The Decolonizer, May 2016

THEDECO LO NIZER May 2016

You And Your Respectability Politics

A Letter To "Robert"

Imagining/ Remembering Beyond The West

Eid Is Across The River

TABLEO FCO NTENTS 1

What is THE DECOLONIZER?

2

You And Your Respectability Politics

6

The News Feed

8

Imagining/ Remembering Beyond The West

9

A Letter To "Robert"

10

Eid Is Across The River

12

Decolonizing Culture

13

How To's

14

Brief Histories

17

Straight, No Chaser

19

Who Will Survive America

20

Track The Movement

W hat IsTHEDECO LO NIZER? THE DECOLONIZER has nothing.

It has had to take everything

Every breath

It has had to steal

Every meal

It has had to seize

Every drink

It has had to kill for

Because you have

everything.

You have stolen

everything.

What makes THE DECOLONIZER

a savage

is in the audacity to live

What makes you?

1

YouandYour RespectabilityPolitics

By The Decolonizer Fuck you and your respectability politics.

You know exactly who you are. You know exactly what you do. Look at you, climbing the social ladder of white supremacist power. Getting a piece of yours while you tell others who look like you to keep up: "If I can succeed, you can succeed! " You have used poor people of color as the floor mat for your success.

The Decolonizer says "Put some RESPECK on that" Comfortable in your middle- upper- class status, you have made a career out of telling low- income people what to do. That they should just apply themselves, work twice as hard, be less threatening, and maybe they will be granted the privilege of breathing another breath.

Some of you even consider yourselves social justice activists. To you, subverting the system looks like people of color in three- piece suits living it up at expensive galas eating fancy dinners. It looks like teaching folk good table manners, how to sit next to white people, how to look at white people, how to speak to white people.

To you, subverting the system looks like a Black president in the White House. It looks like Black and Brown athletes, doctors, lawyers, businessmen. It looks like people of color benefiting from settler colonial white supremacy.

What does it mean to build wealth in a country that rests on stolen land, who's entire economic system is dependent on the oppression of Black and Brown bodies?

It means that, so long as the U.S. economic structure remains in tact, Black and Brown bodies will always be exploited.

The myth of racial progress is in believing that people of color can defeat oppression by elevating themselves into higher positions in the system.

You think that merit and influence can subvert the effects of white supremacy.

You Are Not Doing Sh* t to Challenge White Supremacy You'd like to think you are fighting against racist stereotypes when you wear your respectability around your neck.

You think you are challenging racist media representations of people of color. When you are "kicking down" doors in the work place, showing white people how talented and agreeable you are, you imagine yourself performing the most revolutionary acts of descent. You say: "what I am doing is important. I am blazing a trail for those who come after me. I am a shining example that people of color can do something. I am a model for my race."

Sit Your A* * Down Look at all of the racist stereotypes you reaffirm in that same key. If you are exceptional it is because poor people of color are lazy. If you are intelligent, it is because poor people of color are ignorent. If you are a positive role model it is because poor people of color need guidance and lack leadership ability.

You want to be acknowledged and respected by whiteness. You want to be recognized and rewarded for your merits. But your excellence is always defined in reference to the racist portrait of the other. You need that racist image to exist. You have always measured your success based on the perceived deficiencies of your race, deficiencies that were constructed and facilitated by white supremacy. For this reason, you have always thought of yourself as better than your Black and Brown counter- parts.

You have brought into the meritocracy of white America. Meritocracy, as in that deferred promise that, as long as you work hard and do everything right, you will get far in society. It is the same narrative white supremacy has used to justify structural racism. You are comfortable with white America using you as a ruler to measure other Black and Brown people. You scorn your counter- parts for not working hard enough. Even though you will always be a second- class citizen.

You don't REALLY want to up- lift your people You say you want to up- lift your people. That you want to save them from themselves by giving them the tools so that they too can move up the ladder.

One: you know this is impossible. You know that in a capitalist system someone always has to be at the bottom. You know that historically those people have been people of color.

Two: even if it were possible, you wouldn't be interested. How will you be able to distinguish yourself from poor people of color? How will you be exceptional if everyone was on your level? You have built your sense of worth around the class oppression of people of color.

Three: besides, you materially benefit from the oppression of poor people of color.You enjoy some of the rewards of capitalism.

You enjoy the rewards of settler colonialism.

You need low- income Black and Brown people to remain in their place. Challenging white supremacist power would mean giving up those comforts you have received. You don't really want to do that do you?

Do you honestly think your respectability politics will save you?

Because a police officer is going to think twice about shooting you if you are respectful, right? Because as long as your pants don't sag you don't have to worry about dying in the back of a police car, right?

Everybody is in on the joke but you. Look at you, thinking that your Blackness can be washed away because you got a bit of money. Thinking that your Brownness can be forgotten because you are "not like the others."

There is no escaping this country. This country IS racism. This country IS violence.

At any second you can and will be the recipient of violence. Nobody cares how many degrees you have. Nobody cares how much money you have. Nobody cares how respected you are. You will be subjected to violence because that is how this country must function. That is how this country has functioned for 500 years.

Yet you continue to police people of color the way you also police yourself. You say: "just work hard and do right. Just lower your voice, wear respectable cloths, don't act a fool, stay out of the white man's way." So convinced that your approach will lead you to freedom.

In your quest for power and influence, you have become a collaborator with white supremacy. You have become a beneficiary of white supremacy. But white supremacy wont last forever. And very soon it will become clear just how expendable you really are.

2

5

TheNewsfeed Political CrisisInBrazil Political unrest has shook Brazil after Democratically elected president Dilma Rousseff was ousted from office on May 12, 2016 because of allegations of budget fraud. Right-wing media outlets called for demonstrations against Rousseff and blamed her for the current economic crisis in Brazil. Rousseff was suspended by the Brazillian Congress and in her place Michel Temer became interim president.

Secret transcripts were leaked by Folah de Sao Paulo revealing the involvement of planing minister Romero Juca and former oil executive Sergio Machado in the impeachment plot. Weeks before the impeachment conversations were taking place between Juca and Machado about the need to remove Rousseff in order to forestall corruption investigations against them. The so called "Car Wash" corruption investigation threaten to incriminate major players in the Brazilian government and private sector. The transcripts also confirmed that Juca manipulated numerous members of the Brazilian Supreme Court to support Rousseff's removal. All evidence seems to point to a picture of corruption in which the Brazilian elite in cooperation with military and government officials installed Michel Temer in a political coup.

Since his start in office, Temer has waged war on all the social programs put into place by Rousseff and has reshuffled cabinet members of the Brazilian government. The United States has expressed support for this coup.

FreddieG ray:NoJustice On May 23, 2016 Officer Edward Nero was acquitted of all charges in connection with the death of Freddie Gray. Nero was charged with four misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of office misconduct.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams said there was "no credible facts" to show that Nero was directly involved in Gray's arrest.

Freddie Gray died after sustaining spinal injuries during a police arrest in Baltimore last year. Gray was thrown into the back of a police van without a seat belt and died of his injuries a week later.

Nero was one of six officers involved in Gray's arrest. The next trial in the case will be for Officer Caesar Goodson Jr and will be held June 6th.

Two more officers involved in the case have since sued the State of Maryland for defamation and invasion of privacy. Officer William Porter and Sargent Alicia White claimed that the State prosecution had issued false charges against them in an effort to quell the Baltimore riots. Both White and Porter have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, and office misconduct.

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ArrestsMadefor theAssassinationof BertaCaceres On May 7th, 2016 five men were arrested in connection with the assassination of prominent Indigenous activist Berta Caceres. Caceres, who led major protests against the Augua Zarca Dam and other cooperate developments on Indigenous lands, was murdered inside her own home in La Esparanza, Honduras on March 3, 2016. Douglas Bustillo, Mariano Diaz Chavez, Edilson Duarte, and Sergio Rodriguez were all arrested May 2, 2016. All of the men involved with the exception of Sergio Rodriguez are active or retired military officials. Emerson Eusebio Duarte, twin brother of Edilson Duarte was also arrested in connection with the assassination and was released only to be taken back into custody for possession of the gun used in Caceres' murder. The U.S. backed Honduran military had been targeting Caceres and her organization COPINH for years on behalf of the hydroelectric company DESA. Less than two weeks after Caceres was murdered another member of COPINH, Nelson Garcia was also assassinated. The United States spends at least 30 million in military funding to Honduras.

Caceres' family is still calling for an internationally-led investigation and expresses no confidence in the Honduran justice system.

ThreeLakotaMenMissing The Oglala Sioux have declared a state of emergency on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota after the disappearance of three Lakota men. 24-year-old Juan Lamont, 21-year-old Tevin Tyon, and 23-year-old Tyrell Wilson were last seen on May 7, 2016 driving a 2006 Buick. The three men were reportedly taking a ride through the country. Volunteers and the South Dakota Highway Patrol have been searching the area.

A $1,500 reward has been put out for any information regarding the whereabouts of the three men. Anyone with information is asked to call 605-867-5141.

Department of JusticeToPursueDeathPenaltyfor DylannRoof On May 24, 2016 the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it will pursue the death penalty in prosecution of Dyann Roof. Roof currently faces 33 federal charges and nine counts of murder for the killing of nine black people at AME Emmanuel Church Charleston, SC last year. Roof's State trial has been delayed from July 2016 to January 2017 and no date has been set for his federal trial. The State delay comes from defence lawyers' request to conduct a months long psychiatric evaluation of Roof.

ExhumationUncoversO ne-hundredSixteenBodiesInMexico On May 24, 2016 Mexican authorities began the exhumation of at least 116 bodies at a mass grave site in the town of Tetelcingo in Morelos, Mexico. The bodies were buried on March 28, 2014 according to prosecutors. Federal records only had files on 88 of the bodies in the grave.

More than 30,000 people have been reported missing in Mexico due to drug wars, state and paramilitary violence. The United Nations estimates that number to be at least 20,00 people. Morelos has been one of the states most affected by violence, kidnappings, and mass murders. Mexican authorities anticipate the exhumation process to last for weeks.

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Imagining/RememberingBeyondtheW est

By Ariel Lawrence

The Racialized Other The emergence of colonialism in the West reshaped the very language with which we name ourselves and one another. Since "names take on a ontological status" (Spurr, 32) the very language of oppression sets the constraints of the Post- Colonial expression.

One distinction of Western colonialism is that it racialized slavery and oppression, therefore blindly setting into action structures which would demand the constant need to use race as a negation. Spurr claims that modern colonial discourse has perpetuated the idea that "a projection of anxiety onto the racial and cultural Other has always been apart of the human imagination" (Spurr, 77).

The idea that the human imagination, is somehow interchangeable with the colonial imagination contends the colonialism has always been and always will. While it can be argued that the psychological has always demanded there be a self and other, it is through colonial appropriation that we are made to believe that that other is constantly dependent on colonialist rhetoric of race.

Exploding the Binary: Revolution To truly confront the colonial structure we must be able to view it not as a fixed or a constant structure, but instead a primarily economic exploitation which over time, unable to sustain itself or its people, required a physical and cultural sacrifice on the part of the colonized as justification.

Poet, essayist and activist Audre Lourde writes about the futility of trying to dismantle colonial structures only on its terms.

"The master's tools," she writes, "will never dismantle the master's house...they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. This threatens [those] who still define the master's house as their only source of support" (Lourde, 112).

The invisible prison which traps the children of the Post- Colonial is the misconception that critical discourse on colonialism will somehow slay the beast.

Spurr quotes scholar Ashis Nandy to say "The West has not merely produced modern colonialism; it informs most interpretations of colonialism. It colours even this interpretation of interpretation" (Spurr, 185).

The abolition of slavery, political independence, the end of apartheid, the civil rights era, etc. have not independently nor collectively brought the colonized or the colonizer liberation.

Revolution, so often co- opted and consumed by the Western majority, never reaches its full potential. However, the absence of a fully maturated revolution does not mean that it does not exist, the imploration is to first REVOLT.

REVOLT from the idea that the colonizer and the colonized are not related; their destinies are entwined.

REVOLT from the fear that there is no identity other than colonizer or colonized; our self is not linear.

REVOLT from the fear of homelessness; your worth in not based on nationhood alone.

REVOLT from alienation; the work is not to liberate one, but to liberate us all.

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8

ALetter to"Robert"

By Bud Gankhuyag Robert: The shock and disbelief I was sent into as a result of your egregious error, mistaking me for another Asian man, when you and I have known each other for months at this point, caused me to go through the all- too- familiar sensation of anxiously contemplating how to respond to being a target of a racist incident.

I had initially thought it fit to ignore the occurrence, but upon seeing your e- mail, I have decided to commit the emotional labor of letting you know in full just what you did and my subsequent and justified ill feelings.

Robert, you and I met in November for a six- week anti- racist discussion program, for which you were the leader, and where I made sure to be vocal. We also just saw each other last month for another supposedly anti- racist event, where we were both panelists.

I know you, and you know me. I don?t mistake you for the other 10,000 white people in town, yet even after knowing each other for MONTHS you thought that I was the other guy, Mike.

Mike, whose name was projected on the screen and who was speaking to the crowd (where we were fortuitously located) for half- an- hour. I am still trying to fathom how you could have mixed us up, considering the information you needed to distinguish us was right in front of you.

If this had been the very first incident someone mistook me for another Asian person, I would most likely brush it off as an honest mistake. But to my dismay, this happens so consistently and homogeneously that it can only be explained by the maddening logic of anti- Asian Orientalism and racism.

When I first moved into college, a white male student asked if the other Asian person down the hall was my brother. During my sophomore year, my white male professor called me "James? for the entire semester, because the only other Asian student in the class had that name. And I corrected my white male professor every single time.

There were 10 people in that class. On multiple occasions, I have also been mistaken for Asian women.

I don?t look like any of these people, including Mike. All of us have unique skin tones, facial features, and eyes. This recurring experience, on top of the consistent stereotyping to which I am subjected, makes me think that white people would not think it a joke if I told them I was contemporaneously a doctor, lawyer, middle- management accountant, and crime- fighting martial artist.

I?ve figured out that upon meeting new people, I am immediately racialized as Asian, my face being thrown into a sorting hat where all other Asian faces dance with my own. Those who can?t distinguish between two Asian people do not rely on any actual evidence (our faces and names) but instead on what they (you) believe is a common thread among us.

Middle- class white liberals will get flustered when someone tries to put them in the same box as poor conservative whites, but I am purportedly just another Jackie or Bruce or Anna.

So there you were, eager to have approached me, and I was ready to have an engaging talk with whom I had thought to be an anti- racist activist. And then you asked me about my experience working for the local newspaper (Mike?s experience).

Come on, Robert. We were wearing different glasses. We were even wearing opposite colors.

In this complicated world in which every splice of our identities is weaponized, I find it begrudgingly understandable that people make wrong choices, because I do the same.

But what did you do once you realized your mistake? You did something even worse, walk away from me without uttering another word.

Where did you go? To talk to the real Mike? I was surprised you did not immediately apologize, since most white liberals are furiously invested in proving to people of color just how un- racist they are. Your apology via email was your convenient way to save face and not face mine.

Allow me to stress again the point that Mike was in front of the audience for thirty minutes, with his name projected onto the screen, and this still happened.

The more I think about how ironic that this absurd racist microaggression was committed by someone with a public reputation for being an anti- racist activist, who carries a PhD in multicultural education, the more it makes sense to me.

It makes sense that no matter how much training, knowledge, and experience a white person may receive in their anti- racist education, they still carry the privilege, the racism, and the lack of willingness to shed the very thing which you speak against.

Robert, why do people of color dislike our city? Why do rifts in our city between people of color and white people continue to persist? Aren?t we all progressive Bernie lovers? Why do people of color never want to be in a room full of white people? Why are people of color hesitant to trust any white "activist?? Why? Please inform me.

My words may have me branded as irrational, overly sensitive, or egotistical. I will probably even be labelled as the aggressor in this situation. These are all accusations from racist white people with which I am not unfamiliar. Rather, this attempt at articulation comes from my refusal to be passive in these situations and to make sure that full accountability is held, because I know white people won?t hold themselves accountable.

If I may be charged with the libel that my anger is the biggest inhibitor to "progress?, I will refuse to believe in any contrived notion of "progress? if even situations like this are not fully documented and understood.And I am not speaking to a minor inconvenience that may occasionally happen without reason.

I am pointing to the entire mechanism of marginalization and oppression that produces these incidents, the political economy that depends on them, the social and cultural capital that white people accumulate as a result of them, and the daily message that all people of color receive from white people about who we?re supposed to be, how we?re supposed to act, and to whose presence we must kowtow.

Please understand that I will be keeping all of this in mind the next time I see you, and no amount of cajoling greetings and conversations will allow me to forget. I know you won?t forget it either. It?s the only way towards progress.

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EidIsAcrossTheRiver

By Jie Wu The ferry continues journeying forward. I see two black spots in the middle of the river. The ferry is going straight into these objects. What are these? Floating objects or people swimming in the river? I turn my head and I try to watch this closely. I wonder if I should warn the ferryman about it. I look at the ferryman, he looks like he is seeing it but he acts as if nothing is there. I look around, everybody is acting normal. In the meanwhile, the ferry is getting closer and closer. I prepare myself for any crashing sound.

No crashing sounds, no screams, nothing. I look into the river below. Young tanned males started climbing up the sides of the ferry. They grab the hanging tires and climb up. Almost naked and wearing some swimming shorts, they climb on top of the ferryman?s cabin, splashing water all around and decide to jump?

I remember how Farida baji told me about one of her cousins who died while swimming in the Hooghly river. The Hooghly river is known to be quick and merciless at taking lives, specially the lives of young slum- dwellers who decide to swim in it.

The ferryman turns off the noisy diesel engine and turns sideways to park in the ferry dock.

There are many young males swimming in the river. One male swimming in between the ferry and the dock lets out a loud scream, pretending to have been stuck in between. I looked to check, he disappeared into the water. Other passengers hurriedly walk out of the ferry. I notice that a few others walk out with a smile, admiring the young swimmers and the fun they are having. I think to myself, I wished I could swim in the river like these boys without caring about death and disease.

The ferry has arrived in Ramkrishnapur Ghat, on the western bank of the Hooghly river. This ghat is also known as Chintamani De Ghat and it has recently been renovated by the Howrah Municipal Corporation. Groups of young males are swimming in the river, enjoying themselves.

Some older males are taking a bath in the river and others are washing their clothes. Further away, a woman is washing the dishes with the river water. Under the banyan tree, a group of males relax and are playing cards. I notice that there are several empty rickshaws parked on the side of the road.

Many rickshaw pullers living in the neighboring slums don?t have adequate access to water and sanitation, therefore they come to the river to fulfill their basic needs like bathing, washing clothes and sometimes toilet. I exit the ferry, cross a short pathway and I hand out my ferry

ticket to the ticket man who rips it apart. Pieces of ferry tickets fall like snow into the river below. I step out of the ghat, some rickshaw- pullers immediately come and ask me if I want a ride to G.T. Road.

Some are familiar faces because I used to ride the rickshaw a lot which costs me usually around 10- 20 rupees. I decide to walk towards G.T. Road, the road which leads to Talimi Haq School in Priya Manna Basti.

The famous G.T. Road or Grand Trunk Road is one of Asia?s oldest and longest roads connecting South Asia with Central Asia. It spans from its eastern end in Shibpur, Howrah to its western end in Peshawar, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, and was built by the ruler Sher Shah. The present name "Grand Trunk Road? has been attributed to the British colonizers who used this road to assert their dominion over South Asia.

Much earlier and even during Mauryan times (322 to 185 B.C.E), a big portion of this road was named as "Uttarapatha? which translates to "The Road to North? from Sanskrit. This was a historical trade path along the Ganges river, going towards former empires in Central Asia.

Xuan Zhang, the Buddhist pilgrim- traveler, is said to have travelled along this historical road while visiting kingdoms in South and Central Asia during his long journey from China to India.

I stroll past old industrial buildings, a Hindu burning ground and a Hindu basti to finally arrive at G.T. Road. I take a left turn and start walking towards Priya Manna Basti which is located opposite the Howrah Jute Mill. Priya Manna Basti used to be a large vacant plot of land located near the Hooghly river.

During the British colonial period, it was owned by two Englishmen named John and James Chew who later passed away in a horse carriage accident. Their heirs decided to sell it to Jitendranath Manna. With the rise of Howrah Mills, Ganges Jute Mill and Burn Standard & Company, migrant workers started arriving in Howrah and they paid rent to put up huts in areas like Priya Manna Basti.

I have arrived near the betel shop where they sell breath fresheners and chewing tobacco, I turn right into a small alley and I have officially arrived at Priya Manna Basti.

As I walk straight, there is a small tea shop where middle- aged Muslim men sit and sip milky tea. A little further on my left side, a young teenager is forcing food into a goat.

With his left arm, he held the goat and with

his right hand he pushed the food into the unwilling goat. He says "Hello? with a half- curious, half- mocking tone and we shared a handshake. With a small head- nod, I continue walking and turn left.

Teacher Amina?s brother sat in front of his snack shop conversing with his neighbors. I come towards him and greet him with "As- Salaam- Alaikum,? we share a handshake and I see his wife crouched in the kitchen. I also greet her with "As- Salaam- Alaikum.? She replies with a small head- nod as she continues cooking.

Their little daughter Angel is sleeping inside.

I continue walking towards Talimi Haq School which is located right opposite Amina brother?s shop. I climb a dark staircase without any light and I have finally reached my destination ? Talimi Haq School.

6.

As I walked into Talimi Haq School?s half- open door, Amina and Farida turned silent for a few seconds, as if startled. We exchanged our common Urdu greetings with "As- Salaam- Alaikum." I saw Amina wiping away her tears and with a contained smile, she asked me why I didn?t come to visit the school for almost a week. I replied, "Sorry baji (elder sister), I was very busy writing some essays.? I looked at Amina and noticed that her face was a little swollen and she looked sick. "Are you feeling ok baji?? I asked. "No bhai (brother), I?m not feeling well.?

My mind started wondering whether I had come to visit Talimi Haq School at an improper time. There were no students around; it was very silent and depressing.

After a moment of silence, Amina resumed her conversation with Farida. As I saw both of them continuing their conversation, my mind slowly relaxed. At least Amina baji was not faking that everything is well, that she was not suffering. "This is a sign of trust,? I thought to myself.

Ms. Amina Khatoon, whom students and teachers call "Amina baji?, is a first generation descendant of a migrant worker who moved to Howrah. Her father, a Bengali Muslim from a village in Murshidabad, had decided to shift to Howrah in order to have more income to sustain the whole family which included his parents, wife and three children. After her father took a job as a home guard in Howrah, the rest of the family joined him to make a living in Priya Manna Basti.

10

Her mother would run a small stall shop in the front section of their house and her brothers would do small jobs such as helping fruit sellers. Since both of her brothers worked, Amina, being the youngest child, had the opportunity to receive a complete education (from primary school to college), in addition to her duties of helping her mother with the shop and performing house chores such as fetching water and washing clothes.

Amina persevered with her studies and graduated with a college degree. She was the first women in her basti lane (Priya Manna Basti is divided into four lanes) to do so, hence as a Talimi Haq School teacher, she is also a role model for the young students and teachers.

During my time working with Talimi Haq School, Amina baji played a key role in enlightening me about "ordinary" life in a Muslim basti in Howrah. From her previous work as a journalist, she shared with me stories that dropped my jaw, stories that awoken me from my rosy dream- like world and stories that stabbed and punched holes into my falsely- constructed sense of "reality."

These were stories of suffering and death, on the borderline between sanity and insanity. For instance, one day Amina told me that one of the school students, a young boy who used to play with me during school, died while trying to jump from one roof to another. My heart was broken? For days, my mind was stuck on how such a young child with his whole life ahead of him, lost his life just like that, just like a flash of lightning. Throughout my work in Howrah, more and more flashes kept striking my cloudy construction of life in the basti. I had realized that Death was everywhere. Amina had shared with me about her parents who passed away, not from old age but diseases like stroke and gastro- intestinal ailments.

She told me about another volunteer teacher?s father who died because of contaminated water supplies, which took the lives of many people in the basti and sent many to the hospital with severe vomiting and diarrhea.

And the reason behind that water contamination was found to be the dead body of a security guard, who drowned while taking a bath in the public water reservoir. What an insane story, I couldn?t believe it at first but such is the unpredictability of life in a basti.

Death can happen anywhere, especially for the women and children.

In the little alleys of Priya Manna Basti, mob- like armies of deadly killers roam the basti hunting for the poor and malnourished, those with weak immune systems: cholera,

gastroenteritis, diarrhea, malaria, hepatitis and tuberculosis.

One day when I was volunteering with Talimi Haq School, I was told that one of my students was diagnosed with tuberculosis. When I heard the news, I was very shocked and surprised. In my na誰ve conscience, I used to think tuberculosis was a disease that only hit "others," a rare happening for those poor unfortunate ones, but this disease had now struck one of my dear students. The good thing was that the disease was in its early stages and the doctors prescribed her a six- month treatment plan.

This leads me to reflect on privilege. If I would have gotten sick, I would have had the privilege to visit Kolkata?s best doctors because as a ?foreigner?I could afford so. But this young student, she could not do so, her mother had to ask for money from her relatives to help pay for the doctor?s visit and her medicines. Such is one of the separations between me and the teachers and students at this centre.

Privilege. And it was the unawareness of my privileges that contributed to my inability to fully connect to the students and teachers at Talimi Haq School. I was so privileged that I could choose to go to a Muslim basti and volunteer as an English teacher and work as a foreign researcher.

"Why are you going to Howrah?s bastis? Isn?t it very dangerous?? Some paternalistic Kolkata acquaintances would sometimes ask me. Yes, there is the chance of death. Death by car accident, bus accident, ferry accident, contaminated water, food, robbery, kidnapping and all the diseases listed above which I could potentially contract. My other option would be to sit by a luxurious pool and try to convince myself that death, old- age and disease do not exist in this world. For many people, the second choice sure seems like the more rational and comfortable choice. They follow the "new" upper- middle class trend and take an apartment in one of those gated communities with lots of gates, guards and walls. These "prison" like communities have security guards at the main gate, at the entrance of each apartment building and a large solid surrounding wall to protect themselves from the things they fear most.

It can be said that Howrah?s bastis contain many of the things that the middle and upper classes fear most. Like the dark blotches of ink in a Rorschach psychology test, the two words "Howrah? plus "Basti? instantly activates the darkest corners of their newspaper- reading memory, mind and imagination to give form to what supposedly dwells and happens in bastis

in Howrah: goondas (local term for hired thugs), gangs, thieves, rapists and beef- eaters, anything goes to give meaning to that dark blotch of ink hovering in people?s minds. Very few people arrive at the fact that most people who live there are hard- working mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters doing jobs that Kolkata babus simply won?t do: maidservants, rickshaw- pullers, fruit- sellers, jute mill workers, drivers and others jobs considered of low caliber in the Indian society.

"Pagal? (meaning fool or insane in Hindi) ?

Amina baji used to call me fondly. Actually, during my time in India many people really thought that I was crazy or simply a fool.

"Why would a sane person from America come to volunteer in one of Howrah?s Muslim bastis?? This kid (who always seems to be smiling) must have a hidden agenda, or he is actually a fool. People wondered, "Is this kid associating with Muslim terrorists?

What does Talimi Haq even mean?? As a reply to that, "Talimi Haq? simply means "Right to Education? in Urdu which is a right that has been denied to the below- poverty line slum- dwellers in India.

There were other patriotic Indians acting like detective Byomkesh Bakshi (famous fictional character in literature and Bollywood) who somehow discerned from my Chinese looks that I was a Chinese spy coming to India to gather information about the Hooghly river because the Chinese plan to attack India. Now that I think back, it?s actually kind of funny; so many people have wondered so many things about my reasons for journeying to India but only few got it right.

When Ramaswamy heard about my new nickname of ?pagal? in India, he kindly shared with me the story, ?Eid- gah?, by the Indian writer Munshi Premchand. The story is set during the Eid festival and the main character is a poor orphan boy. Since it was Eid, his grandmother worked extra hard to give his nephew some money to spend during the annual Eid fair. After the boy returned from the Eid fair, hearing that he didn?t spend the money to enjoy himself, the grandmother scolded him and called him "a fool.? Instead of spending the money for himself, the boy had used all the money to buy a pair of tongs for roti (baked flat bread) for his grandmother so she wouldn?t burn her hands. On hearing this, the grandmother burst out in tears. "Who is actually the fool?,? concluded Ramaswamy, after telling me this story.

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DeclonizingCulture Bookof themonth:

Artist of themonth:

Colonialism/Postcolonialism

K ar a Walker

Colonialism/Postcolonialism is a comprehensive yet accessible guide to the historical and theoretical dimensions of colonial and postcolonial studies.

Recommended on courses across the academic disciplines and around the world, Colonialism/Postcolonialism has for some years been accepted as the essential introduction to a vibrant and politically charged area of literary and cultural study.

K ar a Walker is a contemporary American artist known for her exploration of race, racial stereotypes, gender, and identity throughout American history. She is best known for her large-scale tableaux of collaged silhouettes amid black-and-white pastoral landscapes, filled with often brutal and harrowing imagery illustrating the country?s origins of slavery in the antebellum South.

Filmof themonth: Free Angela and All Political Pr isoner s This 2012 documentary tells the story of legendary activist scholar Angela Davis as she is persecuted by the University of California for her political activity and ultimately placed on the FBI Most Wanted List.

W ordof themonth: Respectability Politics This month's word is respectability politics Respectability politics (noun): A set of values and core beliefs held by some people of color that favor assimilation into white society. Respectability politics assumes that the barriers of systemic racism can be overcome through hard work, wealth, and influence.

It is almost always used to police other people of color and maintain social and class hierarchies. In cooperation with white supremacist power, respectability politics is also use to discourage radical thought and quell resistance movements.

Respectability politics in a sentence: Many so-called social justice activist have appealed to respectability politics in order to exercise control over the people.

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HowTo's HowtoO rganizeAG eneral Strike A general strike is a massive workers shut-down that is designed to bring productivity to a complete standstill. General strikes can be city, county, state, or nation wide and always involve the collaboration of a large-scale labor force.

The reasons for organizing a general strike can vary. In a traditional strike workers will stop going to work for a particular period of time until worker demands are met or other goals are achieved. But general strikes have also been organized in collaboration with armed resistances movements in order to weaken colonial governments. As a weapon against colonial power, general strikes can be very useful and if organized correctly can bring an oppressive regime to it's knees.

However, the general strike also has the potential to be very dangerous for workers and their families if alternative resources are because of allegations of budget fraud not provided during the shut-down.

Step 1: Identify the Goals of the General Strike Start by listing possible goals for the outcome of the strike. Why strike? What will come out of striking? What will be the scope of the strike (city, state, nation-wide)? List demands if any. If there are any strategic dates or time frames in which the strike should take place also list them.

Step 2: Form an Organizing Group for the General Strike

Step 4: Build Out Popular Support Through a Campaign of Escalation Organize a series of rallies and street protests that energize the people in preparation for the strike. Make political posters advertising the strike. Utilize mass actions to broadcast the strike to workers.

Step 5: Mobilize Alternative Resources

Form a group of organizers from various labor sectors that will help with the general strike. Make sure that they can be trusted. Keep an eye out for infiltrators and informants. Lock down possible dates for the strike.

A massive worker shut-down means people will need other means to sustain themselves. A effort must be made to collect food, water, and other resources. Gather the appropriate amount of resources for how long the strike will take place. If the strike will go on indefinitely, have an action plan for retrieving resources. This might mean looting or other means.

Step 3: Contact Labor Unions

Step 6: The General Strike

Garnering large-scale worker participation in the strike is one of the most important things that will make the general strike successful.

Local labor unions can make good collaborators and can offer useful resources. Although many may shy away from the politics of a general strike, others still might be willing to offer support. Labor unions are excellent avenues to reach workers.

When the strike begins it might be useful to continue with street protests to sustain popular support. If negotiations occur your bargaining power will be dependent how long the strike can be sustained. A stockpile of resources will ensure the strike can be sustained for as long as possible. If the general strike is in conjunction with an armed movement, coordinate and time the strike accordingly.

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BRIEFHISTO RIES:TheAmericanIndianMovement (AIM)

By Dubian Ade The legacy of conquest, land seizures, rape, genocide, biological warfare, Christianization, forced removals, treaty violations, and environmental and economic exploitation that is the United States settler colonial project has been formally overseen and facilitated by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) since its founding in 1824. A survey conducted by the U.S Senate in 1943 exposed the extreme poverty on the reservations and blamed the Bureau for the situation due to federal mismanagement.

The U.S government responded by developing a policy of accelerated assimilation of Native peoples into U.S society so that the Bureau would no longer be needed. That policy would be known as the Indian Termination Policy.

The real purpose of the policy was to eliminate government spending on Indian affairs and make people of the sovereign tribes into tax- paying citizens. The logic was that Native tribes were ready to be apart of mainstream U.S society and therefore no longer needed protection from the federal government. In 1953 Congress officially adopted the policy and passed the House concurrent resolution 108 (HCR- 108).

Native relocation into metropolitan areas by paying moving expenses and offering vocational training. At least 700,000 Native peoples were moved into cities during the termination process.

In 1968, president Lyndon B. Jonson proposed ending the termination policy. Yet, termination did not formally end until 1988 with the rejection of HCR- 108. There are still tribes who had lost their tribal status during the termination and to this day are not recognized by the U.S government.

Clyde Bellecourt, Dennis Banks, Eddie Benton Banai and George Mitchell founded the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In the midst of a decade of revolutionary fervor, AIM emerged as a militant organization concerned with all aspects of Indian Country. From treaty rights, tribal sovereignty and police brutality to protection of indigenous lands, preservation of culture, and Indigenous spirituality, AIM was formed to address the immediate needs of First Peoples in the United States.

The urban poverty that resulted from the government's mass relocation project had produced the so called "Red Ghettos." In Minneapolis, rampant police brutality in these areas prompted AIM to form the Minneapolis AIM Patrol in 1968. The patrol functioned much like the Community Police Watch of the Black Panther Party.

The resolution proceeded to formally abolish federal supervision and recognition of Native tribes. From 1953 to 1964 at least 109 tribes were "terminated" and the protected lands were handed over to state governments. At least 12,000 Native people lost their tribal affiliation. Much of the land acquired by state governments were sold and used for mining operations.

On November 20, 1969 AIM in cooperation with other Indigenous groups seized Alcatraz Island beginning an historic 19- month occupation from 1969 to 1971.

The federal government had closed Alcatraz Prison in 1963 and the island became surplus federal property.

AIM and the occupying group Indians of All Nations (IOAN) reclaimed the island under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie which established that all retired, abandoned, or out- of- use federal property was to return to Native peoples.

The termination process was carried out through a series of laws that would undermine tribal sovereignty. State governments were given criminal jurisdiction over tribal lands at the expense of the tribal courts. Public Law 280 granted immediate criminal and civil jurisdiction over Native reservations to selected states and allow any state to assume jurisdiction over any Indigenous land by statue or amendment to its state constitution.

The occupation of Alcatraz was as much about the land claim as it was about bringing awareness to Native issues. More specifically, the occupation of Alcatraz was in direct response to the continued Indian Termination policies conducted by the United States government. The U.S Coast Guard attempted to blockade food and resources during the occupation. By May of 1970 the government had cut off all electrical power to the island. On June 11, 1971 U.S troops forcefully removed the 15 remaining occupiers from Alcatraz.

Federal aid was pulled from the tribal nations as tribal status was terminated. Government support of tribal education and health programs was also terminated. As conditions on the reservations increasingly worsened, the U.S government passed the Indian Relocation Act of 1956. The Act supported

AIM had continued its activity. In 1970 it staged a takeover of an abandoned naval air station in Minnesota. In 1971 AIM along with with leadership of Russell Means organized an attempted citizens arrest of the Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 24 AIM members were arrested for "trespassing."

Then in 1972 AIM organized an historic march on Washington called the Trail of Broken Treaties. Caravans of Native activist from San Francisco, Los Angles, and Seattle converged in Washington, D.C. on November 1st during the final week of the 1972 presidential elections. The goal of the march was to bring Native issues to the forefront of the presidential election, in particular the U.S government's violation of Native treaties.

AIM's central demand was for the renewal of the U.S treaty- making process.

A 20 point proposal was presented to president Nixon outlining demand for a revitalized treaty- making process, a repeal of Public Law 280, a restoration of rights to Natives who were terminated, and the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The march ended with an occupation of BIA federal headquarters.

On February 27, 1973 AIM along with 250 Sioux Indians gathered on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to stage an armed occupation of Wounded Knee. Oglala Sioux elders called on AIM to intervene in a conflict between the Sioux and the corrupt BIA tribal government. In anticipation of the occupation, Chairman Dick Wilson arranged for FBI and the U.S. Marshals to surround the occupiers a mile outside the AIM defense line.

Federal troops prevented any supporters from offering food or water to the occupiers. At least 11 shoot- outs occurred between AIM members and federal troops. Two Sioux men were killed. The occupiers surrendered on May 8, 1973. Federal agents arrested 1,200 people.

The stand- off became one of the most important landmarks of Native resistance in U.S. history. 275 federal court cases were held as a result of the occupation.

For years the FBI had been targeting key AIM leaders under COINTELPRO, the FBI's covert counter- intelligence program formed to infiltrate and eliminate political organizations.

FBI agents manipulated key witnesses during the Wounded Knee court cases and imprisoned many AIM leaders. In 1975 it was exposed that Douglas Durham, a prominent member of AIM who worked at the highest levels of leadership, was an FBI infiltrator.

Anna Mae Aquash, a high- ranking woman and leader in AIM was murdered in 1975 near Pine Ridge Reservation by the FBI. Her hands were severed by FBI agents and her death was later blamed on AIM members. These pressures forced the national leadership of AIM to disband in 1978.

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Straight,NoChaser Truth or Conseq uences

By Patrice Lockert Anthony There are so many reasons to not write this column.

Among them are, "Will people still like me?? "Am I being too radical?? "What if people don?t understand what I?m saying?? There are many others. Folks who speak their truths have fallen to those who worship false idols since humans discovered language. The false idols of what it means to belong: politics, race, class, and popularity, are high on that list.

These are topics treated as gods of war. They are false gods What of truth? What of the consequences for speaking it? And what of the consequences for not writing (or speaking) it? How long can we, as Americans, continue to shred truth and behave as the proverbial ostrich [praying that the various elephants in the room won?t stampede]? We live lives of desperation, seeking manna, and settling for debt, dreams deferred, political lies, and a superiority that goes no deeper than the color of someone?s skin.

Privilege has become a by- word, as common and as ill- used/ defined as diversity. It?s a confusing word for folks looking for a sandbar or other physical escape. I have privilege. Though African American and female (and frequently judged because of it), I have a career, an Air Force dad (which made me a military brat with traveling privileges), and I am highly educated. And by highly educated I mean well- read.

So I?ve traveled a bit, read a lot of books, and had a fair bit of schooling. This is one way of understanding privilege.

Here?s another way of understanding it, but you?re going to have to pay attention. I arrive at my office. It?s late, but that?s when I get my best writing done. As I enter, two gentlemen (white) are descending the stairs.

We don?t know each other, but we exchange words, a few laughs, and as they reach the bottom, I start to climb. I get half way up when another gentlemen (also white) arrives at the top of the steps. He says, "Hi? then asks if I?m waiting for someone. I answer "No, I have a key to my office.? It isn?t a strange response I?ve given.

It?s a calibrated response.

My response is calibrated to the subtext in his question. He was questioning my right to be there in the building.

After I?d made it clear (key to my office) that I had a right to be there, I continued to climb the stairs. From behind me, the man delivered another question, ?So I can?t help you?? I answered, "No.? He followed with, "Can you lock this door (the entrance)??

By this time I was tired of subtext. I turned back to him and asked a question of my own.

"Do you not have a key to lock the door?? He nodded yes. I responded with, "Then please do.?

In faith~

What we understand to be societal norms is what gave the situation it?s irony, and ultimately, it?s humor. I had on nice jeans, a mock turtleneck, and Merrill mocs (even on sale they cost upwards of 90 dollars), and my briefcase. This guy had long unkempt hair, a tie- dyed t shirt, a multi- layered skirt/ skort, and was barefoot. Nothing but privilege, based on race, had him (persistently) asking those questions of me.

Based on how we each looked (what we were each wearing), who should have been questioning whom? That?s a trick question for some. The correct answer is neither, of course. I looked "wrong? to him for no other reason than my skin color. His privilege allowed him to completely ignore societal norms as to what "fit? and what didn?t, and so he never got past the question of, "Did I belong?

This isn?t about judgment for what he was wearing. It?s about his failure to see past my skin. I was hoping that in my responses, which refused to give credence to his race- based privilege, he would experience enough frustration to question his assumptions.

That?s what I want more people to do (particularly those with privilege). Until more people do, I guess I?ll keep writing, telling my truth, and dealing with the consequences.

Peace.

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W hoW ill SurviveAmerica?

ReeceyW alker Reecey walker was a 32-year-old trans Black woman who was stabbed to death in her own home on May 1, 2016 in Wichita, Kansas. Police officers found Walker with numerous stab wounds after responding to a call about a disturbance. A 16-year-old boy has since been arrested in connection with the murder.

Wichita police refuse to investigate the murder as a hate crime, despite many reports that Walker was being harassed.

MercedesSuccessful Mercedes Successful was a 32-year-old trans Black woman who was shot and killed in a parking lot on May 15, 2016 in Haines City, Florida. Successful was a locally renowned performer who was well-known and active in the drag and pageant circuits and participated in the 2014 Gay Caribbean U.S.A pageant.

Police and news media have continued to misgender her. She is at least the 12th reported trans person murdered this year.

SymoneMarshall Symone Marshall was a 22-year-old cist Black woman who died in police custody on May 10, 2016 in Walker County Texas. Marshall and another passenger got into a car accident in late April. Police checked the two passengers for injuries and then arrested them for drug possession and felony charges. Marshall's friend was able to post bail and was released the following day. Marshall was unable to pay her bail which was set at 5,000 and was forced to spend two more weeks in Jail. Marshall complained of headaches and discomfort to Walker County jailers and was largely ignored. On May 10th she suffered a seizure and was taken to the hospital where she died of her injuries.

JessicaW illiams Jessica Williams was a 29-year-old cist Black woman who was shot and killed by police in San Francisco, California on May 19, 2016. Bayview police attempted to arrest Williams for what they believed was a stolen vehicle after spotting her on Interstate 280. Williams drove away but got only 100 feet before crashing into a parked utility truck. As she attempted to un-wedge the car a police sergeant opened fire.

Rest InPower 19

TRACKTHE MO VEMENT May,2016 # ReformaEducativa

# SayHerName

In Mexico tens of thousands of teachers participated in a nation-wide teachers strike beginning May 16, 2016.

Thousands of schools in the states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Chiapas, and Oaxaca were shut down. According to the teachers union , in Chiaps alone at least 90 to 95 percent of Chiapas' 75,000 education worker went on strike. Organized in part by the National Coordinator of Education Workers union (CNTE) the action was in opposition to the oppressive 2013 federal education reforms. Teachers blocked key roadways in Oaxaca City and set up an encampment in Oaxaca's central square where at least 800 teachers settled.

Black Lives Matter, BYP100, Ferguson Action and Project South declared May 19, 2016 national # SayHerName day of action. The day of action was apart of a series of campaigns meant to uplift women and femmes who were killed by violence. Black Lives Matter encouraged protesters to head for social media using the hashtags # SayHerName and # InHerHonor to honor women and femmes who were killed or to highlight women/ femmes in everyday life. Activist nation-wide took part in the day and shared stories of Black women and femmes in order to subvert state-sanctioned violence.

# MayDay

# EstuproNuncaMais

Major demenstrations were organized across the globe in commemoration of National Workers Day this May 1st.

Massive actions occurred in Los Angeles, Paris, Moscow, Seattle and London. In Seattle anti-captitalist protest escalated as police deployed flash bangs and tear gas into the crowd. Anti-Trump rallies were held in Los Angeles in opposition to anti-immigration laws.

Hundreds of protestors took to the streets of Brazil on March 27th to demand an end to sexual violence after the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl by 30 men was captured on video. Interim President Michel Temer was compelled to respond under the pressure of Brazilian activists by condeming the rape and calling for a full investigation. The 16-year-old girl was drugged by her boyfriend and taken a house where she was encountered by the the thirty men. The Rio police department is hunting down the thirty suspects.

Rape is an epidemic in Brazil, where at least 47,636 rapes were reported in 2014 alone. Dilma Rousseff, the country's first woman president who was impeached earlier in May had expressed outrage over the rape video.

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Special thankstoour contributing writers Ariel Lawrence Patrice Lockert-Anthony Jie Wu Bud Gankhuyag Dubian Ade

THE DECOLONIZER gives a special thanks to @DecolonizingMedia for their continued coverage on issues regarding # indigenousliberation and for their righteous use of images. Their work continues to influence THE DECOLONIZER. Check out their work at http:/ / decolonizingmedia.tumblr.com/

Call For Submissions Do you have something to say with regards to race, class, gender, sexuality, and its intersections with colonialism today? Do you have something to say with regards to these intersections in the Ithaca community? Then we want YOU to write for THE DECOLONIZER! Please send all submissions to thedecolonizernewsletter@gmail.com. As always, poetry is welcomed.

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