hey,

so the good news is happy new moon! and also the new beyoncé album is less than a month away!

the bad news is… last week lol.

the number of truly awful things happening at the supreme court level is colossal (open carry, criminalizing abortion, prayer in schools, and increasing state power over sovereign tribal nations). even global humanitarian organizations are looking at the u.s. like… wow, what is going on over there, friends? yall seem not ok… if you happened to still believe that “progress” was steady march in one direction, it’s not. 🤮 shit is bad and seems likely to keep getting worse.

grab your loved ones. hold them tight. especially the babies. if you don’t know what holding them tight looks like, ask. it’s a good thing to know.

i’ve been trying to hold onto something i learned from gene sharpe. (paraphrased): in a society, institutional power is never absolute. even the military is not a singular, static, monolithic body. someone is driving each tank and holding each gun. there are always people inside of institutions/institutional infrastructure that can resist or be won over. so even as the christian hegemony (aka the enforcement christian beliefs over all people) continues to take hold, it will never and can never be absolute. we always have space to resist and make change.

also, on the abortion front, friendly reminder about this resource i heard about from mariame kaba: bit.ly/RoeWYCD - Roe v. Wade: What You Can Do

ok. taking some breaths and turning towards some other things:

my friend salimah hankins is starting to record music again. EP is coming out in a few months but in the meantime check out some asks she has (including to follow her on sosh meeds
rev angel is looking for a fundraising manager
the liberation tarot deck looking for folks to contribute tarot readings as part of the fundraising to get the deck out in the world. if you read tarot and wanna help us out, click thru and then email elicia!

oh. one last thing: i got covid last week! i’m still testing positive 9 days later. apparently the latest omicron variants stick around longer than earlier variants. and maybe we’re going into a SIXTH WAVE?! ugh. so many ppl i know have covid right now. 2 of my closest friends, my dad, my friend’s dad, several colleagues, etc etc. i feel like i am watching, in real time, how a country founded on amnesia (and attempts to make anything that seems difficult disappear) deals with big, hard shit. i want to have hope but just… >_>

i have two big fears regarding covid at the moment:

long covid. there is just so much we don’t know about long covid. every time i read about it, we know more and it’s not good. also, if long covid affected 10% of people but everyone only got it once, that’s one thing. but it seems like we are committed to creating a country context where people can get it repeatedly (this is the logical conclusion of our current policies and it’s what many people seem to want when they say “i just want it to be like the flu”). and somehow we got MORE testing here and yet LESS data because very few people report their home test results (negative or positive). so like… we probably have no fucking idea what’s actually happening with covid, at least in this country.
pandemics disable people. even if long covid doesn’t impact that many people (although it seems like we are starting to see that vaccination does less than we thought to prevent long covid), pandemics take people who were previously able and makes them disabled. not to mention the folks who are ALREADY disabled and get worse. we are really not paying attention to the collective costs of lots of people having had covid. i feel like we/people are really under-prioritizing the fact that getting covid may make you/us more susceptible to other things. for example, it seems heart-disease risk increases after having covid.

anywayyyyyy… lemme stop before i wind myself into an unwindable ball lol.

on to the things!

(!!) pick of the pack

writing

some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:

Jun 20, 2022 | why i might call you to set up our next meeting
Jun 18, 2022 | unleashing alternative futures: pre-existing conditions
Jun 15, 2022 | how could you look your magic in the face and turn away from it?

quotes

there is nothing new under the sun.

Hatred is always self hatred, and there is something suicidal about it. — James Baldwin

not only until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves. — Henry David Thoreau

Our power is in our ability to make things unworkable. The only weapon we have is our bodies; and we have to tuck them in places so wheels don’t turn. — bayard rustin

The proof that one truly believes is in action. — bayard rustin

I think our notions of what counts as radical have changed over time. Self-care and healing and attention to the body and the spiritual dimension—all of this is now a part of radical social justice struggles. That wasn’t the case before. And I think that now we’re thinking deeply about the connection between interior life and what happens in the social world. Even those who are fighting against state violence often incorporate impulses that are based on state violence in their relations with other people. — Angela Davis

On the ground, a rock is just a rock. But when moving at high speed through the atmosphere, a rock becomes a meteor—alive with fire and burning bright.
People are not so different. Without activity, we are lifeless and dull. When moving fast and taking action, we come alive. — James Clear

Life is a series of tradeoffs, and greater results usually require greater tradeoffs.
The question is not, “Do you want to be great at this?”
The question is, “What are you willing to give up in order to be great at this? — James Clear

When you buy something cheap and bad, the best you’re going to feel about it is when you buy it. When you buy something expensive and good, the worst you’re going to feel about it is when you buy it. — Sasha Aickin

poetry

n/a :O

reads

some things i’ve read since the last newsletter:

listens

some audio and/or podcasts i’ve listened to since the last newsletter:

watches

some videos i watched since the last newsletter:

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

jams

some things i’ve been (aurally) enjoying since the last newsletter:

break my soul — beyoncé
massive — drake

jobs

Development and Communications Manager | Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation | $75-88k
Alumni Relationship Manager | Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation | $75-78k
Deputy Director of Strategic Communications (Replacement) | The Bronx Defenders | $100-110k
Senior Associate, Climate Justice Fund | Candide Group | 100-120k
Principal, Climate Justice Fund | Candide Group | 130-160k
Portfolio Operations Manager | Candide Group | 90-120k
Director of Communications | SONG | South US (Remote) | $75k (Español)
Director of Operations and Finance | SONG | South US (Remote) | $75k (Español)
Director of Resource Organizing | SONG | South US (Remote) | $75k (Español)

upcoming events

Take A Breath Residency 2022
- July 26-31, 2022
- August 2-7, 2022
- October 15-20, 2022
- October 22-27, 2022

other opportunities

Arts Connect International invites you to join them for the second iteration of the Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC). In this run, they've built upon their first CELC which was created and shared in real time during the early COVID-19 pandemic and Movement for Black Lives following the tragic murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, among too many others. In this online learning community, they amplify the voices of artists, community organizers, and QTDBIPOC+* leaders for equity within the arts and culture sector, while integrating thoughtfully crafted lectures and space for self-reflection. Learn more and register by July 13th!

newsletters

solstice newsletter: #4 - eclipsed + w/ updates!
emet ezell: very old lost things
building belonging: "Polarization" isn't the problem; it's about power
astroradicals: THE MOOD: Big and Bold AF
better humans daily: In order to express ourselves, we need to know ourselves.

right now i’m learning…

about how trans liberation and the prison industrial complex abolition intersect.

mood

lqb2weekly

lqb2weekly #175 (30 june 2022)