A brother I met last week put a copy of Left Turn in my hands and I’m just now opening it. This issues focuses on queer people of color, with many articles from SONG folks (Southerners on New Ground) and coverage of Duanna Johnson’s death. I need to get involved so I can find kindred, healing and wholeness (what am I doing with my time right now??). Learn more about SONG here.
Read this, from What We Know for Sure (page 22, paragraph 3 of Left Turn No. 32):
SONG knows our bodies to be the ultimate location of intersectionality, and thus liberation is a process of creating the conditions for our own wholeness. For example, racism, ableism, heterosexism, sexism and classism are systems that impact all of us, but these oppressions come crashing in at once on the very bodies of brown working class queer sisters with disabilities. And for these sisters, unraveling the trauma done to their own bodies may legitimately be where they begin to change society. Desire and longing are central, pleasure is celebrated, and moments of wholeness are harbingers for transformation. Home, for the displaced, is found in your own body, and with your own community. -Manju Rajendran and Alba Onofrio
Also, I’ve had A Song for Ourselves mixtape on repeat for the last few months (seriously if you have not downloaded the free mixtape yet, you’re missing out), but this is the first time I’ve seen the trailer. Love how they mix the old with new, some good footage here:
when i tell people my harabeoji was an underground freedom fighter, i didn’t know it was him and uhh, 2,000,000 others (talk about people power!). today i came across aseriesofarticles on the joongahn daily website that commemorates the march first movement, a korean uprising against colonial rule in 1919 that began with a declaration of independence and lasted a year. even though japanese occupation did not end until much later, the mansei demonstrations and its heroes (like Yu Gwansun, 16 year old freedom fighter considered to be a “korean joan of arc”) are a source of pride for all koreans. the pictures below link to two great articles.
illustration of koreans coming together to protest japanese occupation. picture links to an article about how the march first movement can be understood in a larger context of anti-colonist resistance.
another illustration of protestors. the picture links to an article about how the samil movement was one of the first people's movement to be truly inclusive (scholars, students, gisaeng, farmers, everyone!)
i first fell in love w/ senbei’s work when i stumbled upon Everything Is Illuminated, a song about love and a guy coming out to his best friend. having had that on repeat for MONTHS (itunes says i’ve played it 56 times…would you allow me to collapse my truths in your arms? embrace my liberation, cut my makings into your palms?… okay don’t get me started), i was super excited to see that he dropped a mixtape yesterday!
anyways, how many people do you know dedicate their work to queer women of color on the first track? yeah. click the pic and go download. More… »
Cripchick is a powerchair-roaring, young queer disabled woman of color. She grew up on an army base in the South for 18 years and continues to live (and love) North Carolina. She has been a disability/crip youth organizer since high school. Cripchick is crushing hard on popular education, radical women of color feminism, and people practicing liberation & interdependence.
