the ache of awareness.

In other words, no never meant no for Black and brown women (and some poor white women). This idea has carried over, I think, to the concept of “self-defense” as applied to Black and brown women. If Black women’s bodies can always be violated and if Black women are easily killable, then the notion of self-defense can never apply. Black women do not

In order to invest in a new vision, and a new way of living, we have to believe in each other and our capacity to create something better.

As we move forward, we must ask ourselves, Are we making space for grief in our organizing work? Are we talking about the practice of hope, and how we can orient ourselves in these daunting times?

As James Baldwin emphasized at the close of his book Nothing Personal, “The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.”26

Goodness, to them, is a designation to be defended rather than something that they seek to generate in the world in concert with other people.

When we consider the origin of the word “radical” in relation to “roots,” let’s not forget what roots do: they make life possible. “Radical,” in its historical definition, is synonymous with “vital”—“designating the humour or moisture once thought to be present in all living organisms as a necessary condition of their vitality.”3 I think that in a

Radical educator and philosopher Paulo Freire wrote, “The more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can better transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled.”2

“You’re not making any mistakes because you’re not doing anything.”