where the words equality, equity, and inclusion are our love language
by Austin Channing Brown
Footnotes
I know you're tired.
Photo by Cody Pullman via Unsplash
I was talking to a friend in Minneapolis who was expressing how exhausted she is. And I suspect a lot of you are feeling exhausted because of everything that is happening.
And one of the reasons why so many of you are exhausted is because you are physically standing before a police force, and that is no small thing. You are face-to-face with an organized, militarized team that has been endowed with the power to harm, if it so chooses. Some of you do so in protest, but many of you do so through neighborhood watches, lookouts, bystanders, and other ways of putting your body on the line. And if you are someone who is both at risk and helping to protect others, you must be weary to your bones.
Its not hard to imagine the exhaustion that comes with this kind of physicality once we name it. But there is another form of exhaustion we are fighting right now, and that is the political force of policing.
It's really important that we understand this moment as inclusive of ICE but also far beyond it. This moment isn't about a single police force, or a single community, or a single marginalized group. If we think of it in such small terms, we will be in danger of forfeiting our future.
This moment is about policing in America. This moment is about deciding whether or not we will take back our power as residents, and demand that the politicians at every level of government—local police, city administrators, state legislators, all the way up to the federal government. Will we take hold of People Power, or will we acquiesce?
Over history, (white) Americans have been duped time and time again, told there is an enemy that requires cruelty… stop and frisk, no knock raids, brutality in the name of fear, public strip searches, surveillance, mandatory minimums, mass incarceration, and violence of all kinds. And here we are again. Will America once again decide that violence is an acceptable price to pay for feeling safer, even as we have evidence that it is not policing but community that makes neighborhoods safer? Will we give in?
You see, there is the physical force of nightsticks, tear gas, and guns. But there is also a multi-generational political force at work. And that political force has not only avoided accountability but has avoided the vast majority of checks on its power.
This is not just about ICE. This is not just about this administration.
This is about our refusal to continue to accept the for-profit propaganda of so-called “law and order” and instead choose the new eco-systems you are right now creating. Do you believe in protection for all marginalized communities? Do you believe, at last, that all residents should be treated equally by the police? Are you tired of accepting the status quo? Will you fight, not just this iteration of ICE policing, but all forms of oppressive policing?
We are going up against a political machine that has been forged over generations, a political playbook that has been forged over generations. And so part of the work we are doing is physical—protecting people—but what we're also doing is casting a different vision. We are standing against the force of assumed power. We are demanding that power be given back to the people.
So, yeah. You’re tired for really good reasons. So what do we do about that?
Folks are always quick to say that those of us who are progressive need to cross the aisle and have conversations with other people. I totally disagree. I think there is a place for dialogue and education. But when it comes to remaining grounded in our work and keeping our passion alive, I actually think what we need is to keep building silos—not stepping out of them. I do not believe that we are too siloed. I actually believe that not enough of us have our silo. So that's my first suggestion. Find your silo. Where are your people, and how often are you connecting with that community?
Number two is to understand the nature of the work. We are in a moment that may require a burst of energy—a time that requires more of you than usual, but that is also inherently short-term. You know there is going to be an ending. Then there is the long-term work… the sustainable work. It's important that you are clear about your work so that you can manage your energies accordingly.
And then the third question I would ask is, who are you inviting into this work? You can’t do it all, and I bet there are folks out there wishing to be invited into your silo. I bet there are folks who are hoping to be useful, hoping someone needs their skills. Instead of feeling guilty for the ways you are limited, look for the folks who long for expansion.
I hope this is helpful to those who are tired and for good reason. I hope this helps make legible the moment we are in and the possibilities for charting a new future.
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Book List
The New Jim Crow is a stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status—denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement.
Read This When Things Fall Apart is a care package for activists and organizers building power under fascistic, demoralizing conditions. It's an outstretched hand, offering history lessons, personal anecdotes, and practical advice about how to navigate the woes of justice work. A survival guide for the heart, this is a book for activists to keep close, and to share with co-strugglers in need.
With her characteristic brilliance, grace and radical audacity, Angela Y. Davis has put the case for the latest abolition movement in American life: the abolition of the prison.
Austin Channing Brown is the author of NYT Bestseller and Reese Book Club pick, Im Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. Her newest book, Full of Myself is already a USA Today bestseller but she's waiting to be placed on your bookshelf.
