#10: A pause in programming
in solidarity with Black Lives Matter
Hey everyone.
It feels like it’s been a year since my last newsletter. This reckoning has felt so much more significant than its recent predecessors, and I already see certain things differently than I did a week ago. Protests are happening in all 50 states; I’ve never seen social media and everyone I know so laser-focused on a single issue. The direct action has been awe-inspiring, but the continued state-sanctioned violence has been horrifying. If you’ve been part of the movement (and you took a moment to open this), thank you. I stand with you and I see you. And if you’re feeling burned out, I see that too. Here’s a resource on how to not let that discourage you.
This issue (no.10) was supposed to be my monthly Q&A/advice column, Dear Baby, but my typical first-person writing didn’t really feel right for this moment. So I’ve decided to share some work and ideas, primarily from Black writers and activists, that I’ve found informative, thorough, and mobilizing this week. If your social feeds look anything like mine, you’re not short on resources right now, so I’ve tried to keep it focused to a few pertinent topics. I know reading isn’t a perfect or complete solution to participating, and that it takes a lot of time, so click on whatever you see fit. I’ve also offered some ways to get involved under each one, since direct action is paramount right now.
My head is swimming, and I’m sure yours is too. (I keep thinking about this tweet.) But let’s talk about that in a future week. For now, keep up the good fight, and thank you for checking in.
On the urgency of protesting
“Certain snippets of the past are always accessible—1776, 1865, 1968—but all else is erased to make room for the infinite present. There’s no telling, really, what we might do as a country if we were willing and able to take in everything in full—if we could review the whole sweep of what we are and have been. But more police precincts would probably be set ablaze.”
Osita Nwanevu, “The Deep Amnesia of Our National Conscience”
Some reading:
The American Nightmare by Ibram X. Kendi
Of Course There Are Protests. America Is Failing Black People. by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
In America, the Rich Get Immunity. The Rest of Us Get “Law and Order” by David Sirota
How to help:
Donate to your local bail fund and local mutual aid fund
Find local organizers and join the protests (I follow @justiceforgeorgenyc for New York times/locations). Wear a mask, bring supplies, know your rights.
Stay informed about US protest news and updates.
On police abolition (or “defunding the police”)
“Americans have made police the primary problem-solving institution in our society. When we profess a moral objection to something, say sex work or drug use, we criminalize it and charge the police with stamping it out. When we fail to care for people’s basic needs, and more and more people become homeless, we criminalize their means of survival and suggest the police ‘clean up the streets.’ When we cut resources for mental health care, the only people left to respond to a crisis are the police, and they tend to use the means they have been most proficiently trained to use—violence—as their first response.”
-Mychal Denzel Smith, “How America Became Over-Policed”
Some reading:
Frequently asked questions about the police-free vision, from MPD150
You Are Already an Abolitionist by Benji Hart
Envisioning an America Free From Police Violence and Control by Rashmee Kumar
Some additional reading on the failures of “reform”:
Does More Policing Lead to Less Crime—Or Just More Racial Resentment?
Can Cops Unlearn Their Unconscious Bias?
The Failure of Police Body Cameras
How to help:
Use this tool to ask your government officials to reallocate police funds to social services
Donate to ‘Communities United for Police Reform’
Sign this Black Lives Matter petition to defund the police (and donate while you’re at it)
A list of things to do instead of calling the cops
New Yorkers: Text 50A to 50409 to urge your elected official to repeal 50A (What’s 50A?)
On prison abolition
“Our current punishment apparatus are sites of terrible and incredible violence. The sites of policing and imprisonment and containment—Dean Spade says this correctly, he says the prison is a serial killer and a rapist. So you have to be confronted with your own acceptance that the current model (a) is either the best we can do and the best we can expect or (b) is doing exactly what you say you want in the world—providing safety—when it is not, based on every empirical measure.”
Mariame Kaba, “Towards the Horizon of Abolition”
Some reading:
Is Prison Necessary? Ruth Wilson Gilmore Might Change Your Mind by Rachel Kushner
The Case for Abolition by Ruth Wilson Gilmore and James Kilgore
Police and Prison Abolition 101 by Autostraddle
Think Prison Abolition in America Is Impossible? It Once Felt Inevitable by Joshua Dubler and Vincent Lloyd
(A comprehensive resource to bookmark: The Critical Resistance Abolition Organizing Toolkit)
How to help:
Donate to Survived+Punished
Donate to Incite! Radical Feminists of Color Organizing to End State Violence
Donate to the ACLU (who has several initiatives to end mass incarceration)
On fragility & allyship
“Sometimes white people feel under attack in discussions on race, especially if the people of color involved are passionate. Here’s the thing: racial injustice physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially hurts us. Sometimes, it even kills us. This is one of many reasons why you should avoid tone policing when people of color express strong emotions on race-related topics. These emotions are legitimate reactions to our reality.”
-Shae Collins, “4 Reasons Centering Whiteness Can Derail Racial Justice Conversations — And How to Do Better”
Some reading:
A Letter to My White Friends by Chris Lambert
Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac
How to help:
Topics + Questions to Discuss With White Peers and Family Members
A Guide to Allyship
Beyond the Hashtag: How to Take Anti-Racist Action in Your Life
Donate to ‘No White Saviors’
Some activists to follow: Bree Newsome Bass, Ericka Hart, Rachel Cargle, Opal Tometi, Patrisse Cullors-Brignac, Austin Channing-Brown, Sonya Renee Taylor
Lastly, my Linktree has more resources including petitions to sign and more places to donate (like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the LGBTQ Bail Fund). You can always find it in my Instagram bio, or check out this Twitter thread that links to tons of petitions you can knock out in one go:
Love to each of your weary bones,
Haley
I look forward to your newsletter each week, Haley. Your writing is thought-provoking and effortlessly eloquent, yet reads so naturally like I am talking to a dear friend. I find myself thinking about the things you write throughout my week and sharing them with my friends and family. Thank you for your beautiful words and mind, always but especially at this time. I will continue to anticipate your thoughts and work.