where the words equality, equity, and inclusion are our love language
by Austin Channing Brown
Footnotes
Foundational Politics
Screenshot of author Kiese Laymon's IG post reads, "Share. That's my politics. Share."
In a season in which we are being inundated with political stories—shutdowns, Supreme Court cases, local elections, speeches, and an unending onslaught of discussions that often require nuance, sometimes it's nice to be able to boil down where you stand in just 5 words. And that's exactly what author Kiese Laymon did this week in a post on Instagram that I keep thinking about.
During the last election, someone from the Conservative Party knocked on my door. I was waiting for a delivery and opened it before realizing that all he had in his hands was a pamphlet.
Since I opened the door, I decided to engage in his questions. And I confess that, because I live in Michigan, I had no idea which party he represented, and I was curious.
He started by asking me which interests concern me the most. I replied that I was concerned about immigration, health care, reproductive rights, criminal justice, voting rights, and more.
"Oh, yes," he said, "we are concerned about all of those things, too. We want to make sure that immigration is contained. And you know our party is very concerned about reproductive rights. We don't want it to be federalized anymore..."
Hmmm... I said. Interrupting his train of thought before he got too excited, thinking he had found a Black woman who agreed with him. "See, I care about these things, but I care about them in the opposite direction. You see, I'm not worried about containing immigration; I actually want more immigrants to come. I don't think we have enough."
I tried not to laugh as I watched his brain try to compute what I was saying. He literally shook his head—not telling me no—just in an attempt for my words to make sense in his head. We then moved on to reproductive health and criminal justice. But once it was no longer entertaining, I confirmed that I would not be voting for his candidate, and he respectfully left.
While it was a little fun to break his brain, some part of me wishes I had the 5 words Kiese offered to us.
I want to share the country with those who want to come here.
I want to share reproductive health access to every person who wants it.
I want us to share budget money to ensure that the quality of education is not based on property taxes.
I want us to share food through programs like SNAP so that no one goes hungry.
I want to share public spaces with those who are unhoused, and I want to share housing space so that they need not be unhoused in the first place.
I want to share.
I want to share.
I want to share.
I wonder, in a time where there are many nuances, choices, and discussions underway for sure. Can you pull back for a moment and voice your foundational political view?
Can you name your political orientation in 5 words?
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Book List
From "abundance" to "zinemaking," An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping invites the reader to wander through a collection of interconnected entries on helping and healing by over 200 contributors from the worlds of social work and family therapy; art and design; body work and witchery; organizing and education; and more. Privileging co-construction over diagnosis, wisdom over evidence, collective healing over individual cure-yet always blurring categories and embracing contradictions-this world-making collection reveals a pluriverse of helping practices grounded in love and freedom.
Desiree, Danielle, January, Monique, and Nakia are in their early twenties and at the beginning. Of their careers, of marriage, of motherhood, and of big-city lives in New York and Los Angeles. Together, they are finding their way through the wilderness, that period of life when the reality of contemporary adulthood—overwhelming, mysterious, and full of freedom and consequences—swoops in and stays.
Spanning more than two hundred years, An African American and Latinx History of the United States is a revolutionary, politically charged narrative history, arguing that the “Global South” was crucial to the development of America as we know it. Scholar and activist Paul Ortiz challenges the notion of westward progress as exalted by widely taught formulations like “manifest destiny” and “Jacksonian democracy,” and shows how placing African American, Latinx, and Indigenous voices unapologetically front and center transforms US history into one of the working class organizing against imperialism.
Y'all, over the weekend I put on a pair of roller skates for the first time in at least 20 years. (The things we do for our younger siblings!) I was hoping that my body would dig deep and remember how to fly across the rink... but that didnt quite happen. I landed flat on my butt- twice. Still, it was so much fun to try. I couldnt remember how to skate well, but I remembered the smell and the feel and the laughter and the vulnerability of knowing you might wipe out and need a hand up at any moment. It was beautiful. So when we got home, I signed up my family for roller skating lessons. Even though I couldnt fly, I remember how it felt and I want it back. I want that specific joy back in my life. So Im going after it. I wonder, is there a joy that you let go of (for lots of legitimate reasons) that you know find yourself missing? Is there a specific joy you can give back to yourself this season?
TIP JAR
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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.
