81 Search results for "abolitionist"

African Traditional Religions prepared me to grieve my mother
I’ve learned it’s best not to try to control how the memories of my mother show up, or what emotions they are wearing when they enter. This one is dressed in a rare crossbreed of inconsolable laughter and a stabbing sob, and it’s seeping out of my iphone from wherever the speaker is located on […]
The price of radical concession
by Inigo Laguda August 26th 2016: Colin Kaepernick tells NFL Media why he’s been sitting through the national anthem. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people,” he exclaims in an exclusive interview. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would […]
The legacy of Christian Abolitionism
by Jo (Foderingham) Brown “When we say abolish police. We also mean the cop in your head and in your heart.” — Tourmaline Liberation theology is defined as “a movement in Christian theology that emphasizes liberation from social, political, and economic oppression.” This philosophy has been utilized in freedom struggles from Latin America to Palestine, […]
My mother proved protection is possible without police, even if she doesn’t know it
Sometimes, an answer is not an answer to everyone. Sometimes, whether something is an answer depends, like seeing a blue or gold dress or hearing yanny or laurel in that auditory illusion. Or like when Black people are finally allowed in token numbers to receive a few of the laurels we hear we should always […]
We must fight for a Black liberation that exists outside of AntiBlack Systems
by Gloria Oladipo I watch the moment’s protests through bitter tears of joy. I hate that change is paved with the blood of Black sisters, brothers, and siblings. I hate how freedom never seems to be found when we’re alive. I hate cops. I hate oppression and injustice and anything that keeps Black and Brown […]
Police-Free schools are necessary, as is abolishing the white supremacist state they are rooted in
by Mustafa Ali-Smith As protests continue on both the national and global scale, widespread call-to-actions ramp up. Dismantling, defunding, and divesting from policing and providing police-free schools are becoming a part of everyday conversations. Early educational institutions have even begun to respond to these call-to-actions by ending their relationship with local police departments and promising […]
“Allyship fatigue” is an insult to Black folks who never get to rest
I’ve been nursing the same headache for over a week and my right eye has been twitching for days on end. My eyes burn as I write this. Sometimes my eyelids feel so heavy it hurts to blink. I might be on the verge of tears, but I honestly can’t even tell anymore. There are […]
Big Pharma and the prison industry are colluding to overmedicate incarcerated populations
by Boké Saisi Large corporations that own brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Revlon, Old Navy and McDonald’s have come under public scrutiny for using Black and racialized prison labour to manufacture their commodities. Little attention, however, has been paid to Big Pharma’s predatory profiteering from prison labour and the practice of incarceration itself. The Prison […]
Black women face greater scrutiny than white women for being polyamorous
The societal impact of straying from what is considered a norm is greater for Black people than it is for our white counterparts. by Sarah Thomas Of the many places to learn about my sexuality, That 70’s Show was as good as any. There were tons of make-out scenes and implied sex during its […]
Prison abolition is more than a lofty theoretical. It’s also unpretty, everyday practices of resisting state policing
The man grabs her arm tightly and presses her against the gate, and in someone’s fantasy this, without context, might have been erotic. I want it to be—for her sake, I’d say if you asked—but I also want it for mine. I do not want to personally get involved in a violent dispute between strangers, […]
‘A Million Little Things’ powerfully reflects the truth of many Black folk’s mental health struggle
Editor’s Note: May is Mental Health Awareness Month and National Masturbation Month. This is also the month that we celebrate Mother’s Day. At BYP, we will be exploring these topics alongside the theme of Imagination and the Arts, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. By […]
Black liberation requires making room for uncomfortable manifestations of mental illness
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and National Masturbation Month. This is also the month that we celebrate Mother’s Day. At BYP, we will be exploring these topics alongside the theme of Imagination and the Arts, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. We want to […]