A New Chapter of Our Fight
Hello community!
It’s been… a minute, but oh what a minute it has been. Thank you for your patience with us while we phone banked, took emotional space for the election, and generally dealt with the rollercoaster of emotions that is 2020 (plus saw a big win with a plebiscite for a new constitution in Chile). We are so eager to return to digital spaces and get to work with y’all in this extremely crucial moment. It’s probably no surprise we are celebrating a Trump loss (and advocating for his immediate concession),and we are also looking forward to seeing what a Biden presidency and Harris vice-presidency can mean for anti-racism, justice, community care, and more. What we know for sure is that complacency is not an option.
There is temptation now to believe that we are safe, the work is done, that we have ended fascism, and everything will be “back to okay” now that we have voted Trump out. The lure of the false sense of safety of the status quo is white comfort and white centering. Do not be fooled by it. Potentially 55% of white women voted for Donald Trump. 57% of all white people voted to uphold Trump’s virulent racism and fascism. And if we do not do serious work with these white Trump voters over the next 4 years, Trumpism will not disappear when Trump does.
And so, a new phase of the work begins. We invite you to dig deep into the learning we have done as a community and that you have done as an individual over the course of your anti-racism journey, and recognize that the ousting of a figure-head does not represent the dismantling of the systems that placed him there. The United States, amongst other colonized/ing nations, was built on a foundation of genocide and slavery, of mysoginoir and exploitation. The changing of a president will never be enough to upend our toxic roots and plant new seedlings of change and hope.
So, then what is enough? The unrelenting power of the people working at all levels, but particularly at the grassroots, to advocate for a just and sustainable future. The knowledge that you can and will create change by having hard conversations about race with fellow white people. The unfaltering determination of the people to hold their representatives accountable for enacting the policies and practices we believe in. The unwavering belief in a world worth fighting for, accompanied by actions that reflect that vision.
How do we do that? We show up again and again. We educate ourselves beyond our bubbles, constantly and consistently aiming to understand these intricate, intertwining systems of oppression, our place in them, and how we can resist and dismantle from there.
As a community, we have the opportunity to do exactly that, through learning and unlearning together, and expanding the work we do here, as well as how we do it. We are taking what this election tells us about the state of whiteness after a summer of protest into account for how we use this space. We are dreaming. And we are already envisioning what our future here looks like, and let me tell you, it is bright.
Consider this letter an invitation back to Learn Unlearn, a fresh start or a continued journey, a new opportunity or a chance to go further. Join us in our next meetings and in the new year. This upcoming Sunday and Wednesday we will be discussing Yaa Gyasi’s triumphant novel, Homegoing. There is still time to sign up! Plus, in December, we will be returning to non-fiction for Mikki Kendall’s Hood Feminism. (All sign-ups, plus Homegoing questions listed below). And finally, we are still taking feedback for 2021 (including suggestions for books!), so please consider filling out our community survey so we can make this space an even more bold and powerful initiative for change.
Finally, I just want to finish by thanking all of you for the energy you have given us, and the dedication you have given your personal work with anti-racism, whatever that looks like for you. We are extremely grateful to be a part. We look forward to the next bright chapter.
In solidarity,
Lori
Sign-ups:
Homegoing:
Sunday, November 15th at 10am PST (11am MT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET)
Wednesday, November 18th at 7pm ET (4pm PT, 5pm MT, 6pm CT)
Sunday, December 13th at 10am PST (11am MT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET)
Wednesday, December 16th at 7pm ET (4pm PT, 5pm MT, 6pm CT)
Homegoing Questions
What is the importance of fictional texts like this in the political moment we are facing/an anti-racism journey?
What themes and knowledge from our nonfiction readings thus far did you also see in Homegoing?
What was your emotional reaction to this book? What role does emotion and empathy play in anti-racism work?
What does a multi-generational, multi-century narrative like this give us, the readers, that we may not otherwise get in a traditional single-person narrative?
How did Homegoing shape your understanding of ancestral trauma (also called generational trauma or inherited trauma)? What role does ancestral trauma play in modern racism and antiracism?
Why Homegoing not Homecoming?
While not all the main characters are women, many are, and the origin of the family tree lies with two half-sisters. What does this book teach us about women’s experiences? Is it a feminist text?
Action Items of the Week:
Donate to POC organizers in Georgia (true heroes of 2020) who are doing *the work* to win Senate run-offs. (And thank you to my former boss and role model for this list).
The New Georgia Project Action Fund (Thank you forever Stacy Abrams, Nsé Ufot, and countless Black southern women, queer women and nonbinary folks leading the way on the ground)
Fair Fight (TY again Stacy)
Listen to this Code Switch Episode on Multiraciality (and how we really… really don’t know how to talk about it.) (Hi, Kuku, you’re my hero.)
Watch this quick talk from Ericka Hart about how the complacency has already begun.