How empowering would if feel to Black men to get our sense of human validation from emotionally supporting our families [broadly defined] rather than anxiously trying to game a system founded in our bondage in order to support them financially? Imagine what our communities might look like if we supported Black women and Black gender-non-conforming folx in transforming leadership and the workplace as Black men and gender-non-conforming folx transformed the home?
Current Events
Preliminary Materials on Collective Liberation and the New Material Reality
Some nights, after I force myself disconnect and I try to sleep, I am struck with the after images of all the disparate thoughts and emotions and data points of the day. Images of Black Lives Matter protestors, refugees from Syria, bombs in Beirut, body bags in Paris and the occasional loving messages and words of support. As a Black Lives matter organizer and artist, I am constantly concerned with state of “the movement.” At the same time, I see and empathize with my Muslim comrades who feel a similar, but perhaps even more omnipresent and ill defined, uneasiness. Flashes of protests, mass arrests, unlawful detainments and police states constantly mix with shared stories, laughter and organizing pot luck’s in my mind’s eye.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Advocacy
To be Black in America, is to be the victim of an unending horror story with a multi-cultural peanut gallery more concerned with why you chose to run upstairs than the fact that an unkill-able white man is stalking you.
New Meditation for #BlackJoySundays
Black Joy is a transformative force. It is a visceral, deeply embodied reminder of the precious euphoria of our humanity. It is the source of Black resilience which is itself the wellspring of Black Liberation. #BlackJoySundays are a supportive place we can be affirmed in our Blackness, fellowship with other gorgeous Black people and discuss some of the racial stress we experience. Yet above all, it is space where we cultivate a shared sense of Black joy. This is a space for Black people, which means ALL Black people.
The 5 Pillars of White Supremacy in DC
At the end of the day, policy solutions cannot bring Black Liberation, nor can anti-oppression trainings. Both tactics can merely give us space to envision and articulate alternatives. Ultimately, we must create new co-operative systems and new models of social interactions that respect the inherent dignity of Black people. We must limit the power of the state to direct our lives, which means that Black communities and communities in solidarity with Black liberation must take responsibility for solving our own problems. We cannot ultimately rely on the police to make us safe or social workers and psychologist to make us whole. We must take care of our neighbors and empower our communities. We must teach each other and learn from each other new models of being our best, most gorgeous, most lovingly empathetic selves.
Call Me in Until You Need to Call Me Out
Reflections On Being A Leader in a Leaderful Movement Rape Culture is real. It is omnipresent. It is destroying all of our movements. I don’t know how to start this essay. I don’t really know what to say or how to say it so I’m going to be real and raw and honest. I … Continue reading Call Me in Until You Need to Call Me Out
#ILoveBlackWomen Day Four: ACT!
It's no coincidence that #ILoveBlackWomen is happening during the same week as the National Day of Action for Black Women and Girls. When I conceived of this project it was important that I could at least point people towards a collective action aimed at supporting Black Girls, Black Trans* Women, and Black Women. I'm really … Continue reading #ILoveBlackWomen Day Four: ACT!
Dear Black Women and Trans* People in the Struggle
Dear Black Women and Trans* Activists in the Struggle, I don’t know how to begin this letter. There are so many things I want to say to all the Black women in my life. There are so many things I want to say to uplift, spread and support marginalized voices within this new movement. There … Continue reading Dear Black Women and Trans* People in the Struggle
Mentally Ill Man Fatally Shot In Petworth
*this work is a piece of fiction by the author Aaron Goggans (who is alive), an attempt to process the pain of recent events.* Earlier today DC police fatally shot a mentally ill man in Petworth after a brief stand-off in front of the man’s home. Police are reporting that Aaron Goggans, 26, was shot … Continue reading Mentally Ill Man Fatally Shot In Petworth
Dear White People: Ferguson Protests are a Wake Not a Pep Rally
I get it. You’re frustrated. You’re angry. You’re sad. You’re confused. You know that the killing of Mike Brown and the lack of indictment of Darren Wilson are a travesty. You are probably aware that the system you live in, the nation that raised you, the institutions that educate and protect you, commit or support … Continue reading Dear White People: Ferguson Protests are a Wake Not a Pep Rally
The Well Examined Life 