofourancestors,whowere the first to fight against colonialism and what became the transatlanticslavetrade.The struggle for Black liberation has always been global. Full of

contradictions, enslavedAfricans forgedmovements thatwere hyper-local butthat also transcended enforced borders. In part, they were responding (as wecontinuetodaytorespond)tothecollectivepunishmentofBlackpeople.IfirstlearnedabouttheideaofcollectivepunishmentinthePalestiniancontextwhiletraveling through the occupied territories of Palestine with a delegationorganized by Dr. Maytha Alhassen and Dream Defenders cofounder AhmadAbuznaid.Throughoutseveralconversationswithpeoplelivingthere,collectivepunishment was described to me as the violence, control, and apartheidPalestinians were subjected to, on that land and throughout the Palestiniandiaspora,undertheIsraeliregime,regardlessoftheirindividualactions.Collective punishment has also been used to describe war crimes against

political prisoners and entire ethnic groups. In this context, collectivepunishmentisseenasviolentactscommittedagainstapersonoragroupduetothe actions of others.Article 33 of theUnitedNationsGenevaConvention of1949saysthat,inthetimeofwar,

No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed.Collectivepenaltiesandlikewiseallmeasuresofintimidationorofterrorismareprohibited.Pillageisprohibited.Reprisalsagainstprotectedpersonsandtheirpropertyareprohibited.

War has evolved since this document was adopted. Twentieth-century warinvolved combatants and technology different from those of today, but theyentailedcolonialismandcapitalismjustasnow.TodaytheUnitedStatesengagesin wars of ideas, which play out in real time—and real bloodshed—inindividuals around the world. Just who is on the offense and who is on thedefense is not always as neat as who shot first. For example, the “War onDrugs,” the “War on Crime,” and the “War on Terror” each play out acrossgeographiesandalonglinesofrace,class,andgender.Today,warshaveevolvedfrom the trope of the “superpredator” Black and Brown child theorized byPrinceton scholar JohnDilulio and popularized by such people asHillary andBillClinton,andtheBlack“welfarequeen”saidtobedefraudingstatebudgets,tothecriminalizationofMuslimsandArabsandbombingofArabnations.Black freedom fighters have been consistently targeted and killed and

imprisonedbytheUSgovernmentunderclaimsofnationalsecuritythreat.Somehave escaped to live in exile. As an extension of the wars on terrorism andcrime, youngBlack people like Ferguson freedom fighter JoshWilliams,whowas sentenced to eight years in prison, are used as examples to deter directaction.AssataShakur’sunjustimprisonmentandtorturein1977illustratesstaterepressionofBlackactiviststhatisnotjustracializedbutgendered.Shakur,whowas liberated in 1979 and made her way to Cuba, is called a terrorist andremains on the FBI Most Wanted list, with a million-dollar bounty for hercapture.The FBI counterterrorism division’s “Black Identity Extremist” (BIE)

designation, reported in October 2017, adds today’s Black activists to thegovernment’s listofnational security threats.According toa report inForeignPolicy, “The FBI assesses it is very likely Black Identity Extremist (BIE)perceptionsofpolicebrutalityagainstAfricanAmericansspurredanincreaseinpremeditated, retaliatory lethal violence against law enforcement.”1 DespiteweakevidenceconnectingviolentactstoBlackactivists,anddespiteformerFBIcounterterrorismofficialsexpressingshockoverthedesignationandsayingthatithasnobasis, theFBIhasdefendeditsposition.While itmaybetemptingtobrush off the “BIE” label as a distraction, our movement should take thisseriously.AsBlackwomenandLGBTQfolkscontinuetobeonthefrontlinesand highly visible, we should consider how the BIE designation increases

vulnerabilityandthelikelihoodofracializedandgenderedoppression.As the government expands its war tactics, our definitions of collective

punishmentmustbroadentoo.TheongoingoppressionofAfro-Palestiniansandpeople of African descent in the occupied territories is enabled by the samesystems of punishment, mass criminalization, and surveillance that oppressBlackpeopleglobally.TheIsraelioccupationperpetuatestheglobalpracticeofanti-Blackness, and anti-Blackness perpetuates the collective punishment ofAfro-PalestiniansandotherpeopleofAfricandescentonthatland.Ichewedonthis concept for some time before I began to speak about it publicly. It isimportanttotakegreatcareandnotcompareoppression.Thatdoesnotservethegoal of collective liberation. No one, besides our oppressors, wins in anargumentaboutwhogotwhippedtheworst.Eradicatingoppressionrequiresustoidentifyconnections,notsameness.The broadening of international applications of collective punishment to

include anti-Blackness is an invitation to make deeper connections. HistorianLiamHoganandateamofresearcherscreatedamappingprojecttotrackwhitemob violence, riots, and pogroms against Black communities. They identifiedthisviolenceascollectivepunishmentandemphasizedviolencebywhitepeopleagainst Black people in the US that was “meant to terrorize the widercommunity.”2Rumors,claimsofdisrespect,andlaborcompetition—allofthesehave led to violence.This is how anti-Blackness plays out—it doesn’t requirereason.Wecanandmustgodeeperwithdefinitionsofcollectivepunishment.Justas

it is imperative tounderstand the struggle forPalestinian liberationas aBlackqueerandfeministissue,wemustunderstandandrecognizehowanti-BlacknessshowsupinthecollectivepunishmentofPalestinians.TheforcedsterilizationofEastAfricanwomenshouldbeacentraltopicinglobalandlocalconversationsaboutwhat itwill take toend the Israelioccupation.Palestinewillnotbe freeuntilalltheoppressedpeoplelivingundertheapartheidregimearefree.Inthiscase, the group of actors complicit in the ongoing oppression is varied andincludes government officials and private individuals (in some instances,Palestinians who advance interests of the Israeli state). Developing a morecomplete story ofwhat’s happening to oppressed people globally expands ourabilitytocraftbetterstrategiesforcreatingtransformativechange.

THEFISTSOFCAPITALISMANDPATRIARCHY:ANTI-BLACKNESSANDGENDEREDVIOLENCE

GovernmentsandcorporationsarenottheonlyarbitersofviolenceagainstBlackpeople. We experience and commit violence against each other within ourhomes,communities,andtheinstitutionsweinteractwithdaily.Itgoesbeyondthemainstreammythofso-calledBlack-on-Blackcrime.Thatstoryignorestheforcesthatcreateconditionsofpovertyandfragilementalandphysicalhealth.Itignores the individualswho profit from gun violence. It says little about howtoxicmasculinityinformsourideasaboutmanhood,womanhood,andrespect.Itignores the impactof thedrug crisis throughoutBlack communities in theUSThestoryofBlack-on-Blackcrimepoints the fingerat individualsand fails togivemore than lip service to the root causes of violence.TheviolencewithinBlack communities can be eradicated by Black people but only if done intandemwith dismantling the systems of capitalism and patriarchy.Our peoplewillcontinuetodieincages,inhomes,inhospitals,andonthestreetsifwefailtoacceptthatbotharekillingus.Violence is a constant, systemic killer of possibility. Violence occurs on

structural and interpersonal levels through abuse and harm that violates anddiminishespeople’sabilitytolivewithfulldignity.Povertyisviolence.Lackofautonomy over reproductive decisions is violence. Stripping away access toculturalpracticesandtraditions thatallowus to livewithourhumandignity isviolence.Allowingrape tohappengenerationaftergeneration isviolence.TheBlack imagination is systemically killed through gender-based violence,criminalizationandincarceration,poverty,andenvironmentaldegradation.Anti-Blacknessandgenderedviolencegohandinhand.Theyarenotseparate.

Anti-violenceactivistandscholarBethE.Richiemakesitplaininthe“violencematrix”shedevelopedtoexplaintheviolenceBlackwomenexperienceandtheresponsesneededtoendit(seethetable“ViolenceMatrix”).Richie writes, “Surrounding the violence matrix is the tangled web of

structural disadvantages, institutionalized racism, gender domination, classexploitation,heteropatriarchy,andotherformsofoppressionthatlocktheabuseofBlackwomen inplace.Responsesneed tobedeveloped that takeallof theforms of abuse and all of the spheres within which injustice occurs intoaccount.”3

ApplyingaBlackqueerfeministlenstoourunderstandingofviolenceallowspeople concernedwith collective liberation to have a deeper understanding ofwhat is happening to our people. The lens helps us understand how state andinterpersonalviolenceoperateacrossourlives.TheBQFlensenablesustoseehowviolencewithinourhomes,communities,andbroadersocietyareconnectedto the violence inflicted on us by the government and corporations. A morecompleteviewofwhathappensinourliveswillleadtorealsolutionsinsteadofjustbandagesandwork-arounds.ItisimpossibletoendtheviolencethatBlackpeoplefacefromtheirintimate

partners,familymembers,acquaintances,andstrangersifwethinkweonlyneedtocombatpoliceviolence.OnJune24,2016,JessicaHamptonwasstabbed todeathbyanex-boyfriendwhileridingpublictransportationinChicago.Familymembers witnessed the killing of Rae’Lynn Thomas by her mother’s ex-boyfriend in Columbus, Ohio, in August 2016. These two women, onetransgender,reflectwhathappenstoBlackwomenaroundtheworldeveryday.ThecountryIliveincondonesthisbynormalizingviolence.Itsaysthatsome

peoplearenotallowedself-determination,suchasBlacktranswomentryingtoaccesshealthcareorbeing required tohaveagovernment ID listing“correct”gender.Anti-Blacknessperpetuatesrestrictivegendercategoriesandnormsthatnoneofuscanfullyembody.TheUnitedStatesaffirms,throughlawandbudgetallocations of hundreds of millions of dollars, that certain acts of violenceagainstwomenarepunishablebyimprisonmentandevendeath.Buttherearenosuchvastbudgetallocationsfortransformativetransformativeprograms,mentalhealth services, and intervention services that put power into the hands ofcommunitiesinsteadofstate-controlledinstitutions.

FREEDOMDREAMING

Blackness(andapeople’sproximitytoit)isthefulcrumofracialandeconomicoppression in the Americas.4 So much depends upon African slavery: ideasaboutproperty,marriage,andgender,tonamejustthree.Thetransatlanticslavetrade drove economic growth for colonial powers. There would be no US orEuropean superpowerswithout the transport, enslavement, and exploited labor(agricultural and reproductive) of Africans. The slave trademeant profits andpowernotonlyforplantationownersbutalsoforentirenations:GreatBritain,France,Spain,andtheUnitedStates.Thuslawswereputintoplacetoperpetuateit, laws virtually criminalizing the humanity of enslaved African people,

criminalizingtheirveryexpressionsofjoyandtendencytowardfreedom.ThisisespeciallyclearinthehistoryofthemilitarizedformercolonyofSanDomingo—Haiti,asweknowittoday—thefirstindependentBlacknationintheWesternHemisphere. The story of Haiti’s ongoing struggle for self-determination isessential to thestoryof theBlack radical imaginationand tradition,and it isataleofuncomfortabletruths,contradictions,andpromise.Iimaginethatthosewhotookuparmstosparkthe1804HaitianRevolution

cycled through various manifestations of what liberation could look like. IsituateHaiti as a central exampleof thepossibilities and contradictionsof theBlack radical imagination using Ella Baker’s framework for radicalism: “Inorder for us as poor and oppressed people to become part of a society that ismeaningful, thesystemunderwhichwenowexisthastoberadicallychanged.Thismeansthatwearegoingtohavetolearntothinkinradicalterms.Iusethetermradicalinitsoriginalmeaning—gettingdowntoandunderstandingtherootcause. It means facing a system that does not lend itself to your needs anddevisingmeansbywhichyouchangethatsystem.”5Haitian freedom fighters chose to strike directly at slavery, a system of

dominationamassingwealthfortheFrenchCrownandindividualslaveownersbut not the many who did not own land or slaves. The everyday people andmilitiawholedthearmedrevolutionenvisionedafreeBlacknationinaregion—the Caribbean—that otherwise comprised occupied territories reliant onslaveryandmarkedbyNativegenocide.Theyalsoenvisionedliving.Beforetherevolution,AfricansshippedtoHaitidiedwithintenyearsonaverage.The brutal system led to profits for colonizers and death for Black people.

EnslavedAfricanswereworkedtodeath,butatleastamillionlivedlongenoughtorebel,overthrowthecolonialauthorities,andcreatethefirstBlackrepublicintheWestern Hemisphere. Enslaved and free Africans alike in Haiti had beeninspiredbywhattheyhadlearnedoftheFrenchRevolution.HavingoustedtheFrench,BlackgeneralsincludingToussaintL’OuvertureandJacquesDessalinesthen faced the taskofnation-building.Asnewsof the revolutionaries’ successspreadnorth,USslaveholdersfearedrepercussions.Might a seventh-generation enslaved African in pre-revolution Haiti have

imagined living in a world without constant violence? A world where one’schildrenbelongedtoone’sownfamilyandnottoaslavemaster?Whatcapacityofminditwouldhavemeanttoimaginethis?EnslavedAfricanshadledrevoltselsewhere in theCaribbeanprior to the1804 insurrection, but noother site ofslavery was as notorious as Haiti for brutality and the disposability of theenslaved. No other French colony was as profitable as Haiti. And, mostimportantly,nootherrevoltresultedinthesuccessfulabolitionofslavery.

HaitiisanexampleofwhathappenswhenBlackpeopledecidetobepropertyno more. The Haitian Revolution disrupted the economic structure of threecontinents.WesternsuperpowersincludingFrance,GreatBritain,andtheUnitedStatesdidnotwantafreeBlacknationsurroundedbyslavecolonies,andtheydid almost everything they could to ensure that Haiti would be shackled bydisease, poverty, and dependence, and it has been riddled with trauma anddisasters ever since, many made worse by intentional decisions stunting itsdevelopment.The story ofHaiti illustrates that freedommovements guaranteestruggle. Haiti’s 1804 revolution embodies the potential of the Blackimagination,butitsaftermathisanexampleofsystemiceffortstokilltheBlackimagination. The moment the revolution was successful, the forces of anti-BlacknessbegantopunishHaiti.KnowledgeofHaitianhistorymighthavetemperedexpectationsforthewave

of Black mayors elected in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s.Perhaps a closer study of Haiti might have served as a fulcrum for nation-building in South Africa after its first democratic elections, where manyexpected an end to apartheid that has yet to come. Political representationwithout clear politics of collective liberation will lead to repeated cycles offailure.

THEREVIVALISNOW

The legendary actorCicelyTyson used the analogy of a ladder to explain thesocial order of theworld. On the ladder are whitemen, white women, Blackmen,andBlackwomen.Blackwomenareonthelastrung,beloweveryoneelse.Andwe“stillholdon,andthatisourstrength.”6Yes,ourstrengthcanbefoundin struggle, butwehave to aspire tomore than struggle.Andwehave to findpride in the ability to create an entirely new ladder. Period.Thekilling of theBlackimaginationtellsusthatthisoneladderistheonlyonewehave.Andthesocial orderwill not change as long aswe believe that it is okay to just keepholdingon to the bottom rung.AsTyson rightly noted,we’re not only on thebottomrungbuteveryoneaboveuskeepsusdown.Andby“us”I’mreferringtoall Black women across marginalized statuses. Black women who are poor,refugees, incarcerated, transgender, undocumented immigrants, queer, ordisabledmaybebarelyholdingontotheladder.WeliveinaworldthattellsBlackwomenthatweareincapablemothers,that

we are insufficient athletes, and that we are incapable of rigorous intellectualproduction. And this is an attack on our ability to self-determine. Self-

determinationandtheabilitytomovearoundthisworldshouldberightsforall.WhereIdivergewithCicelyTysonisonwhetherholdingonisourstrength.ThekillingoftheBlackimagination,Ibelieve,tellsusthatwemustriseonlyasfarastheworldwillallowus.Thisismyposition,andthisiswhatI’mgonnado.ButIarguethatBlackwomenhavealwaysdemandedanddonemore.IimaginethatMs.Tysonwouldsaythesame.We’veneveracceptedthatthebottomrungiswherewewillremain.Andthat’swheretheBlackimaginationlives.Itlivesinour ability to create alternatives, whether those are alternative economies,alternativefamilystructures,orsomethingelseentirely.We live in a timewhenyoungBlackpeople in theUnitedStateshaveonce

again shifted the center of gravity in politics, kitchen table conversations, andmainstream media discourse. From Ferguson to Chicago, Charlotte, andBaltimore, uprisings of young Blacks have put the world on notice thatsomethingisshiftingintheUnitedStates.YoungBlackactivistsarenolongerlimitingthemselvestopartypolitics.We

are using a hybrid of direct action tactics, traditional field organizing, andspiritual practices. Our actions are forcing liberals, progressives, and evenradicals to reassess their roles in social justicework.We are called “radical,”withtheconnotationofirrationality,somethingtobefeared,becausewedemandaworldwithoutpoliceandprisons.Wearecalledreactionarybecausewerefusetobe silent about thebloodspilledon the streetsby state-sanctionedviolence.WearecalledexclusionarybecauseweareunapologeticallyBlackandqueerandfeminist. We are deemed unskilled and undisciplined because our organizingdoesn’tfittraditionalmodes.WearecarryingonthelegacyofBlackvanguardssuchasfreedomfighterFannieLouHamerandBallroomqueenCrystalLaBeijabydemandingmorewhilevirtuallyeverymajorinstitutionofpowertellsusthatwearenotfullyhuman.Likethosebeforeus,wearemetwithviolence.Itisimportantthatwetellourownstoryandthatitbelongstousandnotto

social media giants such as Twitter or Facebook. Too often the ideas behindsocialmovements are popularized throughmedia that activists do not control.Ourwork ishistoricizedandanalyzedbypeoplewhohavenot sat in jailcellswith us, participated in countless organizingmeetings, or developed andwoncampaigns with us. Far too many who pontificate about our work will neverhave to applyBlack queer feminist theory to the actual practice ofmovementbuilding.Now is the time for young Black community organizers on the ground to

challengethemostlywhite,mostlymale,andmostlycisgenderandheterosexualnarratives on thewhys and hows of building a socialmovement. In this post-Obamaera,itiscrucialthatwereadabouthowtoorganizeandhowtobuilda

movementfromthosewhoareactuallydoingit.Manypeoplearethinkingandwritingaboutthepastandpredictingwhatwillcomenext.Onethingisclear:themovementworkhappeningrightnowwillplayamajorroleinwhatshapethissociety takes next. We have the responsibility and ability as organizers andactivists to deepen our collective political educationwork, to take the lead ingenerating public thought and discussion—and we can do so with our ownwords.We don’t have towait on academics and journalists to investigate ourworkanddictateournextsteps.Wehavethepowertodothatourselves.Futuregenerationsshouldn’thavetolooktohistoriansandpoliticalscientiststoexplainourthinking.Weneedtomakeitclearourselves.We exist in a lineage of Maroons, rebels, and revolutionaries, people who

decided to live freeordie,as themottogoes, since the firstenslavedAfricanswerebroughttotheAmericas.Whileourstruggleisnotnew,thedynamicswefacearetheproductsofever-evolvingglobaleconomicandpoliticalsystemssetup to exploit those living on themargins.Despite centuries ofBlack freedomstruggleintheAmericaswecontinuetofallshortofgettingfree.Ourpeople’shistoryof resistance isnot fullyknownorvalued—despite servingasamodelforliberationstrugglesthroughouttheworld.Knowledgemustbedemocratized.Principleddebateandstruggledistributesknowledgeandgeneratesideas.Andindoingso,peoplecanhaveradicalvisionsoftheirveryown.Politicaldiscomfortisnecessaryforgrowth.We are resilient and refuse to stop believing in the possibility of a world

whereweliveindignity.Wedon’tjustimagineit,wecanfeelit,evenwhenwedon’t see it coming topass inourown lifetime.Our imagination livesdespitemessagesandactionstellingusthatwearenotgoodenough,humanenough,orwomanenough.Andwedothinkthatispossibleinourlifetime,here,rightnow.It is possible right now. The ability for us to live and walk down the streetwithout being afraid of being physically, sexually, or mentally assaulted ispossible.It’spossibleforourchildrentohaveradicalimaginations.It’spossibleforourchildrentoengageinascienceexperimentandnotendupinhandcuffsassixteen-year-old Kiera Wilmot did in 2013 in Florida, as too many of ourchildrenhave.Andit’simportanttorealizethatevenifwedon’tlivetoseethechangeweenvision,contributingtotheprocessisnecessary.Imaginethattherearebucketsandthatoneofthosereallybigwatertowershastobefilled.Eachofus,andImeaneachofus,hasacontributiontomaketowardfillingit.Everyonehasarole,andnoonepersoncanbegin todo itall.MalcolmXisnotcomingback to saveus.There isnoDr.King,and there isnoEllaBaker.There isnosinglecharismaticleaderororganizercomingtosaveusortofreeus.Butit iscollectively possible to liberate ourselves and continue the permanent project

towardenablinghumandignity.At the same time, today’smovement is in a repeating cycle of fighting the

samebattlesfoughtbyourancestors,becauseweareoftenlookingatincompletemodels, theories, and histories.There are far toomany incomplete stories andpartialsolutions togettingfree.Wemust lookback towherewecamefromtohelpdeterminewherewemustgo.

CHAPTER3

THECASEFORREIMAGININGTHEBLACKRADICAL

TRADITIONMenmaketheirownhistory,buttheydonotmakeitjustastheyplease;theydonotmakeitundercircumstancesdirectlyencountered,givenandtransmittedfromthepast.

—KARLMARX,TheEighteenthBrumaireofLouisBonaparte

I fell in lovewith history a long time ago.Books and documentarieswere anescapetoadifferentworld.InbooksIcouldvisitdifferentperiodsoftimeanddifferentculturesandat timesconnectwithcharactersas if theywere just likeme. I found history in fiction and nonfiction books. I saw myself in ToniMorrison’stellingofPecolaBreedlove’sstrugglewithsexualviolence,poverty,andidentityinTheBluestEye.IknewwhatitfeltliketostandinamirrorandwishIwerealittlewhitegirl.IsawmyselfinAprilSinclair’sCoffeeWillMakeYouBlack,and thecoming-of-agestoryofaBlack lesbianwascloser tohomethan I was willing to accept as a teenager. I watched Eyes on the Prize andWatermelonWoman. I devoured tales aboutBlack life, and at times theworldtheytookmetowasasbleakastheoneIwasafraidtolivein.Ididn’trealizeitat the time,but inmyescape tootherplaces Iwas searching formeaningandbelonging. Since then, I’ve continued to cultivate my seemingly insatiableappetite for knowledge. I constantly feel behindmy peers who studied Blackradicalismandfeministandqueertheoryinschoolandontheirown.Ineverfeelaswell-readasIshouldbe.ThoughIalwayshadaccesstobooks,muchofwhatIwasexposedtowasincompleteandfellshortsomehow.Manyofthetextsandsourcestreatedasessentialdidn’tgofarenough.Ifoundmyselfasking,“Well,what came before capitalism? Didn’t patriarchy exist?” Or, “Where are thewomeninthisstory?Wherearethequeerfolks?”I have been crafting more complete stories about Black people and our

movementsforBlackliberationforalongtime.Iamnowclearthatmyhungerfor a more complete story must become a shared strategy for collectiveliberation.TheincalculableamountsofagentsforBlackliberationare,andwere,more robust than the often single story of charisma, strength, and strategies Ilearnedasastudent.IncompletestoriesaboutthehistoryofthestruggleforBlackliberationhave

led to ineffective solutions for our collective liberation. If the relationshipbetweentwopeopleisoneofthesmallestunitsofmovementbuilding,thenthestories we hear and share within those relationships are the springboards foraction.Storiesprovidecontext,candescribeandexplainstrategy,andcanhelppeopleunderstandwhathappensintheworld.Peopleprocessstoriesandmakechoicesbasedonwhattheyconclude.Activistsleveragestoriestoexplaincomplexideas.Peopleconnecttostories

easierthantheyconnectwithsheerfacts.Numbersbecomenumbing.Tablesandchartsdon’tusuallystrikeusasviscerallyasstoriesdo.Andwhiletherearesomany dominant forces affirming that facts simply don’t matter, stories do.Storiesdrawoutemotions.Theyallowustosee,taste,andfeelmoments.IfthestorieswetellaboutBlackpeople’sexperiencesofresistanceandresilienceareincomplete,ourmovementstotransformthem,toenactthem,willbeinsufficientandineffective.Anti-Blackness limits expertise to peoplewho are not invested in collective

liberation.Anti-BlacknesssaysthatintellectualismisnottherealmofeverydayBlackfolks.InsteaditadvancestheideathatBlackradicalswhodointellectualworkarenottrulyradicalorcontributingtocollectiveliberation.Thereforeitisourduty toberigorousand tocollectivize thekeepingandsharingofourownstories. Our movement needs griots, using multiple mediums, to clarify andexpandthestoriesoftheBlackradicaltradition.Today’sBlackactivistsplayadangerousgamewithhistory.Ontheonehand,

activists look back at the Black freedom struggles of the past with deepnostalgia. On the other hand, the same people identify problems and critiquewhathappenedbeforeuswithoutcontextorgrounding.Activistsloveandhatethecivilrightsmovementanditsbest-knownstrategies.Wegroanattheideaof“another march” but will call for mass mobilizations in the aftermath of thekilling of one of our own.We romanticize the Black Powermovement whilequestioning the role and significance ofBlackwomen andqueer leaders.Thisgame, just likeour lives, is fullofcontradictions.Thesecontradictionsshould,however, be recognized and not contribute to a collective amnesia regardingBlackmovement history.We can hold all those truths in order tomakemoreinformedandstrategicdecisionsasamovement.

ContemporaryhistoriansworkdiligentlytouncoverstoriesofleaderslikeEllaBaker,RosaParks,andBayardRustin.Itisnotuncommonforsomeonetoinserta“well,actually,RosaParkswasn’tjusttired”oran“EllaBakerisunderrated”or a “Bayard Rustin wasn’t allowed to speak at the March on Washingtonbecausehewasgay.”MostofusknowwhichMarchonWashingtonI’mtalkingaboutbecause,forallintentsandpurposes,the1963marchistheonlyoneinthehistoryofsocialmovements that takesupsomuchsignificanceandspace.Weloveandhatetodigintohistories.AsBlackpeople,there’ssomuchtoloveandhatefromourhistories.Regardless,theyareours.Acknowledgingandwrestlingwithalltheyentailnotonlyadvanceourknowledge;theyalsogiveusthejuiceweneedtosecureourcollectiveliberation.It iscounterrevolutionary to tellstoriesabout theBlackradical tradition that

fail tooffercritiques, lessons,and insightsabouthowwhite supremacybreedssystems of gender and sexual oppression. The story of white supremacy isinherentlyoneofgenderandsexualviolence.Analysisofpatriarchalviolenceisnot an adjunct but a cornerstone for understanding why Black liberation isnecessary. Ifamoreholistichistoryof theBlackradical traditionwerevalued,thenthemovementstrategiesandtacticswouldbemoreradicalandrelevanttoallBlackpeople.Wenotonlyleavestoriesonthetable,unexamined,whentheradical work of Black feminist and queer liberation is undervalued, we alsodisdaineffectivestrategyandtactics.Ourpeoplecan’taffordforustoleaveanyofourgeniusonthetable.WhatIknowforsureisthatstoriesofinjusticemotivatepeopletotakeaction.

The story of seventeen-year-old TrayvonMartin’s slaying by a self-appointedvigilantein2012ledtomassmobilizationsandamonth-longoccupationoftheFloridastatelegislatureledbyPowerUandtheDreamDefenders.TheAugust9,2014,killingofMikeBrownandattacksonyoungBlackpeoplehonoringhislifemobilizedpeopleinFerguson,Missouri,andaroundtheworld.OutragefromtheacquittaloftheChicagopoliceofficerwhokilledtwenty-one-year-oldRekiaBoydonMarch21,2012,launchedanationaldayofdirectactioninvolvingoverfifteenUScitiesandcalling foranend to state-sanctionedviolenceagainst allBlackwomen,girls,andfemmes.What would be possible if we told more complete stories about the Black

radicaltradition?WhatwouldbepossibleifthestoriesofBlackradicaltraditionwerecreatedbyusingaBlackqueerfeministlens?UnderstandingsoftheBlackradical tradition would be more complete, and our movement would betterunderstandhowtocrafteffectiveliberatorystrategiesforall.Take,forexample,thestoryofRecyTaylorandtheinternationalmovementherbraverysparked.In1944, the youngmotherwas kidnapped and raped by a group of youngwhite

menandboys inAbbeville,Alabama.Herdecision to tell her storymotivatedactivists,BlacksoldiersinWorldWarII,andjournalistsacrosstheworldtotakeon sexual violence against Black women as a civil rights and internationalhumanrightsissue.Taylor’sstorywasamongmanyinterventionsacrosstheUStoendwhitemen’ssexualterrorismagainstBlackwomenandgirls.AsDanielleMcGuire writes in At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, andResistance, to understand the impact of sexual terrorismon the lives ofBlackfolksand“withinthelargerfreedomstruggle,wehavetointerpret,ifnotrewrite,thehistoryofthecivilrightsmovement.”1RosaParks,anexperiencedactivist, leader, andAlabamanative, returned to

herchildhoodhome,Abbeville,toinvestigatetherape,heardTaylor’sstory,andbegantoorganize.ParkssecuredandleveragedthesupportofinfluentialBlackAlabama leaders, including the head of theAlabamaBrotherhood of SleepingCarPorters,E.D.Nixon,toformtheAlabamaCommitteeforEqualJusticeforMrs. Recy Taylor. The Chicago Defender called the committee’s efforts the“strongest campaign for equal justice to be seen in a decade.”2 The campaignbuiltanunprecedentedunitedfrontagainst therapeofBlackwomenandgirls.UnionleadersjoinedYWCA,NAACP,andCommunistPartyleaderstocallforjustice for Taylor. An emergencymeeting in NewYork City brought “QueenMother”AudleyMoore,anexperiencedBlacknationalistandanti-rapeactivist,into the campaign. Black communists and leftist newspapers also joined thecause.This united front raised funds, led a local investigation of the attack inAbbeville, and directed demands for justice to Alabama governor ChaunceySparks.ItwasakeyeffortinthestruggleforBlackliberation.Yetthiswork—ledbyBlackwomenandsupportednationallybyBlacklaborleaders,media,andorganizations—is not widely known in the popular history of the civil rightsmovement as told in the renowned television documentary seriesEyes on thePrize,muchlessinhighschoolhistorytextbooks.

If theAlabamaCommittee forEqual Justice forMrs.RecyTaylorwere to bewidely valued as a critical national and international human rights campaign,today’sactivistswouldhavemoremodelsofhowtobuildeffectiveinternationalcampaignsthataddresspresent-dayracismandgenderedinjustice.Wemight,forexample, leverage thepowerofBlacksoldiersandveterans.ThecampaignforjusticeforRecyTaylorwaswagedduringaglobalfightagainstfascistregimesinGermanyandItaly.McGuirenotesthattheeditorialdirectoroftheArmyNewswarnedGovernor Sparks that if the pamphlet detailing the gang rape ofMrs.Taylor “reaches any considerable number of Negro soldiers in our armed

services, and Ihavenodoubt itwill, itwillgreatlyaffect their efficiency. . . .Thisofcoursewillbeverybadforwareffort,foritissenselesstofightfascismabroad if fascistic influences are to be protected at home.3 We should alsoconsiderwhatitmeanstoruncampaignscenteredonthestoryofanindividualwithout leaving the person behind.That’swhat happened toRecyTaylor.Thecampaignwentbeyondherandtookonanewlifewithlittleregardforherwell-being or security. If this story was valued, perhaps we would be collectivelyconcernedabout thesafetyofyoungBlackwomenleaderswholivewithdailythreats of violence and harassment for daring to uplift ourselves, as well asLGBTQ folks, while also uplifting Black men and boys; I would personallyappreciatethat.WhatwouldhavebeenpossibleifBayardRustin’sworkasanarchitectofthe

1963MarchonWashingtonforJobsandJusticehadbeenacclaimedlongbeforehe received thePresidentialMedal ofFreedom in 2013, years after his death?What would young people during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s have thoughtpossible?InsteadRustin,anopenlygayBlackman,wasfora longtimeleft inthe shadows of more palatable leaders. Some of the slight has begun to beaddressed.TheHumanRightsCampaign,ahighlycorporateandliberalLGBTQrightsorganization,placedalargebannerwithRustin’simageonitinfrontofitsheadquartersforawhile.ButRustin’sstrategicthinkingandlifeworkhaveyettobewidelystudiedandunderstood.Rustin andMalcolm X had a riveting public debate about nationalism and

integration, andweought to knowabout this.Their debate anddisagreementsarelikethosewecontinuetohavetoday.Wheredidthetwotitansconverge,andwheredidtheydiverge?Rustinhadbeenarrestedtwenty-twotimesforvariousactsofcivildisobedienceandMalcolmXhadspentyearsinprisonbythetimetheymetanddiscussedtheBlackfreedomstruggle.Thereismuchtolearnfromtheir brief exchange, and there is much to try to reconcile. The clashes ofMalcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. are meanwhile well-known. We stillcontendwithquestionsofnationalism(beitland-basedorpurelysocial)inourmovement today. Black children attend segregated schools just as they didbefore Brown v. Board of Education. The promise of integration—for betterhealth and education, safety, and justice for all Black people—has not beenfulfilled.Andhomophobiastillhindersunderstandingandthwartsliberation.WhatwouldbepossibleifBlackchildrenweretaughtthatMarshaP.Johnson

andSylviaRiverawereamongthefoundersoftheLGBTQrightsmovementintheUnitedStates?JohnsonandRiveracofoundedtheworld’sfirst-knowntransrightsorganization,StreetTransvestiteActionRevolutionaries(STAR).Johnson,alegendforsome,shouldbeelevatedwithintheBlackradicaltradition.White

gaypoliticianHarveyMilk isnowiconic,butwhat if thereweremultimillion-dollar-budgetfeaturefilmsaboutMarshaJohnsonmadebyBlacktranswomenlikeReinaGossett,whohasdedicatedherlifetotellingherstory?WhatifyoungpeoplewholearnedJohnson’sstorycametoseethemselvesasrebelswhocouldsparkanentiremovement?Howcouldthathelptodismantletransphobiaandtheviolencethattransgenderwomenandgender-nonconformingpeopleexperience?MarshaP. Johnson and people like her are not only kept out of the collectivememory of the Black radical tradition but are also marginalized within themainstream gay rights community, the LGBTQ movement, today. TheemergenceoftheTransWomenofColorCollective,inOhio,foundedbyBlacktranswomenincludingElleHearns,shouldbemuchmoreintegraltoourtellingof today’s Black liberation movement. If our children are able to digest thehistoricaltruthsofBlackslaveryandlynching,theycanalsodigestthehistoricaltruths about the role of Black transgender folks in fighting for our collectiveliberation.What if the history of the Black feminist movement were to be taught

alongsidethatofthecivilrightsmovement?AsKimberlySpringerargues,Blackwomenwere“thefirstactivistsintheUnitedStatestotheorizeandactupontheintersections of race, gender, and class.”4 These were enslaved women, theformerlyenslaved,anddescendantsofenslavedAfricans.Theywerethewomenwhomarchedat thebackof the1913women’s suffragemarchonWashingtonand those who exposed the horrors of lynching and sexual violence againstBlackwomen andgirls across theUnitedStates.Blackwomen activists couldnotcome to the tableas thepopularclassknownas“racemen”did.As“racewomen,” genderwas inseparable from theirwork andvision for liberation (aswas class). This work epitomizes the Black radical tradition, yet it is largelymissingfrompopularstoriesaboutBlackresistance.IamnotsuggestingthatweaddBlackwomenandLGBTQfolkstotheBlack

HistoryMonthcelebrationsothatpeoplesimplyknowmorefacts.I’malsonotsuggestingthatwegetridofthestoriestoldmostoften.Iamarguingthatthoseorganizing political education programs reimagine what is essential andfoundational.Blackradicalfeminismshouldbeconsideredbasic,notsomethingadvancedoroptional.Iforganizersandeducatorsarecommittedenoughtodigintocomplextheoriesonracialcapitalism,whitesupremacy,andanti-Blackness,then they can also commit to digging into patriarchy, homophobia, andtransphobia. If Black people experience any type of systemic oppression andhavetakenupthedutytoresistit,thenweorganizershavethedutytocentralizeradicalBlackqueerandfeministworkinourpoliticaleducation.ThestoryoftheBlack Left should include these histories, as well as the stories of the labor,

communist,socialist,LGBTQ,andgenderjusticemovements.RadicalBlackqueerandfeministworkislargelymarginalized,butthatdoes

notdiminish its significance and strategic imperative today.Our forebears andcontemporary vanguards deserve respect and acknowledgement followed byaction.Patriarchy and its offspring, homophobia and transphobia, have no place in

ourmovement.Toallowthesetogouncheckediscounterrevolutionary.Ifyourliberationmovementhaspeopleonthesidelines(orabsentaltogether),thenit’snot really liberatory. As my good friend and comrade Hiram Rivera says,“Colonizedmindsdocolonizedthings.”Noneofusareimmunetotheeffectsofwhitesupremacy,capitalism,anti-Blackness,andpatriarchalsystems.Onecouldarguethatpeoplecanonlyteachwhattheyknow.Or,lookingatit

from a different perspective, at some point we all lack knowledge aboutsomething until we choose or are forced to learn. Anyone committed tocollective liberation must acknowledge ignorance and take up the work ofcomprehensivepoliticaleducation.Forexample,Ihavebeenoutofmydepthondisability justice and climate change, to name two topics, and so I follow thelead of people who are more knowledgeable. But this doesn’t let me off thehook:Istillneedtoseekoutknowledgeonmyownabouttheseissues.OrganizershavetobelievethatBlackpeople,nomattertheirlevelofformal

education, can understand complex ideas and apply them to real life. I recallhearingaBlackman inmyneighborhood sumup racial capitalism ina singlesentence,anditalwaysstuckwithme.Iwasdrivinghomewithtwocomrades,andaswe turned thecornerwesawaBlackperson lyingon theground.Thisperson was surrounded by a small group of people, and an ambulance waspullingup.Amanhadbeen shot, and it hadhappened just up the block fromwhereIlive,inaneighborhoodthatishyper-surveilledbythepolice.Thereareconstantly cop cars driving around and parked at intersections.This particularspot,nearatrainstation,alwayshasatleastonecopcarnearby.Iparked,andwewalkedtothesiteoftheshooting.Istoodnexttoamiddle-agedBlackmanwhoremindedmeofmostofthemeninmyfamily.MaybeIseemedfamiliartohim,too,becausehestartedtalking.“Thepoliceareouthereeveryday,”heobserved,“andthey’reonlyheretoprotectthesestores,thisproperty,notthepeople.”ThatmomentreinforcedmybeliefthateverydayBlackfolksunderstandwhat’sgoingon.Thechallengeistoharnessthisunderstandingforcollectiveuse.Knowledgeandunderstandingcomefirst,buthowcanweusethemtoinformmovements?Blackfolkscandoboth:notjustunderstandbutalsoact.Howdowedoit?First,developingindividualandcollectivecommitmentto

advanceamovementrequiresmorethaninformation.Ittakesthecultivationof

knowledgeinfieldsofstudythatpeoplecanrelateto.Allpeopleconcernedwithcollectiveliberationhavethedutytopursueknowledge,andtoday’smovementforBlack liberationmustcultivateknowledge inevery facetofourwork.Andwemustalsoseeeveryact,everyengagement,asanopportunitytolearnortoteach or both.The exchange of stories in everyday conversations and throughsocialmedia is insufficient.Our demands for systemic changemust get at therootofhowBlackpeople receiveknowledgeandwhatknowledgewe receive.The work of dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline entails understanding,critiquing,andreshapingwhatourchildrenarebeingtaught.There are barriers to our gainingknowledge that advances our struggle, but

we have a duty to break down the barriers. One way is by fostering a moreholistic telling of the Black radical tradition. The need for researching,documenting,writing, filming, and just telling our stories is urgent. There areimaginations to liberate and liberated imaginations to inspire and aid.Aswithopinions, not all books or documentary resources are good. Consumers ofinformationmustask,“Who’sthefocusofthisstory?Who’smarginalizedorleftout?Whoisdepictedasgoodandwhoasbad?”Thedecisiontoswalloworspitoutwhatwechewrequiresrigor.Futuregenerations(includingchildren today)willbeinfluencedbyourchoices.Fortunately, much of this work has already been done. Black people have

donetheworkofexplainingtheimpactofsystemictypesofoppressiononourlives.Someonehaswritten,createdvisualart,developedpolicy,sungsongs,andeven danced to explain visions for collective liberation. As activists andorganizers,itisourdutytocreateandtokeepinvestigatingnewinformationtobetransformedintoknowledge.Whileitispossibleforsomeonefromoutsideofa community to tell its history, why not invest in people who come from acommunity and the people who havemade the history to tell it? That wouldrequire thebreakingdownof socialandeconomichierarchies thatvalidate theexpertise of some over others. Community-controlled and community-ownedhistoryprojects,artinstallations,oralhistory,photographyarchives,andrelatedprojectsshouldbeanimportantpartofourmovement.Knowledgeofwhatourpeoplehavebeen through ispowerful. Itallowsus todemandmoreandknowthat change is not only needed, it is inevitable. The question is:what kind ofchangedowewishtosee?Learning is an ongoing project. Our movement has a duty to move

marginalizedhistoriestothecenteroftheBlackradicaltradition.

LET’SNOTDEALWITHRACEFIRST

Storieshelpmakesenseofthepast,present,andfuture.Thestorieswelearnaschildren inform how we see the world as adults. Not everyone is fortunateenoughtobeinanenvironmentwherecriticalthinkingisthestandard,somanyof those stories are accepted without questioning them. The dominant storiesabout Black liberation often leave out significant women, LGBTQ folks, andpeople from across the African diaspora outside the United States. Entireorganizations and communities are left out of dominant Black movementhistoriestoo.Just aswe cannot encompass all ofwhat itmeans to be Black in one neat

story, we cannot fit Black feminist activism into a single story ormovement.Blackness andBlack feminist activism are so deep andwide that itwould beimpossibletofitthemintoasinglenarrative.ScholarandphilosopherJoyJamescriticizes“the‘framing’offeminisminwaysthateithererasethecontributionsof radical Black women or depict a homogenous Black feminism as an(correctiveorrebellious)appendagetoeitheranti-racistorfeministstruggles.”5Still,theydeservetobeattheforefront,notforthesakeofinclusivityalone,butbecause radical Black feminist visions are oftenmore complete,more honest,morerevolutionarythanwhatisallowedtobeconsideredimportantoressential.BlackfeministsandLGBTQactivistsareoftentoldthattheyare“hijacking,”

being “divisive,” “co-opting,” or simply distracting from what is moreimportant.Thissilencingisproppedupbytherunningcurrentsofpatriarchyandmisogyny and by the absence of the converging and divergingBlack feministandLGBTQliberationmovementsindominantstoriesaboutsocialmovementsintheUnitedStatesandthebroaderAfricandiaspora.Ourancestors,elders,andcomradesdeservemorethanthat.RadicalBlackfeministsandLGBTQleadershave historically challenged not just white supremacy but also capitalism,patriarchy, transphobia, heterosexism, and homophobia sometimes inside ofBlackmovementspaces—andtheyhavebeenmarginalizedforthis.IwanttheliethatBlackpeoplecannotbeBlack,queer,trans,andwomenat

thesametimetodieaswiftdeath.Iwantthatlietodiealongsidetheideathatany one group ofBlack people is inherentlymoreworthy to be free than anyother.All typesofBlackpeople are in cages, butmany receive little attentionandsupport.Evenwiththenearimpossibilityofrespectabilitypoliticstobenefitincarcerated people, some imprisoned Black people are still perceived asworthierofourempathythanothers.Atthesametime,someonehadtoorganizeandtellstoriesofimprisonment—mostimportantlythestoriesofthosewhohavebeenorareincarcerated—inorderfortoday’sprisonabolitionmovementtoevenexist. Now is the time for our generation to make a coordinated push, to gobeyondwhatiscomfortable,andtovaluealltypesofstories.Thestoriesofthe

sex worker, for example, need telling. To shine a light on jailed sex workerswould expose so many systems of oppression. Our campaign to end massincarcerationoughttotargeteconomicjusticeandpublicizetheirstories.Blackactivistsmustbewilling tohave frankconversationsat timeswhen it

feelslikeeverythingisontheline.Isaythisfromfirsthandexperience.Duringthe Baltimore uprising I found myself talking with a member of a notoriousstreetorganizationabouttheroleofwomeninthemovement.Hetoweredovermyfive-foot-twoframe,soIhadtolookupatthebrotherthewholetime.Itmusthave been a curious sight for anyone who was paying attention. The brotherinsistedthatBlackwomenshouldn’tbeoutinthestreetsfightingandthatitwastheBlackman’s role.He insisted thiswhile surroundedbyhundredsofBlackwomenonthestreetduringtheday’smassmobilization.Wewentbackandforthfor a few minutes, and I didn’t completely change his mind, but there weremomentsofagreement.Havingthoseconversationsisaboutmorethanlettinggooffearorrespectability.Doingthatworkisaboutvaluingourpeopleenoughtobelievethatwecanbetransformed.People who need examples for why patriarchy is counterrevolutionary can

looktoBurkinaFaso’sformerpresidentThomasSankaraandthepeoplewholedthe 1983 revolution in Burkina Faso. They understood that a revolution thatdidn’t prioritize dismantling patriarchy was no revolution at all. In “TheRevolution Cannot Triumph without the Emancipation ofWomen,” Sankara’s1987speechcommemoratingInternationalWomen’sDay,hesaid:

PosingthequestionofwomeninBurkinabésocietytodaymeansposingtheabolitionofthesystemofslaverytowhichtheyhavebeensubjectedformillennia.Thefirststepistotrytounderstandhowthissystemworks,tograspitsrealnatureinallitssubtlety,inorderthentoworkoutalineofactionthatcan lead to women’s total emancipation. In other words, in order to win this battle that men andwomenhaveincommon,wemustbefamiliarwithallaspectsofthewomanquestiononaworldscaleand here in Burkina. We must understand how the struggle of the Burkinabé woman is part of aworldwidestruggleofallwomenand,beyondthat,partofthestruggleforthefullrehabilitationofourcontinent. Thus,women’s emancipation is at the heart of the question of humanity itself, here andeverywhere.Thequestionisthusuniversalincharacter.6

Thesewordswerenotmerelipservice.Sankaraandtherevolutionaryforcestookactiontoformseveralwomen’sinitiatives.SankaraandtheotherleadersoftheBurkinabéindependencemovementemphasizedself-determinationandself-reliance as apart of aproject to repairwhatwasbrokenby thedestructionofcolonialism. Sankara understood that dismantling patriarchy was intrinsicallytiedtodismantlingtheoppressionofhispeople.Onecouldnothappenwithoutthe other. If theBlack radical tradition focused on Sankara as a revolutionaryleader, there would be several lessons to learn. He and the Burkinabé

movement’s other leaders worked not only to decolonize the land and theeconomy but also to decolonize their people’s minds. And Sankara wasassassinatedforthat.That’showdangeroushisideasandthemovement’seffortsweretocolonialpowersandinterests.Black people are not a monolith. The threads that make up our collective

experiences on earth are so long that they could be woven into a fabric thatwouldcover theearth.Ourstoriesarenotuniformandneitherareourpolitics.StoriesthatpaintBlackpeopleasamonolithreducethedepthofourhumanityandpreventusfrombuildingmovementsthataddressallsystemsofoppression.Yet even today Black activists are encouraged by people with limitedimaginationstoputracefirst—whichmoreoftenthannotmeanstoconsideronlyrace, not class, gender, or sexuality. But our struggle does not need to bemonolithicinordertobesuccessful.Whitesupremacyandcapitalismteachustobelieveinascarcityofspace.The“crookedroom”describedbyscholarMelissaHarris-Perry, theone inwhichBlackwomenarequarantined,exists ina largerhouse that Black people inhabit.7 Limiting the understanding of who Blackpeople are, what we’ve endured, and where we must go is not onlycounterproductive,itwillnotstopusfrombeingkilled.InthestruggleforBlackliberation,thereshouldbenohierarchyofissuesworthfightingfor.However,inalmosteverysectorofourmovement, thevoicelessandpowerlessstruggle forroom in aworld dominated by systems that oppress us and peoplewho don’twantustobefree.Views of liberal white folks help perpetuate this problem. Activist

communities claiming to be progressive and radical recycle incomplete storiesabout movement history, lionizingMartin Luther King Jr.’s most well-knownviewswhileignoringhisstanceforreproductiverightsandradicalizationinhislateryears.Themonolithicviewofhistoryisevidentineverymuralcontainingan image of Marcus Garvey but not Amy Jacques Garvey. Likewise witnessChristopher Street Park in New York City where the Stonewall Rebellion iscommemorated without any mention of Marsha P. Johnson or her comradeSylvia Rivera. Histories are centered on the people who make them. Whenarbitersofknowledge(e.g.,educators,intellectuals,andhistorians)failtovalueandtell thehistoriesofsignificantstrategistsandleaders,wemisstheirvision,andperhapsthefoundationtheybuiltcrumblesabitinsteadofbeingmaintained.If we told a more complete story of the Black radical tradition, one that

groundsitselfinthestoriesofBlackfeminist,queer,andtransliberationwork,we would have more complete and effective solutions for the problems weencounter: what to do in moments of crisis and outrage, how to talk aboutfascism with everyday people, how to organize people with little access to

resources,andhowtoopposegroups thatusepoliticalandeconomicpower tooppress.

ITISOURDUTYTORECLAIMOURMEMORIESANDKNOWLEDGE

IwinceeverytimeIhearsomeoneexclaimthat“youngpeoplejustdon’tknowtheirhistory.”Thisassertionalmostalwaysindicateslackofunderstanding.Weare our history, andwe know how important it is. But the transatlantic slavetrade, hundreds of years of slavery, and systemic barriers to formal educationgreatly diminished Black folks’ ability to hold on to their histories, culture,traditions, and religion. For over three hundred years, the majority of BlackpeoplelivingintheUnitedStatescouldnotfreelyrecordoraccesstheirhistory.Todaywehaveaccesstoinformationandknowledgeourancestorsneverhad.Itwould be disrespectful of me to expect enslaved Africans to carry all of ourpeoples’historyacrosstheAtlanticOcean.It is important toask:Whoisresponsibleforeducatingyoungpeople?Who

influences the information children receive? What have been the barriers toyoungpeoplelearninghistoriesofresistance?Our ancestors faced systemic violence for their efforts to hold on to their

culture. While it is no longer forbidden for Black people to read, access toquality educationhasneverbeenguaranteed forBlackchildren in theUSOurpeople have always had to fight for it, and we continue to fight today. Anti-Blackness isadaptable in the faceof resistance tooppression, the systemsandpeoplewhoupholditarebackedbypowerstructuresensuringthatoppressionisthestatusquo,andqualityeducationisaprivilegewhenitshouldbearight.ChildrenacrosstheUnitedStatesspendmostoftheirwakinghoursinschool.

What are they learning?What is seen as valuable knowledge? Some parentschoosetostarttheirownschools,sendtheirchildrentoprivateschools,orhome-school theirchildren.Thoseeffortsarenecessary,andsoareefforts toaddressthe educational needs of students who have no access to these alternatives topublicschools.Educationalworkshouldbecentralinourorganizingefforts.AllactivistsandorganizerswouldbenefitbylearningfromBlackLGBTQand

feministmovements,byprioritizingtheirstudy.Thereissomuchtogainfromthe illuminating words of Toni Morrison, bell hooks, Bruce Nugent, AudreLorde,JosephBeam,AngelaDavis,AliceWalker,EssexHemphill,andLorraineHansberry. The hyper-visibility of Black women, lesbian, gay, bisexual,transgender,andqueerleadersintoday’sstruggleforBlackliberationisnotby

happenstance.Wewere conjured up through generations ofmagic.And, as inalmost every childhood story or horror filmyou’ve seen,magic performedbywomenandoutsidersisconsideredsuspiciousanddangerousandtargetedwithviolence.Iexist,and Iamable to leadunapologeticallybecauseof thegenerationsof

Black feminist, prisoner-rights, transgender, gay, dyke, lesbian, and queerresistancethatcamebeforeme.Myhistoryisthatofrebels,revolutionaries,andMaroons, fromthe transatlanticslave through thecivil rightsandBlackPowermovements, theCompton’sCafeteria riot,and theStonewallRebellion.8Theseexamples of resistance illustrate the power of peoplewhohave come togetherbased on shared experiences, cultures, and visions for what is possible. Theintellectuallabor,communityorganizing,andculturallaborofourancestorsandelderslaidthegroundworkforactivistsfromallbackgroundstodayandhelpusunderstandcollectiveliberation.Theirfreedom-dreamingresultedinthebuildingofmovementsthatfoughtfortheeradicationofracism,sexism,transphobia,andhomophobia.Thewords“intersectionality,”“queer,”“anti-racist,”and“anti-capitalist”roll

off the tonguesof somany radicalBlack activists.Noone learns thosewordsand what they mean on their own. Black feminists, Ballroom legends, queerfolks,andpeoplewhofitnobinarieshavedonethegroundworkbutaretakenforgranted in far too many movement spaces to this day. What is commonterminology and practice in social justice circles todaywas theorized, writtenabout,organizedaround,andfoughtforbypeoplewhosenameswemayneverknow.Whatweinclude in thestoryof theBlackradical traditionmustaccountfor

theseforebearswithoutapology.TheBlackradicaltraditionincludeswritingandrewritingthehistoryofourpeople.Letusallacceptthatresponsibility.Recordyour own stories. Protect your family’s history. Knowing these stories isimportantforcollectiveliberation.Itisnottheresponsibilityofanyonepersontoholdall theknowledge,ofcourse. Instead,eachofushas theduty tohonorourpresentandpast,whileencouragingfuturegenerationsto takeuptheworkwhen it’s their turn.Cultivating, keeping, and sharing knowledge is labor andmustbevaluedassuch.Black people are no strangers to having to tell our own histories. We are

familiar with the media and historians telling stories that are either false orcompletely erase our contributions. Black scholars like John Hope Franklin,Mary Frances Berry, Manning Marable, and Cheikh Anta Diop created greathistoriesofBlackpeoplemeanttotelltruthsthatwhitemalehistoriansfailedtotell.At the same time, radicalBlack culturalworkers, educators, and activists

havehadtodothesamework—totellmore-completestoriesaboutBlackhistorythatdon’tsimplyaddwomenandLGBTQfolksbut thatcenterus.Thosewhobenefit from our oppressionwill not do that work. Those of us committed tocollectiveliberationmustdoit,andthen,aftertheworkofkeepingandsharingthesestories,wemusttakeeffectiveactiontowardcollectiveliberation.

CHAPTER4

THREECOMMITMENTSWeareeachother’sbusiness;weareeachother’sharvest;weareeachother’smagnitudeandbond.

—GWENDOLYNBROOKS

Home is anywhere we belong, where we grow, where we’re challenged, andwherewe’reinrelationshipwithothers.BYP100ismyfirstpoliticalhome.Asafounding member of the organization, I’ve helped shape it, shared countlessmealswithfellowmembers,andcraftedplansforhowwecouldimproveitandimprovetheBlackliberationmovement.Thispoliticalhomeisn’tbasedinonelocation. Like many Black people, we move. My political home is where Idevelopasaleader,whereIbelongwithpeoplewhosharevaluesandvisionandwhotakeactionforcollectiveliberation.Movement building is spiritual work. It is beyond audacious to build an

organizationunlikeoneanyofushaseverbeenapartof—onebasedongroupleadershipandwheremarginalizedpeoplearecentered.Ifsomeonehadtraveledtothefutureandcompiledalistofthingsweaccomplishedinourfirstyear,thenbroughtit tousin2013,atourstart,wewouldhaveallexclaimed,“Hell,no!”Wehadextremelylimitedresourcesinthefirstyear,andIwastheonlyfull-timepaidstaffmemberfortwoyears.Themajorityofourleadershipworkedwithoutpayorwithmodestpay.Moneywastight,andIsleptonmembers’couchesandfiguredouthowtomake tendollarsoutof fiftycents.Ahandfulof folkswhocarriedmajorareasofourworkdailydidsowithoutpay.BYP100possessedalevelofgritatthebeginningthatBlackfolksareusedto

dealingwith.Our teamworked hard to build an infrastructure that could last,thatcouldstanduptothetestoftheworksetbeforeus.Intheearlydays,peoplesuch as Jasson Perez, Jessica Pierce, Terrance Laney, Rose Afriyie, JonathanLykes, and many others helped build the organization locally and nationally.Evenwithforesight,research,anddecadesofcollectiveexperience,wewerenotprepared for the challenges andpain to come.Wehadmanybreakdowns, and

alongthewayIlearnedthatweweren’tuniqueinourstruggles.Notonlywerewe repeating experiences of previous movements before our time; we wereexperiencing the same challenges as similar organizations that also emergedduring this era of the Black liberation movement, including the Black LivesMatterGlobalNetworkand theDreamDefenders.Thepatternsofwhatbuildsup and breaks downorganizations reflect broadermovement forces and socialrealities.Basedonmyexperienceandresearchofsocialmovements,Ihavefoundthat

atrophyorbreakdownswithinmovementsforBlackliberation,historicallyandin the present, largely derive from people not seeing themselves in thework,beingtraumatized,andnotgivingthemselves—ornotbeingallowed—timeandspace to do ongoing self-work and healing. Another factor is a culture ofliberalismthatallowsforuncheckedconflictandunprincipledstruggle.There are three collective commitments our movements must take up to

regenerate:

1.Buildingmanystrongleaders2.Adoptinghealingjusticeasacoreorganizingvalueandpractice3.Combatingliberalismwithprincipledstruggle

One way to understand these dynamics is by placing them into a helpfulframeworkthatIlearnedfromteacherandcomradeSendoloDiaminah.Sendolotaughtme tocategorizechallenges into threegroups:nuisances,problems,anddilemmas. Nuisances are challenges (from people or situations) that areannoyingyet tolerable.Problems are challenges that canbe solved.Dilemmasarechallengesthathavetobenavigatedbutseemunresolvable.Thesecategoriesseem distinct, but they are connected, and they exist not only inside ourorganizationsbutalsobetweenallies.Ofcourse,challengesarepartoflife,andtheyforceustomakechoicesabout

what to do and how to show up. Our choices can be coerced or not. Thechallengesweencounterandtheavailableresourceswehavetodealwiththeminevitablydependonwhoweare. Inmovementwork,our challenges can feellikematters of life anddeath.Sometimes they actually arematters of life anddeath.Infacingthem,wefeelurgency,anxiety,andpressure—andthiscanhelpbuild a movement, but it can also break one down. As humans who havesurvivedgenerationsof trauma,Black folksare resilientbutalsovulnerable topain.Wecananddoshowuptomovementspacesholdingallofthattraumainourmindsandthatpaininourbodies.Asocialmovementisinmanywayslikeahumanbody.Thebodyismadeup

of cells that naturally die and regenerate, whether or not people eat healthfuldiets, exercise, take pharmaceuticals, and meditate. Regardless of action orinaction, beyond our control cells atrophy and die. And sometimes thisdestructionisaidedbyoutsidesources.Toxicchemicals,negligentlydistributedintoourenvironmentsbycorporations,cancausecancer.Likewisepeoplesufferandsometimesdiewhenotherscommitactsofviolence.Thereare things thatwe knowingly put into our bodies, things that go into our bodieswithout ourconsent, and things that we do with our bodies that make themmore or lesshealthy.We feel andwe thinkwith these bodieswe have, bodies of differentshapes,sizes,andabilities.Our bodies and what we experience in them are inextricably connected to

movements we join. And there are entire industries that profit fromcommodifyingeverythingthatinvolvesthebody,includingpleasure,forcedandexploitative labor, and so-called miracle methods to treat whatever ails us.Someonealwayswins,anditisusuallynotthelaborerortheconsumer.Peopletakeactionwhentheygettiredofbeingonthelosingside.IntheUS,

thelosingsideisnotonlythe99percent;therearelevelsofmarginalizationandoppression.Peoplewithinthe99percentoftenactagainsttheinterestsofpeoplewhohavejustasmuchwealth—ormuchless.Socialmovementsemergewhenpeopledecidethatchangeisnecessaryandtakecollectiveactionoveraperiodoftimetowardachievingasetofgoals.ExamplesincludetheOccupyMovement,the Fight for 15, and ongoing land-based struggles in the US and around theworld.Inanysocialmovementtherearedynamicsthatbuildupandregenerateitand

dynamics that undermine it. Understanding what builds up and what breaksdown our movements and its smaller parts is crucial to our developing aneffective strategy and winning. No one person or organization can create anantidotetothevariousthingsthatbreakourmovementsdown.Thebreakdowns,ifthoroughlyassessed,shouldbespringboardsfortransformingourwork.

BUILDSTRONGLEADERS

Community organizing toward liberation requires people in ongoing andsubstantivepublicrelationshipswitheachother,peoplewithsharedinterests,toworktowardsharedgoals.Whenpeoplehavenostakeinthework,theynotonlyloseinterestbutcanalsobepronetomarginalizingthosewithwhomtheyclaimto be in struggle. I advise young organizers to be wary about claims ofselflessnessregardingthesharedwork.Selflessnessisproblematicbecauseitis

devoidofsomeone’svisionfor theworldand theirplace in it.Self-interest,onthe other hand, situates you, your vision, and your values in relationshipwithothers.Identifyingself-interestisessentialbecauseitallowsindividualstoworknot simply as allies but as accomplices in our collective liberation. Knowingone’s self-interest canbe thedifferencebetween stayinghomeandattendingaweekly organizing meeting. Interrogating self-interest allows us to identifywhat’satstakeforourselves,evenwhenwearenotthemostdirectlyimpacted.Whatisyourself-interest?I stay inmyworkbecause I am thedaughterof awomanwhocontinues to

work a low-wage job despite years of experience that should have resulted inmuch more than a basic income. I stay in this work because I grew up in ahousehold where heat during Chicago winters was not always guaranteed.People should not have to live without heat in a country where renewable,affordableenergyispossible.IstayinthisworkbecauseIfearthatIcouldonedaybeaBlackwomanpulledoverinhercarforfailingtosignalandlaterfounddead ina jailcell.SandraBland losther life thatway. Iamafraid that Icouldtoo.WhatisatstakeformeinstrivingtoendviolentdeathforBlackpeople?Iam

notaBlackman,boy,ortranswoman,butweshareacommonheritagethroughoursharedoppressors.Weallinheritedaworldwhereourbodiesaremarkedforexploitationandviolentdeath,andweareconnectedthroughourstrugglesandthegeniusofourpeople.Thatgeniusfightsforourlives.Thatgeniusbringsustogether to mourn and to celebrate. That genius set forth radical visions forBlack liberation long before we were born. The genius may not have hadknowledge of what our lives would be like today, but it created necessaryopeningsforpeopletocreatechangeandtransformation.Everyoneinterestedinpersonalorcollectivepursuitsforliberationmustlook

into themselves to investigatewhytheycomeinto thiswork. Is itbecauseyouwantyourchildrentogrowupinaworlddifferentfromtheoneyouinherited?Thatyouwant towalkdownstreetswherenoone isharassedbecauseof theirperceivedoractualgenderidentity?Becauseyouunderstandthatthedestructionof poor communities miles away from your comfortable home is just aneconomicrecessionawayfromyourownfrontdoor?Orisitsimplybecauseyouseethehumanityinotherpeopledespitewhatyou’vebeentold?Allpeoplemustseethemselvesintheworkandhavesomethingatstake.Once we recognize our self-interest, we also have to humble ourselves to

understandthatwhatisatstakeforusmaynotbepressingforothers.Blackpainandviolentdeatharecenterstageinkitchentableconversationsandthemedia.VideosofaBlackgirlbeingthrowntothegroundinherswimsuit,WalterScott

being gunned down while running away, and an art exhibit depicting MikeBrown’s murdered body are accessible to millions. Many Black folks arewalkingaroundinperpetualstatesoftrauma.MurdersofBlacktranswomenarecomingintotheconsciousnessofmorepeople,despiteyearsofpeopleresistingthis violent trend. Peoplewhose lives are at stakemust see themselves in theworkofliberationmovementsthatareeffectiveandhaveresourcesortheywillrightfully stay away. And if marginalized people are not in the movement tooffercriticalanalysisandperspective,ourmovementwillnotsucceed.Ifyouarenotamongthemarginalizedoratriskofviolence,thenwhatareyou

bestpositionedtodo?All leadersmustaskthemselves:whatworkneedstobedone,whatamIbeingaskedtodo,andwhatamIbestpositionedtodo?Leadersdo not get to dowhat theywant at all times, and various rolesmust be filledwhetherwelikeitornot.Justasyouhavetoseeyourselfinthework,youhavetobeabletoleadit.The

analogy of passing the torch,while popular, isn’t useful, and I recall an eldertellingmethattherewasnotorchtopass.Inotherwords,folksshouldnothavetoaskforpermissiontoorganizewiththeirownpeople.Waitingforpermissionto take action and lead serves only those who wish to maintain power overpeople. As Frederick Douglass observed in his “West India Emancipation”speech, “power concedes nothing without demand.” And demands are mostpowerfulwhenmadecollectively.Consent isnecessary,however, from thoseweorganize inourcommunities,

fromthebeginningtotheendofanystrategy,anditiscrucialtomakeroomforotherpeopletoleadandlearn—andtogivethemspacetomakemistakes.Actingaloneorwithasmallgrouponlyservesoneorafew,andweneedtofostermoreleaderstoinsurethatourworkwillcontinue.Wemustbuildandgrowwithoneanother. And our failures, affecting us as a collective, should provideopportunitiesforgrowthandlearning.Tocountertheweakeningeffectsofpeoplenotseeingthemselvesinthework,

organizationsandthemovementatlargemustinvestinleadershipdevelopment.It makes individuals and the collective stronger. People don’t come intomovementworkwithfullybakedanalysesandstrategies.JeremyTyler,whenhewasanewBYP100member,said,“Imightnotbeallthewaywoke,butI’mnotasleepanymore.”Whatwouldbepossibleifmoreofuscametotheworkinthatway?Whatwouldbepossible ifwegaveourselvesandothers room togrow?Sincewearealwaysinastateofemergency,ourmovementrequiresthis.Organizations should focus on developing asmany leaders as possiblewho

areabletoanalyzecriticallyandhavesolidorganizingskills.Thisdoesnotmeanthateveryonewillbeorhastobeafull-timeorganizer.Whatitdoesmeanisthat

more and more people will be equipped to develop and move projects,campaigns,andprogramsforward. It takesmany leaders to raiseandsustainamovement beyond a moment: strategic communicators, child-care workers,peoplewhocancookforlargegroups,peopletogrowfood,healthpractitioners,and many more. A community organizer’s skill should be measured in howmany leaders one helps develop, not in how many campaign victories oneclaims.It takes time todigest the realityof theworldwe live inandmakesenseof

howwearesituatedinthebroaderhumanexperience.Ittakestimetounderstandour individual roles in building collective power. It takes time to see howourtalents,gifts,andskillscancontribute to thework. Italso takes timetodecidewhethersomethingisworthaninvestmentofourtimeandmoney.Whenpeopleseethattheymatterinorganizingspaces,theyaremorelikelyto

repeatedlyshowup.Ittakestimetoengageindividualsintheprocessofbuildingrelationships in themovement, but it ismore thanworth it. In building thoserelationships, we are better able as organizers and leaders to ascertain whatbringspeople to the tableandwhatmaykeep them there, especially ifwe seethat they have something important, large or small, enabling our work. Goodmovement organizing recognizes this by holding one-on-one or relationalmeetings,housemeetings,andstudygroups.PeopleoftenmisreadEllaBaker’sdeclarationthat“strongpeopledon’tneed

strong leaders” as a statement against leadership. Instead she was cautioningmovements against valorizing single charismatic leaders, especially ones notgroundedinoraccountabletocommunities.Sheunderstoodthattransformativechangerequirestheleadershipofmanypeople.ThewisdomwassharedinatimewhenindividualBlackmenwereseen—bymediaandnationaldecision-makers—as the most essential leaders in the civil rights movement. Baker saw thefailures of building around personalities and individual leaders instead ofbuildingaround theneedsof thepeopleanddevelopingmany leaders tomovetheworkforward.Leaders do initiate and drive movement building, but, as Baker asserted,

“Martin [Luther King Jr.] didn’t make the movement, the movement madeMartin.”Kingwasanexceptional leader,butstill it tookcountless leadersandcountlesspeopleonthegroundtocreatewhatwereflectbackonasoneofthegreatestsocialmovementsever.Yes,hewascharismatic.Butcharismaticleaderswhofailtobuildrelationshipsandfostermoreleadersaresettingthemselvesupformartyrdom,andtheirworkmaygrindtoahaltaftertheyarenolongerabletoperformit.Wherewelackastrongbaseofleaderswewillalsofindpointsofweaknessandlackofdepthtothework.

Kingwasalsoavisionarywhohadabrilliantteamaroundhim,includingtheopenly gay pacifist Bayard Rustin who helped school him in nonviolent civildisobedience. Rustin was the lead strategist behind the 1963 March onWashington for Jobs and Freedom, but being openly gay impacted publicperception and treatment by activists and opponents to the movement.Recognitionofhiscontributions to thecivil rightsmovementhas largelycomelater than it should have, and his story is not situated prominentlywithin theBlackradicaltraditionasitshouldbe.Hisisnotahouseholdname,butitshouldbe. Learning his story helps us to understand the US pacifist movement’srelationshiptoBlackliberationwork.ItalsohelpsusdebunkthemyththatBlackLGBTQ peoplewere not at the forefront of the civil rightsmovement. Theremusthavebeenmore.Whoelsehavewemissed, especially among theyoungpeopleandthewomen?

HEALINGJUSTICE

There’sarunningjokeamongpeoplewhoknowmethatI’mnotafanofpoetry,andpoetryseemsdifficulttoavoidinmovementspaces.Oftenpublicorationbyapoethelpsset the toneataprotestor rally.But itwasapoet’s tellingofherencounterswithviolenceand trauma inPalestine, easternCongo, andRwandathatgavemethewordstounderstandwhyInearlywentpoliticallymuteafterayear of repeated traumatic experiences. Alice Walker’s “OvercomingSpeechlessness” resonated with me because I, too, witnessed the apartheidproject inPalestineandbecause I couldnot speakabout itwith rigorormuchdepth.IwasspeechlessandunabletoexplainwhatIfeltandsawafterenteringtheIbrahimiMosqueinHebron.Iweptafterlearningofthemassacreoftwenty-nineMuslimsandtheinjuryofmorethanonehundredduringtheholymonthofRamadan.IwroteanarticlethatscratchedthesurfaceandmadeFacebookpostsandtweets.Butduetotheheavinessofhavingseenandexperiencedpain,IhavesharedlittleofwhatIhavewitnessed.ArmedsoldiersintheWestBank.Policeofficersreadyingthemselvestotear-gasprotestersinCharlotte,NorthCarolina.AyoungBlackpersonlyingonthegroundafterbeingshotjustaroundthecornerfrommyhome.I’vefeltheavinessafterlearningofyetanotherreportofsexualviolence within the movement. After visiting incarcerated men in statepenitentiaries. After discussing current events with political prisoner MumiaAbu-Jamal. These are things that I havewitnessed and encountered firsthand,andIdon’tspeakoftenofthemandoftheheavinessandpaintheyentail.AudreLordeandZoraNealeHurstonbothurgeustospeakofpain, tospeakofwhat

ails our people. But speaking fully is at times impossible. A feeling ofvulnerabilitystopsme.Andthereisawallbetweenspeakingandspeechlessness.IoftenfeellikeIamstuckinthewall—inperpetuallimbo.Ireturnedtoworkaftereachoftheseexperiences.ButprocessingwhatIhave

experiencedandwitnessedinthespanofayearistakingmeyearstodo.Iwasafullpersonbeforetheseexperiences,carryingchildhoodtrauma,teenagetrauma,andyoungadulthoodtrauma,asyouprobablydotoo.Somanyofuscarrytheweight of violence and pain. My own trauma shows up when I’m irritable,disruptive, make poor decisions, and become physically ill, depressed, oranxious.Thesemanifestationspreventmefromdoingmybest,buttheydonotpreventmefromshowingup.Ourmovement needs a complete culture shift. It is especially important for

leadersdealingwithtraumatocheckinhonestlywiththemselvesandthosetheytrust,todecideiftheyareabletolead.Ourhurtcomesoutagainstothersalltoooften and prevents us fromdoingwhat needs to be done. Sometimes activistshave to remove themselves or scale back to take care of their physical andmentalhealth.Movementsmustretrofitfor thisrealitysothatwecanallshowup as our best selves in ourwork.As feminist scholar and activist bell hookswrites inSisters of the Yam, “We cannot fully create effectivemovements forsocialchangeifindividualsstrugglingforthatchangearenotalsoself-actualizedor working towards that end. When wounded individuals come together ingroups tomake change our collective struggle is often underminedby all thathasnotbeendealtwithemotionally.”Admittedly,thisisdifficultterrain.Peoplethroughout the African diaspora carry centuries of violence from colonialism,slavery, patriarchy, segregation, and economic injustice. Going back to BethRichie’s “violence matrix,” the levels of violence we face daily within ourhomes,communities,andsocietyareoffthecharts.Andthereisnowalltokeepthisdynamicoutsideofourmovement.Iftherewerewallskeepingoutwoundedpeople,therewouldbenopeopletodothework.MelissaHarris-Perryset the interneton fire inJuly2017whenshedeclared

heroppositiontoself-care.Inherpiece“How#SquadCareSavedMyLife,”sherefused to “accept that self-care is necessary for health and well-being” andinsteadargued thatonly throughcare frompeoplewithwhomshe is inadeeprelationshipcanshebemadewell.1Thispresentedadilemmaformanyactivists.Ononehand,wearetaughtandencouragedtosacrificetonoend.Ourancestorsand livingcomradeshavemade sacrificesbeyondwhatmostofus todayhavemade.Whoarewetonotgiveourlivestothemovement?Ontheotherhand,wearehuman.Wegetphysically sick, andourmentalhealth candeterioratewiththefastpaceandconstantdemandsofthework.Sohowcanweproceedunder

weightof themultiplesystemsofoppression?Ourmovementshould livewiththe tension between self-care and community care. Individual activists shouldcommittoself-careonwhateverleveltheyareableto,andcommunitiesshouldcommittocreatingacultureofcare.Itdoesnothavetobe,andshouldnotbe,oneortheother.Peoplewhohavesufferedthroughtraumas,whichmayormaynotbeknown,

arenotsimplypresentinourmovement.Theyleadourorganizations,takecareofourchildren,developstrategy,andtrainusonhowtobecomebetteractivistsandorganizers.Likeme,youmaybeoneofthesepeople.I’vebeenexpectedtolivedevoidoffeelingsandtoactwithgraceatalltimes.AndmaybeIonceheldmyself to that standard too.Because of this, I’ve had to fight to cultivate andprotectmywellness. I have a robust community of family, friends, generativesomatic practitioners, and spiritual models who help me do the self-worknecessarytobethehumanI’mcommittedtobeing.AnditisadailystrugglethatIwasn’ttrainedtoengageinbythepeoplewhotaughtmehowtobeaneffectivecommunity organizer. I’ve learned that sometimes self-preservationmeans notworking to solveproblems that arenotmine to solve. Itmeans taking time tosleep. (I amachronic insomniac—sleephasbeendifficult forme forover tenyearsofmyadultlife.)Intensiveself-worktaughtmetotendtomyowngardensothatImaybeabetterstewardinmovementwork.Perhapsyoucanrelate?Wehavea responsibility todobetter forourpeopleandourselves.Manyof

the movement’s newest activists—of any given age, not just young people—haveenteredmovementworkduringtimesofcrisisandrapidresponse.Ash-LeeHenderson, codirectorof theHighlanderResearchandEducationCenter, says,“Wedon’tteach,share,andlearnwith[newactivists]howtomovefromrapidresponse into long-term organizing or having long-term strategies.” But shenotesthatpeopleneedtoknowmorethansimplyshowingup.“IfallIknowhowtodoisturnup,thenwhatI’lldoisturnupinthestreetsagainstatarget,I’llturnupagainstyou, I’ll turnupagainstmypartner, I’ll turnupbecause that’sall Iknowhow todo, right? . . . [Simply showingup] eventuallywillwearpeopledownbecausethat’snotmovingfromaplaceofjoy,it’smovingfromaplaceofourtraumaandcrisis.”Movementbuildingismessyandtryingandtestseveryfacetofwhoweareas

individuals. It is alsobeautiful.Weareasked (andexpected) togiveour time,energy, and money.We are expected to share personal stories and to explorewhatbringsustothiswork.Givingofourselvesisaconstant.Blackorganizersareoftencelebratedforsuperhumancharacterandmentalstrengthdespitelivingthrough the daily traumas of being Black and any number of intersectingidentities.Somanyofushavebeenonthefrontlineofviolencefromourown

people and from the state. Confronting tanks, the National Guard, tear gas,beatings, and jail time takes a high toll on themental and physical health ofactivists. So does attending funeral after funeral after deaths of communitymembers.Sodoessexualviolencefromstrangersorpeoplewe’veknownallourlives.Blackpeoplehaveexperiencedtraumaonmanylevels,andfewofushavethetoolstoallowustoheal.While discomfort is a given when we enter many group settings, our

movements should not be spaceswhere the same systemic harmswework totransformareallowedtopersist.Themovementshouldallowandcreatespacesforhealing,withtherecognitionthatwecannotdoitall.Peopleareaffectedbyfactorsthathavelittletodowithcampaigns,initiatives,programs,andprojects.To address this, our movements must prioritize healing justice. According toCara Page and the Kindred Healing Justice Collective, “Healing justice . . .identifies how we can holistically respond to and intervene on generationaltrauma and violence, and to bring collective practices that can impact andtransform the consequences of oppression on our bodies, hearts andminds.”2Ourmovementmust invest timeandmoney inhealers at least asmuchasweinvest in field organizing. By healers I mean not only those who work inmedicine but also those in generative somatics, psychotherapies, and religiousandspiritualfields.“Healing justice is active intervention in which we transform the lived

experience of Blackness in our world,” stresses Prentis Hemphill, the formerdirectorofhealing justiceat theBlackLivesMatterGlobalNetwork.3Healingjustice takes complex work and real commitment, but without it ourorganizationsandpeoplebreakdown.Movement organizations and individual leaders cannot hold all our trauma.

Leaderswhoknowthattheyarebreakingoralreadybrokenoftenfailtoremovethemselves and instead takeout their hurt on everyone around them.Ourhurtcomesoutagainsteachotheralltoooften.Butindividualstaskedwiththeworkof accountability and healing are too often crushed under theweight,whetherintentionally harmful or not, of other people’s actions. People are seldomencouragedtoremovethemselvesorscalebacktotakecareoftheirphysicalandmentalhealth.Ourcommunitiesincludefarmorethanpeoplewhoself-identifyasactivists,

andhealersareanimportantcomponent,especiallythosecommittedtohealingjustice.Someareinvestedinpoliticsandinvolvedinpoliticalstrategizing,whileothers have no interest in that. Healers can be organizers, activists, andstrategists—ourmovementhas roomforall—and, likeanycraft,healingworktakes study, practice, and resources. The growing number of health-care

practitioners inmovement spacesanddoinghealing justicework ispromising,althoughthelatterworkissometimesmetwithdistrustandskepticismsinceitisstill new to most people. Healers too require strong support, and healersthemselvesaresometimesinneedofhealing.Healing justice doesn’t exist in a vacuum but takes place alongside work

against structural oppression. Activist, poet, and performance artist LeahLakshmiPiepzna-Samarasinha explains that thehealing justicemovementwasborn out of a need to respond to “burnout, ableist movement cultures thatdenigrate and dismiss healing as not serious, a lack of access to high-qualityhealingandhealthcarebyoppressedpeople.”Alsoproactive,thehealingjusticemovementworks to reclaim “the ways our oppressed, surviving communitieshavealwayshealed,frombeforecolonizationtonow.”4Healingjusticeworkispreventiveandresponsive.Itasksustobringcollectivepracticesforhealingandtransformationintoourwork.This is long-termwork. It isdeepspiritwork.Howwe tap intospiritvaries

fromperson toperson. I feel itmost in largegatheringsofourpeople. I felt itduringtheCharlotteuprisingasIspokeinfrontofthelocalpolicestation.Iwasinthemiddleofaseaofpeople,andsomethingcameoverme.Itwasanout-of-bodyexperience.Ifeltthatsomethingorsomeoneelsespokethroughmymouthabouttheneedtoabolishpolicingandprisons.Ishouted,“Whokeepsussafe?Wekeepussafe!”Thistransformedintoacallandresponsesoloudthattheonlysounds I could hear were those of righteous indignation over the violence ofpolicing.SerenaSebring,aNorthCarolina–basedcommunityorganizer,speaksof the

personal transformation she felt the first time she and Southerners on NewGround bailed out a Black mother from a Durham jail. She told me that thebailoutsmadeherabeliever,andshewasmoved“bydoingstreet fund-raisingand the power of seeing everyday people saying yes to Black women’sfreedom.” The deep spirit work of our movement is possible. Our duty as amovement is to constantly cultivate opportunities for transformation.Wemustaskourselveswhyourmovementisn’taplaceformoreofustobetransformed.WhenIthinkabouttheprimarysitesoftransformationforBlackfolks,Ithink

abouttheBlackChristianchurchanditslegacyintheBlackliberationstruggle.Today the church is not the primary site of movement for many of us. FaithleadersmustaskwhythatisthecaseforsomanyBlackpeople.I’velistenedtoBlackLGBTQfolksandwomenspeakofwhy theyno longer feelathomeorwelcomedinthechurch,andtheyreportgenerationsofsexual,homophobic,andtransphobic abuse. Of course, some congregations and faith leaders are doingradicalBlackliberationwork.TrinityUnitedChurchofChristinChicago,ledby

theReverendOtisMossandyoungpastorsliketheReverendNeichelleGuidry,aregoodexamples,butthereshouldbemanymore.Despitethechurchbeingasite of where transformation is possible, people spend years in variouscongregations experiencing homophobic, transphobic, and sexist abuse andviolencebeforeleaving.Myobservation is that people experience such abuse in themovement.Our

leaders must also ask why more Black folks cannot be transformed in ourmovement. It took our ancestors three centuries to overthrow slavery in theAmericas.Ourvisionmustextendmanygenerationsaheadofus.Theabilitytoplanmayfeellikeaprivilege,butwemustseeitasanimperative.Ourancestorsrelied on many sources for inspiration and power, including faith-basedinstitutions(e.g.,churchesandmosques)andotherswithculturalcommunities—wherepeopleconnectedtospiritand/orentitiesbeyondourselves.Whatpracticescanwebuildforourselvesandourmovement topreventour

pain from becoming suffering for the sake of transformation? I took thisquestion,posedbyastudentduringaclassIvisitedatWilliamsCollegein2017,asachallengeandanopportunitytoclarifyprinciplesbehindourstruggle.

COMBATINGLIBERALISMTHROUGHPRINCIPLEDSTRUGGLE

ItiscrucialthatprincipledstrugglebecomeacornerstoneintheBlackliberationmovement. It cannot be limited to paid staff members or leaders—principledstruggleisimperativeforall.Strugglewithoutprinciplestopracticeandupholdleadstobreakdownsandconflict—and,insomecases,death.Dramaishighandonfulldisplayintheageofsocialmedia.Wedon’thavetotalkwithtenpeopleto find out about ten different conflicts.We can simply log into Facebook orTwitterandareguaranteedtoseepostsaboutconflictsbetweenactivists,aboutgrudges or alliances.And sincewe are committed to improving our lives andthoseofallBlackpeople,thenweneedtounderstandthatrumorsanduncheckedconflictsdetractfromourabilitytocarryouteffectivestrategies.Through principled struggle we can also address the impact of one of the

greatestthreatstomovementbuilding—liberalism.Atfacevalue,liberalismisageneral philosophy in which liberty and equality are inherent. Sounds great,right? Unfortunately, liberalism requires no specific commitment to collectivework, justice,or transformation. It’sabreedingground for indirectapproachesand politics that are identity-neutral (unless you’re a cisgender white man).Liberalismrequiresnoideologicalstruggle,anditmeans,ifanything,moderate

change so not to ruffle the feathers of toomany. I’ve learned over years thatthere is no struggle without discomfort. My critique of liberalism isn’t aboutgoodorbadpeople.Onecanappeartotreatindividualsnicelywhilesupportingpolicy that kills them. Liberalism dominates discourse about progress in theUnitedStates, andourmovementmust combat it andadvance radical agendasforthesakeofourcollectiveliberation.Black radicals have long drawn on the political thought ofMao Tse-tung.5

DuringtheBlackPowermovementera,membersoftheBlackPantherPartyinHarlem, New York, could be seen on the sidewalks sellingQuotations fromChairmanMaoTse-Tung,alsoknownasthe“LittleRedBook,”toraisefunds.6In1937,Mao laidoutwhywemustcombat liberalism.Ourmovementcannolongerafford

to let things slide for the sake of peace and friendshipwhen a person has clearly gonewrong, andrefrainfromprincipledargumentbecauseheisanoldacquaintance,afellowtownsman,aschoolmate,a close friend, a loved one, an old colleague or old subordinate. Or to touch on thematter lightlyinsteadofgoingintoitthoroughly,soastokeepongoodterms.Theresultisthatboththeorganizationandtheindividualareharmed.Thisisonetypeofliberalism.Toindulgeinirresponsiblecriticisminprivateinsteadofactivelyputtingforwardone’ssuggestions

totheorganization.Tosaynothingtopeopletotheirfacesbuttogossipbehindtheirbacks,ortosaynothingatameetingbuttogossipafterwards.Toshownoregardatallfortheprinciplesofcollectivelifebuttofollowone’sowninclination.Thisisasecondtype.To let things drift if theydonot affect onepersonally; to say as little as possiblewhile knowing

perfectlywellwhatiswrong,tobeworldlywiseandplaysafeandseekonlytoavoidblame.Thisisathirdtype.7

This stuff kills our movements. The silences around things we know arewrong, like presidents of historically Black colleges and universities meetingwith the fascist and white supremacist US president in theWhite House andorganizationsacceptingfundingonbehalfofissuesandcommunitiestheydon’tactually reflect, work with, or represent. The culture of liberalism in the USsocial justice movement allows initiatives labeled “progressive” to do harmwithout consequence. Liberalism entails philanthropic foundations givingmillions of dollars to organizations with unprincipled leaders and practices.Whenthesedollarsaredistributed(inmostcasespublicfoundationsareboundbylawtogive), theyofteninvolveunnecessarybureaucracyandrestrictionsinthe interests of wealthy funders. Liberalism allowsmultimillion-dollar budgetnonprofits to siphon off the ideas and expertise of grassroots leaders withoutcompensatingthemandwithoutaccountabilitytocommunitiestheseinstitutionsclaim to advocate for. It allows leaders and organizations to call themselves“progressive”withoutmakingcommitmentstoensuringreproductivefreedomor

endingmass incarceration or poverty. Liberalism allows so-called progressiveelected officials to fund wars but vote no on immigrant rights. In short,liberalismgivesroomtobullshit.I’ve worked in groups in which silence was more common than direct

conversations. Time and time again, groups experience conflict but do notconfront it until things get so bad that people leave or the climate becomesunhealthyandunproductive.Radicalhonestyamongcommunitymemberswithshared values can be transformative. Frank conversations can dispel rumorsaboutwho’sgettingwhatmoneyandfromwhereorwhosaidwhattowhom.Honesty isn’t the same as the transparency I often hear demanded.

Informationshouldbeavailable,butinformationwithoutcontextisuseless.Ourmovementsneedhonesty,butwealsoneed—andmanyofusdon’thaveaccessto—informationwithcontext,andweneedtoknowhowtomakesenseofthiswhenwedohaveit.Weliveintheageofsocialmediawheresimplyexpressingdisagreementcanleadtoapublicdragging.Suchresponsesareaby-productofthegrowingcultureofpurity,inwhicheverythinghastobejustsowithinsocialjusticemovements,without allowing for differences of opinion,much less forhumanfallibility.TherearedayswhenIwonderwhyanyonewouldwanttojoinourmovementafterseeinghowwetreateachotheronline.Rumorsareplentiful inmovement spaces.He said this.They said that. She

said something else. I heard this from a reporter and saw this on Facebook.Social media platforms have not created today’s culture of rumors, but theymake it easier for rumors to spread andgounchecked.Howmany timeshaveyouheardsuchthingsinconversationsbutheardlittle,ifany,substantiationorverification? It is easier to simply feel anger and frustration than todelve intoissuesandsortthemoutinalltheircomplexity.Peoplewillsaythingsonsocialmedia that they would not dare say to someone’s face. I grew up in a placewhereface-to-faceconversationwasthemostcommonformofcommunication.Ifsomeonehadsomethingtosayaboutsomeoneelse,theywouldsayitdirectlyto theotherperson. In theageofvague-booking(passive-aggressiveFacebookposts) and subtweeting (passive-aggressive tweets that don’t name names),expressingdifferencestoacomradedirectlyisbecominglessandlesscommon.If ourmovement is rigorous in its commitment to healing justice, including

transformative justice processes, then each of us has to reckon with how thecarceral state has colonized our ways of dealing with conflict. Disposing ofsomeone is an act of punishment.But, as abolitionist and long-time organizerMariame Kaba says, “punishment is easy, accountability is hard.” Removingsomeonefromanorganization(anemployeeormember)orendingafriendshipcan be done in a principled way. For example, people can be asked to leave

becausetheyhaveapatternofviolatingsharedagreements,whichindicatesthatthey are not willing to change such behavior. Responsibility and action toaddress the harm are key. It is disposal to blacklist peoplewhoarewilling totakeresponsibilityfortheiractionsortopreventonefrombeingemployedeveragainorblockonefrombeinginanymovementspace.ButI’mnotofthecampthat believes that everyonehas a place inmovementwork, even after onehasbeenabusiveandviolentandcausedharm.Somepeoplehavetogo.Acceptance of responsibility and the work (as possible) to repair harm to

individuals and community: these two things are essential in determiningwhether someone ought to stay or be required to leave.Asking or demandingthat someone leave is not inherently disposal. Asking or demanding thatsomeoneleavewithoutdueprocess,studyofthesituation,andanopportunitytorepair theharm: that isdisposal. In theageof socialmedia, the latterhappensmoreoftenthantheformer.Peoplearetriedinthecourtofsocialmediabeforethefamilyandcommunitytheybelongtoareabletocallthemandtheiractionsinto question. That’s unprincipled, and it does not contribute to the project ofliberation.Fartoomanyofusseemtolackthecuriositytoaskquestionsbeforemaking

conclusions—evenwhensomeoneinthemovementreportsabuseorharmfromanothercomrade.Ihavebeenguiltyofthismyself.Tomygreatregret,I’vebeenunprincipled inmovement work and had to learn the hard way to investigatebefore taking action. In thisway I once disrupted ameeting inChicago, thusderailing goodwork thatmight have been done.Ultimately, Iwas agitated totake responsibility for my actions and began to change how I showed up inorganizingspacesoutsideofBYP100.Rumorsanduncheckedconflictaresecurity risks.Peoplehavediedbecause

of these. In 1969, Black Panther Party members Bunchy Carter and JohnHugginswerekilledonthecampusoftheUniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles,after the FBI spread rumors about them. According to FBI records unsealedyearslater,theFBIsenttheBlackPantherPartyandtheUSOrganizationsimilaranonymous letters, each saying that a leader of the other organization had acontractout tokilloneofits leaders.Theresultantrumorsandconflict,stokedby the FBI’s counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) led to a physicalconfrontationthat leftCarterandHugginsdead.If thetacticssoundfamiliar, itmaybebecause theyareechoedby thecounterrevolutionary rumor-mongeringthathappenstodayviatextmessage,DM,email,andBuzzFeedhitpieces.Ifearformyownlifeandthelivesofmycomrades.IamafraidthatI—orsomeoneIworkwith—willendupdeadbecauseofconflictsthatcouldhavebeenresolvedwithoutviolence.

People do not always act with good intentions or with the community’sinterests inmind, but wemust ask questions and investigate before believinganythingthatsoundsoutofplace.Dealingwithconflictinisolationallowsforsomany things to go wrong. I’ve spent months, maybe even years, believingsomethingaboutsomeonewithouttakingthetimetoinvestigateandcorroborate.Investigationcanentailaskingquestionsofotherpeopleinyourorbitoraffectedbytheproblemathand.Investigationcanalsomeanspeakingdirectlywiththeperson said to be causing a problem. While I don’t always get it right, I’velearnedtoaskandclarifybeforeIspeakwithcertaintyaboutmatters.Principledstruggle means that we talk with each other from a place that allows mutualdignity.Principledstrugglemeansthatourconclusionsaboutpeople,events,andorganizationsareassoundaspossible,groundedinobservation,andrecognizingthateventhenourassessmentmaynotbevalid.

MOVINGFORWARD

Ourmovementisaplacewhereweareoftenaskedtopracticeanddothingsthataren’tpracticedinthebroadersociety.Activists,especiallyleaders,areexpectedto be better than everyone else.Butmovement building requires integrity, notperfection,andintegritymeansthatweownouractionandinaction.Committingto integrity instead of perfection leads to real accountability, honesty, andtransformation. Integrity is possiblewhenwe havemany strong leaders and acultureofhealingjustice,andwhenwecombatliberalism.Membersoftherulingclass—includingpoliticians,corporateexecutives,and

families thathavebeenwealthyforgenerations—getanxiouswhen themassesbecome conscious and build movements. They worry about the possibility ofrevolution, about losing power and meeting the same fate to which they’veconsignedtherestofus.Inthiselite,asmallnumberofpublicfiguresoftenhavethe opportunity to represent the many and offer superficial concessions.Democrats consistently play this game with Republicans, regardless of whichparty is in themajority inCongress. In 2018, leadingDemocrats inCongress,statelegislatures,andcitycouncilsareinastateofidentitycrisis.Theirlackofclarity and commitment means anemic—some might say piss-poor—policyaffecting the peoplewhovoted them into office.Democrats are confused, andtheirrelianceonwhattheythinktheyknowisn’tworking.Manypeoplecorrectlyassessthatconservativesactoutoffear,butliberalsarefearfultoo.Whiterageinthe faces of young college-aged peoplewearing polo shirts and khakismakesliberalsfearful.Theyarefearfulbecausethecountrytheythoughttheyknewis

notonlyslippingaway;theyrealizethatitnevertrulyexisted.Letusnotgetcaughtinthattrapoffear,confusion,orarresteddevelopment.

Weneedapowerful revolutionofhearts andminds.Wecan’t afford tonavel-gazewhilemedia“experts”pontificateonwhoisorisnottrulyan“American.”Blackpeoplehaveneverfitintothemold;we’vealwaysforceditintoquestion.Blackness—justashumanityitself—istoobigandfullofvarietyforonemold,andthat’swhatmakesitfertilegroundforrevolutionarythoughtandaction.To build truly emancipatory movements, we must focus seriously on

leadership development, healing justice, and combating liberalism. Bycommittingtothesethreecorepracticesandbyactingonthem,movementscancultivate radical and even revolutionary means for liberation. Radical means“graspingattheroot,”andradicaldemandsrequireworkthattransformspowerrelations. Revolutionary work can transform hearts, minds, and worldviews—andthusevensystemsenmasse.Letusformcollectiveagreementsandvalueintegrityoverperfection.Letus

choose investigation instead of assumption. Let us eschew punishment andhyper-individualisminfavorofself-workandhealingjustice.

CHAPTER5

FIVEQUESTIONS

I once bristled at the public assertion that today’s movement is not “yourgrandparents’civilrightsmovement.”This,Ifelt,wasdisrespectfultothepeoplewho came before us. But as I reflected more deeply, I found truth in thatstatement.Thisisn’tthecivilrightsmovement,andthat’sokay.Theinstitutionsthat led thought and action then are not themovement leaders now. “TheBigFour”—the NAACP, Urban League, Student Nonviolent CoordinatingCommittee(SNCC),andtheSouthernChristianLeadershipConference(SCLC)—either no longer exist or hold much less power and influence in Blackactivism.Today’smovementdoesn’tlookortalkorotherwisecommunicatethesamewayasthosewhocamebeforeus.Today’smovement isn’t theBlackPowermovementeither.Thenostalgiaof

somefortheBlackPantherPartyforSelf-Defense,theBlackLiberationArmy,and thePhiladelphia-basedgroupMOVEoftenoverlooks the sacrificespeoplewereforcedtomakeinthoseorganizationsandtheglobalcontextinwhichtheyworked. Capitalism was cementing itself as a global practice, while massincarcerationwasbeginningtotakeafirmgriponourcommunities.Thecrackepidemichadn’tyethit,andHIVandAIDSwere justbeginning to ravageourcommunities.TheUnitedStateshadfoughtwarsagainstfascistregimesandwasenmeshed in a coldwarwith the communist EasternBloc. J. EdgarHoover’sCOINTELPROwaskillingpeople,breakingdowninfrastructure,andcurtailingBlackPowermovementmomentum.Today’smovement operates under unprecedented levels of surveillance, but

activistsandorganizerscanshareinformationataspeednotpossibleinthepast.Our leaders, during times of heightened activities, are on mainstream newsshows.ManyBlackwomen,queer,andtransleaders,suchasAliciaGarza,ColeB.Cole,andRashadRobinson,arehighlyvisibleandhaveaccesstoresourcestorebuildmovementinfrastructure.Butourvisibilityisnotenough.Westillhaveeconomic, political, and social interventions to make in organizing ourcommunities.

Noonepersonorsinglegrouphaseverwonsomethingtrulymeaningfulforourpeoplealone.EvenHarriet“Moses”Tubman,adisabledabolitionistandthefirst woman to lead a military raid during the US Civil War, had allies andcoconspirators.TubmanhelpedliberateoverthreehundredenslavedAfricansasan Underground Railroad conductor by working as part of a network ofrelationships. In first reading about her I learned that she carried a pistol andtooknoshit,butIreadlittleaboutthesupportsystemsshehadasawomanwhohad narcolepsy and was prone to fall asleep in any circumstance. These“sleeping spells” followedan event that happenedwhen shewas about fifteenyearsold:atwo-poundweight,aimedatanotherenslavedperson,hitherhead.Asachild,IneverwonderedexactlyhowTubmanaccomplishedwhatshedid.Now I understand that she used extraordinary organizing skills but also hadassistancetodoherworkwithoutbeingkilledorlosingasinglepersonalongtheway.LiketheabolitionistsofTubman’stime,communityorganizerstodayimagine,

plan, andact tocreatechangeonce thought impossible. Iknow transformativechangeispossible,evenundertheworstconditions,becauseoftheactionsofthenamedandunnamedpeoplewhobeganthisworklongbeforeanyofusenteredthisworld.Organizedpeoplehavechangedlawsandsocietalnormsinwaysthathaveenabledhumandignityforall.Inspiteoftheharshrealitieswefacelocallyandglobally,somepeoplestillhavethenervetobelievethatsomethingbetterispossible.Transformative change is possible through social movements, and these

movements aremade up of diverse individuals who show up as activists andorganizers.Activismisprobablythemostaccessibleandcommonentrypointforindividualsjoiningmovements.Wecanallbeactivists—peoplewhotakeactionon behalf of things we care about. Activists attend rallies, make phone calls,writeletters,andspeakoutagainstinjustice.Butnotallactivistsarecommunityorganizers.Whatdoescommunityorganizingentail?Ibelievethattwoessentialelements

of it are developing leaders and strategizing to take action. The model ofcommunity organizing that I learned and practice is rooted in relationshipsbetween individualsworking toward the samegoal, oftenwithvarious tactics.Organizerscanworkwithinculturalspaces,withinissue-focusedcampaigns,andmanyotherplaces. I believe in communityorganizing thatworks todismantlesystems of oppression and replace them with systems designed to allowcollective dignity and power. On different levels we can all do the work oforganizingwithinourcommunities.Communityorganizing isnotautomatically radicalor liberating,andnoone

personorgrouphasamonopolyonit.Somepeopleorganizetorestrictaccesstohumandignityforothers,todominateandoppressothers.Likeus,theyorganizearound ideasandrequire resources. In therun-up to the2016U.S.presidentialelection,youngwhitesupremacistsorganizedbyweavingastoryofoppressionfraught with lies. Today’s network of white supremacist and nationalistorganizations is highly decentralized. Yet these activists are finding ways toconstructatighterandmorecoordinatedmovement,aidedbythetechnologicaldevelopments in communications.While their analysis is based in anti-Blackracism, patriarchy, and xenophobia, they believe it enough to organize peopleandresourcesaroundavisionoftheworldwherewhitemenrule.Andtheyco-opt the language and tactics of the same social movements they oppose.Communityorganizerscommittedtocollectiveliberationcannotaffordtorestontheirlaurelsorbecontentinfeelingmorallysuperior.Communityorganizingforourcollectiveliberationrequiresinterpersonaland

sound relationships with the natural world around us. I believe in organizingwithgroupsofpeopletocreatethetypeofworldwewantfuturegenerationstolive in.Thegapbetween theworldas it isandas Iwant it tobeexpandsandcontracts,andIcan’tcontrolthesizeofthedisconnection,butIbelievethegapgetssmallerwhenIorganizewithpeoplealonglinesofsharedinterests,values,andvision.In Obama’s Organizing for America era, community organizing became a

buzzword and “organizer” became an identity for anyone who worked on acampaignortalkedwithpeopleaboutsocialjustice.Everyonewasanorganizer.Newshops like theNewOrganizingInstitute(NOI)poppedupinWashington,DC, where Obama staffers cranked out digital organizing and narrative orstorytelling-based strategy training for thousands of people across the country.Theyrecruitedpeoplelikemetoleadtrainingsessionsatweeklongbootcampswith no pay. I got a lot of great practice and made many connections withactivists and organizers. At the same time, the imperfections of white-ledprogressive institutions became evident, and the NOI folded in 2015 due tointernal conflict and funding problems. It wasn’t all bad—a lot of Black andBrown folkswereemployed for a time—but the lossof that spacehasgreatlynarrowed the pipeline for people living outside of Washington DC and NewYork City to access skill-building and job opportunities. I use the NewOrganizingInstituteasanexamplebecauseitrepresentswhatcanhappenwhenorganizing is taught within liberal frameworks and without clear ideologicalvaluesandgroundinginradicalsocialmovementhistory.TheNOIwasnotaloneinusingtheboot-campstyleoftrainingorganizersand

paidstaffforprogressiveorganizationsandcampaigns.Olderschoolsthattaught

communityorganizing,likeWellstoneActionandtheMidwestAcademy,hadtoadjustandevolvetomeetthegrowingdemandfortrainingrelevanttoBlackandBrown organizers. At that time, around 2009–10, I knew of no Black-ledorganizinginstitutesinthecountrythatweregroundedinradicalpolitics.Ihadnopoliticalhome.IonlyknewoftheNAACPandCongressionalBlackCaucusas placeswhere one could learn organizing fromBlack people at the nationallevel.TheNAACPdidn’tfeellikehomeforme,andtheBlackCaucuswasforelected officials.Most of the spaces for explicitly radical Black-ledwork hadfewresourcesorwerenolongerinexistence.IlaterlearnedabouttheMalcolmXGrassrootsMovement,SisterSong,andRuckusSociety.Thoseorganizations,and the larger radicalmovements they operated in,were not prominent in thecirclesImovedinwhilelivinginWashington.AlthoughItendedtobeleftofthestatus quo in progressive spaces, I had somuchmore to learn.Once Imovedfrom the DC area, I was exposed to a whole world outside of anyone whoidentifiedpoliticallyasprogressiveandliberal.My training in northernVirginia taughtme the basics of relationship-based

organizing. Nearly ten years later, I am clear that some things should beconstant. First, any community organizing must address issues of power,relationships,people(theconditionswelivein),andchange.Adiscussionaboutcommunity organizing that fails to address and understand power dynamics islikeabig familygatheringwithno food.Whowouldwant that?Notme.Yes,therearesomethings thatcanchangewith thestrokeofapen,butpeopleandtheir relationships are—andmust be—at the core of long-term transformativechange.Therearevaluablelessonstobelearnedfromvariousschoolsofcommunity

organizing, but there is no one correct way, certainly not mine. Centuries ofBlackresistanceshowthatmaterialconditionsofourpeopleimprovethankstothe will of everyday people to take collective action on such a scale that itshocksthesystem.Thisactionhasincludedarmedresistance,andithasincludednonviolent civil disobedience. The tactics have varied. Everyone invested incollectiveliberationmustanswerthefollowingquestionscriticaltodeterminingthehealthandsuccessofourmovements:WhoamI?Whoaremypeople?Whatdowewant?Whatarewebuilding?Arewereadytowin?

WHOAMI?

If an activist or organizer tells you that she doesn’t do this work for herself,moveawayasquicklyasyoucan.Weallhavesomethingatstake.Whetheritis

caringaboutthequalityofairandwaterordismantlingprisons,humansalwayshavesomethingatstakeindividually.Andfiguringoutwhatthatisforyoustartswithknowingwhoyouareasanindividual,whatyoucareabout,andwhythatself-knowledgeisnecessaryforanyonecommittedtocollectiveliberation.Whenwebring ourselves into thework,we are not robots:we come as peoplewithhistories, experience,knowledge, skills,desires, and traumas.Andweallhavegenerationsofpeopleatourbackwhohelpusmakesenseofwhoweareandtheworkwe’recalledtodo.Given all that our people have been through, there can be no hierarchy of

storiesamongBlackpeople.Wecomefrompeoplewholivedundertheheelsofcolonialism and slavery, under domestic and foreign terrorism, and our storiesareweapons. They should be used against the lies told about our history, notagainst our own people. Black folks’ stories are diverse and sometimescontradictory,but,aswithleaders,ourmovementisstrongerwhenwevaluethisdiversity.Unfortunatelyourmovementdoesn’tdowellatthis.The“oppressionOlympics”—arguments over who has had it the hardest—is a constantcompetition.Peoplecompeteoverwhattypesofstoriesdeserveprioritybecausefar toomanyaremarginalizedandnotheardwidelyenough. Ibelieve thatourmovements are stronger when we push ourselves to seek and draw out thesestoriesandcenterthem(andthosewhotellthem).It’sinthesestoriesthatwearebetterabletoidentifymultiplestreamsofrepression,resilience,andresistance.For example, imagine if more of the protagonists in stories about massincarcerationwereBlackwomen insteadofmen.Thatwould forceactivists todevelop strategies that address gender, reproductive justice, and parenting inprison.Fartoomanynationalcampaignsmissthis.1Movement building requires people who are clear about who they are and

whatbringsthemtotheirwork,butnoteveryonebelievesinthesignificanceoftheirownstory. In2009, I joineda teamofpeopleworking to train immigrantyouth activists preparing for national efforts to pass what was called“comprehensive immigration reform” (CIR), anchored by the Center forCommunityChange,ReformImmigrationforAmerica,andtheNewOrganizingInstitute.Whilethepoliticsoftheeffortwerefullofcontradictions,thetrainingseriesbroughttogethermanyyoungleaderswhowouldgoontoworknationallyon immigrant rights and justice. We worked with Marshall Ganz, longtimecommunityorganizerandHarvardprofessor,andhisteamoftrainers,usingthepublic narrative training they had developed. I knew that I loved to train andloved working with young people, and my understanding of immigrant andmigrant justicegrew through thepeople Imet and the stories I heard.Despitehaving grown up in a predominately Mexican immigrant neighborhood in

Chicago,IhadnorealunderstandingofwhatmillionsofundocumentedpeopleintheUnitedStatesexperience.AsaUS-bornBlackperson,IknewthataccesstofullcitizenshipforBlackfolkswastenuousatbest,andthatwhilecitizenshipwouldoffersecuritytopeople,itwouldnotliberatethem.ThisCIRtraininghadverylittleparticipationbyBlackimmigrants,although

onesessioninFloridaboastedthemostdiversity,giventhelocaleffortstobuildmorereflectivebasesofimmigrantactivists.Duringthe“storyofself”exercise,meanttocoaxoutacompellingthree-minutepersonalstory,ImetayoungBlackactivist,MarcSimms,whowasfiguringouthisplace in thework.Wewereingroups,andIwaslikelymakingroundstocheckinonparticipantswhenMarcsaidthathedidn’thaveastorytoshare.Whilehewasfromanimmigrantfamily,my understanding was that he did not connect to the primary issue ofimmigrationreformanddominantstorieshe’dheard.IchallengedMarc,tellinghimthatasaBlackpersonintheUnitedStatesheautomaticallyhadastory.Hewasreceptive,andtogetherweworkedthroughthecurriculum,whichaskedusalltoidentifyachallenge,choice,andoutcomeinourlivesthathadbroughtustoactivism.Itwastherethatwewouldbeabletoconnectwithotherpeoplewhoshared our values and vision for the world. That is the crux of grassrootsorganizing. Our stories are mediums for us to understand ourselves and tounderstandotherpeople.I have already related a little ofmyown story in thepreface, but Iwant to

share that it took years and deep reflection to coax out my story. I am thedaughteroftwoparentswhoseparentsmigratedfromtheSouth.Theaccentmymaternal grandmother carriedwith her fromGreenville,Mississippi, is still inmythroat.IfirstlearnedhowtonavigatetheworldwhilegrowingupasalittleBlack girl in the South Side neighborhood of the Back of the Yards. I recallmanynightslyingawakelisteningtotrainspassthroughtheindustrializedareaknownforitshistoryofcommunityorganizing.MostofthefamilieswholivedintheneighborhoodduringorganizerSaulAlinsky’serainthe1930shadmovedontomoreaffluentneighborhoodsorsuburbslongbeforemyfamilymovedintoa small brickhouse there in the late1980s.Likemanyworking parents,minechose the neighborhood because they could afford it. I understood then, evenwithoutthelanguageIhavetoday,that theworldwelivedinhadthepowertocompromise our dignity and overall wellness. As a child I witnessed andexperienced adverse effects of an economy based on extracting this planet’sresources and exploiting its people instead of committing to regeneration.Myearly experiences with power—in my home, the welfare office, and myneighborhood—shapedhowImoveintheworldtoday.MyangstasaBlackgirl,Blackwoman,andlateraqueerorlesbian-identified

collegegraduateandcommunityorganizerhasaffectedmuchof theworkIdotoday.IwishIcouldbottleanddiscardthatangst,butit’saconstantcompanionandshowsitselfdailyasIamremindedofwhyIamrightfullyangryaboutsomanythings.I’mangrythatIhavetojumpthroughhoopstogetpregnantasawomanwho

no longer has sexwithmen and loves awomanwho does not have sperm togive. I’m angry that my mother has consistently had to work low-wage jobsdespiteher superior skills incaring forotherpeople. I’mangry that thepoliceoccupymyneighborhoodand that theyaremorepresent thanquality jobsandservicesforthepeoplewholiveinit.IamangrythatIcannotcontrolwhethersomeone chooses to rapeme. I’m angry that people are caged in prisons andjails.I’mangrythatwhitepeopleseeminglyfailtothinktwicebeforeoccupyingneighborhoodsandspaceswitharroganceandlackofconnectiontothepeoplewhoaresystemicallypushedout.I’mangrythatourpeoplearestillnotfree.I’mstillangrythatslaveryexistedandpersistsinvariousformstothisday.Iholdalotofangstandanger—andtheybothdrivemyactivismandorganizingwork.TherearefewplacesinUSpoliticsforpeoplelikeme.IamaleftistandIam

notwhite or aman. This is difficult for some people to grasp. I don’t fit thearchetypeofthewhiteunionguyorthewhitedudeenvironmentalistorthewhitehard-line communist or the white data dude who crunches numbers for theDemocraticPartybydayandjoinstheresistancebynight.IamaBlacklesbianleftist.Ibelievethatcapitalismshouldbedismantledinfavorofaneconomythatispeople- andplanet-centered. Inaworldwithexcess food,noone shouldgohungry—yetpeopledo.IbelievethatDemocraticandRepublicanPartypoliticsimpede this. I say this all in reiterating that I come tomyworkwithpersonalhistory, experience, knowledge, skills, desires, and trauma.Knowingwho youare,whatyoucareabout,andwhy:thesearenecessaryforanyonecommittedtocollectiveliberation.

WHOAREMYPEOPLE?

Dr.BarbaraRansby, thescholarandcommunityorganizerwhowrote themostcomprehensive biography of Ella Baker, exposed many to Baker’s work andlegacy.RansbyilluminateswhyBakeroftenasked“whoareyourpeople?”Theanswerstothisquestionprovideinsightanddirectionfortheworkeachofuscando.“Whoareyourpeople?”isaquestionmeanttoagitate.Itismeanttohelpusbecome clear about who we identify with and push us to make connectionswhere they aren’t obvious or comfortable. Baker, Ransby writes, “pushed

educated college students to see illiterate sharecroppers as ‘their people,’ theirallies and their political mentors. She pushed Northerners to embraceSouthernersinprincipledsolidarity.”2MovingbackhometoChicagoafterlivingincentralIllinois,St.Louis,Washington,andNewYorkCitygavemedifferentanswerstoEllaBaker’squestion.I left Chicago at eighteen, traveled about two and a half hours away for

college,andrarelycamebackoverthosefouryears.Ididn’tfeelcompelledto.Iavoided what I would find at home—unstable housing and no prospects foremployment—and spent every summer in Bloomington, Illinois. At times Iworkedtwojobsoverthesummertomakerentandhavesomethingleftfortheschoolyear.Mycollegepeersbecamemypeople.Chicagoanditspeople,evenmyownfamilyinsomeways,didn’tbecomemineagainuntilIreturnedalmosttenyearslater.Inanotetocomrades,friends,andchosenfamilyI’dmadeovertheyears,Ireflectedonthiswithhopesformoremeaningfulmovementworkontheothersideofamajorrelocation.ItoldmyfriendsthatIwasproudofChicagoanditshistorybutnotproudof

where it seemed tobegoing.Far toomanyofourpeoplewere struggling, toomanypublicgoodsandinstitutionswerebecomingprivatized,andourchildrenwerebeingbrutallygunneddowninthestreets.That’sjustnotacceptable.SoI’ddecidedtogobackhometodothework.ItransitionedfrommyroleatColorofChange to joinChicago-basedNational People’sAction. It was bittersweet toleavetheEastCoastthathaddevelopedmefromyoungactivisttoorganizerandwriter.Iwasreadytobuild,bothprofessionallyandpersonally,intheplacethathadraisedme.FindingmypeopleinChicagoallowedmenotonlytofindhomebutalsoto

show up as a community organizer in more authentic ways. And there wereplentyofpeoplewithwhomIhadtointentionallybuildrelationships.Istillenterconversationsabout“thecommunity,”conversationsinwhichI’mtakentobeanoutsider. I understand much of the sentiment about people who relocate toChicago (and this can apply to other cities) and assert their own agendas onpeoplewhohavelivedthereforever.WhileIamnolongerlookingtoprovemyplaceinmyowncommunity,Iunderstandthattheworkofbuildingtrustneverends.MypeopleareaNorthStarforbelongingandpurpose.IwanttobelievethatI

belongwhereverthereareBlackpeoplelivinginthisworld,butsuchabeliefisonlyasgoodas theworkIdo tomake it real.Blackfolksaremypeople,andwhatimpactsoneofusaffectsusall.Weallhavecollectiveresponsibilitytotakeaction.IwanttoaidBlackstrugglesacrossthediaspora,notjustbeinsolidaritywiththesestruggles.Solidarityalltoooftenmeansnotseeingoneselfaffectedby

theoppressionofanothergroup.Butmyaspirationandcommitmentistoalignmyselfwith allBlackpeople andnot seemyown struggle asworthier or lessworthy than any others. I’ve fallen short of practicing this commitment, andthose closest to me have called me to task as a result. In the aftermath ofHurricaneMaria’sdestructionoftheUSVirginIslandsandPuertoRico,whichexposed a structural disregard for the colonized islands, I had to collect andhumblemyself,andadmittowhatIdidn’tknow.ThesystemicdivisionofBlackpeople throughout theWesternHemisphere is older than theUSConstitution.From our families to the diaspora, separation is thework of anti-Blackness. Irealizedthatcolonialismhadgottentopartsofmymind,too,andthatwasahardtruthtoswallow.Mypeoplearethosewhocanholdmeaccountableformyactions.Iammost

immediatelyaccountabletothepeoplewithwhomIaminadirectrelationship.Iamaccountabletomyfamily,mypartner,myneighbors,andthemembersofanorganizationIbelongto,amongothers.IfIwereanelectedofficial,Iwouldbeaccountabletoallofmyconstituents,notjustthepeoplewhovotedforme.IfIwereacelebrityartist,Iwouldbeaccountabletothepeoplewhopurchasedmyconcert ticketsorpaid towatchmy films.Accountability takesdiscipline, andrelationships matter within our movement. If I claim to act on behalf of anygroupofpeople,thosepeoplehaveasayinholdingmeresponsibleshouldIdoharm. Our movements must take up the work of real accountability. Callingsomeoneoutinisolationdoesnotbringasolution;ittakesskilledpeoplewithinacommunitytobringaboutsolutionsandopenpathways.Creatingacultureandsystems for community accountability, just like community organizing, takesinvestmentinrealpeopleandinfrastructure.Our movements cannot afford to treat “the people” as an abstract concept

whendevelopingcampaignsorbuildingorganizations.Wehavetobespecificinordertodeterminewhoandwhatispresentormissing.Whodoweshowupforandwhodon’tweshowupforwhensolidarityorcoconspiratorsarecalledfor?Sometimes we are not directly impacted by a specific problem. I am acoconspiratorwith comrades fighting for immigrant justice, but that’s not thestruggle forme to lead.Thatwork requiresme to be alignedwith people andorganizationsinordertobeeducatedandhavemyactivismontheissuedirected.It iseasier tosupportanideathanit is tobeinsolidaritywithspecificpeople.That takes work. One example is how people join calls for solidarity withoppressed groups without names of people or organizations being explicit.Alliancewithanideaisnotaspowerfulasrealsolidarity thatshowsupandismanifestinaction.Solidarityrequiresmorethanthinking.Itrequiresaction,anditrequiresustofollowtheleadershipofthosewhoarethemostdirectlyaffected.

Theanti-BlackprojectofbreakingbondsbetweenBlackpeopletraffickedtotheWesternHemispherecontinues today.Theassertion that“Blackfolksdon’tsticktogether”enduresinsideandoutsideofcommunitiesdespiteexampleafterexampleofBlackpeopledoingexactlythat.Somanypeopleandinstitutionsintheworld teachmost people the lie that there are not enough resources to goaround.We have been told that we are not human.We have been treated assecond-classcitizens.Theintentofanti-Blacknesshasalwaysbeentodivideustokeepusdown,sowemustfightbacknotasindividualsbutenmasse—allofus, together. All or none.Whenwe declare withAssata Shakur that we havenothingtolosebutourchains,wehavetotakethatseriously.ShedidnotstopatcallingfortheliberationofsomeBlackpeople.Herlifeandsacrificesreflecthervisionforallofus.Ourstruggleisforallofourpeople.Andwhenyoufindyourpeople, organize yourselves to create the world where we can all live withdignity.

WHATDOWEWANT?

Thequestion“reformor revolution?” isoftenposed inactivist spaces,yet I’mnotconvincedthatthisiswhatactivistsneedtoaskthemselves.BlackpeopleintheUnitedStateshavealwaysrequireddiverseinterventionsonawidescaletomake their lives livable and dignified. From Marcus Garvey’s mass Blacknationalismtolunchcountersit-insinthesixtiesandtheriseofaBlackfeministmovement in the early seventies, these interventions have been both deeplyideologicalandaction-oriented.Andtheseinterventionsoftenhavetheirrootsinourcollectiveangst.Angst,that“feelingofanxiety,apprehension,orinsecurity,”can be debilitating alone, but when harnessed collectively it can lead to theformationandoperationofablockcluborsomethingmuchgreater.Recognizingsharedangstcanunitepeopleacrossgangborderlines,acrossclassandgender,evenacrosslanguageandrace.Andjoiningthatangstwithsharedfeelingsthatare more positive—joy and love, to name two—can be powerful chemistry.Working to create change, especially transformative change, requires thingsofBlackpeoplethatarebothforeignandsecondnaturetousatthesametime.Workingtogetherfortransformativechangemeanssharedvision,anditmeans

that therewill bemoments of discomfort. As an organizer I need to be clearaboutwhat I knowwell but also aboutwhat I donot know. Imust recognizewhenIamoutofmydepthonissues,ideas,andstrategies.Further,theprojectofanti-Blacknessandcolonizationdidn’tskipoverme.Ihaveinternalizedwaysofbeing and understanding just as everyone else in theworld has. Inmy case, I

grew up in a worldwhere blacknesswas narrowly defined. Gender, and as aresultwomanhoodandqueerness,wasevenmorenarrowlydefined.FortunatelyI’vebeenpushedandagitatedatthroughoutmypoliticaldevelopment,andthishashelpedmetobreakoutofmyconfines.Speakingofwhich,Ilearnedabouttheconceptofprisonabolitionfromthen-nineteen-year-oldAshaRansby-Spornduring the convening that led to the founding of BYP100. It was a foreignconcept tome thatwe could live in aworldwith no prisons or police. I hadthought of them as inevitable before that. I hope that your worldview willconstantlyevolveasminehas.MyyearsinWashington,DC,andinNewYorkCityrootedmyunderstanding

ofwhatispossiblebywayofreform.Reformsarechangesthatarenotstructuralordonotalterpower relations in favorofmarginalizedandoppressedgroups.During that time I was rarely in conversations about what it would mean tocompletelytransformthesystemsthatimpactourlives.ItwasnotuntilIjoinedthemovementcommunityinChicagothatIfoundmyselfinspaceswherepeopleaddressed a need for radical structural change that transformspower relations.Here I found community organizations, scholars, and projects advancing theirvisionstonotonlyendmassincarcerationbutputanendtotheentiresystemofincarceration. No organization impacted my understanding of this more thanBYP100. Building the organization, particularly our work in the Chicagochapter, meant building a vehicle to create the transformative change webelievedin.ThepossibilitiesIfoundexpressedinChicagoextendedmypersonalvisionforwhatwaspossibleandchangedwhatIwantedintheworld.Whatkindofworlddowewant?Our individualandcollectivevisionsboth

matter. Social movements, over time and with much struggle, have achievedvariousaspectsofwhattheyhaveenvisioned,butsuchachievementshaveoftenbeen tenuous.Anewpolitical party inpower can jeopardize and evendestroythem. Freedoms we once thought were a given are now up for grabs. Forexample,Blackfolkscontinuetoorganizeandfightforfullvotingrightstoday.It took the invalidation of one section of the Voting Rights Act by the USSupremeCourt in 2013 to strip oversight and accountability for state policiesregardingpublicelections.ThewaveofrestrictivevoterIDlawsintroducedandenacted subsequently,disenfranchisingpeoplewhohavebeen incarceratedandwho are incarcerated, illustrate that no freedom is guaranteed in this country.Thisisn’tlimitedtovotingrights.Accesstofullreproductivehealthcareandtheability to migrate freely, without criminalization, also depend on who is inpolitical office and on the will of those running advocacy organizations withsubstantialresources,includinglaborunionsandlargenonprofits.We deserve more than partial freedoms cloaked as pathways to liberation.

Freedomisnotrealifeveryonecan’texerciseit.Liberationentailsfreedoms,butitismorethanthat.Liberationisaperpetualprojectofcreatingandmaintainingrightrelationshipsbetweenpeopleandthelandweinhabit.Andourarticulationof how we get there—how we liberate ourselves—matters. As activists,regardlessofhowmuchpowerwehold,whatwesaywewantmatters—becauseinthismomentwejustmightgetit.In2014,BYP100releasedthe“AgendatoKeepUsSafe,”apublicpolicyagendafocusedonendingthecriminalizationofBlackpeople.Atthetime,peoplefromallsectorsoftheracialjusticemovementproposed various reforms to address police violence. Perhaps no other reformhas had as much traction as the demand to equip police officers with bodycameras.WewentbackandforthinBYP100aboutwhatpositiontotakeonthis.Some of ourmembers felt strongly thatwe should advocate in favor of bodycameras.Othersfeltstronglyopposedtothis.Today,afterseveralcasesinwhichpoliceofficershavebeencaughtkillingBlackpeopleoncamerawithimpunity(e.g., Walter Scott and Eric Garner), it may seem much easier to make adecision.IfIcouldgobackintime,Iwouldhavetakenaclearstance(asIdotoday)againstsupportingtheuseofbodycamerastodeterpoliceviolence.In 2014, leaders in our organization and throughout the broadermovement

had differing levels of trust in the justice system. Context matters. We inBYP100agreedtoadvocateforcommunityparticipationinthedecision-makingprocess before taxpayer dollars were spent on body cameras. Instead ofstruggling with others to advance a more transformative agenda, wecompromised. Ultimately this decision was healthier for the organization, butwithhindsight Isee thatwecouldhavegonebigger.Wesettledona reformistdemandthatfailedtogetattherootoftheproblem.Regardlessoftheprocessofthedebate,bodycameraswouldnotaddresscriminalization.Policeofficerscanturncamerasoff,claimtheymalfunctioned,orcommitactsofviolenceonlytobe letoff thehookbya judgeor jury later.Hindsight isagiftandasourceofangst.Thetypesofdemandswemakedomatter.Demandscanbemadetothestate,

corporations, powerful groups, individuals, and even to our own communities.Somedemandsareourproposedsolutionstoaddressproblems.Others,suchas“Clean Water Now,” “Reparations Now,” “Books Not Bars!,” and “Stop theCopsandFundBlackFutures,”articulatethevisionwehavefortheworld.Thesolutionswechooseimpactthetypeofchangethatcanhappenandthechangethatactuallyhappens.Forexample,today’sincreasinglypopulardemandtoendmass incarceration comes after decades of grassroots activism and communityorganizing toraiseawarenessof theprisonnation(asBethE.Richie terms it),the carceral state we live in. One could dissect the demand to end mass

incarcerationandsaythatitisreformistbecauseitdoesnotaddresstransformingpowerandcompletelydismantling theprisonindustrialcomplex.In thevision,peoplewillstillbeincages,justfewerthantherearenow.Andthisworksforthemajorityofmainstreamadvocacyeffortsbecausemostofusbelieve that somepeopledeservetobeinprison.There aremillions of people in prison, jail, andwalking aroundwith ankle

braceletsthatmonitorandlimittheirmovement.Thepeoplewholovethemareaffectedbythistoo.Theimmensecostsofincarcerationdonotendwithbuildingand staffing prisons and jails. Critical Resistance, a longtime organizationalleader in the global movement to end the prison industrial complex (PIC),definesthePICas“theoverlappinginterestsofgovernmentandindustrythatusesurveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social andpolitical problems.”3 The PIC enables people to target other people based onrace,gender,citizenshipstatus,ability,andclass.ThePICallowsindividualsandcorporations toprofit fromthepunishmentofotherpeople.Fromthemedia tothe manufacturers of prison clothing, people profit from punishment. Ourcollective vision must include abolition, “with the goal of eliminatingimprisonment, policing, and surveillance and creating lasting alternatives topunishmentandimprisonment.”4Abolition is a demandandvision that rightly identifies the inhumane living

conditionspeopleinprisonendureandtheimpactprisonhasonthefamiliesofthose incarcerated. It also calls for transformative justice for victims andperpetrators of violence (these groups often overlap). Abolitionists assert thatour time, energy, and resourceswould be better spent on building completelynew alternatives instead of improving what has time and again beendemonstratedtobeineffectiveandworse.Viewingtheproject throughaBlackqueerfeminist lens,communityorganizerscanunderstandthisas liberatingforall. If we want a world in which conflict and harm are dealt with in waysradicallydifferentthantheyarenow,looktoBlackqueerfeminismandincludethe experiences of women, disabled people, LGBTQ people, immigrants, andmenwhocomefromalineageofpeopleincages.Howdoesprisonimpacttheenvironment, reproductive justice, and immigrant rights and justice? A Blackqueerfeministlensfocusesonquestionslikethese.

WHATAREWEBUILDING?

Each generation of struggle lays the groundwork for the next. In laying thatgroundwork our movements have consistently encounteredmany of the same

battles.Wefightonterrainsthatwedonotcontrol.ThedeckhasbeenstackedagainstBlackpeopleinthishemispheresincethebeginningofthetransatlanticslavetrade.Andstillwepersist.Ourpeoplehavebuiltinstitutionsandsurvivedamong people and systems set up to kill us. The imperative for today’smovement is to not rest on laurels but to instead shift the terrainwe fight on.Thisisfundamentallyconnectedtostrugglesforpower.Whatispower?Thewordhasmanymeanings.Poweristheabilitytoactand

getwhatyouwant.Powerisbuiltandmaintainedthroughorganizedpeopleandorganized resources. Power is not inherently good or bad. For people frommarginalizedgroups,experienceswithpowerareoftennegative.Weareusedtopeoplehavingpoweroverus.Theamountofpowerotherpeopleandinstitutionshaveoverourlives,ourchildren,ourmobility,ouraccesstobasicneeds(food,water, and shelter), and even our desire is immeasurable. Lovers, politicians,socialworkers,teachers,andparentscanallwieldoppressivepowerinourlives.Powerrelationshipsarebasedonindividuals,buttheyareintrinsicallyconnectedtosystemsofpowermaintainedbycapitalism,patriarchy,whitesupremacy,andanti-Blackness. Amovement for collective liberation must be about changingandtransformingthosepowerrelationships.Thisisatallorder.What type of power do we want? Creating changes requires building and

harnessing power. Anyone committed to transformative change must also becommittedtobuildingtransformativepower.WhatinstitutionsexisttodaywhereBlack people organize our people and our resources? Who influences theinformation we receive? Who controls our resources? The answers to thesequestionsgobeyondthemediaandthestateandentailmorethanhowthedollarcirculates in our communities. Capitalism with “Black” in front of it won’tliberate our people. Capitalism is by definition tied to the subjugation ofAfrican-descendedpeople.Ourcollectiveliberationwillnotcomefrommodelsthatrelyonindividualorsmallgroupwealth-building.AsAudreLordeteaches,wecannotusethemaster’stoolstodismantlethemaster’shouse.Capitalismishighly adaptable, and those who want to maintain it perform any measureneeded to save it each time it faces crisis. If we take up the work of prisonabolition, thealternativeswehave tosupplyandprepare tobuildmust relyoneconomicandsocialmodelsthatbenefitthegreatestnumberofpeople,notjustafew.Our work must center self-education and collective education. Intellectual

labor and community organizing are essential. The Black radical traditionillustrates that liberation stems from the work of organizations, scholars, andactivists, not from one charismatic leader. Study, rigorous discussion, and alifelongpursuitofknowledgeare imperative foreachofus.Makingeducation

andknowledgeaccessibletoourpeoplerequirescommunityorganizingtoo.Inasocietywheremostpeoplereadataseventh-oreighth-gradelevel,ourpoliticalprogramsmustaddress literacyandbecommunicatedinvariousways,not justinwriting.Ourpeoplecanunderstandcomplexideas,though,andweshouldnotsellourselvesorourcommunitiesshort.Wemustworktocommunicateclearlybutalsofosterourcollectiveabilitytoarticulateandprocesscomplexideas.Whohaspower?Todaytherearefartoomanyallowancesforindividualswith

concentratedpowertocontrolwhathappensinourmovements.Oneexampleisthe power that philanthropic foundations have over resources owed tocommunities.Fundingin today’smovement isnotbasedonmeritocracy.As inmany other sectors, it is based on relationships, visibility, and strategy. AfterdecadesofdivestmentfromBlackorganizingbymajorfoundations,movementgroupsarenowbeginningtoseeresourcescometheirwayagain,butfundingisnotagiven.Publicfoundationshavemoneythattheymustspendforcharitablepurposes, but application requirements, program officers, and reportingrequirements excessively control where and how the money should be spent.Foundations hold toomuch power over the resourceswe need to support ourmovement.Atthesametime,therearefoundationsliketheCrossroadsFundandthe Trans Justice Funding Project that are led by people rooted in thecommunitiestheysupport.Workneeded tochange thematerialconditionsofourpeople isconsistently

underfunded,andmodels thathavebeendemonstratedtoworkremainshortofresources.Itiseasiertowriteofforganizationsandpeoplewhoreceivefundingfromfoundationsthanitistohaveaclearunderstandingofhowmuchitcoststopayforhealth-careinsuranceandalivingwageinaneconomywherethereisnoprofit motive to support social change. Community organizers don’t have toaccept grant money, but in a capitalist economy such work cannot be donewithoutmoney.Peoplehavetofeedthemselvesandtheirfamilies.Gonearethedayswhenonecouldworkonejobandsupportanentirefamily.Weneedtodeeplyexaminetheeconomicrealitiesofthismoment.Thecivil

rights movement was funded by wealthy individuals. The Black PowermovementreceivedgrantsandfundingfromwealthypeoplesuchasJaneFonda.Thesemovements also had robust revenue-generatingmodels.Are churches apotentialsourceoffundingourmovement?Sellinganewspaper,liketheBlackPanthersdid, iscertainlynolongeraviablemodel today.Therearemodelsforbuilding resources through socialist frameworks. Membership dues andcooperativeenterprisesareexamplesthatrequireskills,time,andinfrastructureto implement. Public policy in theUnitedStates seems created to prevent ourworkfrombeingdone.Workercooperativesare illegal insomestates.Inother

states,traditionalcorporationsarerewardedwithtaxbreakswhilecooperativelyowned companies are not. Community-based solutions are needed, and so arestructuralchangestoourentireeconomy.Publiceducationshouldreceivemorefunding thanpolicingandprisons.TheFreedomtoThrive report, producedbyBYP100,LawforBlackLives,andCenterforPopularDemocracy,foundthatinBaltimore, for every one dollar the police department receives, public schoolsreceive just fifty-five cents. The report also found that in fiscal year 2017,Chicagoallocatedalmost40 percent of its $3.7 billion general-fund budget tothepolicedepartmentand2.1percenttotheDepartmentofFamilyandSupportservices,which includes youthmentoring, early childhood education, violencereduction,summerprograms,after-schoolprograms,andhomelessservices.5As someone who has raised millions of dollars from foundations and

individuals,Ihavealwaysapproachedfund-raisingasamatterofreparationsandsecuringwhatisrightfullyours.Iwrestlewithdevelopingstrategiesthatinsurethat our basic financial needs are met while building alternative resourcestreams. We need access to land. We need money to pay for the goods andservicesourfamiliesneed.Whether we are building institutions or running experiments, we have to

decidewhatexactlywe’redoing.Ifyouentertheroomexpectingtoworkonathirty-yearstrategywhileIamexpectingtocraftshort-termexperiments,howdowe work together? I’m not asking that we find a middle ground—bothapproachesarenecessary—buthowdoweconnect thosestrategiesfora largerpurpose?Ourmovementmustbeflexibleenoughtodeploymultipletacticsanddisciplined enough to carry out strategies that move us toward collectiveliberation.

AREWEREADYTOWIN?

Arewe ready to contend for power and create theworldwewant to live in?Gopal Dayaneni of Movement Generation says that “if we are not ready togovern, thenwearenotreadytowin.”Hegoesfurther tosaythat ifwearen’tready to govern, then we don’t even deserve to win. Governing is notsynonymous with becoming part of the governments we live under—orduplicating them. Governing happens whether we like it or not and whetherwe’re involved or not. Governing happens inside and outside of officialgovernmentinstitutions.Evenwithintheanarchistmovement,withnohierarchy,decisionsneed to bemade.Governing is theprocess ofmakingdecisions thatimpact groups of people. How are we governing in our organizations and

communities?Decision-makinginthesesitesofpublicgovernmentimpactstheprivate decision-making in our families and relationships. Governing impactsevery domain of our lives. Our movements must and can work toward adecision-making culture that produces different terrains in which we live ourlives.Thetimeisnowtoexperimentandimplementpracticesthatmatchthetypeof

worldwewanttocreate.Wedon’thavetowaituntileveryprisonisemptiedtodealwithconflictandharmwithoutresortingtopunishment.Areyouworkingtophaseyourselfoutasa leadersothatotherscanshepherdtheworkinthenextgeneration? Are you communicating information and sharing resources toincreaseknowledgeandsupportvitalcommunityorganizing?Howdowedealwith violence and people who harm others? We can combat liberalism andprovidemodels to help our people along the way. Sometimes actions happensimply because people are fed up and decide to do something about it.Moreoftenthannot,oncethemomentofrapidresponsepasses,peoplebeginto talkaboutwhathappensnext.Idon’tknowwhatdemocracylookslikeoutsideofthepracticesandcultures

we’ve built within various movement spaces. Many times it feels like we’replaying governance, just like we played house as children. Some people canborrow from and incorporate Indigenous governing practices, but many of ushave no clue our ancestors made decisions before colonialism and thetransatlanticslavetrade.Andofwhatwedoknow,notallofitiswhatwewanttoday.Patriarchyexistedprior to colonialism.Wecanbuild fromwhat’s comebeforeus and innovate at the same time.TheUnitedStates isonemassive lieand one massive truth. Democracy and the promise of perfecting it in thiscountryisoneofthebiggestliesevertold.Wehaveneverhadatruedemocracyinthiscountry.Atbest,thesystemwasdesignedbyandworksforpeoplewhomeetthestandardsofthoseinpower.Onemassivetruthisthatitwasdesignedforwhitemenwhowerepropertyowners(ownersoflandandpeople)andthatitworksbestforwhitepeopleandthoseidentifiedincloserproximitytowhitenessand those far away from Blackness. It works best for Christians and Jewishpeople. Itworksbest forcitizenswhoaremale,able-bodied,heterosexual,andcisgender.Ifyoudon’tfitintothoseboxesthenitislikelythatyourpeoplehavehad to fight for rightsand thepower togovernandnot justbegoverned.Andthisdynamiccontinuestodaywithaninabilitytogoverninthepublicspace.Let’s change the terrain and conditions of our collective struggle. We can

buildmovementsthattransformthepoliticalandeconomicterrain.Wecanalsochange the terrainofdetermination, tooneof self-determination regardingourdesires,ourbodies,andthecommunitieswelivein.Self-determinationisnotan

individualisticconcept.Insteaditentailsabodyofcommunities—andthosewhomakeupcommunities—determininghowtheywillthriveandhowtheirlivesarelived. Right now, the government, corporations, and wealthy individuals holdmorepoweroverour lives thanmanyofusdo.Thatmustchange.Having theability tobuildcommunitiescentered inpeople’sneedsandstewardshipof theearth shouldn’t be a radical idea.Making collective decisions about how ourlivesarelivedisgovernance.It’sinthatspacethatwecanliveouttheprojectofcollectiveliberation.

CHAPTER6

THECHICAGOMODELIwasleavingtheSouthtoflingmyselfintotheunknown....IwastakingapartoftheSouthtotransplantinaliensoil,toseeifitcouldgrowdifferently,ifitcoulddrinkofnewandcoolrains,bendinstrangewinds,respondtothewarmthofothersunsand,perhaps,tobloom

—RICHARDWRIGHT

WedothisforMarissaWedothisforMikeBrownWedothisforRekiaWedothisforDamo,Wedothistillwefreeus.

—KUSHTHOMPSONANDMALCOLMLONDON,BYP100Chicago

Ifwedrewamapof the creation storyof theBlack radical tradition,Chicagoand its peoplewould appear at nearly every critical point in time.MovementbuildingandvictoriesinChicagohavemadenationalandinternationalnewsinrecent years, but the city has been a vanguard of radical Black activism andculturesincetheGreatMigration.EarlyinthetwentiethcenturyBlackmigrantswereencouragedtocometothecity.In1916,theChicagoDefender,oneofthenation’smost influential newspapers, called Black people North. “If you canfreezetodeathintheNorthandbefree,whyfreezetodeathintheSouthandbeaslave?TheDefendersayscome.”1Andtheycameinthehundredsofthousandsseekingthe“warmthofothersuns.”2Black people leaving the South to escape terrorism and poverty brought

knowledge and culture toNorthern cities. There theyweremetwith violencefromnortherneremployers,landbarons,andthepolice.TheretheyjoinedBlackpeoplewhohadlonglivedincitiesfromChicagotoDetroitandNewYork.ButChicagowasspecial.HeremigrantsfromMississippilaiddownnewroots,while

BlackculturalgiantslikeLangstonHughesandactivistslikeIdaB.Wellswerealsodrawnto thecity.TheChicagoBlackRenaissance,while lessknownthanthe Harlem Renaissance, holds a place in the making of the Black radicaltradition.Despite new pathways to prosperity, poverty and systemic violence didn’t

disappear.Black folkswereoftenquarantined to theworsthousing in thecity.Redlining,apracticeofliterallydrawinglinesonthecitymaptodelimitwhereblackpeoplecouldandcouldnotlive,wasadifferentformofapartheidthantheone migrants had experienced in the South. The people who controlledChicago’srealestatemarketperfectedthispractice.LorraineHansberryenteredtheBlackliterarycanonwithherplayARaisinintheSun,inwhichshetoldthestoryofhousingsegregationthroughtheexperiencesof theYoungerfamily.InChicago,culturalworkcannotbeseparatedfrommovementwork.WorkonthegroundinChicagoisnowledinmanycasesbydescendantsof

peoplewhomade the journeynorth and stayed.We are the grandchildren andgreat-grandchildren of those who sought out the warmth of other suns, wholived,dreamed,fought,andweresometimesslaininsideandoutsideof theredlines.Wedropr’sinourspeechandfillchurchpewsandmosques.WefightinremembranceofthemurderedEmmittTillandhismother,Mamie.OurparentsworkedtoelectHaroldWashington,ourcity’sfirstBlackmayor.Weneverfullyleft the South—it still liveswithin us. The South is in our speech and on ourplates. We come from elsewhere too, including Haiti, Nigeria, Ethiopia, andBelize.We are Black Chicagoans, still loving, resisting, creatingmodels, andadvancing even in the face of entrenched adversaries.We are not the East orWestCoast.WearenottheSouth.Chicagoexistssquarelyinbetween.Weareatthenexus,buildingamovementuniquetoourplacebutalsoimpactingnationalandglobalmovementsforliberation.WeareholdingonastheBlackpopulationexperiencesmassdisplacementand

violence from inside and outside our communities. Our work models how toorganize inoneof the lastUSoutposts forBlackculture.Notaweekgoesbywithout a story about the gentrification ofHarlem orDC crossing one ofmysocial media feeds.While these East Coast meccas receive themost press, itwouldserveuswelltobeinformedbythehistoryofanti-evictionorganizinginChicago.Communist-inspiredorganizinginthe1930sissaidtohavebeenabletomobilizefivethousandpeopleinlessthanthirtyminutestostopaneviction.3Chicagoisfullofcontradictions.IfyoumeetaChicagoan,you’lllikelyknow

itwithin fifteenminutes of conversation.We boast about but lament our dearcity, and many of us choose to remain here—and will always live here—regardlessofthechallenges.Chicago,ontheonehand,haseveryamenityacity

can offer. On the other hand, high unemployment rates, police and othersurveillance, intra-community violence, and chronic mental health problemsplagueBlackcommunities.BlackresistanceisinadirectrelationshipwithBlackrepression. Blackmovements are so intense because Black communities havebeenpetridishesforstate-sanctionedrepression,violence,andapartheid.WhileBlacksmigrantscametoChicagotoescapeterrorism,theyweremetwithterror—frompolice,slumlords,andwhitecommunitieswhowantedtokeepthemout.Historian Darlene Clark Hine describes Chicago’s Black communities as a

collection of northern southerners and southern northerners, meaning thatmigrantshelddual experiences.4As a result of the communitymakeup,BlackorganizinginChicagodrawsontraditionsandtacticsoftheSouthandtheNorth.Thismeanswe are able tomove slowly andquickly. Itmeanswe can hunkerdownforlong-termcampaignsandturnupbecauseit’saTuesday.And,likeourcity, the movement is windy: situations can change quickly, alliances are notalwaysobvious,andaboundarycanbecrossedwithoutyouevenknowingit.TodayChicagoisthesiteofcampaignsthatilluminatetheimpactofpolicing

on Black women, that call for deep investment in our communities, and thatdemand an end to state-sanctioned violence. Together people and groups ofdiffering political orientations have come together, using various tactics, andwonbattles—fromtheTraumaCenterCampaign’ssuccess,tothehungerstrikeandorganizingthatledtokeepingDyettHighSchoolopen,tothe2016oustingof Cook County state’s attorney Anita Alvarez for a pattern of mishandlingcases.Our calls to #StopTheCops and #FundBlackFutures recognize the heavy

impact of poverty, violence, and trauma upon Black Chicagoans. Organizerstook to the streets in 2015 when the city hosted the conference of theInternational Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), bringing over fourteenthousand police chiefs from across the world to Chicago. BYP100, incollaborationwithgroups includingAssata’sDaughters,WeChargeGenocide,#Not1More,OrganizedCommunitiesAgainstDeportations(OCAD),andLiftedVoices, leda civildisobedienceaction to shutdown theopeningeventsof theconference. The IACP was returning to Chicago—it had hosted its firstconference there, in 1893—and its original purpose still held, serving “as ameanstoapprehendandreturncriminalswho[have]fledagencyjurisdictionsinwhichtheywerewanted.”5WeunderstoodthattheIACPwastruetoitsrootsinthe nineteenth-century patrols formed to capture enslaved Africans seekingfreedom,andweintendedtosendamessagetotheChicagoPoliceDepartment,theIACP,andthebroaderorganizingcommunity.OnOctober24,2015,we lockeddownfourblockades insideandoutsideof

McCormick Place, the site of the police conference. We understood thisconvention tobeagatheringofminds toplotout thecontinueddominationofBlackpeoplearoundtheworld.Sixty-sixofuswerearrestedthatday.ItwasthebiggestinvestmentindirectactionandcivildisobediencethatBYP100hadevermade.Thegoal,asinanystrategiccivildisobedience,wasnottobearrestedforthesakeof theater.Thegoalwastodemonstratehowfarwewere individuallywilling togo to call out the systemicviolenceof policing in theworld and todemand investments inBlack communities (and defunding of police).Despiteintensivepreparationandthelargescaleoftheaction,manypeoplehaveneverheard of it. Our strategy lacked a clear communications plan. Commitmentsfrompartnersfellthroughandwefailedtohavebackupplansontheground.Itwasa lesson in theneed to invest instrategiccommunications justasmuchaswedidineverythingelse.That action gave birth to our “#StopTheCops and #FundBlack Futures”

campaign.BYP100brought inmembersfromourNewYorkandDCchapters,our newly formed Detroit chapter, allied organizations, and trainers from theBlackOutCollectivetosupport theaction.Inthiscollaborationwelearnedandgainedcapacitytoworktogether,andtheeffortsof theBlackdirectactioncanbeseeninorganizingtothisday.Getting to the point where we could collaborate on a large-scale action,

however,tookmonthsofworkandrelationshipbuilding.WhenBYP100enteredtheChicagoorganizingcommunityafteritsfoundingin2013,weweremetwithmixedreactions.ManypeoplesupportedusandfoundourgroupofyoungBlackpeoplerefreshingand inspirational.Butmanyofuswerequeer, transgenderorgender-nonconforming, andwomen—and thuswewere alsometwithdistrust.BYP100members (inChicagoandchapters forming inWashington,DC;NewYorkCity;theSanFranciscoBayArea;andPhiladelphia)madethedecisiontobuild a membership-based organization. We chose to use conventionalorganizingmethods including building amembership base and providing skilltraining. We also chose to use organizing methods rooted in cultural work,investing in young peoples’ leadership at every level of the organization andBlackfeministideologyinanorganizationofallgenders.Wecouldhavemadedifferentchoices,butwedidnot—becausewebelieved thatourmethodwasatruepathtotransformation.Indoingso,wemadeinterventionsthatshiftedtheorganizing climate in Chicago (and across the nation), and we learned manylessonsfromthemistakeswemadealongtheway.Ihadmovedback toChicagofromNewYorkCityaboutsixmonthsbefore

ourfounding.VeryfewpeopleknewwhoIwas,andin trueChicagofashionIwasmetwithmostlyreasonableskepticism.Irememberboardingtheshuttleto

theBYP100 founding convening andbeingmetwith looks that said, “Who isshe,andwhyisshethebuscaptain?”Hadanyonesaidtome“here’swhatyouneedtoaccomplishby2015,”Iwouldhaveturnedaroundandwalkedtheotherway. I remember leavingFerguson,Missouri,during theuprising there, earlierthanmanyothercomrades—togetbacktoourveryfirstdirectactiontargetingtheChicagoPoliceDepartment.ItwasAugust2014.ThatoneactioncallingforCPDtodecriminalizemarijuana led toa long-termengagementwith the third-largestpolice force in theUnitedStates.CPD’s leadersandothercityofficialswouldgettoknowourworkwellasweledandjoinedeffortsacrossthecitytoexposepolicecorruptionandthesystemicviolenceperpetratedbytheinstitution.BYP100 joineda collectionofgroups ledbyyoungBlackpeople, includingamixture of born-and-raisedChicagoans, transplants, andnative transplants likemyselfwhohadgrownupinthecityyethadneverorganizedthere.Somegroupshad sprung up in the aftermath of the killings of Trayvon Martin and MikeBrown.Others,likeFearlessLeadingbytheYouth(FLY),createdyearsbefore,aimedtosecurejusticeandcommunityinvestmentsafterthedeathofacomrade.BYP100’s work didn’t end with our efforts focused on the Chicago Police

Department. Our organization joined the Fight for 15 Campaign locally andnationally, andwe brought new leaders to work on its international efforts tomandate a livingwage across industries that disproportionately employ Blackpeople.WejoinedforceswithorganizationsincludingOCADandMijenteinthestruggletoendthecriminalizationanddeportationofimmigrants.ThisworkdidnotbeginwithBYP100.Thereisalonglegacyofanti-policing

organizing and community building in Chicago. For example, the ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistandPoliticalRepression(CAARPR)formedin1973outof the mass movement to free Angela Davis and all political prisoners. TheBlack Panther Party Chicago chapter laid groundwork for cross-movementcollaboration, and the 1969 assassinations of Chicago Panther leaders FredHampton and Mark Clark show that Chicago has long been a site of staterepressionagainstourmovement.Iwasnotpresentinthedevelopmentofeverycampaignandeffortdiscussed

in this chapter. I ampositive that individuals closest to theworkwill findmyaccountsinsubstantial.Myintention,though,istohighlightwhatIhavelearnedandobservedasanorganizerandhistorynerdinordertoillustrateuniquepathsof community organizing in Chicago since the 1970s. I’ve worked alongsidepeople, young and old,who know this history better than I do—because theywerethere.

REPARATIONSWON

Between1972and1991,ChicagoPoliceDepartmentcommanderJonBurgeandpolice detectives under his command torturedBlack people, includingwomenandoveronehundredmen, inpart to elicit confessions.Their tactics includedelectric shock and suffocation. This abuse and sanctioned torture resulted inforced confessions and long prison sentences and death sentences for peopletaken into custody in the CPD’s Areas 2 and 3, both predominantly Blackneighborhoods. There are still men in prison today who were convicted afterconfessionsundertorture.I’vemetatleastonetorturevictimservingasentence,during a visit to Stateville prison in 2016. I’ve alsometDarryl Cannon,whospenttwentyyearsinprisonafteraforcedconfession.CPDdetectivessubjectingCannontotorturein1983enacted“mockexecutionsbystuffingashotguninhismouth,hithimwitharubberhose,andshockedhistesticleswithacattleprod.”Thesadismwas“somethingthattheylikeddoing,”saysCannon.6Theseinjusticesweremetwithresistancebythetorturevictims,theirfamily

members,andcommunitymembers,butthejourneyforjusticehasbeenalonghaul and has involved dozens of organizations, legal advocates, artists, andgroups such as the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials. The innovative effortspansdecades.Throughmany tactics, theeffort focusedonholdingBurge, theofficers under his command, public officials, and the City of Chicagoaccountable for thephysical,mental, and spiritualviolence inflictedas electedofficials, includingtheoften-celebratedMayorRichardM.Daley,stoodbyanddidnothing.Throughout the1980s,over fiftyorganizations, includingCitizensAlert and

the Task Force to Confront Police Violence, led consistent actions outside ofCity Hall. In 2004, a coalition including ex-gang member and civil rightsattorneyStandishWillis, decided to tell the story to an international audience.Willisfeltthatthey“couldmakethetorturecaseinternational,andembarrasstheUnited States.” Indeed the United Nations did call on the US government toinvestigate.7BlackpeoplehadtakenvariouscausestotheUnitedNationsinthepast.ThattacticcanstripthesupposedmoralsuperiorityoftheUnitedStatesasunfounded, and such international exposure can produce effective results.Winning a reparations campaign was deemed impossible bymany, butWillisand Black People Against Police Torture also birthed the idea that Chicagopolicetorturevictimsshoulddemandreparations.Today’sdemandforreparationsfordescendantsofslaveryintheUnitedStates

is a part of a long-standing movement. The National Coalition of Blacks forReparations in America (N’COBRA) defines reparations as “a process of

repairing,healingandrestoringapeopleinjuredbecauseoftheirgroupidentityand in violation of their fundamental human rights by governments orcorporations. In addition to justice, it is a principle of international humanrights.”8 And despite successful reparations efforts for other groups of peoplesystemicallytargetedbyviolence, includingsurvivorsof theJewishHolocaust,reparationsfordescendantsofenslavedAfricansareconsistentlymarginalizedinprogressive politics. In defense of their anti-reparations stance, white peopleoften proclaim that they didn’t own slaves. This position represents not onlyignoranceofhistorybutalsoafailuretorecognizeandaccepthowtheycontinuetobenefitfromslavery.TheterrorismofJimCrowintheSouth,theviolenceofeconomicoppressionandpovertyintheNorth,theso-calledwarondrugs,andtoday’s prison industrial complex all support the argument for reparations toaddresscenturiesofdominationofBlackAmericans.The police torture victim reparations campaign addresses both the needs of

people injured and the need for systemic changes to improve the materialconditions of Black communities in Chicago. It builds on previous successfulcampaignsledbytorturevictimsinsideandoutsideofprison.Forexample,tenpolice torture victims, who called themselves the Death Row 10, in the firstyears of the new millennium successfully collaborated with the Campaign toEnd theDeathPenaltyand the IllinoisCoalition toAbolish theDeathPenalty.Their organizing resulted in Illinois governor George Ryan commuting thesentencesofalldeathrowinmatesandpardoningfourofthetenmenin2003.OrganizingforjusticeinChicagorequiresgroupsofoppressedpeopletomake

connectionswitheachother’scausesandforthosewhoaredirectlyaffectedtolead,eveniftheyareinprison.Asthepolicetorturevictimreparationscampaignadvanced,manystakeholdersanddecision-makersjoinedtheeffortandreachedcommunitiesacrossthecity.JoeyMogul,thePeople’sLawOfficeattorneyandcofounderoftheChicagoTortureJusticeMemorialsproject,draftedtheoriginalreparations ordinance, which served as a basis for a package introduced toChicago’scitycouncilbyAldermenHowardBrookinsandProcoJoeMorenoin2013.Thereparationscampaigninvitednewerlegaladvocates,culturalworkers,activists, and community organizers to align themselves with the struggle ofpolice torture victims and their families. Two years later, the campaignwas asuccess.Reparationswonincluded

•aformalapologyforthetorturebyChicagopoliceduringthetimetheCPDwasheadedbyJonBurge;

•specializedcounselingservicestothetorturesurvivorsandtheirfamilymembersontheSouthSide;

•freeenrollmentincitycollegesandjobtrainingforsurvivorsandfamilymembers(includinggrandchildren)aswellasprioritizedaccesstootherCityofChicagoprograms,includinghelpwithhousing,transportation,andseniorcare;

•ahistorylessonaboutthetorturecases,taughtinChicagopublicschoolstoeighthandtenthgraders;

•theconstructionofapermanentpublicmemorialtothesurvivors;and•$5.5millionsetasideforthetorturesurvivors.9

Seemingly overnight, the campaign slogan “Reparations Now!” wastransformedandprintedonT-shirtsproclaiming,“ReparationsWon.”Thiswasapeople’svictory.Thisvictory,madepossiblebythetenacityofthepolicetorturevictimsandtheirfamilies,organizedpeoplearoundasinglegoalwhileallowingmultiple entry points for people of different generations and races and withdiffering experiences and skills. BYP100 didn’t exist when the struggle fortorturejusticebegan,nordidnewerorganizationssuchasWeChargeGenocide,whichbecameananchor in thecampaign.Youngpeople,manyofwhomwereactivated by the Ferguson uprising, boosted themomentum of the reparationscampaign. We joined efforts to call city council members, led direct actionstargeting Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and used social media to raise communityawareness.Andwewon,despitethedoubts,whichwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithout the work done before many of us became activists and communityorganizers.Theintentionalitytoaddresstheneedsofindividualtorturevictimsandtheir

familieswasextendedtochildreninChicago’spublicschools.Thepeoplewhocrafted the campaign saw that education could help prevent police torture andsuchatrocitiesfromhappeningagain.Thecampaign’sdemandforacommunitycenterandmentalhealthsupport forsurvivorsand their familiesalsopoints tothestructuralandlong-termchangesitsorganizerssought.Oppressedpeopleandtheir leaders clearly were looking beyond individual gain, while providing amodelforwhatabolitioncanlooklikeinactualpractice.ThestatementreleasedbyAmnestyInternationalUSA,theChicagoTortureJusticeMemorials,ProjectNIA,andWeChargeGenocidedescribesthesignificanceofthisvictorybeyondthecity:

Chicago is the firstmunicipality in the history of theUnited States to ever provide reparations forracially motivated law enforcement violence. In doing so, the City of Chicago is agreeing toacknowledge the City’s responsibility for gross human rights violations and to commit significantresources to begin to help repair the harms inflicted on the torture survivors, their families and thecommunitiestheycomefrom.Theenactmentofthislegislationsendsastrongmessagethatactivism

andorganizingmatterintheongoingstruggleforhumanrightsandsocialjustice.10

To organize successfully inChicagomeans being in it for the long haul. Ittakescreativity,endurance,andadegreeofhardiness. (Tohonorour fallenwedo actions no matter the weather, even in the middle of frigid winter.) Ourvictories don’t come easily or quickly, and the campaign to secure justice forsurvivors of police torture in Chicago is emblematic. TheChicago organizingcommunitymanages todomorethanonethingata time.Asthecampaignforpolice torture victims was waged and won, campaigns were underwayaddressingotherareasofstructuralviolencethroughoutthecity.

AVANGUARDEMERGES

The escalation in organization of direct action led by youngBlack people hasundoubtedly impacted the broader social justice organizing community inChicago. It is difficult to mark the beginning of this period of the Blackliberation movement, to say just when young Black people began to exertleadershipnotseensincetheBlackPowermovement.Iwasintroducedtoyouth-leddirectaction inChicagowhileattendingandsupportingactions tostop thedeportation of undocumented immigrants. I remember the first time I saw alockbox,whichisapieceofequipmentusedincivildisobedienceblockades.Itlocked together the arms of immigrant leaders who were shutting downMichiganAvenue to disrupt a planned fund-raiser headlined by then presidentBarackObama.Iwasfascinatedandrememberthinking,WillIeverdothis?Aroundthesametime,theTraumaCareCoalitionledbyyoungBlackleaders

inFLYandmembersofSouthsideTogetherOrganizingforPower(STOP)heldvariouscivildisobedienceactionsagainsttheUniversityofChicagotosecureitsdemandstobuildacomprehensivetraumacenteronthecity’sSouthSide.Thisfightwas rooted inoutrageandpaincausedby thedeathof theyouth leaders’comradeDamianTurner,whodiedateighteenafterbeingrushedfromtheSouthSide neighborhood of Woodlawn to Northwestern Medicine’s location indowntownChicagoin2010.TheybelievedthathewouldstillbealivehadtheUniversity of Chicago, just minutes away, accepted shooting victims likeDamian. Nearly five years later, the Trauma Care Coalition won. Because oftheireffortstheUniversityofChicagocommittedtobuildaLevel-1adulttraumacenteron theSouthSide.Thisvictory is another exampleofwhat itmeans toorganizeforthelonghaulinChicago.That same year many of the same Chicago organizers leading in the

aforementionedcampaignsshiftedthenationalorganizinglandscapeagain.Ourefforts servedas a catalyst formass#SayHerNamemobilizations to end state-sanctioned violence against Black women and girls. #SayHerName, from aphrasecoinedinareportcoauthoredbyAndreaRitchieandKimberléCrenshaw,was a campaign that also focused on police violence against gender-nonconformingpeople.Whatmostpeopledon’tknowisthatthe#SayHerNamemobilizationswererootedinthestoryofRekiaBoyd.Rekia Boyd was a twenty-two-year-old Black woman gunned down by

ChicagopoliceofficerDanteServinin2012.Theefforttosecurejusticeinthiscase began shortly after her death. Rekia’s family and community activistsincluding Crista Noel of Women’s All Points Bulletin were among the firstpeople to fight for justice. Servin was charged with manslaughter because oftheir efforts. Chicago police officers who kill people rarely ever see a day incourt, but in 2015Servinwent on trial, and communitymembers andRekia’sfamilyshowedupenmasse.Onedayduringthetrial,IsatnexttoRekia’smom,AngelaHelton,andIrecallhersayingtome,inavoiceheavywithgrief,“Theynevertalkaboutthewomenandgirls.”Inhergriefbutshowingresilience,shespokeabouthowthebest-knownstoriesofpoliceviolenceentailedBlackmenandboys.Sheplantedaseedinmethatday,andfortunatelyourmovementwaspoised to change the dominant story. That night after Servin’s case wasdismissed,somepeoplegatheredtomeetanddiscussournextsteps.Servinwasstill employedby theCPD, so therewasdiscussionofbuildinga campaign tocall forServin’s firingat thenextChicagoPoliceBoardhearing, scheduled totakeplaceonMay21,2015.Comrades from theMovement forBlackLives, includingMervynMercano,

PatrisseCullors,MauriceMitchell,andThenjiweMcHarris, reachedout tomethatweek,andtheyaskedhowtheycouldhelp.Theideaofcallingforanationaldayofactionwasproposed.IthenwentbacktoBYP100andotherorganizationstoseewhattheythoughtaboutmakingthecall.Therewassupport,sofromtherewebegantoorganizeanationaldayofactiontotakeplaceonMay21.Atsomepoint, Andrea Ritchie contactedme and asked if it made sense to release the#SayHerNamereporton thesamedayas thepoliceboardhearing.That led toconnecting the work she and Crenshaw had produced to a grassroots effortalready inmotion.Togetherwewove a narrative about the impact of policingBlack women, girls, and gender-nonconforming people that changed howeveryday people understood themeaning of #BlackLivesMatter. The nexus ofBlack women’s intellectual labor and grassroots organizing led to powerfulactionsacrossmorethansixteencitiesintheUnitedStatesonthesameday.ThemomentRekia’smomjoinedtheChicagoaction,Ilookedatherandsaid,“Ms.

Helton, I remembersitting in thecourtroomwithyouthatday,andyousharedthatnooneevertalksaboutBlackwomenandgirls.Well,we’rechangingthatalloverthecountrytoday.”TheFireDanteServincampaigncontinuedforalmostayearfromthedateof

the first #SayHerNameNationalDay ofAction.Because of ourwork and theefforts byRekia’s brotherMartinez Sutton and local leaders includingRachelWilliams, the national and local narratives of policing began to shift. ThecampaignshowedupatpolicereviewboardmeetingsheldatCPDheadquartersevery month for an entire year. The story got bigger, meeting attendanceincreased, andpeoplebegan to tell stories thatweremoreandmorecomplete.Collectivesolutionsbeyondreformgrewclearerformanypeople.Blackwomenandgirlsbecame lessofa footnoteandmore frontandcenter in thedominantunderstandingofhowmuch isat stake forBlackpeople in thestruggle toendpolicing.ThecampaignpushedandsucceededatalmosteverystepinsecuringServin’s termination. Just before the last hearing to determine his fate, Servinresigned.ButnocampaigncouldbringRekiabacktolife.Ourworkthenwas,asit remains, to advance structural changes so that nomore families have to gothroughwhatRekia’sfamilycontinuestocopewithtoday.

SIXTEENSHOTSANDACOVER-UP

Therearecampaignsthatignitetheheartsoflocalorganizersenoughtocatalyzeunprecedented action, and there are campaigns that capture the hearts oforganizersacrossthenationenoughtoinformcampaignmodelsforvictory.TheeffortstooustCookCountystate’sattorneyAnitaAlvarez,culminatingin2016,is the archetype of both. And Chicago provided fertile organizing ground tomake it happen. It took multiple organizations, numerous strategies, varioustactics, and a shared goal to get the job done. Groups including SouthsidersUnitedforUnityandLiberation(SOUL)andActionNowhadbeguntheireffortsto highlight Alvarez’s repeated moral and governing failures on issues ofcriminalization and policing more than two years before she was ousted.BYP100 joined those efforts and later led its ownvoter engagement program.Electoral campaigns are difficult to gain buy-in for with people who arerightfully distrustful and disillusionedwith the voting process.Butwe did theworkbecauseweunderstood thatAlvarezandherofficeheld toomuchpoweroverourlivesanddidunconscionablethingsundertheprotectionofstatepower.Likethecampaignforreparations,theenergyandrisk-takingnatureofyoung

Black activists breathed energy into ongoing efforts to dismantle the criminal

justicesystem.WeChargeGenocidetookChicagopoliceviolencetotheUnitedNationsandonceagainturnedinternationalattentiontotheconditionsofBlackpeople living in a police state. Their work to highlight the out-of-controlspendingonpolicingwascrucialinbuildingalargernarrativeincallsforjusticethroughout the city. That work, combined with many other efforts, allowedpeople to understand how Alvarez, Garry McCarthy (then policesuperintendent), and Mayor Emanuel could cover up the police killing ofseventeen-year-oldLaquanMcDonald.WilliamCalloway, a long-time activist, smelled a cover-up and took action.

Hisgutfeelingledhis joiningjournalistBrandonSmithinfilingaFreedomofInformation Act (FOIA) request to release dash-cam footage of the fatalshooting.MorethanayearpassedafterLaquan’sdeath—withmultiplerefusalsfromCPDandMayorEmanuel—beforeajudgeorderedthereleaseofthedash-cam footage in November 2015. I, along with other organizers, sat in thecourtroomas the judgeannounced that theCPDand themayor’sofficehad tomakethefootagepublic.Irememberfeelingsomberandgroundedyetnotsurewhat would happen next. Our crew left the courtroom, bypassed all of thecameras,andbegantoassessournextsteps.Justas thecourtdecidedtoreleasethefootageshowingLaquan’sexecution,

thecourtdateformostIACPactionarresteeswasscheduled.Priortothenmostof us had anticipated that we would go to the court adjacent to the policeprecinctwherewehadbeenheldafterarrest(andwheretorturehadtakenplaceduringtheCPD’sBurgeera),andthattherewewouldhaveourcasesdismissed.Instead we launched a new effort after learning that the mayor’s office hadreached out and requested a meeting with our groups. After much discussionamong ourselves, it became clear to us that the mayor’s request to meet anddiscussthevideoreleasewasaploytocontrolus,nottoactuallydiscussmeetingour demands for his resignation and for the city to divest from policing andinvest inourcommunities.Sowedeclinedaprivatemeetingwith themayor’soffice. A group of organizations including BYP100 Chicago, Assata’sDaughters, FLY, We Charge Genocide, Black Lives Matter Chicago, and the#LetUsBreathe Collective issued a joint statement that said we held zeroconfidencethatthemayorwouldbeaccountabletoBlackpeople.Itwasclearthattheemperorhadnoclothes.Wemadeadecisiontowieldour

powerdifferently,and themayorandhisadministration insteadmetwithothercommunity leaders. Our response shook the administration and some liberalactivists.Rememberingthenightthatthevideowasreleasedandthefollowingevents is painful forme. I remain unable towatch the actual footage (enoughpeoplesawit,soIdidn’thaveto),buttheeventsthatfollowedthevideorelease

areamongthemostdifficultI’veexperiencedinmylife.Imadesomedecisionsthatwere strategically smart and others thatwere out of linewith the type ofpersonandleaderIaimedtobe.AndalthoughIamsharingthisstoryyearslater,itstillfeelsfresh.Followingthejudge’sdecisionandafteraseriesofmeetings,manyofwhich

tookplaceattheSTOPoffice,thegroupofleaderscalledforamassactionafterthevideowasreleased.WedecidedtoestablishaspaceforBlackrageandnotattempttopolicethefeelingspeopleheld.WemarchedfromthecampusoftheUniversityof Illinois atChicago,on thecornerofHalstedandRoosevelt.Ourfirststopwas thebuildingwherea“communityevent”organizedbyAlvarez’sofficewas tobeheld.SOUL,ActionNow, and theWorkersCenter forRacialJusticehadalreadyarrived.Ourgoalwastodisruptthemeetingandensurethatit did not happen. I remember banging against the door alongside FLY leaderVeronicaMorrisMoore,talkingwithAlvarez’schiefofstaff,andquestioningtheyoungBlackmanabouthisloveforhispeople.ThatnightweshutdownmajorstreetsfromHalstedtofarintodowntownChicago.Ourgroupgrewtohundredsofpeoplebytheendofthenight.Therewasonemomentwhenwestoodinalargecircleattheintersectionof

Roosevelt andWabash, near the CTA train elevated above us. People on theplatformlistenedaswespokeaboutthekillingofLaquanMcDonaldandcalledfor the resignation of Mayor Emanuel, police superintendent McCarthy, andCookCountystate’sattorneyAlvarez.IwillalwaysremembertheyoungLatinawhocamedownfromtheplatformandlockedarmswithme.Shesaidthatsheknewaboutthevideoandfeltthatsheneededtojoinus.Iamalmostcertainthatthiswasherfirstexperienceofengagingincivildisobedience.Right aswe headed upMichiganAvenue toward theMagnificentMile and

attempted to turn on Lake Shore Drive, a melee with CPD officers ensued.Policethrewbikes,pulledhair,andattemptedtomakearrests.Ididn’tthenknowwhohewas,butIthrewmyselfontopofVicMensatostophisarrest.Comradespulled each other away from cops and formed a blockade to prevent furtherassaultsfromthecops.Threepeople—JohnaeStrong,PageMay,andTroyAlim—werearrested.Wethenheadedtothepoliceprecincttocallfortheirrelease.That night as those three were released, Malcolm London was arrested. Asdescribedearlier,aseriesofpainfulexperiencesfollowedimmediately.Twodayslater,inthemidstofamassmarchtodisruptBlackFridayshopping,

severalyoungBlackwomenandLGBTQfolkswereassaultedalongtheroutebyindividualswhoclaimedtobealignedwiththemovementforBlackliberation.Wewerephysicallyandverballyattacked.Intheaftermath,BYP100andmanyyoung Black movement leaders, including me, had never been more visible.

Reports that BYP100 was funded and controlled by white Jewishmen at theUniversity of Chicagowere shared on socialmedia. CathyCohen and Iweretargets for homophobic attacks online where individuals cautioned parents tokeep their children away from us. I don’t share this seeking empathy oraccountability but as a caution, to highlight how fissures that may seemminusculeorirrelevantcanbecomedeepchasmsandpreventworkfrombeingdone.As 2016 approached, we barely rested and continued our efforts despite

fatigueandgrowingfearsofincreasedrepression(bythestateandpeoplewhoshould have been comrades). Chicago and its organizers made the killing ofLaquanMcDonaldanational issue.Wecalled for the resignationsofEmanueland Alvarez and for the firing ofMcCarthy.WhileMcCarthy ultimately wasfired,westillhadmuchmoretodo.Inearly2016,thecampaigntooustAnitaAlvarezpickedupspeed.BYP100

continueditsvoterengagementeffortsthroughstreetteams,phone-banking,andpolitical education sessions. Several grassroots organizations continued theirelectoralcampaignstooustAlvarezandinsomecasesadvocateforheropponentKimFoxx.Onepoliticaleducationsessionfocusedonwhy thestate’sattorneyracewassoimportanttoBlackcommunities.Weunderstoodthattheofficeheldtoomuchpoweroverourlives,sowehadadutytoholdAlvarezaccountable.Amessageforyoungpeopletosimplyvotewouldnotbeenough.Ourworkwasincommunicatingwhythiselectionmattered.Then a collectiveof youngBlackorganizers fromFLY,Assata’sDaughters,

BYP100Chicago,#LetUsBreatheCollective,BlackLivesMatterChicago,WeChargeGenocide,andothergroups ratcheted thingsupanotchandcreatedanarmofresistanceandeducationunderthe#ByeAnitabanner.Longtimescholar,community organizer, and leader Mariame Kaba describes the #ByeAnitacampaign“asonearmofa largerelectoralorganizingeffort todefeatAlvarez.But it energizedparticularpopulations thatdonotusually focuson local racesandespeciallyprosecutorelections.”11Thecampaign,launchedintheaftermathof mass protest mobilizations in defense of Laquan McDonald, used directaction, socialmedia, street canvassing, and arts-based tactics to engage youngBlackpeopleintheelectoralprocessandadvancedemandstoaddressstructuralviolenceinChicago.ThatworkwasdoneandledbyyoungBlackwomenandfemmes frommultiple organizations and flanked bymembers of allied groupswhounderstoodtheneedfortheirvoicestobeheard.Theseleadersreflectyearsof work, development, dreaming, and experimentation. In March 2016,Chicago’sorganizingcommunitywon:Alvarezlosttheelection.AsTessRaserofAssata’sDaughterssaid,“KimFoxxdidnotwinthiscampaign;AnitaAlvarez

lost this campaignbecausewepushed this city to seewhatAnitaAlvarez hasbeendoingtothiscityanditspeople.”12

THESTRUGGLECONTINUES

Ourworkwasneverjustaboutgettingridofelectedofficials.Thesystemitselffails to meet the needs of all people. It was about exposing, once again, thesystemic injusticeBlackpeople experience inChicagoand sharingavision toend it.BYP100demandswereclear,and to thisday,with theexceptionof thedemandssincewon,theyhaven’tchangedmuch:

•Wedemandalllocal,state,andfederalbudgetstodefundthepoliceandinvestthosedollarsandresourcesinBlackfutures.

•Wewantreparationsforchattelslavery,JimCrow,andmassincarceration.•Wewanttoendallprofitfromso-calledcriminaljusticepunishment—bothpublicandprivate.

•Wewantaguaranteedincomeforall,livingwages,afederaljobsprogram,andfreedomfromdiscriminationforallworkers.

•WewantthelaborofBlacktransgenderandcisgenderwomen(unseenandseen,unpaidandpaid)tobevaluedandsupported,notcriminalizedandmarginalized.

•WewantinvestmentsinBlackcommunitiesthatpromoteeconomicsustainabilityandeliminatethedisplacementofourpeople.

The story of why it was crucial to defeat Alvarez is connected to a long-standingtraditionofsystemicviolencestemmingfromtheinstitutionofpolicingin the United States. Alvarez was a big player in the cover-up of the policekilling of LaquanMcDonald. She held the power to prosecute police officerswhokilledbothRekiaBoydandLaquanMcDonald,andsheconsistentlyerredon the side of the CPD. TheCity of Chicago invests heavily in its police, inrecent years allocating nearly 40 percent of its public service budget to thesurveillanceandcontrolofBlackandBrowncommunitiesacrossthecity.13Wearetiedupinpolicinginmorewaysthanone.TheChicagoPoliceDepartmentisoneofthelargestemployersinthecity,employingBlackandBrownfolkswhoinvestintheinstitutionofpolicing.TheCPDisalsooneofthefewagencies(ormaybetheonlyone)thatpeoplebelievecancreateconditionsofsafety—despiteevidencethattellsusotherwise.Thisinstitutiondidn’tgrowovernight,anditisdeeplyentwinedwithan internationalcrewofmorally ineptpeoplewhocloakviolenceunderthelabelof“publicsafety.”Whilemanyproclaimthatonlyafew

copsarerottenapples,wemustrememberthesecondpartofthephrase,thatonebadapplespoilsthebunch.AndChicagohasahistoryofbadapples.Communityorganizersareconfrontedwiththedilemmaofhowtodismantle

andbuildalternativestopolicingthatmeetthematerialandemotionalneedsofourpeople.Imprisoningcopswon’tendpolicingorviolence.Chicagoorganizersaddress thatdilemmabybuildingcommunitytodreamandscheme.Butwe’vedone so at great costs, including time, energy, and physical and financialresources. It costs money to pay for labor, printed materials, meeting space,food, websites, street teams, posters, art materials, and travel. The emotional,physical,andspiritualcostofputtingourbodiesandlivelihoodsonthelineforjusticehasbeenhigh.Whilesomerelationshipswerebuilt,otherswerebrokeninthe process ofmovement building in Chicago. People hurt each other, and attimespeopletookresponsibilityfortheiractionsasafirststeptorepairtheharmdone.I’velearnedthatsomuchinternalconflictemergesbecausepeoplewanttheir

workandstoriestobeenseenandvalued.Whenthatdoesn’thappen,especiallyin instances where the media is involved and aggravates already-presenttensions,individualsandthebroadermovementbothsuffer.Onetelevisionspotcanspiralintoaconflictthatimpactstheworkandaggravatesongoingtensions.Chicago’sactivistsandcommunityorganizersarecontinuingthelongstruggle

begunbyourancestors.Youngandold,wehaveinheritedastrugglethatfuturegenerations will also take up. The stories I’ve shared here illustrate corecomponentsoftheChicagoModel.First,theChicagoModelisintergenerational,withastronghistoryofcommunitybuilding.Second,itcontinuestobeshapedthrough agitation and high-impact work by leaders from feminist and queerthreads in theBlack radical tradition.Third,Chicagoorganizing is historicallylocal, national, and global. Last, it requires the involvement of multipleinstitutionswithvaryingpoliticalalignment.TheChicagoModelisn’tapplicablein every single context, but it is critical formovement strategists to study andlearn from our movement history. Like any model, it is not a blueprint—theChicago Model is a source of inspiration and vision for the challenges thatemergewhenpeopleengageinmassmovementwork.Movement building in Chicago means navigating a terrain of civil rights

organizations,laborunions,streetorganizations,Blackelectedofficials,wealthyBlack families, immigrant communities, and faith-based institutions, includingtheNationofIslamandChristianchurcheslikeTrinityUnitedChurchofChrist.We contend with multiple narratives, strategies, and tactics. The Chicagoorganizing community is not monolithic but includes strong bands of radicalleaderswhoworkwithinabroaderprogressiveecosystem,pushingandwinning

campaigns, advancing often unheard (and undervalued) narratives to createtransformativechangetoimprovethematerialconditionsofourpeople’slives.There is somuchmore that happenedbetween2014and2016 inChicago’s

organizing community. The contributions outlined here reflect just a smallpercentageofthecampaignsandeffortsinChicagoorganizingsincethe1970s.Theanti-evictioncampaignmentionedaboveandtheDyettHighSchoolhungerstrikearetwoofmanythatdeservefurtherexploration.Theroleoftheeducatorsand students atVillage LeadershipAcademy,whowere pivotal in communityorganizingoverthepastseveralyears,deservesmoreprominenceindiscussionsaboutwhat itmeans to educateBlack childrenwho can leadmovements.TheChicago arts community, including groups like Young Chicago Authors,KuumbaLynx,andtheChicagoLightBrigade,continuestoplayaleadingrolein shaping movements. For people unfamiliar with this history, this book ismeant as a starting point from which to construct a working model fororganizing. It ismeant not as an authoritative account but as an invitation formoreorganizers to tell their stories for thesakeof informingourwork towardcollectiveliberation.

CONCLUSION

THEMANDATEThemandateforBlackpeopleinthistimeis:ToavengethesufferingofourancestorsToearntherespectoffuturegenerationsTobewillingtobetransformedintheserviceofthework.

—MARYHOOKS,codirectorofSouthernersonNewGround

Thismandate,nowrecitedacrossBlackmovementspaces,isaninvitation.IamdrivenbythemandateasIsenseHarrietTubmanatmybackandhearMarshaP.Johnsontellingmeto“payitnomind.”Theancestorsknewwhatwasnecessarywhile they lived,and theyspeak tous through theprotest, art, and intellectuallabor. As our elders emphasize, Black liberation is a long and protractedstruggle.Wehavetobeinthisforthelonghaul.Evenwhenweliveinaworldwithoutprisons andpolicing (yes, I’mclaiming it now, thatonedaywewill),ongoingmovementworkwill be needed to carry it ahead. Future generationswill have the task of reimagining what must be done. They will push thegrowing edgesof ourmovement, defendwhatworks for them, and shedwhatdoesn’t.Theywillencounterpredictablechallengesandonesunforeseen.The fiction of the United States of America allows independence to exist

alongsideslaveryandfreedomtoexistalongsidesystemicsexualviolenceandavastnetworkofprisons.This fiction(orcollectionof lies)hasconditionedourminds,violatedourbodies,andallowedthesquanderingoftheearth’sresourcesforprofit.Thisistheworkofcenturiesofsystemicviolenceinserviceofgreedandcontrol.In the fictionof theUnitedStates, the founding“fathers” are liberators, not

slavers and makers of genocide of Indigenous peoples. In the fiction of theUnitedStates there isonewaytobehuman,onewaytobeawoman,andoneway to be a man. One does not have autonomy over one’s own body, andcommunityself-determinationisdevaluedandunderconstantattack.Capitalism,patriarchy,anti-Blacknessandwhitesupremacyworktogetherto

destroypeopleandthelandwedependon.Weseethiscollusionindisasterafter

disaster—hurricanes due to climate change and floods where human-madeinfrastructure fails or exacerbates problems.We taste this collusion in highlyprocessedfoodandwefeel itasourpaychecks increasingly fail tocoverevenbasic needs. We see this collusion in extraction of land and exploitation ofpeople.Itisagreatchallenge,butwemustcontinuetoimagine—andworkfor—aworldinwhicheveryoneisabletolivewithdignityandinrightrelationshipwiththelandweinhabit.TheBlackradicaltraditionexemplifiesthestruggletobreakdownthefictions

andmove toward dignity.Our tradition asserts that transformation is not onlypossiblebut also absolutelynecessary for continued survivalof all people andthe planet.Our charge goes beyond the government.Ourwork today is aboutredefininghumanityandtransformingourrelationshipswitheachotherandwiththeland.There are still deep questions to answer andmuchwork to be done.What

claimdoBlackAmericans have to the landNative peoples callTurtle Island?What claim to indigeneity? Our lineage goes back centuries to slavery andAfrica and the Caribbean. Processes of colonization, forced migration, andenslavementhavestrippedusfromourland,andwehavealwayshadtofightforit. It is anti-Black to say that aftermore than threehundredyears of laborwehave no claim to steward this land. Stewardship, not extractive ownership,shouldbeourNorthStar.WeshouldnotandcannotallowtheUnitedStatestosetupshoponthecontinentofAfricawithoutconsent,asithasdone,occupyinglands,displacingandoppressingpeoplewhowerealreadythere.Asdescendantsof enslaved andmigrant people, our claim is not one of dominion but one ofrecognitionandrighttostewardship.Wemight,ascomradesinColombiahave,go further and claim territory, in the midst of capitalist and state-sanctionedviolence,inordertokeepourpeoplesafe.ItisafictionthatthedescendantsofenslavedAfricansdon’thaveajustifiable

claim to stewarding land inNorthAmerica.Thehistoryof anti-Blackness andenslavementofBlackpeopleevenwithinindigenousterritoriesisnotfiction.Atthesametime,thereisalsoahistoryofBlackpeopleservingasagentsoftheUSmilitarytocarryoutitsviolenceagainstNativepeoples.Wehavetoreckonwiththat history aswell as that of slavery and understand that themajority of ourpeoplehave livedanddiedunderconditionsof state-sanctioned terrorism.Ourmovement must foster transformative conversations among Black folks andNative peoples. Where are we supposed to live? We are not each other’senemies, andwe should strive to aid each other’s harvest in aworldwith toomuchscorchedearth.Theempireflourishesonourconflict.Ibelievethatweareinherently stronger when we are together, moving in the same direction

regardlessoftactics.Together we can imagine and move toward transformative change in our

lifetimes and for future generations. Despite extraction from the earth, vastminingworldwidethatcontinuestothisday,thereisstillenoughlandonwhichtoliveandfarm.Weneedtotendtotheearthcollectively,withamindtowardregeneration.Climatejusticeandlabormovementorganizationsframethisasa“justtransition.”MovementGenerationdefinesajusttransitionasanintentionalpathwaythatmovesus“towardslocal,living,lovingeconomies.”Thiswillnothappenwithoutretaliationandrepressionfromthestateandcorporations.Ajusttransitionwill not serve the interests of the greedy, domineering profiteers. Itwillservethecollectiveliberationofallpeople.Thealternativetocommittingtothat—and all the work it entails—is the complete degradation of Earth andeverythingthatlivesonit.Letusbuildnowwhatwewantandwhatweneed.IfweeverreachoutintothedepthsofthegalaxybeyondEarth—asAfro-futuristsimagine—wehavetobeprepared.I have devoted few words to white people in this book, much less white

women.Ifthe2016presidentialelection,thepivotal2017Virginiagubernatorialelection,andthe2017Alabamasenateelectiondemonstrateanything—over50percentofwhitewomenvotersvotedfortheRepublicancandidateineach—itisthe unreliability of white women to vote with the interests of marginalizedcommunities. Black women on the other hand, consistently show up for theDemocratic Party, even when it does not invest in Black people or ourcommunitiesdespitehavingtheabilitytodoso.Whiteliberalsandprogressiveshold too much control over political institutions, resources, and policy—andconsequently too much power over our very lives. That power should berelinquished.It’sbeenheldforfartoolonganddeployedagainsttheinterestsofBlackpeople and amyriadofothermarginalizedpeople.Forwhite folkswhowanttobeapartoftransformingtheworld,followtheleadoftoday’smovementforBlacklives.Nosingleleaderiscomingtosaveus.Onlycollectiveactioncanbringaboutthetransformationourworldneeds.Our movement must build institutions, organizations, practices, and a

movement culture that future generations can respect and love enough tocontinue while challenging the imperfections. A single person cannot lead asuccessfulmovement.Eachofushasaroleintheworkofmovementbuildingand must assume that responsibility. As we amass freedoms and experiencecollectiveliberation,whichIbelieveispossible,wecannotrecyclethemaster’stools, systems, or thinking. The movement must commit to leadershipdevelopment, healing justice, and combating liberalism through principledstruggle. Community organizers and activists must interrogate whowe are as

individuals,whoourpeopleare,andwhatwearebuilding,andwemustaskifwe are actually ready to win. Chicago’s legacies of resistance andmovementbuildingareattheforefrontofthisthinking.ItismyhopethatChicagocanserveasonemodelamongmanytoguidemovementbuildingwork.OurcollectivestruggleasBlackpeopleisbothtransnationalandlocal,around

theglobeandwithinourhearts.Theongoingprojectofcolonialismlivesineachof us andmanifests itself in ourmovement. It shows up in the promotion ofdisaster capitalism in response to rebuilding Puerto Rico and the US VirginIslands.Itshowsupintrialsbysocialmediaandintheinadequacyofmovementinstitutions toaddress structuralviolenceand trauma.Therefore,wemust takeup the work of decolonization, the process of dismantling governmental andcultural systems that control and strip nations, peoples, and groups of self-determination and sovereignty. Independence movements across the SouthernHemisphere may be the most obvious examples of decolonization, but theprocessdoesn’tendatadeclarationof independence.Breakingdownwhathasbeen learned under colonialism, eradicating internalized colonialism, anddisruptinganddisplacingthosewhocontinuetobenefitfromit—theseprojectsremainlongafterIndependenceDay.Ourcollectiveimaginationsmustburstopeninordertobelievethatliberation

ispossible.Peoplehavetofeelthepossibilityofliberation.Historyandtoday’smovementteachusthatBlackfolkshaveheldthelineofresistanceforcenturies.Resistance is not new, yet today’s realities require the movement to push itsgrowing edges, tell more complete stories, and construct more completesolutions. Colonization affects what people think and do. From the days ofexterminationcampaignsandtheforcedremovalofNativepeoplestoruralandurban economically depressed communities, the US empire has been run bycorporateinterestsandbaseduponstate-sanctionedviolence.Still,peopleresist.Intakingdecolonizationintoourwork,wedonotignoretheneedtodismantlewhite supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. We see a bigger picture, oneincluding all oppressedpeoples.Webelieve in the real possibility of abolitionandbuildingabetterworld.Webelievethataneconomythatisgenerative,notextractive,ispossibleandnecessary.ThisisacalltocelebratetheinherentvalueofallBlackpeople.Itisacallto

queerourmovementpracticesandhonorthecontributionsofBlackfeministandLGBTQ movements to the Black radical tradition. And it is a mandate toorganize.Indoingso,wecanmaketheworldtheplacewewantittobe,liberateourselvesfromoppression,andcreatesocial,cultural,andpoliticalsystemsthatare liberatory and just for all.Ourmovement can andwill hold each of theseelements,andwemustsucceedforthesakeofcollectiveliberation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thisbookispossiblebecauseofsomanypeoplewhocontributedtheirenergytomylifeandtothelong-termstruggleforBlackliberation.Iamdeeplygratefulfor my family, my comrades, and the people who drive me to meet mycommitmentstomyselfandourmovement.I am thankful for the team at Beacon Press, including my editor Gayatri

Patnaik,forherhonestyandguidance.IamgratefultoJillPetty,justasmuchofadoulatothisbookasanyoneelseis,forsendingmeaLinkedInmessageandsayingyestolunchthatledmetoBeacon.YouandBeacontookachanceonafirst-timeauthor,andIamforevergratefulforthat.Tomyliteraryagent,TanyaMcKinnon,thankyouforchallengingmetobringmyfullselfintothisbook.Thankstomypoliticalhome,BYP100.Ourmembersandmycolleaguesgave

methespace,inspiration,andmotivationtofinishthisbook.Thankyou,Fresco(our minister of culture), Asha (thank you for introducing me to prisonabolition),Tasha,Brianna,L’lerret,Aaron, Sam,Nzinga, andRebba. It’s beenalmostfiveyears,team,andourcommunityhassharpenedmebeyondmeasureandshownmewhat itmeanstotrulyloveourpeople.AsI transitionfrommyroleatBYP100tothenextphaseofmyworkforBlackliberation,knowthatIremaincommittedtoourvision,mission,andcorevalues.ThankyoutoRoseS.Afriyie,forreadingpartsofthemanuscriptandbeinga

loyalsisterfriend.Youalwayshavemyfrontandmyback.ThankyoutoAlexisPeguesforansweringmypanickedcallsaboutanygivenlifecrisisandalwayshandlingmewithcare.Comrade, sister, and friend JanaeBonsu, you read this book before anyone

elsedidandcaredenoughtomakethefirstroundsofedits.IoweyoumorethanIcaneverrepay.PatriciaJerido,youaremorethanalifecoach—youhavesavedmylifeover

andoveragain.TotheteachersatBlackOrganizingforLeadershipandDignity(BOLD),thankyouforcreatingavehicleformypersonaltransformationandthetransformationofourmovement.Ibowingratitudetoeachofyou.ThankyoutotheOGswhoseadviceandexamplesareconstantlyswimming

inmymind:KaiLumumba,MakaniThemba,DenisePerry,BarbaraSmithand

theCombaheeRiverCollective,BeverlyGuySheftall,MariameKaba,BethE.Richie, andCoachBrendaHarris.Cathy J.Cohen,who knew that a coffee atZ&H inHydeParkwould leadus towherewearenow?Youaremy scholar,activist, and Black lesbian possibility model! Barbara Ransby, thank you forsharingyourgenius,family,andwisdomwithme.NeitherBYP100norIwouldbeassharpaswearewithoutyou.Mydevelopmentasaleaderandasapersonwouldnotbepossiblewithoutthe

manyrelationshipsI’veformedovertheyears.ThankyoutoMartinTrimbleandKathleen O’Toole for teaching me good habits as a very young organizer.Thanks to comrades in theChicagoorganizing community and theMovementfor Black Lives. Chicago, the world is watching us because we are a site ofresistanceandloveforourpeople.Thestrugglecontinuesthrougheachofyou.Iwouldn’thaveaclearviewof theworldwere itnot forProfessorWilliam

MunroleadingmyfirsttriptoSouthAfrica.ThankyoutoAhmadAbuznaidforrememberingthatconversationwehadinMiamiaboutPalestine.IwrotemostofthisbookincoffeeshopsacrossChicagoandNewYorkCity.

ThankyoutothekindandgenerouspeopleworkingattheCurrencyExchangeCafé. Megan, Chrissy, Sydney, and everyone else there were often the firstpeopleIsawduringmyearly-morningwritingsessions.ThankyoutotheSocialChangeInitiativeteamforthe2017fellowshipexperienceandforprovidingmewiththeresourcesIneededtofinishthisbook.Blackwomenhavesavedmylifeoverandover,andIamforeverindebtedto

somany.ThankyoutothosewhoIinterviewedforthisproject,includingAsh-LeeHenderson,ElleHearns,DaraCooper,andRukiaLumumba.ThankyoutoNeichelle Guidry for being a writing buddy. I am thankful for our ancestorsMarsha P. Johnson,Rosa Parks,RecyTaylor, EllaBaker,GwendolynBrooks,and Fannie Lou Hamer for lighting the way. Thank you to the BlackOutCollective, especially Celeste, Chinyere, and Karissa for embodying beautifuldisruption.N’TanyaLee forhelpingme to crystallizewhatprincipled strugglecanlooklike.AlsieParks,thankyouforansweringthecallwhenIneededhelpresearching the depth of topics explored in this book. And adrienne mareebrown, thank you for holding our team and me through tough and beautifulmoments.Special thanks toAi-JenPoo,Deepa Iyer, andLuvvieAjayi forhelpingme

figureoutthebook-writingprocess.ThankyoutoSamanthaMasterandJeNaeTaylor for being ears and shoulders to lean on. Thank you to my friend andcomrade Kai M. Green for your enduring support, trusting me with yourstudents, and sharing my work with your colleagues at Williams College.Gratitude toMovementGenerationcomrades forblowingmymind.Thanks to

Becky Belcore and the NAKASEC team for your commitment to Blackliberation.MaryHooks,mycomradeandpartnerinlife,thankyouforbeingavesselfor

our ancestors and for lovingme.Thankyou for allowingour ancestors to useyouasamediumtogiveourpeoplethemandate.Ibowindeepdeferencetomyancestorsforbeingatmybackandreminding

methatchangeisnotonlypossible,itisinevitable.Lastly, I amdeeply thankful tomyparents,CharlesandGwen, forbringing

me into thisworldandalwaysencouragingme togoas far asmymindcouldfathom.Youraisedme,andyouraisedCharlita,Charles,andSarai.Thankyou.

NOTES

CHAPTER1:ALLOFUSORNONEOFUS1.BillAllison,MiraRojanasakul,BrittanyHarris,andCedricSam,“Trackingthe2016Presidential

MoneyRace,”Bloomberg,December9,2016,https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-presidential-campaign-fundraising.2.JohnJudis,“WhyIdentityPoliticsCouldn’tClinchaClintonWin,”WashingtonPost,November11,

2016.3.MarkLilla,“TheEndofIdentityLiberalism,”NewYorkTimes,November18,2016.4.Judis,“WhyIdentityPoliticsCouldn’tClinchaClintonWin.”5.CombaheeRiverCollective,CombaheeRiverCollectiveStatement:BlackFeministOrganizinginthe

SeventiesandEighties(NewYork:KitchenTable/WomenofColorPress,1986).6.BeverlyGuy-Sheftall,ed.,WordsofFire:AnAnthologyofAfricanAmericanFeministThought(New

York:NewPress,2011).7.CathyJ.Cohen,“Punks,Bulldaggers,andWelfareQueens:TheRadicalPotentialofQueerPolitics?”

GLQ3(1997):437–65.8.“CommunityandOrganizationAccountabilityProcessUpdate,”TransformingHarm,

http://transformharm.tumblr.com/post/140296664386/community-and-organization-accountability-process.

CHAPTER2:REVIVINGTHEBLACKRADICALIMAGINATION1.JanaWinterandSharonWeinberger,“TheFBI’sNewUSTerroristThreat:‘BlackIdentity

Extremists,’”ForeignPolicy,October6,2017,http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/06/the-fbi-has-identified-a-new-domestic-terrorist-threat-and-its-black-identity-extremists.2.RebeccaOnion,“InteractiveMapCatalogsaHistoryofCollectiveViolenceAgainstBlack

Communities,”Slate,July6,2015,www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2015/07/06/history_of_violence_against_black_communities_mapping_project_for_lynching.html3.BethΕ.Richie,ArrestedJustice:BlackWomen,Violence,andAmerica’sPrisonNation(NewYork:

NewYorkUniversityPress,2012),133.4.ScottNagawa,“BlacknessIstheFulcrum,”RaceFiles,May4,2002,

https://www.racefiles.com/2012/05/04/blackness-is-the-fulcrum.5.EllaBaker,“TheBlackWomanintheCivilRightsStruggle,”speechgivenattheBlackWorld

Conference,Atlanta,1969.6.“CicelyTysonLooksBackatActingCareer,Life,”CBSNews,December16,2015,

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cicely-tyson-acting-modeling-pioneer-african-american-women-kennedy-center-honor.

CHAPTER3:ACASEFORREIMAGININGTHEBLACKRADICALTRADITION

1.DanielleMcGuire,AttheDarkEndoftheStreet:BlackWomen,RapeandResistance:ANewHistoryoftheCivilRightsMovementfromRosaParkstotheRiseofBlackPower(NewYork:Vintage,2010).2.Ibid.,37.3.Ibid.,29.4.KimberlySpringer,LivingfortheRevolution,BlackFeministOrganizations,1968–1980(Durham,

NC:DukeUniversityPress,2005),2.5.JoyJames,SeekingtheBelovedCommunity:AFeministRaceReader(Albany:SUNYPress,2014),

41.6.ThomasSankara,ThomasSankaraSpeaks(NewYork:PathfinderPress,2007).7.“Whentheyconfrontraceandgenderstereotypes,blackwomenarestandinginacrookedroom,and

theyhavetofigureoutwhichwayisup.”MelissaHarris-Perry,SisterCitizen:ShameStereotypesandBlackWomeninAmerica(NewHaven,CT:YaleUniversityPress,2011).8.TheCompton’sCafeteriariottookplaceintheTenderloinDistrictofSanFranciscoinAugust1966

afteradragqueenwasphysicallyassaultedbyapoliceofficer.Compton’swasoneofthefewplaceswheretransgenderandqueerpeople,dragqueens,entertainers,andpeoplewhodidsexworkcouldgathersafely.

CHAPTER4:THREECOMMITMENTS1.MelissaHarris-Perry,“How#SquadCareSavedMyLife,”Elle,July24,2017,

http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/news/a46797/squad-care-melissa-harris-perry.2.BlackEmotionalandMentalHealthCollective,http://www.beam.community/healing-justice/.3.Ibid.4.LeahLakshmiPiepzna-Samarasinha,“ANot-So-BriefPersonalHistoryoftheHealingJustice

Movement,2010–2016,”MiceMagazine(Fall2016),http://micemagazine.ca/.5.Asaleader,Maowasnotwithoutcontradictions.Thoughhispoliticalthoughtservedasabeaconof

whataclass-basedstrugglecouldlooklikeoutsideaEuropeancontext,hewouldgoontoleadarevolutionthatinvolveddeathanddevastationtomillions.6.RobinD.G.Kelley,“BlackLikeMao,”Souls:ACriticalJournalofBlackPoliticsCultureandSociety

1,no.4(Fall1999).7.MaoTse-Tung,“CombatLiberalism,”September9,1937,MarxistsInternetArchive,

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-2/mswv2_03.htm.

CHAPTER5:FIVEQUESTIONS1.“Reproductivejustice”meansensuringtherightstomaintainpersonalbodilyautonomy,havechildren

ornothavechildren,andparentthechildrenwehaveinsafeandsustainablecommunities.2.BarbaraRansby,“QuiltingaMovement,”InTheseTimes,April4,2011.3.“WhatIsthePIC?WhatIsAbolition?,”CriticalResistance,http://criticalresistance.org/about/not-so-

common-language.4.Ibid.5.BYP100,LawforBlackLives,CenterforPopularDemocracy,FreedomtoThrive:ReimaginingSafety

&SecurityinOurCommunities(2017)http://populardemocracy.org/sites/default/files/Freedom%20To%20Thrive%2C%20Higher%20Res%20Version.pdf

CHAPTER6:THECHICAGOMODEL1.EthanMichaeli,“BoundforthePromisedLand,”Atlantic,January11,2016,

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/chicago-defender/422583.2.RichardWright’slineisalsothetitleofIsabelWilkerson’sTheWarmthofOtherSuns:TheEpicStory

ofAmerica’sGreatMigration(NewYork:RandomHouse,2010).3.MichaelC.Dawson,BlacksinandoutoftheLeft(Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2013).4.DarleneClarkHine,HineSight:BlackWomenandtheRe-ConstructionofAmericanHistory

(Bloomington:IndianaUniversityPress,1998),98.5.InternationalAssociationofChiefsofPolice,FY2011–2016StrategicPlan,

www.theiacp.org/portals/0/pdfs/IACPStrategicPlan.pdf.6.AllisonFlowers,“Chicago’sTortureVictimsWantJustice,”Vice,September22,2014,

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xd5753/the-chicago-police-departments-torture-victims-want-justice-0000431-v21n9.7.ArazHachadourian,“ChicagoJustBecametheFirstUSCitytoPayReparationstoVictimsofPolice

Torture,”YesMagazine,May15,2015,http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/chicago-is-the-first-city-to-offer-reparations-for-victims-of-police-violence-now-they-want-to-make-sure-no-one-forgets.8.N’COBRA,NationalCoalitionofBlacksforReparationsinAmerica,www.ncobraonline.org/about-

ncobra.9.ChicagoTortureJusticeMemorials,http://chicagotorture.org/project.10.Ibid.11.JennJackson,“ADiscussionwithMariameKabaonthe#ByeAnitaCampaignandGrassroots

Organizing,”BlackYouthProjectBlog,November29,2016,http://blackyouthproject.com/a-discussion-with-mariame-kaba-on-the-byeanita-campaign-and-grassroots-organizing.12.LeahHopeandLauraThoren,“KimFoxxDefeatsAnitaAlvarezinCookCountyState’sAttorney

Primary,”ABC7News,March16,2016,http://abc7chicago.com/politics/foxx-defeats-alvarez-in-cook-county-states-attorney-primary/1247992.13.“2017CityofChicagoBudgetOrdinance,”CityofChicago,

https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/obm/supp_info/2017%20Budget/2017BudgetOrdinance.pdf

INDEX

Pleasenotethatpagenumbersarenotaccurateforthee-bookedition.

abolition,useofterm,x.Seealsosystemic/structuralchangeAbu-Jamal,Mumia,72Abuznaid,Ahmad,29accountability/acceptingresponsibility:communityaccountability,98;andeffectiveness,12–13,16,41;and

liberalism,80,82,84;principledstruggle,78–79,81–84;andtransformativejusticeprocesses,xi,15–18,76;willingnesstogovern,108–9.Seealsohealingjustice;leadership;sexualviolence

ActionNow,126,128activists/activism.Seecommunityorganizing;organizersandactivistsactivisttraditions.SeeBlackradicaltradition;education,politicalAffordableCareAct(“Obamacare”),21Africa:theAfricanslavetrade,36;capitalistincursions,137;triptoGhana,28–29.Seealsoanti-Blackness;

slaveryAfriyie,Rose,xvi,14,64Afro-Palestinians,collectivepunishmentof,31AlabamaBrotherhoodofSleepingCarPorters,47AlabamaCommitteeforEqualJusticeforMrs.RecyTaylor,46–48Alhassen,Maytha,29Alim,Troy,128Alinsky,Saul,9,94Alvarez,Anita:andtheBoydkilling,131;campaigntooust,125–26,130;electiondefeat,130;andthe

McDonaldkilling,126–27,131AmnestyInternationalUSA,122angst/anxiety,collective:anddecision-making,102–3;personal,recognizingandsharing,95,100anti-Blackness:andcollectivepunishment,29,31;entrenchmentof,21;andgenderedviolence,33–34;

globalscope,xiv–xv,25–26;internalizing,26,36,100–101;linkswithcapitalism,patriarchy,whitesupremacy,xv,33,136;andmasscriminalization/violence,27–28,30–31,102–3,117–18;andpowerrelationships,55,105;andstrategyofdivision,96–99;useofterm,x;viewingBlacksasamonolith,57;viewingBlacksasslaves-in-waiting,26.SeealsoBlackminds/Blackimagination;Blackradicaltraditions

anti-evictioncampaign,113,133Assata’sDaughters:andthecampaigntooustAnitaAlvarez,127,130;andprotestsagainsttheIACP,114;

protestsagainsttheMcDonaldkilling,13attorneygeneral,roleincriminalsystem,129–30

Baker,Ella:frameworkforradicalism,36;onleadership,70;“whoareyourpeople”?question,96–97Baltimore,Maryland,publiceducationfunding,107Beam,Joseph,59Beckford,Beatriz,28Blackactivists/organizers.Seecommunityorganizing;movementbuilding;organizersandactivistsBlack/Brownwomenandgirls:generalizeddistrustof,17;onthelowestrunginthesocialorder,38;low

societalpositionsof,38;asmonolith,limitingunderstandingof,57;roleintheelectionofObama,22;roleintheUNIA,7;undervaluingofbytheDemocraticParty,3;asvictimsofpoliceviolence,124–25.Seealsoanti-Blackness

BlackChristianchurch,perceptionsaboutBlackLGBTQpeople,77–78Blackfeminists/lesbians:criticismsdirectedat,7;lessonsfrom,9;andtraditionalfeminism,54–55;

vulnerabilitytoBIEdesignation,31.SeealsoBlackqueerfeminist(BFQ)lensBlackhistory:andtheelectionofObama,21;includingBlackradicalfeminism,51;incompletenessof,46–

48;andtellinguntoldtruths,61BlackLivesMatterGlobalNetwork,64#BlackLivesMatter,76,124BlackLivesMatterChicago:campaigntooustAnitaAlvarez,127;protestsagainsttheMcDonaldkilling,

13Blackminds/Blackimagination:andBlackscholarship,61;anddescribingthingsastheyreallyare,40–41;

andhandlingcomplexideas,52;importanceofnurturing,25,45,52–53;andre-envisioningpossibilities/alternatives,29,37,39;andstoriesaboutBlacklives,44–45,92–94;systemsuppressionof,26,33,37–38,45.Seealsoeducation,public

Black-on-Blackcrime,33BlackOutCollective,115BlackPantherParty:FreeBreakfastProgram,7;fundingsources,107;influenceofMaoon,79Blackpeople:asaglobalcommunity,xv;asinherentlyqueer,11;recognizingcomplexityanddiversityof,

57;andstoriesaboutBlacklives,44–45,92–94.Seealsoanti-BlacknessBlackPeopleAgainstPoliceTorture,119BlackPowermovement:fundingsources,107;legacyof,87Blackqueerfeminist(BQF)lens:applyingtoviolence,35;breadthof,54;andcompassionatepractice,18;

definitionandorganizingapproach,10;evolutionof,8–9;asformofpraxis,16;andglobalcontext,56;andidentity,95;importanceofaddingtohistories,57–58,61;andincludinginbasiceducationprograms,51;andknowingwhoyouare,95–96;asleftoutpartofhistory,5–6,49–50,54–55;asorganizingperspective,9–10;questionsfocusedon,104;roleinthemodernliberationmovements,88;storiesoftranswomen,50;viewinghistorythrough,46

Blackradicaltraditions:absenceofLGBTQsfrom,5–6,49–50,54–55;andtheAlabamaCommitteeforEqualJusticeforMrs.RecyTaylor,46–48;inChicago,111,113,117;contradictionswithin,23–25;criticismsof,20;diversityofstrategies/interventions,xv,22–25,99–100;educatingyoungpeopleabout,59–60;andtheemergenceofyoungBlackleaders,122–23;fundingapproaches,23,107;andgoalsofyoungactivists,19–20,122–23;theHaitianexample,36–37;andhonesty,80–81;importanceunderstandinghistoryof,xvii–xviii,43–46;inclusiveandpluralisticapproach,20,29;influenceofMaoTse-tung,79;integrationintomodernliberationmovements,20;internationalperspective,6–7;andthelegacyoftheBlackPowermovement,87;andthelegacyofthecivilrightsmovement,87;andliberationascollectiveeffort,106;andlong-termstruggle,135;andmovetowardsdignityandrespect,136;“racewomen,”xv;reshapingtoreflectcurrentconditions,40–41,52–53;roleoftheBlackChristianchurch,77;andtheRustin-MalcolmXdebate,49;useofterm,x.SeealsotheBlackminds/imagination;ChicagoModel;education,political;movementbuilding;slavery

BlackYouthProject100.SeeBYP100(BlackYouthProject100)Bland,Sandra,67TheBluestEye(Morrison),43Bonsu,Janae:BYP100,xvi;tripwithGhanawith,28Boyd,Rekia,killingof:Alvarez’srole,131;protestsfollowing,46,125;andthe#SayHerNamecampaign,

123–24BQF.SeeBlackqueerfeminist(BQF)lensBrookins,Howard,120Brooks,Gwendolyn,63,143Brown,Michael(Mike):killingof,byFerguson,Missouri,policeofficer,21;protestsfollowingkillingof,

21,46,117

Burge,Jon,118,120.SeealsopolicetorturevictimreparationsBurkinaFaso,revolutionin,56–57#ByeAnitacampaign,130BYP100(BlackYouthProject100):“AgendatoKeepUsSafe”critique,102–3;campaigntooustAnita

Alvarez,126–27;decision-makingprocess,Londonexample,14;demandsandgoals,130–31;foundingandevolution,xv–xvii,114,63–64;FreedomtoThriveReport,107;immigrantrightsandjusticework,117;lessonslearnedwhileorganizing,9;asamembership-basedorganization,116;nationalactionfollowingBoydkilling,124–25;NationalHealingandSafetyCouncil,18;participationinIACPprotests,114–15;policetorturevictimreparationscampaign,119–20;asapoliticalhome,63;protestsagainsttheMcDonaldkilling,13;publicresponsesto,115–16;#StopTheCops/#FundBlackFuturescampaigns,115;StatementonRadicalInclusivity,12;survivor-ledtransformativejusticeprocess,15–17;voterengagementefforts,129.Seealsomovementbuilding

Byrd,Jessica,11

Calloway,William,126–27CampaigntoEndtheDeathPenalty,120Cannon,Darryl,118capitalism:disastercapitalism,139;globalization,21;linkswithpatriarchy,whitesupremacy,andanti-

Blackness,xv,33,136;mythofBlackcapitalism,105;andpowerrelationships,105;useofterm,xCarter,Bunchy,83CenterforCommunityChange,ReformImmigrationforAmerica,93CenterforPopularDemocracy,FreedomtoThrivereport,107Chicago,Illinois:activistartscommunity,133;anti-Blackpoliceviolence,117–18;anti-evictionorganizing,

113;Blackmigrationto,112–13;BYP100foundingandearlyactions,116;campaigntobringtraumacentertotheSouthSide,123;campaignfollowingpolicekillingofBoyd,123–25;campaigntooustAnitaAlvarez,125–29;ChicagoBlackRenaissance,112;ChicagoModeloforganizing,111,132–34,139;diverseorganizinggoalsandstrategies,114;diversityofBlackpopulationin,113–14;formativeexperiencesin,xiii–xiv,94–95;fundingforpubliceducationin,107–8;organizingin,aslong-termactivity,122–23;traditionofresistancetopoliceviolence,118

ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistandPoliticalRepression(CAARPR),117ChicagoDefender,andtheGreatMigration,111–12ChicagoLightBrigade,133ChicagoModeloforganizing,111,132–34,139ChicagoPoliceDepartment(CPD):andtheBoydkilling,123–25;andtheMcDonaldkilling,13,126–29;

kidnappingandarrestofMalcolmLondon,13;spendingon,131ChicagoTortureJusticeMemorialsproject,120,122.Seealsopolicetorturereparationscampaign.CitizensAlert,118civilrightsmovement:legacyof,87;toolslearnedfrom,24;youngactivists’ambivalenceabout,45.See

alsoBlackradicaltraditionsClark,Mark,117–18Clinton,Hillary,2–4CoffeeWillMakeYouBlack(Sinclair),43Cohen,Cathy,11,14,129Cole,ColeB.,88collectiveaction:andallowingotherstolead,69–70;BYP100StatementonRadicalInclusivity,2014,12;

collaboration,andeffectiveness,115,117–18,120;andthelessonofHaiti,38;asastrategy,11–12,69,138–40.Seealsomovementbuilding

collectivepunishment.Seepunishment,collectiveColombia,indigenouslandclaims,137colonialism/imperialism:andtheAfricanslavetrade,36;decolonizationgoals,140;anddreamsofself-

determination,25,56;internalized,recognizing,98,139;andmarginalizedidentities,7;universalimpactsof,51;andwar,30.SeealsoBlackradicaltradition;slavery

CombaheeRiverCollective:effectiveapproachtoidentitypolitics,5;onidentitypolitics,1

communications:communicationsplans,115;direct,valueof,81–82;socialmedia,40,81–82community-basedphilanthropy,106communityorganizing:andtheBQFlens,12–13,59–60;campaigntooustAnitaAlvarez,125–29;Chicago

Modeloforganizing,132–34,139;andchoosingone’sbattles,74;andclarifyingsharedgoals,89–90,108;andcommunity-controlledhistoryprojects,53;followingBrown’skilling,121;andhandlingconflictsconstructively,15,17–18,83–84;andidentifying“yourpeople,”96–99;andleadershipdevelopment,69–71,85,139;lockboxstrategy,123;Obama-eraapproach,90–91;needforcooperation/collaboration,88–89,114;responsetopolicekillingofBoyd,46,123–25,131;responsetopolicekillingofMcDonald,127–29;protests/civildisobedienceduringIACPconvention,114–15;relationship-basedorganizing,70,89,91–92,115;andself-determination,110;showingrespectandcompassion,15,17–18,83–84,94;andstoriesaboutBlacklives,44–45,92–94;trainingprograms,xv,9,52,91;andthewillingnesstogovern,108–9.Seealsoleadership;organizersandactivists;movementbuilding;systemic/structuralchange

counterterrorismactivities,31Crenshaw,Kimberlé,123–24criminalization.Seeanti-Blacknesscriminaljusticereform,33,36,125–29,131CriticalResistance:definitionofabolition,x;definitionofPIC,103;andthewidespreadimpactsof

incarceration,103–4Cruz,Mayadet,16Cuba,normalizingofrelationshipswith,21Cullors,Patrisse,124

Daley,RichardM.,118AttheDarkEndoftheStreet:BlackWomen,Rape,andResistance(McGuire),47Davis,Angela:movementtofree,117;studyingwritingsof,59Davis,Troy,20Dayaneni,Gopal,108–9DeathRow10effort,120democracy,American:benefitsforthewhiterulingclass,109–10;mythof,135–36;reinventing,and

willingnesstogovern,109–10;andself-determination,110DemocraticParty:andfear-basedactions,84–85;needforsignificantrestructuring,4;andreasonsfor

Clinton’sdefeat,3–4;strategicfailures,3;undervaluingofBlackandBrownwomen,3Dessalines,Jacques,37Diaminah,Sendolo,65dilemmas,defined,65Dilulio,John,30disastercapitalism,139domesticviolence,33–35Douglass,Frederick,xiii,69DreamDefenders,29,46,64DyettHighSchoolactions,114,133

education,political:anddemocratizingknowledge,41;andstoriesaboutBlacklives,44–45,92–94;studygroups,69–70;understandingtraditions,59–60

education,public:democratizingknowledge,41;failedintegrationofschools,49;fundingfor,asorganizinggoal,107;improving,asagoaloftorturevictimreparationcampaign,121;includingBQFlens,51;includingliberationstruggles,10;andliteracyeducation,106;reinforcementofthestatusquo,8–9

electoralpolitics:distrustofwithintheBlackcommunity,126;andtheelectionofObama,21;explainingimportanceoftothedisenfranchised,129–30;2016presidentialelection,1–4;votingrights,33–35,101

ElminaCastledungeons,Ghana,28–29Emanuel,Rahm,121,126–29TheEmergingDemocraticMajority(Judis),3

environmentalactivism,136–38

FBI,counterterrorismdivision(COINTELPRO):“BlackIdentityExtremist”(BIE)designation,31;rumorsandconflictsownby,83

FearlessLeadingbyYouth(FLY):thecampaigntooustAnitaAlvarez,127–28,130;civildisobedience/actions,123;goals,117;protestsagainsttheMcDonaldkilling,13

feminism:Blackvoicesleftoutof,54–55;definition,x;whitequeeractivists,11.SeealsoBlackqueerfeminist(BQF)lens

Fightfor$15Campaignforalivingwage,7,117FLY.SeeFearlessLeadingbyYouth(FLY)Foxx,Kim,129–30FreedomDreams(Kelley),19freedomstruggles.SeeBlackradicaltraditionFreedomtoThriveReport(BYP100),107FrenchRevolution,37#FundBlackFuturescampaign,114fund-raising,107–8;decisionsabout,23;asformofpower,106–7;andmainstreamphilanthropy,106.See

alsoreparations

Ganz,Marshall,93Garvey,AmyAshwood,7Garvey,AmyJacques,6–7Garvey,Marcus,7,99–100Garza,Alicia,88GenerationFive,xiGhana,tripto,28–29goals:andcollaborations,108;importanceof,99–100,102;reformvs.transformation,102–3;relationship

todemands,103–4Gossett,Reina,49governing,108–9theGreatMigration,28–29,111–12Guidry,Neichelle,78gunviolence,33

HaitianRevolution,36–38Hamer,FannieLou,39Hampton,Fred,117–18Hampton,Jessica,35Hansberry,Lorraine,59,112Harris-Perry,Melissa,57,73Hartman,Saidiya,26–28Hatcher,Paris,11healingjustice:andacknowledging/speakingofpain,72;defined,75–76;eliminatingstructuraloppression,

76–77;andface-to-facecommunications,81–82;askeyaspectofemancipation,85;spiritualcomponents,77.Seealsotransformativejusticeprocesses

Hearns,Elle,50Helton,Angela,124–25Hemphill,Essex,59Hemphill,Prentis,76Henderson,Ash-Lee,74–75HighlanderResearchandEducationCenter,74Hine,DarleneClark,114historyprojects,community-controlled,53.Seealsoeducation,political;education,public

Hogan,Liam,32homes,political,63homophobia,49,51,55honesty,radical,81,92–94hooks,bell,x,59,73Hooks,Mary,135“How#SquadCareSavedMyLife”(Harris-Perry),73Huggins,John,83HurricaneKatrina,21Hurston,ZoraNeale,72

identitypolitics:asbasisforradicalization,1;historicalexamples,4;individualistic,neoliberalapproaches,11;integratingmultipleidentities,6;presumedfailureandcritiquesof,3;astransformative,4–5

IllinoisCoalitiontoAbolishtheDeathPenalty,120immigrantrightsandjusticework,93,117incarceration,mass:campaigntoend,55,101,103,131;asformofviolence,33,35;andthestatusquo,80;

widespreadimpactsof,103–4.Seealsocriminaljusticereform;policeviolence;prisonindustrialcomplex(PIC)

indigeneity:Blackclaimsto,136–37;andIndigenousgovernanceapproaches,109;violenceagainstIndigenouspeoples,137

integration,failuresof,49InternationalAssociationofChiefsofPolice(IACP),civildisobedience/protestsagainst,114–15interventionservices,35Israeligovernment,collectivepunishmentofPalestinians,29,32

James,Joy,54“Jena6”rally,20JimCrow,118Johnson,MarshaP.:absencefromhistoriesofBlackstruggle,49–50,58;asguide,77–78Judis,JohnB.,3justtransitions,defined,137–38

Kaba,Mariame,14,16,82Kelley,RobinD.G.,19KindredHealingJusticeCollective,75King,MartinLutherJr.,49,57KuKluxKlan,4KuumbaLynx,133Kyra,participationintransformativejusticeprocess,15–16

LaBeija,Crystal,39labororganizing,137Laney,Terrance,64LawforBlackLives,FreedomtoThriveReport,107leadership:andadmittingself-interest,66–67;handlingburnout,76;handlingpersonaltrauma,72–74,76;

identifyingone’sbestrole,68;andleadershipdevelopment,69–70,85,139;managingchallenges/conflicts,65;asorganizingprinciple,64;sensitivitytoothers’interestsandperspectives,68,70;willingnesstogovern,108–9

lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,andquestioning(orqueer)people.SeeLGBTQpeople#LetUsBreatheCollective:participationinthecampaigntooustAnitaAlvarez,127;protestsagainstthe

McDonaldkilling,13LGBTQpeople:andtheBlackChristianchurch,77–78;criticismsdirectedat,7;organizingof,49–50;use

ofterm,x–xi;violenceanddiscriminationagainst,35.SeealsoBlackqueerfeminist(BQF)lens

liberalism:combatingthroughprincipledstruggle,64,78–79,85;anddishonesty,80–81;andemphasisonindividualvs.collectiveaction,11;limitationsof,3;MaoTse-tung’scritiques,79–80;andmisplacedphilanthropy,80;neoliberalism,x,11,21;andwhitecontrolofpoliticalandsocialinstitutions,90–91,138

liberation/liberationmovements,defined,102.Seealsomovementbuilding;systemic/structuralchangeLiftedVoices,114–15Lilla,Mark,3literacy,106lockboxstrategy,123London,Malcolm,12–16,129Lopez,Oscar,21Lorde,Audre,6,59,72LoseYourMother:AJourneyAlongtheAtlanticSlaveRoute(Hartman),28L’Ouverture,Toussaint,37Lykes,Jonathan,64

MaatRa,XavierDanae,16MalcolmX,49MalcolmXGrassrootsMovement,91“mandateforBlackpeople”(Hooks),135Manning,Chelsea,21MaoTse-Tung,79–80MarchonWashingtonforJobsandJustice,1963,48,71marginalizedidentity,7–8Martin,Trayvon,20–21,27,46,117Marx,Karl,43May,Page,128McCarthy,Garry,126–29McDonald,Laquan,policekillingof:Alvarez’srolein,131;policevideotape,127–28,responsesto,13,

126–27,129.SeealsoAlvarez,AnitaMcGuire,Danielle,46–47McHarris,Thenjiwe,124mediastereotypes,negativeimagery,33–35membership-basedorganizations,xvi,14,107,116Mensa,Vic,125–29mentalhealthservices,35Mercano,Mervyn,124meritocracy,American,asamyth,27MidwestAcademy,trainingprogram,91migrants,criminalizationof,101,117Milk,Harvey,49Mitchell,Maurice,124Mogul,Joel,120Moore,“QueenMother”Audley,47Moore,VeronicaMorris,128Moreno,ProcoJoe,120Morrison,Toni,43Moss,Otis,78movementbuilding:andaccountability/integrity,82,84;rumors,gossip,81,83MovementforBlackLives,Chicago,124,142MovementGeneration,108,137–38movementbuilding:accountabilitytothecommunity,98;basicprinciples,64;theChicagomodel,111,

113–14,132–34;andcollaborations/collectiveactions,88–89,108,114–15,117–18,120,138–40;

communications,115;educationandtraining,xv,9,52,91;framingdemandsandsolutions,xiii,69,87–88,98,102–3,121,132;fundingneedsanddecisions,23,107,116;handlinginternalchallenges,65;healingjustice,75–77;humanbodysimilefor,65–66;identifyingsharedgoalsandvisions,103,108;importanceofrelationships,70,91–92,115;internaldynamics,66–67;askeytoemancipation,66,85;leadership/leadershipdevelopment,66–71;asmessy,complicated,63–65,75;needfordiversestrategies,89;needforlong-termperspective,36,78,122–23,135;needforvisionandimagination,25;andprincipledaccountability,78–79,81–84;andradicalhonesty,80–81,92–94;andreadinesstogovern,108–9;asspiritualwork,63,77;andstructuralchange,16,63–64;andunderstandingpower,105.SeealsoBlackqueerfeminist(BQF)lens;Blackradicaltraditions;BYP100;communityorganizing;leadership;organizersandactivists;systemic/structuralchange;transformativejustice

NationalCoalitionofBlacksforReparationsinAmerica,xi,119NationalHealingandSafetyCouncil(BYP100),18NationofIslam,Chicago,133NegroWorld,AmyJacqueGarvey’swritingsin,6–7neoliberalism.SeeliberalismNewOrganizingInstitute(NOI),90–91,93Nixon,E.D.,47Noel,Crista,124#Not1More,114–15Nugent,Bruce,59nuisances,defined,65

Obama,Barack,21–23organizationbuilding.Seecommunityorganizing;movementbuildingOrganizedCommunitiesAgainstDeportations(OCAD),114–15organizersandactivists:balancingself-carewithcommunitywork,73–74;“BlackIdentityExtremist”

(BIE)designation,31;burnout,76–77,132;criticalthinkingskills,54,69–70;diversescopeandstrategies,39;educationandtrainingneeds,52,59–60,91,137;andhealingjustice,71–78;hypervisible,23;identifyingsharedvisionandgoals,99–100;imprisonmentandmurderof,30;incorporatingexperiencesoftrauma,65;leadershipbuilding,66–71;managingconflict,65;managingrelationships,89,105;andprincipledaccountability,78–79,81–84;self-examination,personalhonesty,40,64,80–81,92–94,139;self-interest,recognizing,66–68,92–94;showingrespectandcompassion,15,17–18,68,70,83–84,94;speakingup/takingresponsibility,xviii,41;speechlessness,71–72;andspiritualcomponentofactivism,63,77.SeealsoBlackradicaltradition;communityorganizing;movementbuilding;leadership

OrganizingforAmerica(Obama),90O’Toole,Kathleen,9“OvercomingSpeechlessness”(Walker),71–72

Page,Cara,75Palestine,collectivepunishmentin,28–29Parks,Rosa,45–47patriarchy:linkswithcapitalism,whitesupremacy,anti-Blackness,xv,33,136;and

transphobia/homophobia,51,55People’sLawOffice,120Perez,Jasson,xvi,64philanthropicfoundations,106PIC.Seeprisonindustrialcomplex(PIC)Piepzna-Samarasinha,LeahLakshmi,76–77Pierce,Jessica,64policetorturevictimreparations,120–22policeviolence:activismagainstbyLGBTQpeople,5–6;andactivismonbehalfofBoyd,123–25;andthe

ofBoydkilling,123–25;BYP100earlyactionsagainst,116–17;andthecampaigntooustAnitaAlvarez,125–26;andthecriminalizationofBlackpeople,27–28,30–31,102–3,117–18;focuson,astoonarrow,35;impactsonBlackwomen,114;kidnappingandarrestofMalcolmLondon,13;andtheMcDonaldkilling,13,126–29;policetorturevictimreparations,118–21;andthe“publicsafety”excuse,132;strategiestodeter,debatesabout,102.Seealsoanti-Blackness;criminaljusticereform;incarceration

poverty:andBlackoppression,33power/powerrelationships:105–6.Seealsoanti-Blackness;movementbuildingPowerU,46prisonabolition,100,104–6prisonindustrialcomplex(PIC):andcollectivepunishment,30–32;defined,103–4;school-to-prison

pipeline,52–53.Seealsocriminaljusticereform;policeviolenceproblems,defined,65ProjectNIA,122publicsafetyconcerns,132PuertoRico,impactsofdisastercapitalismin,139punishment,collective,30–32“Punks,BulldaggersandWelfareQueens”(Cohen),11

queer/queerness,definedandpoliticalimplications,10–11.SeealsoBlackqueerfeminist(BQF)lens

“racewomen,”xvracism,societal/systemic:combatting,findingmodels,48,60;identifyingpersonalexperiences,xv;

TrayvonMartinexample,27;racialcapitalism,x;understandingintellectuallyandviscerally,8–9,25–26;andtheviolencematrix,33–35.Seealsoanti-Blackness;slavery;whitesupremacy

radical:Blackfeministuseofterm,xi;defined,85;astermofcontempt,39.SeealsoBlackradicaltraditions;systemic/structuralchange

ARaisinintheSun(Hansberry),112Ransby,Barbara,96Ransby-Sporn,Asha,xvi,100Raser,Tess,130redlining,112reform,structuralchangeversus,4,101.Seealsoliberalismrelationships:building,askeytoeffectiveorganizing,70,89,91–92,115;managing,89,105;power

relationships,105reparations:defined,xi;demandfor,119–22;policetorturevictimreparations,119–22;viewingfund-

raisingasformof,108reproductivehealthissues,33,101–2responsibility,individual.Seeaccountability,acceptingresponsibility“TheRevolutionCannotTriumphwithouttheEmancipationofWomen”(Sankara),56–57Richie,BethE.:thecarceralstate,103;linksbetweenanti-Blacknessandgenderedviolence,33–34;

“violencematrix,”73Ritchie,Andrea,123–24Rivera,Hiram,51Rivera,Sylvia,49–50,58Robinson,Cedric,xRobinson,Rashad,88RuckusSociety,91Rustin,Bayard:debatewithMalcolmX,49;discriminationagainst,45,47–48;leadershiprole,71Ryan,George,120

Sankara,Thomas,56–57#SayHerNamecampaign,123–25

school-to-prisonpipeline,52–53Sebring,Serena,77self-care,73–74.Seealsohealingjustice;transformativejusticeprocessesself-determination:ascommunity-based,110;ashumanright,39;andindividualresponsibility,41;andthe

long-termstrugglesinHaiti,36self-interest,66–68Servin,Dante,123–25sexualviolence:againstBlackwomenandgirls,needtopublicize,17,33,46;challengesofaddressing,23;

anddistrustofthevictim,17;andforcedsterilization,32,34;respondingtothroughaBQFlens,13,17;scopeofPark’scampaignagainst,46–47;survivor-ledtransformativejusticeprocess,15–16.Seealsohealingjustice;transformativejusticeprocesses

sexworkers,55Shakur,Assata,24,30–31,99Simms,Marc,94Sinclair,April,43SistersoftheYam(hooks),73SisterSong,91slavery:andidentitypolitics,4;andinternalizedshame,28;retainedmemoriesof,73,92.Seealsoanti-

Blackness;capitalism;democracySmith,Barbara,5Smith,Brandon,126–27SNCC.SeeStudentNonviolentCoordinatingCommitteesocialmedia:andregainingthepowertotellone’s

ownstory,40;andrumors/gossip,81–82socialmovements.Seecommunityorganizing;movementbuildingSouthAfrica,travelto,xivSouthernersonNewGround,77,135SouthsidersUnitedforUnityandLiberation(SOUL),126SouthsideTogetherOrganizingforPower(STOP),123Sparks,Chauncey,47–48spiritwork,77–78Steez,Fresco,xvi,14sterilization,forced,32,34#StopTheCops/#FundBlackFuturescampaigns(BYP100),114–15storiesaboutBlacklives:importanceforhelpingcraftamovement,44–45;andone’spersonalstory,92–94strangerassault/rape,33–35StreetTransvestiteActionRevolutionaries(STAR),49Strong,Johnae,xvi,128StudentNonviolentCoordinatingCommittee(SNCC),19,24,87superpredatorstereotype,30survivor-ledtransformativejusticeprocess,15–17Sutton,Martinez,125systemic/structuralchange:andabolition,x,18;andtheAmericanmythos,135–36;andthecontradictionof

progressandtransformation,23;globalemancipation,28;andidentifyingsharedvisions,100;needfororganizeddemands,xiii,63–64,101;policetorturevictimreparations,118;andsocialmovementactivism,88–89;structuralchangevs.reform,63–64,101,asunderlyinggoal,130–31,140;workingintandemwithhealingjustice,76–77.Seealsomovement-/organization-building

tactics,usingmultiple,24TaskForcetoConfrontPoliceViolence,118Taylor,Recy,47–48Thomas,Rae’Lynn,35Thompson,Kush,111Till,EmmettandMamie,112

torture,bypolice.Seepoliceviolence“TowardaBlackFeministCriticism”(Smith),5toxicmasculinity,33transformativejusticeprocesses:andaccountability/integrity,18;asapproachtohandlingsexualviolence,

15–16;anddirect,face-to-facecommunications,81–82;andhealingjustice,75–76;asorganizingprinciple,64;resistancetosocietalviolence,35;useofterm,xi.Seealsohealingjustice;systemic/structuralchange

transphobia,51,55TransWomenofColorCollective,50trauma,experienceof,incorporatinginactivism,65TraumaCareCoalition,123Trimble,Martin,9TrinityUnitedChurch,Chicago,77–78,133Trump,Donald,2–3Tubman,Harriet“Moses,”88Turner,Damian,123Tyson,Cicely,38

undocumentedimmigrants,22UnitedNations:bringingchargesofpolicebrutalityto,119;GenevaConventionArticle33,30UnitedNegroImprovementAssociation(UNIA),7UniversityofChicago,adulttraumacentercampaign,114,123USmilitary,Blackservicemen,137USVirginIslands,139

VillageLeadershipAcademy,133violence:applyingaBFQlensto,35;community-basedviolence,33–35;asconsequenceofrumorsand

degradingcomments,33–35,83;andexperienceoftrauma,65,71–74;linksbetweenanti-Blacknessandgenderedviolence,33–34;asmotivationforactivism,74–75;normalizingofintheUnitedStates,35;punitivevs.restorativeapproachesto,35;asresponsetoactivism,26–27;Richie’sviolencematrix,33–35;understandingrootcauses,33,36–37,46.Seealsohealingjustice;transformativejusticeprocesses

VirginiansOrganizedforInterfaithCommunityEngagement(VOICE),9votingrights:ongoingfightfor,101;votersuppressionasformofviolence,33–35

Walker,Alice,59,71–72war:ondrugs,andanti-Blackviolence,118;modern,andcollectivepunishment,30Washington,Harold,113WeChargeGenocide:andthecampaigntooustAnitaAlvarez,126–27;duringIACPprotests,114–15;and

thepolicetorturereparationscampaign,121–22;welfarequeenstereotype,30WellstoneAction,91“WestIndiaEmancipation”(Douglass),69whitesupremacy:andanti-Blackviolence,26;andenvironmentaldestruction,136;andgenderandsexual

oppression,46;andpowerrelationships,105;andscarcity/limitation,57;universalimpactsof,51Wilderson,Frank,26Williams,Josh,30Williams,Rachel,125Willis,Standish,118–19Wilmot,Kiera,41Winter,VenusEvans,xvWright,Richard,111

YoungChicagoAuthors,133

BEACONPRESSBoston,Massachusettswww.beacon.org

BeaconPressbooksarepublishedundertheauspicesoftheUnitarianUniversalistAssociationofCongregations.

©2018byCharleneA.CarruthersAllrightsreserved

TextdesignandcompositionbyKimArneyCoverartanddesignbyLouisRoe

“PaulRobeson”reprintedbyconsentofBrooksPermissions.Briefquotefromp.414fromBlackBoybyRichardWright,copyright1937,1942,1944,1945byRichardWright;renewed©1973byEllenWright.ReprintedbypermissionofHarperCollinsPublishers.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData

Names:Carruthers,CharleneA.,author.Title:Unapologetic:aBlack,queer,andfeministmandateforourmovement/CharleneA.Carruthers.Description:Boston:BeaconPress,[2018]|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.Identifiers:LCCN2017058987(print)|LCCN2018024924(ebook)|ISBN9780807019429(e-book)|ISBN9780807019412(pbk.:alk.paper)

Subjects:LCSH:AfricanAmericanlesbians—Politicalactivity—UnitedStates—21stcentury.|AfricanAmericanwomen—Politicalactivity—UnitedStates—21stcentury.|Feminism—UnitedStates—21stcentury.|Blackpower—UnitedStates.|Blacklivesmattermovement—UnitedStates.|AfricanAmericans—Civilrights.

Classification:LCCHQ75.6.U5(ebook)|LCCHQ75.6.U5C362018(print)|DDC305.48/896073—dc23LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2017058987