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KEEP UP WITH ARISE!

All politics are LOCAL

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In the messiest intersections

June 2023

Welcome June!

June is a busy month, carrying A LOT! It's Pride Month, Gun Violence Awareness Month, and we celebrate Juneteenth. We live in some messy intersections and our liberation is inextricably intertwined

The first pride was a RIOT against police brutality. Thank you Marsha P. Johnson, the P standing for "Pay It No Mind". The experience of queerness, of being LGBT is filtered through Blackness. Black queer folks have long since been in the fight for freedom, freedom to be unapologetically Black, to exist, thrive, and love who we love.

Our children are being gunned down in our schools and in the streets. Young and OLD. Under-resourced communities create the conditions that are ripe for violence. Poverty is violence and violence is trauma. How do we change these conditions? We show up and take care of each other in community, we hold our elected officials accountable for passing and upholding the bad policy that creates the conditions. We show up, we vote. We love on each other. We hold each other in our grief and still seek joy in our quest to get free.

Juneteenth is a celebration and yes, it is centering Black people and there's nothing wrong with that. We deserve joy, moments to be with each other, away from the stress and strain of systemic and institutional racism. If folks take issue with that, I encourage you to check your privilege. If folks have issue with Pride celebrations and queer joy, reflect on why there's no need for a specific day to celebrate you. If you need help seeing how white supremacy and racism hurts all of us, part of our work is helping you see. We need you to see. Justice requires truth. Healing Happens in truth. Click the links below to learn more.

 

 

 

Our June 2023 Reading List

Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements - Charlene Carruthers

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name - Audre Lorde

Psalms for Black Lives: Reflections for the Work of Liberation - Gabby Cudjoe-WilkesAndrew Wilkes

On Juneteenth - Annette Gordon-Reed

Rest Is Resistance A Manifesto - Tricia Hershey

The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin

Support Local independent bookstores! 

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Juneteenth is coming! If you want to support our event, if you are a vendor needing to pay an invoice, click the photo!

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