In Case You Missed It: A Look Back at M4BL Summer Events

Fam,

We have done some amazing work together this summer. Our stories matter, and we’re telling them. In case you missed it, here’s what we accomplished in the summer of 2021:

In June, during Reparations Month, the Movement for Black Lives took over an entire issue of In These Times magazine. In collaboration with the outlet, we conceived, assigned, and wrote an entire magazine to document our work, speak for ourselves, and to build narrative power using our stories.

As the special guest editors, Barbara Ransby, Chinyere Tutashinda, Karissa Lewis, M Adams and Shanelle Matthews, say in their introduction to the issue: “In the almost seven years since the police killing of young Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and the start of an unrelenting protest to get justice for his death, the Movement for Black Lives has been working with humility and determination to map our way to [a better place]. We have stumbled, taken some unexpected detours and experienced moments of enormous grief and frustration, but when we look up and look forward, inhaling the strength and wisdom of our ancestors, we have been able to reroute, regroup and get back on the freedom path.”

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at the magazine when we hosted a virtual event with some of the contributors to the special edition. Together, we discussed the current state of Black power-building and the struggle for Black liberation.

We also hosted a series of conversations centering the demand for reparations:

For our introduction to Reparations Month, we hosted a conversation around police violence, white supremacist violence, and what reparations for police violence look like.
The second week of June, we talked about climate reparations, environmental racism, and a climate-impact report on the February winter storm that swept the U.S. South. This conversation was hosted by our Red, Black, & Green New Deal Initiative.
The third week of June, we hosted a candid conversation on reparations for the War on Drugs and the need for decriminalization.
Finally, we wrapped up Reparations Month with a policy table event focusing on the lasting impacts of racist economic and housing policies, what reparations for slavery looks like, and the passage of HR40.

We celebrated Black August by honoring political prisoners and releasing Struggle for Power: The Ongoing Persecution of Black Movement by the U.S. Government report in collaboration with the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) Clinic. The report details and reminds us of how the federal government continues to disrupt movements for Black liberation through surveillance tactics, arrests, and federal charges. We featured report authors and local organizers in an event we hosted on the weaponization of federal charges and the 225 anti-protest bills that have been introduced since the Floyd Uprisings. Our CLEAR collaborators made this report possible with their meticulous research and analysis. Please support their work by donating to their ongoing and necessary research.

We also celebrated our beloved ancestor Marsha P. Johnson, an organizer and freedom fighter for our movement, who died young and poor. She was bold and unapologetic in her expression and leadership, but she transitioned before she was given her flowers. We took space to celebrate her legacy and imagine what it would have looked like if Marsha had the opportunity to grow old and live well.

As the summer turns to fall, we will keep working to center the experiences, voices, and visions of Black people. Stay connected, reach out, and let’s keep building.

With Black Radical Love,
M4BL

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