2020 has been a difficult, heartbreaking, and tumultuous year in so many ways. The toll COVID is taking on our communities, especially the most disenfranchised among us (disproportionately poor and working-class people of color), remains heartbreakingly gut-wrenching. Governments across the globe have violated the rights of their people repeatedly, from the ongoing police … [Read more...]
5 Ways To Maintain Your Queer Identity in a Relationship People Read as Straight
This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com and is reprinted by permission. In a way, there is a safety that comes with being out in public holding a boy’s hand. I’m seen as straight, feminine, the “right” sort of woman. Nobody harasses me, leering and telling me to kiss him so they can watch. Nobody calls me the d-word or threatens to “turn” me straight. As far as … [Read more...]
Listen to Our Foremothers: Why Black Women Deserve To Balance Our Rage With Our Joy
It is a sad time for Black women in this country. I would love to say that this time is unique and unlike that which our foremothers faced after being stolen and brought to this country, holding onto their souls and the shreds of their dignity they were determined never to give up. But we know this is not true. Today, as we carry our rage and sadness, feeling an … [Read more...]
Fellow White Women: We Learned To Be Complicit With Oppression — Now We Must Become Brave
This article was originally published on louisaleontiades.com as "The Cowardice of White Women: Learning to Resist" and is republished with permission. Some questions you don’t expect to have to ask in your lifetime, let alone answer. But with the rise of Trumpian fascism, a question has consistently rattled around my white woman’s brain: At what point would I put my own life … [Read more...]
#CloseTheCamps: No 4th of July While Children Die
On July 2nd, I participated in a #CloseTheCamps rally demanding that the illegal concentration camps for undocumented children and their families -- with 71% of migrants being held in for-profit facilities as of November 2017 -- be shut down. I stood on the sidewalk of a local park with about 60 other protesters as we held signs and rattled noisemakers, chanting and begging our … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Support Undocumented Folks
As a nation, we are living through a very scary time. And while that may be the understatement of the century, there are particular demographics under attack right now. As a person who works in educating students of color, whose parents may or may not be undocumented, as well as educating undocumented students, I have noticed a shift in their attitudes. I’ve seem some … [Read more...]
4 Ways Sick and Disabled White Folks Can Show Up for Anti-Racism
I know that navigating intersections is hard, especially when you have privilege in one area and are oppressed in another. First, we need to remember it is not nearly as hard as living at the intersections of oppression. We also need to be excruciatingly honest with ourselves (and each other) about how these factors influence us at each time and place we occupy. As a white … [Read more...]
9 Strategies for Everyday Radical Activism When You’re Feeling Helpless
When conscious, caring people learn about injustices in the world, one of the most commonly asked questions is, “What can I do?” I know the feeling well: the despair and helplessness that come with the yearning to fix an inequity, along with the awareness of a lack of means. The if-onlys chip away at my heart. If only I were a real activist. If only I had a platform. If only I … [Read more...]
9 Reasons Why Acting in Solidarity for Racial Justice Is Preferable to “Allyship”
There is almost nothing more dangerous in the lives and livelihoods of Black men and women than a well-intentioned white woman with no political framework for her interactions across race. White women’s well-being, our ‘safety,’ is constantly deployed to justify white supremacist violence, especially police violence. Our casual conversations with Black and brown people on the … [Read more...]
6 Signs Your Call-Out Is About Ego and Not Accountability
No matter how long you’ve been politically conscious, you’ve probably figured out by now that activists are by no means perfect. Even while we’re trying to end oppression, we can sometimes make some harmful mistakes ourselves. So how do you address oppressive mistakes in your community? Say you’re at a social justice event that’s promising in some ways, but problematic in … [Read more...]
4 Ways White People Can Process Their Emotions Without Hijacking the Conversation on Racial Justice
This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com under the title "4 Ways White People Can Process Their Emotions Without Bringing the White Tears" and is reprinted by permission. If you’re a white person who has been in many activist spaces, then you’ve probably experienced a specific, often unspoken ground rule: There’s no room for white tears in this … [Read more...]
7 Radical Filipina Women You Should Know
Trigger warnings: mention of violence against trans women The Philippines encompasses over 7,600 islands, over 180 ethnic groups, and over 19 dialects. Philippine-Americans make up the second largest demographic of Asian peoples in the United States, and our diaspora of overseas Pilipinx (a gender neutral term for those of Philippine descent) is up to around ten million -- … [Read more...]
Keyboard Cowardice: How Internet Anonymity Is Fuel for Body Terrorism
The intention behind keeping our internet lives private was so we could protect ourselves. Online communication largely takes place with people we don’t personally know and so it makes sense to keep some information private. We don’t want strangers being able to find out intimate details of our personal lives. However, this common sense approach to internet discourse has led to … [Read more...]
How Abled Folks Can Support the Disability Movement if Obamacare Is Repealed
As I write this, there are people in this terrifying administration still actively trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act – the only reason that I, and many other disabled and chronically ill people in the US, have access to health insurance. If the ACA is overturned, we’ll return to the old system: one in which insurance companies can charge whatever they want, their … [Read more...]
