Dear Community,
I believe that we will reach liberation in our lifetime. I believe that now more than I ever have before.
This is an extremely scary time. It is scary how Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming Black, Indigenous, People of Color community has been disproportionately affected by COVID and the fall out of the disease – the loss of income, increased poverty, criminalization of the poor and the ill, and barriers to healthcare. Many people are learning now what our communities have long known – the state does not exist to help us. Systems of power in this country are built intentionally to dispose of those who have the least.
Why do I think liberation is possible? Because of you.
Everywhere around me, I've seen others in the struggle like you and me step up and take care of each other. We have shifted from "me first" to collective and community care. People have risked their health to feed their neighbors, taken money out of their own pockets to share with strangers. Folks have organized en masse to push for tenant rights and rent relief, increased healthcare access, and accountability from our government.
When COVID-19 has passed, we'll have a new crisis – the return of the same system that has oppressed us for centuries. In this moment, I ask you to lean into imagining a world that is radically different. One where we are all free to decide what safety and wellness looks like for ourselves. One where we continue to take care of each other, continue to center access, disability justice, and bodily autonomy. One where people power, not privilege, takes the lead.
Quite simply: we need your partnership now more than ever.
Tomorrow is #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of folks coming together to support each other in the face of COVID-19. Here's what I'm asking you to do:
- If you can, give $25 to the Audre Lorde Project to fuel our work. In the next two months, we're increasing our political education trainings so our members have the skills and knowledge to organize for radical long-term change in this moment and we need your support.
- Attend ALP's virtual events! Keep checking out our Events page and Instagram for updates on when we'll be doing Community Care Day, Daring to be Powerful, Trans* Day of Action, and much more.
- Give $25 to a local mutual aid project that's redistributing funds to folks who need them the most. If you're in New York, check out #BrooklynShowsLove Mutual Aid Project or Mutal Aid NYC. Want to support queer and trans folks of color across the country? Visit COVID-19 Mutual Aid Fund for LGBTQI+ BIPOC Folks.
- Provide direct support to someone locally. Check out the Mutual Aid Hub and search for a group in your area that's connecting folks to share resources.
- Don't forget to take care of yourself. Continue practice self-care while supporting community care.
A better, more just world is possible and all of us are needed to achieve that.
In solidarity,
Maxwell
Audre Lorde Project Co-Director