In this special summer series about taking action to care for community, I am taking a pause from interviews to share what I am learning about people who have led important movements in their communities along with the actions they are inspiring me to take.
This episode features the writing of activist Dean Spade, who authored the book Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) and has inspired my current focus. Mutual aid projects are a form of political participation in which people take responsibility for caring for one another and changing political conditions not just through symbolic acts or putting pressure on gov’t representatives, but by actually building new social relations that are more survivable.
Mutual aid projects provide avenues for us to lean into our communities and lesson our dependency on toxic systems to meet our needs. Coming together with that aim will be critical for making progress on the major social issues that plague us. We can’t just look to people with big titles and noted positions to light the way. All of those people started out as “regular folks” just like you. Instead of looking for the knight in shining armor to pull up with the game plans, know that it’s US. We are the ones who need to ride at dawn.
Episode Resources:
- Book: Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade
- Learn about Dean Spade
- Video: We’re All We’ve Got, We’re All We Need: A Mutual Aid Explainer
- Organizations mentioned in this episode:
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ABOUT KIESHA GARRISON
Kiesha Garrison is a professional emcee and public speaker whose work focuses on personal discovery and courageous conversations that connect us to our true selves and community.
