‘Mutual Aid’ as both concept and practice was reignited under the conditions of the pandemic that called for collective approaches for survival. However, as the years have continued, mutual aid has been redefined continuously and is now synonymous with ‘charity’ (which is not a bad thing, but is quite different). Crowdfunding links are flooding the internet by the hundreds, but as time continues, pushing more people into the margins and squeezing them financially, that method seems to be increasingly becoming less and less effective. And for whatever reason requests for funds are made, the fact that it is overwhelming, continuous . . .
mutual aid
No Half Measures, Cancel All Student Loan Debt
On September 1, 2021, Hurricane Ida hit Southeast Louisiana, temporarily displacing thousands of New Orleans residents, including myself and most of my family. Residents who had the means evacuated early, leaving others to fight for limited resources while simultaneously seeking refuge in neighboring cities. On top of their pre-existing bills, evacuees were forced to front the costs of hotels, food, gas and repairs or even replacement of their own homes. Natural disasters produce an overwhelming amount of stress and anxiety — you simply don’t know if you will have a house to live in until you are able to return home. I . . .
Three Steps to Black Liberation
If history should be any teacher, it has taught us this: the state has no interest in serving the needs of the masses of Black people in this country, who are poor and working class. Billions of dollars for a war abroad (from which weapons manufacturers and their shareholders profit handsomely) yet we can’t pass a minimum wage of $15 an hour — let alone a living wage — at home. COVID has exposed the horrors of having a for-profit healthcare system, with the wealthiest country on Earth having the highest infection and death rate, and with Black people in . . .
Abolitionist Efforts to Trangress the Prison Walls
Incarcerated radical intellectuals elucidate the nature of political struggle and its various arenas. Alongside these writers are solidarity groups that propagate their writings and intellectual products. Through a close reading of Black Communist trans prisoner Alyssa V. Hope’s legal efforts and writings, this article unearths how a pen-pal relationship transformed into a comprehensive abolitionist community. This case study provides an ex-ample of how abolitionists are grappling with the need to support the material needs of marginalised communities while still building otherwise possible worlds separate from a failing welfare state. Mutual aid projects, like the one formed by Hope’s supporters, showcase that otherwise possible worlds are not only possible, but they are being created right now be-fore us. . . .
How to Withstand the Neo-Fascists Conquest of Power
It is my honest assessment that as of this writing we have a little less than two years before the neo-confederates and neo-fascists install a reactionary dictatorship by the end of January 2025. In light of my comments regarding this development, many people have been asking, and rightfully so, what should be done to confront the advance of this ultra-reactionary dictatorship over the US empire. . . .
Well What Are Y’all Going To Do Then?
Our obsession with electoralism is a masochistic love affair with the machine that’s set to kill us. And no matter how much people claim “we can do both”, history shows us that until we prioritize organizing ourselves, we will continue to rely on presidential elections to address the societal problems that it has proven to be unequipped to fix. . . .
Coronavirus Pandemic: What You Need to Know
We made this for our community after a lot of research and a lot of discussion. This is a compilation of African people need to know about the coronavirus and how we can take care of each other right now. What we Know So Far African People and Coronavirus African people are not immune – there are an increasing number of confirmed cases on the continent and in the diaspora. The first confirmed death from the virus on the continent happened this week in Burkina Faso. African people are particularly high-risk, not just elders and immuno-compromised folks. Medical complications caused . . .