The Coup – The Consequences

I expected this and honestly surprised it didn't happen sooner, but white supremacists are attempting to overturn the election. They are terrorists, and what they are attempting is a coup. Terrorist - a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. Coup - a sudden, violent, and …

Shelter in Place: Day 74

Hello Everyone, It is my second-to-last day in Oakland. Last night there was a protest in downtown Oakland. I did not attend, and I'm honestly not sure what exactly happened. Or more accurately I think everything happened. My guess based on various accounts is that - as seen in Minneapolis and other cities - there …

Shelter in Place: Day 73

Dear Friends and Family, Today I have a specific goal for myself: to be specific in naming racism both outside and within me. This was inspired in part by a conversation with my older sister and in part by a friend's comment on the statement my alma mater Carleton College issued in response to George …

Shelter in Place: Day 71

Hello Everyone, Today I am writing to ask for your help. I have continued to think about the recent murder of George Floyd as well as the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. In particular I have been thinking about ways to hold myself accountable to sustained action. I have a tendency to become …

Shelter in Place: Day 70

Hello Everyone, Yesterday evening in Minneapolis, a black man named George Floyd was murdered by the police. A white police officer knelt on Floyd's neck until Floyd fell unconscious. Floyd died in the hospital. Protesters in Minneapolis today are being maced. I am angry. Black people are already dying at a disproportionate rate due to …

Shelter in Place: Day 52

Today is my brother's birthday. It also would have been Ahmaud Arbery's birthday. Ahmaud was a twenty-five-year-old who went for a run on February 23rd, 2020 and was murdered by white supremacists. It took until yesterday for the people responsible to be arrested. As I was sharing some of my favorite memories of my older …

Stephon Clark

March 18, 2018, one week exactly after I turned 25, Stephon Clark, then and now forever 22 years old, was shot to death by Sacramento police officers. He was shot in his grandmother's backyard. He was shot twenty times. He was holding a cell phone. In 2018, to be black and holding a cell phone …

Charlottesville: The Continuation of White Terrorism

Driving a car through a crowd of people is an act of terrorism. But the United States as a nation is profoundly racist. Terrorism is only ever associated with brown people. Hence the white men who continually perpetrate the worst shootings in the United States are never labeled as "terrorists" but are instead labeled as …

Why the DAPL?

Yesterday, the Army Corps of Engineers decided to pass the final easement allowing for the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). I've been thinking about this as momentum builds behind the pipeline. The executive order, the banks that continue to fund it, and the large proportion of the country that view themselves as unaffected …

Beginning Thoughts on the Prison-Industrial Complex (PIC) and Abolition

Given the promise of increased criminalization, the promise of increased funding for the police state, and the threat of a heavy-duty deportation machine, it is now more important than ever to defund the prison-industrial complex. If you haven't read "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander or watched the documentary 13th, add it to your …