To get free we need more power, not less. We need more leaders not enfeebled followers. This idea that white people must give up their power is based on a white middle class and masculine limiting belief in scarcity. It presumes that either power is inherently bad [or at least bad in white people’s hands] or that it is a zero sum game. Intersectional transformative relationships teach us that power works in abundance. Just as standing in solidarity with my Black Trans siblings requires me to stand in my own transformative non-binary masculine power, not abdicate it, so too must non-Black people stand in their own transformative power. Yet in order for them to do it, they must first discover it and re-imagine their identities is a way that accepts my existence and my inherent humanity.
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Dream Fragments: Open Letter to Alexis Pauline Gumbs
My uncle was a master at speaking to one person as a way to speak to the whole room. It makes the room feel like they overheard something secret, something special, something profound or [as was often the case with Buddy Boy] deeply profane. I think it is an ability branch that Black folx unlock … Continue reading Dream Fragments: Open Letter to Alexis Pauline Gumbs
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.
Definitions for Five Pillars Frame
Race and Racial Privilege Before we engage in how to address anti-Black racism in our daily lives, it is necessary to define the terms we will be using in this frame. Privilege: is a right, advantage, or immunity selectively granted to individuals or groups based not on perceived merit but on perceived membership in a … Continue reading Definitions for Five Pillars Frame
Movement For Black Lives Guiding Principles
Below is a slightly modified version of the guiding principles adapted from the recent Movement for Black Lives Convening. #2 was added in order to contextualize the principles for non-Black people working in solidarity for the movement. They help paint of picture of what the Movement for Black Lives is and should provide and excellent … Continue reading Movement For Black Lives Guiding Principles
#CallThemIn: Sample Agenda
#CallThemIn in the next collaborative social project from the Well Examined Life. We are hoping to encourage honest conversations about racial injustice and white supremacy across the country. To get involved in this project please go here: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/callthemindc?source=direct_link&referrer=aaron-goggans The important thing about hosting a #CallThemIn event is to not let perfect be the enemy of … Continue reading #CallThemIn: Sample Agenda
#CallThemIn: Introduction to Movement For Black Lives, Racial Injustice and White Supremacy
This is the first document for the #CallThemIn social project. #CallThemIn in the next collaborative social project from the Well Examined Life. We are hoping to encourage honest conversations about racial injustice and white supremacy across the country. To get involved in this project please go here: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/callthemindc?source=direct_link&referrer=aaron-goggans Below is an brief overview of the … Continue reading #CallThemIn: Introduction to Movement For Black Lives, Racial Injustice and White Supremacy
#CallThemIn: Pillars of White Supremacy
Below is the third document for the #CallThemIn project. This document is most useful for communities in and around DC. However, many of the pillars would work in any urban setting. Please e-mail wellexaminedlife@gmail.com if you would help editing this document to work for you community. After reading this document with your group, discuss the … Continue reading #CallThemIn: Pillars of White Supremacy
#CallThemIn : Guiding Principles of the Movement For Black Lives
#CallThemIn in the next collaborative social project from the Well Examined Life. We are hoping to encourage honest conversations about racial injustice and white supremacy across the country. To get involved in this project please go here: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/callthemindc?source=direct_link&referrer=aaron-goggans Below is a slightly modified version of the guiding principles adapted from the recent Movement for Black … Continue reading #CallThemIn : Guiding Principles of the Movement For Black Lives
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody don’t say I was an organizer. Don’t talk about how I knew what to say when everyone else was too shocked or too scared to say anything. Don’t say I was courageous. Don’t say I was smart. Don’t mention all the work I did for “the community.” Tell them I was too busy being Black to worry about bein' good. Describe for them how I danced down the street with my headphones blasting the soulful sounds of Nina Simone into my brain. Tell them that the feeling of her voice bouncing off the cavernous walls of my skull is the closest to feeling liberated I ever get.
The Well Examined Life 