Book Rec. - July 4, 2020

Book Rec- How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

The stories of the four sisters and their parents are told in this 1991 novel. By telling the story in reverse chronological order, Julia Alvarez explains how the García girls lost their accents. Fleeing the Dominican Republic when they were children, the García girls immigrated to New York City and experienced numerous hardships. The narrator changes from one short story to the next. All of this weaves an enthralling, heart-breaking, and hope-filled saga.  

For the past few years, I’ve focused on reading nonfiction and textbook style literature. This was the first book I’ve read that wasn’t in those categories. The content was still heavy, but fictionalized narrative communicates truth differently. I couldn’t put this book down. Have you read How the García Girls Lost Their Accents?

#howthegarcíagirlslosttheiraccents #juliaalvarez #dominicanamericanauthor #bookrecommendation #bookrec #book #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookpic #immigration #displacement #identity #read #reading #learning #reflection #action #equality #seekjustice #socialjustice #love #loveyourneighbor #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Important Dates in the Month of July

July 18th is Nelson Mandela International Day.

July 26th is National Disability Independence Day.

According to the Nelson Mandela Foundation website, “Nelson Mandela International Day was launched in recognition of Nelson Mandela’s birthday on 18 July 2009 via unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly. It was inspired by a call Nelson Mandela made a year earlier, for the next generation to take on the burden of leadership in addressing the world’s social injustices when he said that ‘it is in your hands now.’ It is more than a celebration of Madiba’s life and legacy; it is a global movement to honour his life’s work and to change the world for the better.”

National Disability Independence Day is a day to celebrate the anniversary of the 1990 signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I thought of Ijeoma Oluo’s words in So You Want to Talk About Race as I reflected on the chapter “What is intersectionality and why do I need it?” Oluo wrote, “How do our social justice efforts so often fail to help the most vulnerable in our populations? This is primarily a result of unexamined privilege. Because of how rarely our privilege is examined, even our social justice movements will tend to focus on the most privileged and most well represented people within those groups. Anti-racism groups will often tend to prioritize the needs of straight men of color, feminist groups will tend to prioritize the needs of white women, LGBTQ groups will tend to prioritize the needs of white gay cisgender men, disability rights groups will tend to prioritize the needs of disabled white men. Imagine where this leaves a disabled Latinx trans woman on any group’s priority list.”

I am committed to learning, financially supporting activists, advocates, authors, and educators who challenge and broaden the narrative, and dismantling systems of oppression under their leadership

#July #July18 #NelsonMandelaInternationalDay #MandelaDay #NelsonMandela #ActionAgainstPoverty #July26 #NationalDisabilityIndependenceDay #intersectionality #intersectionalitymatters #intersectionalityisessential #socialjustice #enddiscrimination #dismantleALLsystemsofoppression #research #support #love #loveyourneighbor #everyneighbor #humanity #dignity #empathy #equality #action #seekjustice #restorativejustice #transformativejustice #justice #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Why I Won't Vote Third Party

Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

As the 2020 election is rapidly approaching, I have seen Christians who don’t want to vote for 45 express their disapproval of the two-party system. It usually goes something like, “I can’t vote for a Democrat because of abortion. I’ll probably vote third party since I can’t support the Republican or Democratic nominee. The major parties will get the message if enough votes are cast for other candidates.”

If this is you, I understand your point. I really do. I simply want to provide a different perspective, not to negate your perspective but just to add another dimension. Voting third party is where I was in 2016. I vowed to vote for Evan McMullin in 2016 and urged others to do so. Ultimately, I aided in the election of 45 as one of the many white Christian women who chose our whiteness by voting for him. I am sorry. I have long been a part of the problem and am committed now to participating in the solution by submitting to the marginalized to dismantle systems of oppression.

Though I understand where the third-party apologists are coming from, this is not 2016. We've had three and a half years of a fascist regime under 45, and Tina Strawn recently said, "It's 2020 and lynching is on trend." If we need more information to believe this, we are willfully remaining unaware and are thus contributing to the deaths of Black people with our complicity in upholding the system of white supremacy.

Black womxn have the least amount of wiggle room with the vote. This "Between the Scenes" video with Trevor Noah is where I first heard this explained. Black womxn anti-racism educators and activists I support and follow are voting Democratic because even though they see issues with Biden, Biden isn't 45 and won't threaten to unleash the military on protestors/Black people and non-Black anti-racists who stand with them. The Black womxn I am listening to are saying that this is not a time for games or a time to show that the two-party system falls short. Now is the time to communicate to 45 and white supremacists that Black lives matter.

I shared in the Headlines and History post yesterday a Twitter thread by Jared Yates Sexton. On May 1st, he explained in tweets 4-7 and 32-38, “What you saw in Michigan yesterday wasn't a bunch of ‘posers’ or ‘gun nuts.’ These are paramilitary separatists who are using the pandemic for their own benefit and carrying out dry runs for what they see as a fascist takeover of the US. As has been proven, the Reopen America ‘movement’ was a completely fabricated, fake event paid for by billionaires like the DeVos's. But these white terrorists are using it for their own purposes, as cover for their own fascistic plans for a revolution. To understand this, you have to understand that white terrorists see Trump as an opening to carry out their plans. They were everywhere at his rallies and consider him a useful president for growing their movement. You couldn't go to those rallies without seeing them. I was reporting from Trump's rallies in 2016 and constantly hearing these people talking openly about race wars and revolution and killing liberals. They saw Trumpism as a perfect avenue, but it didn't start there. It had been brewing for decades...What we're watching now, is a new movement in the white terrorist plan. They are carrying out open paramilitary maneuvers, interrupting legislative bodies, coming out into the open because they feel like they're strong enough and America is ready for their revolution. Make no mistake, what they want is to overthrow the United States government and institute fascist, white rule. This is what they have talked about, planned for, and what they're trying to institute right now, at this very second. In my research and other's research, we keep seeing them mentioning the pandemic and financial crisis as an opening to carry out their fascist overthrow. It's not a coincidence they're rearing their heads right now in shows of intimidation and force. They see an opening. White terrorists have already tried to bomb hospitals during the pandemic, discussed ways to weaponize the coronavirus, plotted murders. They are mobilizing because they see America in trouble and they have planned and trained and accrued arsenals for this moment we're in. DO NOT for a second dismiss these as rednecks or cosplayers or just weak, laughable men playing soldier. These groups are highly trained, massively armed, and many have experience in the military and law enforcement. It is a massive, dangerous terrorist cell. Unfortunately, until we face facts and understand our history and our poisonous white supremacy, these people will be able to hide and radicalize with impunity. We have to understand what we're facing, because this threat is only growing by the day. Chances are, the Michigan ‘protest’ with armed, armored men intimidating legislatures isn't going to end and will only grow in scope and frequency. These people are ready for widespread violence and mayhem and are only waiting for the spark. See it. Recognize it.”

I am not relaying this information to instill fear in people, and I hope that the plans of white terrorists are thwarted. However, understanding that white terrorists see 45 as useful for growing their movement is enough for me to vote Democratic to stand against 45 and white supremacists to declare at the ballot box that Black lives matter. Voting third party doesn't get that point across, and it does not communicate to Black people that we care about them enough to align ourselves and our vote with them. The vote is power, and the more powerful message to get across right now is a complete divestment from 45 and his racist policies. The likelihood of organizing enough people between now and November to vote for the same third party candidate to have enough votes to overthrow the two-party system in this particular election is small. There was a lot of talk about this and action as people voted third party in 2016, and we ended up with 45. A third party vote in this election is a vote for 45. The goal is to keep 45 from being re-elected, and the Black womxn I am submitting to are instructing people to vote for Biden, even reluctantly, because it’s the best chance we have for not having another 4 years of 45. I talk about believing Black womxn, trusting Black womxn, and submitting to Black womxn, which is a way of giving honor to the parts of the Body that don't receive the greater honor and embodying the belief that the last will be first. The Democratic party at least positions itself to alleviate poverty, which Lisa Sharon Harper explains is the way to reduce abortion in the Almost Heretical episode “Good News & Bad News.” I want to not only say I am with Black womxn but also align my vote with Black womxn because it is a privilege to have “wiggle room.”


#vote #votedemocratic #showup #resistance #revolution #politics #endracism #endracismnow #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #faith #evolvingfaith #loveyourneighbor #justice #socialjustice #seekjustice #listentoblackwomen #listentoblackwomxn #believeblackwomen #believeblackwomxn #trustblackwomen #trustblackwomxn #supportblackwomen #supportblackwomxn #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Headlines and History - June 21, 2020

Content Warning

This post is about acts of terror carried out by white people historically and presently.

In the May 6, 2020 NBC article “Michigan Gov. Whitmer Wants to Ban Guns from Capitol After Armed Anti-Lockdown Protests,” Allan Smith reported on the pressure Gov. Whitmer felt to reopen the state. Smith wrote, “‘There are legislators who are wearing bulletproof vests to go to work,’ Whitmer, a Democrat who is in her first term, said Wednesday. ‘No one should be intimidated by someone who's bringing in an assault rifle into their workplace...You shouldn't be intimidated going to be the voice of the people who elected you.’"

In a Twitter thread from May 1, 2020 written by Jared Yates Sexton, he traced the origins of this particular brand of white supremacy to The Turner Diaries by William Pierce. “The author of the Turner Diaries was William Pierce, one of the leading Neo-Nazis in America who wrote the book as a blueprint for a race war and included veiled instructions on how to make weapons and carry out terrorist attacks” (Tweet 28). In tweet 25, he calls this book “the bible of white terrorists.” And in tweet 34, he explained, “In my research and other's research, we keep seeing them mentioning the pandemic and financial crisis as an opening to carry out their fascist overthrow. It's not a coincidence they're rearing their heads right now in shows of intimidation and force. They see an opening.”

I see numerous white Christians grasping for every conspiracy theory related to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, we are not dedicating any time to researching or responding to what white supremacists are doing during this pandemic. The current actions of white supremacists are connected to our nation’s history. Our present is intertwined with and informed by our past. We must understand the history that shapes our headlines to make progress for the future.

#covid19 #michigan #governorwhitmer #politics #endracism #endracismnow #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #evolvingfaith #loveyourneighbor #justice #socialjustice #seekjustice #lament #repent #repair #reparations #facethepast #healthefuture #headlines #history #headlinesandhistory #historyandheadlines #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Book Rec. - June 20, 2020

Book Rec- Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Emira Tucker is a 25-year-old Black woman who is employed as a babysitter for Briar Chamberlain, who is white. Right from the beginning of the novel, Emira is racially profiled when out at a grocery store late one night with Briar. Emira is accused of kidnapping Briar, and a bystander named Kelley Copeland films the racist interaction on his phone. When Emira’s employer Alix Chamberlain discovers what has happened, she expends her energy for the remainder of the novel trying to befriend Emira. She does so without seeking to truly understand the dynamics of systemic racism and classism at play in her relationship with Emira. The point of view alternates from Emira to Alix, which provides depth while breaking up the inevitable tensions that arise.

I heard about Such a Fun Age when Kiley Reid was a guest on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. As Kiley Reid explained the inspirations behind her debut novel, she referenced the history of Black women caring for white children. In addition, the struggle for Emira to obtain health insurance is highlighted as an obstacle from the past to the present for domestic labor workers. Kiley Reid also talked about her love for awkward moments, which she peppered generously throughout. I cringed during each of these interchanges, but I couldn’t put this book down. 

#suchafunage #kileyreid #bookrecommendation #bookrec #book #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookpic #blackwomanauthor #readblackwomenauthors #read #reading #learning #reflection #action #equality #racism #classism #dismantleallsystemsofoppression #seekjustice #socialjustice #love #loveyourneighbor #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Additional Rec. - June 18, 2020

Additional Rec. - "God Cares About Women (and Christians Should Too)" by Megan Wooding (@mwooding)

“This love for me as a person, however is not the same as love, appreciation, or care for me as a woman. In fact I've often felt through my lifetime in the church that I'm loved in spite of my gender.”

“I recently heard both Lisa Sharon Harper and Rob Bell reference the concept that the Bible was written by and for marginalized communities. This means the context of all our biblical literature is set on the stage of deep trauma.”

“I’m listening to women - a whole lot of different women. I’m listening to their stories and experiences in faith and spirituality. I’m listening to their interpretations of scripture. I’m reading their books and buying their art. I’m following them on social media. I’m seeking out groups of people who also believe that women are a priority to God, and soaking it in. I’m building community with the goal of it being a healing and encouraging space for women.”

“The fruit of suppressing women in faith is rotten. The fruit of women co-leading is healing.”

"It's not just women who miss out. Let's remember, Deborah didn't just prophecy to women. See, I don't just think that Christians should care about (or even celebrate?) women because it benefits me and other women like me.  IT ALSO BENEFITS MEN.”

“Maybe we can chart a course towards full inclusion and whole welcome. Maybe someday we'll be able to say folks know we are Christians because of our love and celebration of women.”

Megan Wooding’s words resonated with me because of my experiences with white evangelicalism. I thought of the Almost Heretical podcast “Getting Free” episode with Dr. Christena Cleveland. In it, Dr. Cleveland described white patriarchal god as the god of the gaslight. This is what came to my mind when I read this sentence Megan wrote: “Patriarchal Christianity magnanimously offers women a seat on the sidelines of our own religion and teaches us to blame ourselves when it doesn’t feel like enough.” I highly recommend reading this blog post in its entirety.

#additionalrecommendation #recommendation #godcaresaboutwomen #christiansshouldtoo #meganwooding #church #churchtoo #sisterhood #exvangelical #eshetchayil #dismantlepatriarchy #smashthepatriarchy #inallinstitutions #deconstruction #evolvingfaith #faithreconstruction #humanity #empathy #equality #reflection #action #lovegod #loveyourneighbor #love #learning #antisexism #antisexist #whitefeminismisnotfeminism #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Account to Follow/Support - June 17, 2020

By visiting the NBO website, you can read, “The National Bail Out collective is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration. We are people who have been impacted by cages — either by being in them ourselves or witnessing our families and loved ones be encaged. We are queer, trans, young, elder, and immigrant.”

In the What We Do section, you can read, “The National Bail Out Collective coordinates the Mama’s Day Bail Outs, where we bail out as many Black Mamas and caregivers as we can so they can spend Mother’s Day with their families where they belong!” Visit the NBO site to learn more about what they do, why they do it, and what they are up to this year.

Follow @nationalbailout if you aren’t already, and financially support the work of the National Bail Out.

#nationalbailout #accounttofollow #support #freeblackmamas #blackmamasbailout #blacklivesmatter #blm #endmoneybail #abolitionist #abolition #prisonabolition #endmassincarceration #covid19 #donate #give #carenotcages #protectblacktranswomen #love #empathy #equality #reflection #action #loveyourneighbor #seekjustice #socialjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative