Electoral Politics & Organizing

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Electoral Politics & Organizing

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Our elders are more than the utility they provide

April 22, 2021

The problem of visibility at the intersection of aging, poverty and Blackness predates me, finding its genesis on the plantation grounds.

Anti-Blackness and the Fetishization of Visibility

March 3, 2021

Anti-blackness, predictably, got in the way of something that had the potential to be a commentary on the politics of visibility under racial capitalism.

We don’t need advisory committees to take the first steps toward healing from white supremacy

October 27, 2020

After temporarily removing Christopher Columbus statues from Chicago Parks, on August 12th, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the “Project to Assess Memorials and Monuments in the City’s Public Art Collection.” Members of this project will form an advisory committee with local artists, academics and public officials to promote “racial healing and historical reckoning” for the Chicago…

Trump is right, “To be anti-racist is to be anti-American”

September 22, 2020

If your anti-racism is concerned with upholding the mythology of America then you are not an anti-racist. When we cower away from accusations that anti-racism is un-American we perpetuate falsehoods that any type of liberation can exist under the banner of America. 

Liberals won’t save us, even if they are Black

August 14, 2020

But voting is not and will never be enough. Voting often legitimizes the never ending good cop/bad cop routine of the two party system.

Black Life is a Constant Practice of Mutual Aid Work

April 28, 2020

Those feelings of hopelessness have given me time to re-examine the ways American, individualistic values have seeped into Black life. And perhaps those values have prevented us from acknowledging that we’ve always prioritized and practiced communal care in our families, neighborhoods and relationships.

You can’t condemn Bernie Sanders for his comments on Fidel Castro, without also condemning the U.S. for it’s history of violence

March 18, 2020

One cannot condemn Cuba as a repressive regime and then say that the United States, as Ronald Reagan claimed, is a city on a hill. The hypocrisy is a glaring reminder that seeks not to learn from history; only impose its will upon it.

Ayanna Pressley sees power in being a sexual violence survivor, & there’s science to that

February 25, 2020

For those of us survivors whose bodies revolt, it’s not just that we are experiencing random medicalized dysfunctions. We are reacting to the toxicity surrounding us.

Yes, we can’t: Undoing Obama’s regulation of Black political imagination

November 26, 2019

Obama’s pleas for moderation and restraint rely on discrediting and outright condemning the political imagination of younger Black people in the U.S., those largely responsible for his election.

The Mueller Report’s failure left white liberals outraged, but Black folks knew the FBI doesn’t bring justice

August 8, 2019

The strategy that some on the left were hoping would deal him a massive blow was a predictable flop. It’s astonishing, really. Right now, we’re witnessing one of the rare moments where white liberals were neglected by the very authority figures—the clean cut devotees of the FBI—who for decades have actively protected their interests at the cost of minority lives.

Conflating the lesser evil with “progress” is a surefire way to ensure evil is preserved

July 30, 2019

We must be able to carry multiple truths at all times. Our president is a racist. But he and his ilk are not even the tipping point of our problems.

Free Markia Nelson: Taking back what capitalism stole is not wrong

July 24, 2019

The exploitation that Nelson experienced is very familiar to me, and her solution was brilliant in its simplicity: Rob the thief.

Decriminalizing Black theft, and the right to steal in an anti-Black capitalist society

July 3, 2019

“We’ve always been at the center of the theft.” – Andrew Salkey Six months into the catastrophe of my grandmother’s death, her car was broken into three times. The last time they took her notebooks and my favorite shoes. Before that, they hadn’t taken anything and I was left to figure out what to do…

Prison “reform” is useless unless it pushes for freedom and dignity for *everyone*

March 7, 2019

Prison reform continues to be structured around arbitrary definitions of who does and doesn’t deserve humane treatment

Obama’s symbolic “progress” was never enough to liberate Black people. Let’s not fall for it again

February 19, 2019

Obama laid out the blueprint for Black presidential candidates, and both Kamala and Cory are trying to execute on it. But I’m tired of inauthentic diversity.

It matters that the white man whose house 2 Black queer men died inside is a Democratic donor

January 17, 2019

In the Democratic attempt to implement social reform at any cost, it allows for any and all crimes to be forgiven in its name. Especially the crimes against Black people, if they can be considered crimes at all.

Burning work bridges is harder for Black folks. That’s why we should offer support, not discourage it

November 12, 2018

Burning bridges keeps whatever is marching on it away from you and yours. It is a form of protection and a moment that belongs to you, victoriously.

What’s next after Prison Strike 2018: An interview with activist Amani Sawari (Part 2 of 2)

September 25, 2018

We know that our communities aren't safer because more people are in prison, but a lot of people still believe and think that.

Prison Strike 2018: An interview with activist Amani Sawari (Part 1 of 2)

September 24, 2018

They could lock things down for one day, but prisoners thought, "We're going to stretch this out and make this longer."

Demands to “Abolish ICE” are ineffective if borders still remain

August 2, 2018

As long as there are borders to protect, there will be some sort of militarized force in place to enforce them.

Palestinian Liberation cannot be achieved without abolishing anti-Blackness

June 27, 2018

That Afro-Palestinians and Black Americans also face anti-Blackness from non-Black Palestinians is a deep injustice that is deeply hypocritical.

The NFL doesn’t fear punishing Black players because integration doomed mass Black protests

June 1, 2018

Integration has completely warped the way many Black Americans deal with race issues.

America’s history exposes how Israel’s “two state solution” is a cover for further land theft

May 22, 2018

A two-state solution would legitimize colonial thievery and is thus not an option.

I have lost faith in protesting

May 9, 2018

I want us to ask ourselves what attending these protests does to us and how we position protesting with our liberation.

How Black activism is coopted and deflated by liberal politicians like NOLA’s Mayor Landrieu

May 3, 2018

This is a page taken right from the Kennedy playbook of policing Black activists while publicly praising them.

Ending gun violence domestically means ending militarism globally

April 30, 2018

To truly challenge gun violence, our conversations about the international reach of militarism must be connected, too.

Why I will not allow the fear of a nuclear attack to be white-washed

April 6, 2018

Death tolls would be high for white populations, yes, but large-scale losses of Black and brown folks would outpace that number, due to placement and poverty.

How the “Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA) is a huge win for human traffickers

March 28, 2018

If the government was actually interested in pursuing human traffickers, they would push for legalization or at least the decriminalization of sex work.

I will not pray for Donald Trump, nor reconcile with the devil

December 5, 2017

I will not compromise my Blackness (my humanity) by praying for a man who seeks to destroy me.

White Nationalists understand US history better than Liberals do

October 19, 2017

By Benji Hart The third rendition of Trump’s Muslim Ban was struck down this week. The block by multiple federal judges was rightly celebrated. Yet the rhetoric of those opposing the ban, from political pundits to those in the streets, has revolved around the same chorus relied upon during its previous incarnations: That banning immigrants…

#TakeAKnee exposes how liberal hatred of Trump is used to obscure anti-Black violence

September 29, 2017

By Leslie Afua Sometimes, we can be gullible as hell. I’m not even going to touch the fact that a lot of us are still watching the NFL despite its anti-Black and sexist history. Instead I’m going to focus on how easily some of us seem to be falling for the old bait-and-switch in the…

Ain’t Never Scared: The necessity of learning from Black feminist refusal

August 14, 2017

By Marquis Bey “The fugitivity of these images lies not in their ability to sanction movement but in the creation of new possibilities for living lives that refused a regulatory regime from which they could not be removed.” —Tina Campt, “Performing Stillness” “i am not born this morning when you wake up in fear and…

To the Black people who were too radical to vote and now have regrets

July 11, 2017

By Timothy DuWhite Rumor has it that you stayed home. You checked into Facebook and wrote a lengthy status instead. You rolled your eyes at every “just voted”-stickered selfie that popped up on your timeline. You had words for everyone who either “#FeltTheBern,” was “ #WithHer,” or wanted to “#MakeAmericaGreatAgain.” When Trump said “wall”, said…

“What do you do when something is broken and can’t be fixed?”: Black political engagement in an anti-Black world

May 19, 2017

By Deanna Adams Shortly after Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me was released to critical acclaim, I moderated a book discussion about it. During the talk, a self-proclaimed fearless Black man asked an engineer in the room, “What do you do when something is broken and it can’t be fixed?” The engineer, another

Jeff Sessions’s racism and lies are American, not an anomaly.

March 10, 2017

By Kadeem Fuller Last week we discovered that Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak twice while working with the Trump campaign last year. The private meetings between the two are a direct contradiction to the statement Sessions made during Senate testimony where he denied any contact with any Russian official during…

There can be no “unity” with an anti-Black Left.

March 1, 2017

By Arielle Iniko Newton Two years ago, I was a part of an organizing collective that sought to combine the talents and experiences of community organizers involved in racial, environmental, and class justice struggles. We recognized that our movements overlapped in ways that were intentional, deliberate, and concrete. Guided by our radical imaginations, we hoped…

It is our duty to fight for our freedom; not to protect the police.

February 2, 2017

By Arielle Iniko Newton The energy in D.C. was stiff on Inauguration Day. Trump supporters and opponents were careful to keep their distance from one another. I stared mercilessly into the eyes of every racist I saw wearing a “Make America Great Again” t-shirt or baseball cap. Fuck respectability. I headed to K & 14th…

The nasty-fication of sisterhood.

January 26, 2017

By Vitula Henderson I’m struggling with this new, post-election sisterhood with white women. I feel like this relationship is moving too fast, passing over the reckoning that I feel is necessary for me to move forward with confidence. It feels like a relationship with an abuser. “Baby, I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry. You

Notes from a Black educator on the front-line of a Trump election.

January 19, 2017

By Belinda Bellinger We fight. We organize. We create. We protest. We dialogue. We coalition. We push. We sing. We rap. We griot. We speak. We write. We listen. We read. We empathize. We challenge. We humble. We agitate. We laugh. We cry. We breath. We grovel. We grieve. We riot. We lean. We rock.…

Enduring whiteness: the tragic love affair that gave rise to Donald Trump.

November 22, 2016

By Quentin Lucas It is a powerful reflex, almost a soul’s nervous tic, to wonder and worry, about what whiteness is going to think — even while knowing that whiteness doesn’t allow much room for thought. That, of course, isn’t to say I think white people are stupid. Rather, it is to say whiteness is…

The snake has risen. What now?: Meditations on the coming era.

November 15, 2016

By Victor Bradley My speech feels like vapor. While the tide turned Trumpward, I sat in mournful counsel with friends from around the world, drawn together both by the power of the internet and fear of the unthinkable. Our fears have been realized, and here we are. I resolved to give what meager offering I…

How to resist the media’s conflicting lies in the age of Keith Lamont Scott.

November 2, 2016

By Roman Johnson “There is therefore only one thing left to do; save our money and leave a town which will neither protect our lives and property, nor give us a fair trial in the courts, but takes us out and murders us in cold blood when accused by white persons.” – Ida B. Wells-Barnett…

How dare you stand for that racist anthem?

September 8, 2016

By Tariq Khan It has long been tradition in the United States for sporting events to begin with patriotic ritual.  At the very least, the national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays over loudspeakers while all able-bodied participants and spectators rise, some with hands over hearts, in a collective display of fealty to the state. The…

Stolen people on stolen land: decolonizing while Black.

May 24, 2016

by Adele Thomas Settler privilege, as I’ve understood it broadly, is having specific rights, advantages or immunities granted or available only to a particular group of people (settlers), while the Indigenous groups are excluded from those benefits.  But when you are neither the colonizer nor the Indigenous group, where do you fit in? More specifically,…

5 glaring problems with the Clinton campaign that even supporters gotta admit.

April 19, 2016

by Alex Ubokudom For better or worse, Hillary Clinton has to go down as one of the most intriguing politicians in history. Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan, but I must say that there’s a complexity to the Hillary Clinton story, the likes of which we have never seen and will probably never see again.…

The Left-Wing as the New Enemy of Progress.

April 13, 2016

by Tyler Karanja I recently visited my brother in Nairobi, Kenya because he had just moved into a new apartment and landed a contract with the United Nations. After negotiating a price with the cab driver, I was greeted by him in front of his upper-class central apartment complex, and welcomed into his marble-floored, two-bathroom,…

An Open Letter to Bernie Bros: 5 Things Avoid When Trying to Convince a Black Person to Vote for Bernie Sanders.

March 25, 2016

By Alex Ubokudom Hey y’all! Look, I admit it. I’m a millennial black man and I’m a Bernie Sanders supporter. Guilty as charged. I believe in his message, I believe in his vision, and I believe he acts like Larry David—and I LOVE Larry David. I honestly think that he is the only candidate in…

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