The Decolonizer, September 2016 by THE DECOLONIZER

THEDECO LO NIZER September 2016

This Summer

Dear 'Ye

Breaking The Silence On Women In Prison Decolonizing Voices

TABLEO FCO NTENTS 1

What is THE DECOLONIZER?

The Decolonizer Says

The News Feed

this summer

Dear 'Ye: The Manifestation of Black Masculinity and the Commodification of Black Cool in Kanye West

How To's

Decolonizing Culture

Brief Histories

Finding Ourselves In The Ideological Battlefield Of Higher Ed Indoctrination

Breaking The Silence On Women In Prison

Theft By Any Other Name

Decolonizing Voices

Cayuga Wetland Project

Never Forget To Motivate Yourself

Who Will Survive America

Track The Movement

W hat IsTHEDECO LO NIZER? THE DECOLONIZER

is on the move.

the sound of feet during a march

or a riot

the smell of freshly smashed windows

winding down

those in the government buildings can

hear our footsteps

though they do not know where we are

when we will come

that we were the humble custodians, the agreeable janitors

you hand your garbage to in the morning.

See, a fish cannot escape water.

At night when the time comes

you will not be able

to blink fast enough.

ADedicationToAll ThoseW hiteAnti-Racist W ho ReadTheDecolonizer ButHaven't G ivenShit By The Decolonizer

You all knew this was coming. Its been an exciting time here at THE DECOLONIZER headquarters. New readers, new contributors, a new website, and finally, a chance to give monetarily to THE DECOLONIZER. We knew you white anti-racist in particular were so eager to give us your monies, that we even sent you an email beforehand: "Be on the look-out for opportunities to donate to The Decolonizer coming soon. We will especially be looking to white folks who have benefited from the intellectual labor of our contributors to give." And then when our lovely gofundme page went up we sent another email: "White people who are part of our readership and have benefited from the content in THE DECOLONIZER are especially asked to give. Your contribution will ensure the continuation of THE DECOLONIZER and support those who help make it possible." And we waited for the flood of support from you all, "white anti-racist" who love social justice. And some of you kindly did give. Thank you. But as for the rest of you...

Your bum asses st il l haven't given shit . There are a great many of you who are apart of our readership. And for a year you have enjoyed uncensored content from THE DECOLONIZER. You have witness the writers of this publication

share their stories. And yet, when it is time to give back to those who help make THE DECOLONIZER possible, your bum ass is no where to be found. This is nothing new. White people have preyed on our stories for centuries, even as we tell the stories of what you have done to us. You have even retold our stories for us, committing the most violent forms of omission, and have made a profit off of its reception. You know, its like Melania Trump always says: "Life for me aint been no crystal stair." Malania Trump's shitty Michelle Obama impersonation is only one example of the white consumption of POC voices. Here is another example that might hit closer to home: white anti-racist using Black and Brown stories during presentations, workshops, etc. to legitimize their work, receive accolades, make a profit, and establish themselves as "white anti-racist." All the while not giving shit back to the people of color who produced the knowledge and spoke the experience that made that possible. Here is another example: when you ask people of color to explain racism to you, share how they experience race, offer their opinion, you are asking for intellectual, emotional, and psychological labor. Because it is work to explain that shit to you, relive those traumas, and think through ways of articulating it so that you may understand. You know how we live in a capitalist system right? You know how labor in a capitalist system is usually compensated? You probably also know that the labor of people of color is routinely undervalued, and, where ever possible given little to no

compensation. This is why we are so insistent on paying our contributing writers. We didn't make the rules of capitalism, you did. And we will survive through its demise by any means necessary. But you expect this labor to be done for you and you expect it to be done for free. When you expect free access to our voices you are participating in the same white supremacist capitalist system that devalues the labor of people of color for your intellectual and personal benefit. Our voices have radically changed the way you have viewed the world and how you have come to know yourselves. They have contributed greatly to your personal development, and your ability to relate to the Other. In short our stories have help you become more of a human. May we flatter ourselves and also say that THE DECOLONIZER has done this for you? By now you all should know that this publication isn't even for you; it is for the oppressed and disenfranchised third world peoples who seek information and validation. For you to even be apart of our readership should be considered a privilege and an honor. THE DECOLONIZER will always be free. It is precisely for this reason that when we ask we expect you, white people, to contribute. Even if it is a dollar. Do so not out of the kindness of your heart but because it is a political obligation. You have benefited from the content in this publication for a year at no cost to you. THE DECOLONIZER doesn't really ask. It demands. You bloodsuckers will not give nothing and continue to receive this content. We promise. Click here to give to THE DECOLONIZER gofund.me/ 2c5vx8dc

TheNewsfeed NoDakotaAccessPipeline Thousands of Native activists have continue to converge in opposition to the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline which would cut across the Missouri River and territory of the Standing Rock Sioux nation. The Missouri River is a vital source water for the Standing Rock Sioux and the people who live in the surrounding areas. In August North Dakota homeland security director Greg Wilz ordered the removal of State owned water tanks and fresh water supplies from the encampment sites because of so called "disorderly conduct." In an effort to cut off support and resources to the Native encampments the state has also initiated road blockades and military check-points. The private security firm G4S, the same firm responsible for militarized technologies and private soldiers in Palestine, was also present to confront protesters at Standing Rock. Indigenous land defenders were viciously attacked by trained K-9 units. Early this September the National Guard was activated against protesters and many were placed on lockdown. A media blackout on the struggle at Standing Rock continues to be waged by NBC, ABC News, and CBS.

Latest Slewof PolicekillingsMakeit hardtobeblackInAmerica The mountain of high-profile police murders just have not ceased this year: Korryn Gaines and Sylville Smith in August, and now Tyre King, Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott in September and all within a few days of each other. As information about these cases surface it becomes increasingly hard to follow them before another state sanctioned killing occurs. Many more still go unreported. The bombardment of media, images, and video of state sanctioned murder is overwhelming and traumatizing. The high-profile police cases of Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, and Eric Gardner make it clear that video footage when available, almost never guarantees sentencing, much less an indictment. Once used as tangible evidence against a police officer in a case, the function of video footage now seems not so far away from the vintage postcards that would feature images of lynchings. Riot shaming has been prevalent in both white America and the Black community as Charlotte, North Carolina rises in revolt. The outrage over Colin Kaepernick's silent protest of the U.S. pledge of allegiance makes it glaringly obvious that no form of resistance to white supremacy is appropriate, respectable, or welcomed.

KorynG aines:NoJustice On September 21, 2016 State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger announced that no criminal charges will be filed in the state assassination of Koryn Gaines. This is even after the latest evidence from a witness surfaced that the officer fired onto Gaines out of frustration and not in self defense. Eye witness Ramon Coleman, who was in the neighboring apartment to Gaines, over heard Officer Ruby say "I'm sick of this shit, put the gun down!" after six hours of the stand-off. Then proceeded to shoot Gaines and Kodi her 5-year-old son. No criminal charges are being pursued for the shooting of Kodi as officers claim it was a mistake, even though Officer Ruby is supposedly a 16-year veteran on the force. The police shut-down of Gaines Facebook page is also no being pursued for criminal charges even as the Gaines family argued that the shut-down was a violation of her Constitutional rights. The Gaines family is not surprised by the ruling.

FARCG uerrillasStrikePeaceDeal W ithColombianG overnment The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC concluded peace negotiations with the Colombian government on August 19, 2016 after an armed conflict in Colombia that lasted over five decades. After four years of negotiations in Havana, Cuba, the rebels unanimously ratified a peace accord in late August that would put an end to the armed struggle. More than 250,000 lives were lost in the struggle. Among the conditions of the peace deal includes a bilateral cease-fire, the creation of a peace tribunal, the restitution of land to Colombians formally displaced, the transition of FARC into a political party, and mutual efforts on both sides to stop drug trafficking. FARC agreed to hand all weapons in its possession to the United Nations. Colombians are due to vote on the accords October 2nd. If the peace accords pass FARC will demoblise and receive 10 unelected seats in Congress until 2026.

PRO MESAAnnouncement Revealstheextent of U.S.ColonizationinPuertoRico President Obama announced a plan in late August that appointed seven U.S. officials to be in control of the Puerto Rican economy. The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Stability Act or PROMESA was passed on August 31st to supposedly help Puerto Rico solve its debt crisis. The oversight board is charged not only with approving budgets that are proposed by Puerto Rican politicians, but also negotiate with creditors. Outraged Puerto Ricans took to the streets on August 31st to shut down the first press conference in San Juan, demanding the removal of the unelected appointees. On September 6th Puerto Rican protesters shut down Walmart, arguing that the company is involved in the economic crisis. After the Puerto Rican government attempted to raise tax rates on corporations but was struck down by a U.S. Appeals court , the people took action. Outcries for decolonization have been increasing, especially since the discovery that the island was forced to pay 1.6 billion in underwriting fees to U.S. companies like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

SandraBlandFamilytoReceive1.9MillionDollar Settlement After the failure to indict state trooper Brian Encinia or any of the jailers involved in Sandra Bland's death, a wrongful death lawsuit resulted in a 1.9 million dollar settlement for the Bland family. The suit also ruled that several changes be made to the jail procedures in Waller County and that Texas state troopers receive de-escalation training. However, none of these changes have been confirmed by Waller County administrators and still requires approval from the Waller County Commissions Court.

thissummer By blache marie this bloodiest summer i am exhausted. i find myself in a cycle of grief and anger. our dead appear again and again, haunting us on screens and streets and our bodies. maybe they haunt us to remind us, we are not safe. we are not safe and they?re still killing us. we lose breath and hope and continue laboring, using our bodies for money, for surviving, for others. there isn?t time to pause, even as every breath wants to escape as screams. and sometimes we scream until our voices vanish. we empty ourselves over and over as were killed again and again. can we wish to be held by the warmth of summer when there are so many of us dead? as the lists of names continue to grow and a hole that is loss deepens and the burning that is rage consumes. can we be connected to loss to become whole, to become more than we are? i keep asking myself. why am i beneath sheets and not in the streets? where?s my rage? where?s my battle cry? why do i end up drowning in grief to be swept away into my mind and darkness? as i learned of the murder of korryn gaines, i immediately needed to be outside, to feel small, to feel night air, to remember ?the universe is black enough to love us right.?? my heart burned and bled and melted and broke. my body begged for release. my stomach turned. the more i work on myself, the more deeply i grieve, the more i know what is possible. my grief shrieks and howls because i have survived and will survive worse. as i grieve my nails become claws and biting words leave my mouth. this same mouth that slits throats and cuts at egos, gently sucks and whispers and can hold sorrow in kisses. the same hands with claws can coax pain from muscles. with my grief, i transform. small is not what i am. crazy is too small to hold me, to name me. my pull extends past my body, pulling at other bodies to bring us in closer, to hold each other. ?our diasporic connections are really all we got.??? in sw atlanta i find myself across the street from a grocery store on a corner, an abandoned corner that ants and plants have reclaimed. on this corner we reclaimed too. together queer black femmes and black women decided we would build altars to grieve our dead. all over this country. we would build to grieve. on this corner in atlanta, i was held and cleansed in a smoke bath surrounded by singing and drumming. i was taken through a yoruba eight bowl ceremony. i?m crying now as i remember the bright cloth and baskets of fruit and so many candles and so many names and so many black women and femmes comforting each other. on that corner i was asked by the mother of alexia christian, who was shot 10 times by atlanta pigs in the back seat of a squad car in 2015, to fill a canvas for her daughter. sadness and weight poured from my body and my breath grew heavy as i filled that canvas with alexia?s face and vibrant red hair. on that corner i gave to keep going. i will keep keeping. black femmes, queer black femmes after me need me as i need them. we must continue. we need to grieve. and for those who are angered or get silent at the sight of others?tears, it is wasted energy to pretend you don?t need to grieve too. we have scars. you have scars. we have scars on our skin. you have scars on your skin. in our hearts. in your heart. in our minds. in your mind. in our bodies. in your body. we have wounds. we continue to be wounded. you are part of this we. and we need to grieve. grieve so we can keep breathing. grieve however you know how ? but make space for your grief. grieve because we tryna breathe. we tryna live. we can use grief as a tool to teach us about ourselves, what we?re capable of. with tools we can forge weapons. what is the potency of weapons made from tears, made from sweet whispers to comfort ourselves through grief? imagine the destructive and renewing force of weapons transformed from grief. -----------with love and darkness blache marie

? zoĂŤ flowers formerly of black witch chronicles, creator of soulrequirements.org ?? jillian carter ford assistant professor of social justice at kennesaw state university

Dear 'Ye:TheManifestationof BlackMasculinityandtheCom m odification of BlackCoolinKanyeW est By Arissa Hall Do you mind if I call you 'Ye? I like to think we know one another, as you were an instrumental figure in my adolescence and an interesting bright spot in my journey into Black consciousness. I?m writing this letter today as a sort of finalization of my past loyalty to afrocentric and conscious Black men who have no loyalty to Black women or no understanding of intersectionality. This is my start to a New Year of intersectional feminism and a politic that honors my social and critical positioning as a Black queer woman and feminist. I would like to address the ?old Kanye?circa 2007 and before, as most of your previous fans know that there was a significant change, or we would like to believe so, in our beloved rapper. I am writing you today 'Ye, as a Black girl from the future who wants to explore your misogynoir, erasure and willful ignorance.1 As a Black girl that should?ve known that your Black power was only reserved for Black men, but here I am, brave. Brave enough to recognize White supremacist capitalist patriarchy in Black men and call it out. Brave enough to read you back your own lyrics and make you look yourself in the mirror that you so desperately wanted to avoid. Dear 'Ye, You are and have been since you dropped the classic album the College Dropout, the epitome of Black male cool. Boys everywhere from Westminster to West Harlem were rocking polo shirts and Louis Vuitton backpacks, even if they weren?t able to truly afford it. You were our bougie materialistic Black boy from Chicago who was unapologetically Black and unapologetically himself giving the rest of the Black kids something to be proud of as we saw us in you. You once spit: "All my niggas that?s drug dealing just to get by/ stack your money till it gets sky high/ we wasn?t supposed to make it past twenty five/ but jokes on you we still alive/ throw your hands up in the sky/ cause we don?t care what people say"

Well, I made it past twenty- five proudly, and I?ve seen you go from not caring about what (White) people say, to being succumbed by the White gaze. Now that you care, we don?t know you anymore, but they do. You let your access to wealth and capitalism which was built on the backs of people that look like you, become your gift and your curse. Black patriarchy coupled with wealth and resources that allows you to disassociate from Blackness while profiting from it. I now understand that you weren?t exempt from commodification, capitalism and exploitation, but your pro- black materialistic persona was edgy and a divergence from the usual banter of money, clothes and hoes. But I should have known better when I heard a lot of race talk but nothing particular or uplifting about Black women except your mama. I ain?t your mama. I should have known when you spit this line in "Good Morning?: ?I?m like a fly Malcolm X/ buy any jeans necessary/ Detroit red cleaned up.?(2007) Barbara Ransby and Tracye Matthews put this commercialization and glorification of "pro- Black? rap into perspective in their essay, Black Popular Culture and the Transcendence of Patriarchal Illusions: Similarly, the rap music industry, including rappers with exclusively political messages, has enjoyed considerable commercial success. But a careful scrutiny suggests that the more commercially successful an artist are- the ones whose music- like the pervasive images of Malcolm- has been sanitized and diluted, or at least sufficiently jumbled, as to be safe for mass consumption. (1993: 528) You were safe even with your bravado and swagger, knowing that although you spoke some of that Black conscious shit, your love for capitalism and Alexander Wang would make everyone feel better and buy more. You are patriarchal, but you were no Malcolm. Your transformation would happen for the worse not the better. You spit: "Even if you in a benz/ you still a nigga/ in a coup? (All falls down:2004) You said this line in one of my favorite and beloved albums of yours, College Dropout critiquing capitalism and the anti- Blackness that is intrinsically tied to it. It was a poignant verse because as many of the rappers during that era and still, gloats about their products of wealth, which can be attributed to many of them coming from a low socio- economic background.

But here you are recognizing that regardless of the materialism gained from rappers commercialization and exploitation, they are still Black. And in a world where anti- Blackness reigns supreme, their Blackness is deemed inferior in spite of capital success. My 14- year- old self loved your simple yet profound analysis on race and capitalism. Something that I hadn?t quite grappled with at that point but knowing in spite of everything, I was still a nigga. Dear 'Ye, What ever happened to your race analysis intersected with your analysis on capitalism? I would also ask about your analysis being intersected with gender, but I recognize that your Black masculinity along with your wealth has left you in a place of power that usually excludes Black women instead of include. Again, I recognize that your Black power was only for Black men. You began to branching out from the music world and go into the fashion world, allowing your hostility and rage for the lack of acceptance from the predominately White industry to show. You began doing interviews on capitalism and your exclusion being one dictated by an upper echelon and gate keeping that would disallow someone from your nitty gritty world of rap to enter into the posh clean society of fashion. "It?s not about racism anymore. It?s classism.? You would say in a 2013 interview with The JV Show. This was your reasoning for the exclusion you were receiving, you were a rapper not a designer in addition your spouse was a reality show star, which made you an outcast. How 'Ye? If you knew better than perhaps you would do better. Because you would know that economic justice and exploitation is directly tied to racial justice and exploitation. Racism and classism go hand and hand. Black people globally get paid less than their White counterparts whilst Black labor is often cheapened and exploited. Slavery for an example, created the superpower economy of Euroamerica that White people continue to benefit from. Intersectionalilty, which is a term coined by Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw, is an analysis of our social positioning from the framework of multiple lens? such as race, class, and gender would?ve been useful in your class analysis. There can be no discussion of class without the discussion of race, as there can be no discussion of race without the discussion of gender.

But you would soon remember race again, it would be the new reason you were not afforded access, in addition to you being straight in a world filled with White gay men and White women. How ironic. All the Blacks continue to be men and all the women would continue to be White. But I?m brave. I guess Black girls wouldn?t fit into your plan, Mr. Race man. Dear 'Ye, I just remembered you did speak about Black women. You spit: "Had hair so long that it look like weave/ now she cut it all off now the she look like Eve/ she be dealing with some issues that you cant believe/ single Black female/ addicted to retail? (All Falls Down: 2004) You would only talk about Black women in a derogatory sense going along with the Black rap male tradition. Interestingly enough, your patronizing demonization of the single Black female that is addicted to retail sounds eerily familiar to right wing politics and racists. It aligns with the trope of the welfare queen who is an unwed mother of multiple children while living off of the welfare state. Who knew your politics can align so well with the people who despise you the most? It is that Black masculinity, innit? That allure the privilege of manhood allows you that taunts you with the power of your White male dreams, leading you to subjugate Black women. Patriarchy at its finest. I will quote Audre Lorde and say, "The master?s tools will never dismantle the masters house.? But I?m not sure if you truly wanted to dismantle the house in the first place.

You continued on your seductive marginalization of us through catchy songs like "Gold Digger?, discussing a woman assumed to be Black as were the women in your video, who dated wealthy men for money. Feeding into more tropes. But at the end you eventually told on yourself. You spit: "And when he get on he leave your ass for a White girl? (Gold Digger: 2005) Dear 'Ye, It seems like you would finally get what you wanted, which is the ultimate prize for a lot of Black men, a White woman. But she wouldn?t be just any kind of White woman this particular one, Kim Kardashian, will have the phenotypic features of a Black woman, a big butt, hips, and lips but it is accompanied by the privilege of Whiteness that affords her success and which one can arguably say is built on her sexual and intimate exploitation of famous Black men such as yourself. Isn?t it interesting that you would have a song about gold digging Black women? bell hooks discusses this concept of appropriation and sexual exploitation in her essay Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance. She states, "Certainly from the White supremacist capitalist patriarchy, the desires for the "primitive? or fantasies about the Other can be continually exploited and that such exploitation will occur in a manner that reinscribes and maintains the status quo.? (1992) Kim?s essential eating of the other through ethnic consumption by way of cultural appropriation and sexual exploitation of the hyper masculine primitive trope of Black men is essentially racist. She uses her White womanhood as a tool and a canvas to try on ethnic aesthetics that would make her more alluring and appealing for mass commodification while dating Black men which has historically been seen as taboo, making her more seductive and alluring. These intimate relationships with the other ultimately serve as the stamp of her commercialized exoticism.

Back concludes: Moreover, the processes which result in the "fear? and "desire? couplet have important implications for the partial muting of forms of popular racism, and help to explain why young Black men can win inclusion among young White youths. (1994:181) Though I disagree, with the idea of muted racism, as White domination is a form of racial subjugation, it is still evident that Black men and boys hold more access due to the meaning and projection of their masculinity. Dear 'Ye, And here is the end of my note. It is apparent that you are on the path of your conscious Black forefathers in your patriarchal masculinity, subjugation of Black women and yearning for acceptance from the White gaze. Though I did eventually give up as a fan as part of my political intervention and practice of self- care as a Black woman, I wanted to let you know about yourself. And that maybe you can actually do better by divesting from the White supremacist patriarchal society that hooks and others speak of, and free yourself. I come to this conclusion with a heart lighter than I started as I no longer am invested in the idea of the benevolent Black patriarch as they has always disappointed me as a woman. But I must leave you with this question that is especially important in the times of the Movement for Black Lives and the gratuitous violence being faced by all Black people in the U.S. and beyond; you once said that former President George Bush doesn?t care about Black people, do you?

You spit: "They see a Black man with a White woman/ at the top floor they gon come to kill King Kong/ middle America packed in/ come to see me in my black skin"(Black Skinhead:2014)

Ransby and Matthews speaks so poignantly of you and your conscious rap counterparts again:

But you should?ve known your Black male cool was up for consumption by your wife and others. In fact, I believe you know.

That is, if Black power is defined as redeeming Black manhood, and Black manhood is defined uncritically as the right to be the patriarchal heads of Black families, and the exclusive defenders of the Black community, Black women are, by definition, relegated to a marginal status. (1993:533)

Les Back in "The White Negro Revisited: Race and masculinities in South London" speaks to the manipulation by Black boys and men of the racist macho myth and ultimately how although these tropes are oppressive, they provide an in for Black boys and men that isn?t necessarily afforded to Black women and other marginalized groups. Everyone wants Black male cool and therefore the holders of the cool is seemed more acceptable when being the semi- purveyors of it. That?s you, Kanye.

Misogynoir is a term coined by Moya Bailey and Trudy,

HowTo's HowtoMakeAMolotovCocktail The Molotov cocktail is a bottle-based incendiary weapon used primarily to set fire to objects and enemy targets. Because of its easy assemblage, accessibility and often improvised contents, Molotov cocktails are the peoples choice of weaponry when facing repressive forces during a protest, riot, blockade, rebellion, or guerrilla war. Rebels have been using Molotov cocktails to ward off colonizing soldiers since the early 1930s. Basically, the Molotov cocktail is made out of a breakable glass bottle. The bottle is filled with a flammable liquid, usually gasoline, and a rag soaked in lighter fluid hangs out the mouth of the bottle. The rag is lit when ready to throw at the target. Upon impact, the glass shatters causing the flaming rag to ignite the gasoline inside of the bottle. Sometimes a thickening agent such as tar or motor oil is added to the bottle so that the fire sticks to the target and thick clouds of smoke are produced upon impact. What you will need: 1. Glass bottle 2. Gasoline (turpentine, diesel fuel, jet fuel, or methanol can be used as alternatives)

Step 3: Make the Fuse The fuse will ignite the flammable mixture when the glass bottle shatters and the fuse touches the liquid. Traditionally, the fuse is made out of a rag that has been soaked in lighter fluid. More improvised cocktails have used rolled-up newspaper or even paper towel. If you are using a rag let it soak in lighter fluid for three minutes. If you are using material such as paper towel or newspaper you may not need lighter fluid. However, adding lighter fluid will ensure that the fuse catches fire when lit.

3. Lighter fluid or alcohol 4. Rag, paper towel, or newspaper 5. Matches or lighter 6. Tar or motor oil (optional) 7. Funnel (optional)

Step 1: Pour Mixture into Bottle Start by pouring your flammable mixture about 3/4 of the way into the glass bottle. You can mix flammable agents such as gasoline and turpentine together.

Step 2: Add Tar or Motor Oil If available add quarter cup of tar or motor oil for thicker consistency. This will help the fire stick to the target and produce thick smoke clouds when the cocktail is launched.

Step 4: Stuff the Fuse Into the Glass Bottle Stuff the fuse into the glass bottle so that half of it is hanging out the mouth of the bottle. Make sure it securely plugs the bottle so that no liquid spills when the Molotov is launched. Dry the outside of the bottle. Make sure the bottle is secure enough to transport.

Step 5: Launch That Shit You now have a Molotov cocktail that is ready for use. When you are ready to launch make sure you are at least 2 yards away from the target to avoid any shards of glass that may blow back at you. Do not light the fuse until you are ready to throw the bottle. Try throwing from the base of the bottle for safety and better precision.Under the so-called National Firearms Act Molotov cocktails are considered "destructive devices" and are illegal to manufacture in the U.S. Don't let that stop you.

DeclonizingCulture Bookof themonth:

Artist of themonth:

The Black Jacobins

Blache M ar ie

This powerful, intensely dramatic book is the definitive account of the Haitian Revolution of 1794-1803, a revolution that began in the wake of the Bastille but became the model for the Third World liberation movements from Africa to Cuba. It is the story of the French colony of San Domingo, a place where the brutality of master toward slave was commonplace and ingeniously refined. And it is the story of a barely literate slave named Toussaint L'Ouverture, who led the black people of San Domingo in a successful struggle against successive invasions by overwhelming French, Spanish, and English forces and in the process helped form the first independent nation in the Caribbean.

Blache Marie is a Black queer poet and visual artist based in Ithaca, NY who uses a variety of mediums to explore Black queerness and their/her ancestral ties to the Great Migration. Marie's work is a means of survival and healing and offers the fruits of these to the viewer by bearing her scars in her work. Marie?s work makes breathing space in a world of strangulation.

Filmof themonth: Un Poquito de Tanto Ver dad When the people of Oaxaca decided they'd had enough of bad government, they didn't take their story to the media. They took the media. In the summer of 2006, a broad-based, non-violent, popular uprising exploded in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Some compared it to the Paris Commune, while others called it the first Latin American revolution of the 21st century. But it was the people?s use of the media that truly made history in Oaxaca. This 90-minute documentary, Un Poquito de Tanto Verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth) captures the unprecedented media phenomenon that emerged when tens of thousands of school teachers, housewives, indigenous communities, health workers, farmers, and students took 14 radio stations and one TV station into their own hands, using them to organize, mobilize, and ultimately defend their grassroots struggle for social, cultural, and economic justice.

W ordof themonth: L ate Capitalism This month's word is Late Capitalism Late Capitalism (noun): The stage of capitalism that comes after industrialization. Late capitalism often refers to the period after 1945 in the West. While earlier forms of capitalism involved the rise of industrial based economics, late capitalism is marked by globalization and the rise of multinational corporations. Late Capitalism in a sentence: The worker under late capitalism must ally themselves with the exploited third world workers of the world.

Call For Submissions

The Decolonizer is looking for submissions! The subversive content we feature cuts across a variety genres including but not limited to essay, short-story, poetry, news articles, commentaries, reports, plays, excerpts and short fiction. We ask that they be no more than 1000 words although there is room for flexibility. Submissions that do not address race, class, gender, sexuality, or colonization will not be considered. Please send all submissions to thedecolonizernewsletter@gmail.com or fill out the Submissions form on our website http:/ / www.thedecolonizer.com/ . We will then contact you to move forward with the submissions process.

BRIEFHISTO RIES:TheHaitianRevolution(Haiti) By Dubian Ade The so- called island of Hispanola, which today is shared by both Haiti and The Dominican Republic, was originally populated by the Tino. Colonizer and mass murderer Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1492 on behalf of his Spanish benefactors, and named the island La Isla Espanola. Due to indigenous resistance, the Spanish were never able to settle on the entire island and remained at the eastern tip in what is present day Dominican Republic. The western side of the island would remain unsettled by Europeans until French pirates and travelers began occupying and eventually settling in the area around 1660. By that time the indigenous Tino were severely affected by disease, genocide, and slavery imposed by the Spanish and were unable to ward off the invasion. Conflicts between the Spanish and the French over land would continue until 1697 when Spain formally ceded the western third of the island to France. The French side of the island was called Saint- Domingue. By this time African slaves had already been imported by Spain. The first of them arrived to "Hispaniola" as early as 1517 under the order of the Spanish monarch Charles V. French colonizers stole more slaves from neighboring islands. They began the business of cultivating cocoa, indigo, and cotton. But it was sugar- cane that would become the most important crop in Saint- Domingue. For it, the French colonizers would enslave hundreds of thousands. By 1791 the French slave- plantation system in Saint- Domingue supplied 40%of the worlds sugar, producing 63,000 tons of sugar a year. Half a million Black slaves were in bondage in Saint- Domingue and in service to a population of about 30,000 white slave holders. Saint- Domingue became known as the so- called "Pearl of the Antilles."

By all counts the French colony of Saint- Domingue was the apple of the French imperialist eye. Not only was it the most profitable colony in the French empire, but towards the end of the Eighteenth Century Saint- Domingue was the wealthiest colony in the Western Hemisphere. Conditions on the plantations were so deplorable for Blacks and the death rates so high that the vast majority of slaves were freshly imported from the West African coast. Slaves were tortured, raped, mutilated and killed by French slave holders. The French Revolution began in 1789 and greatly destabilized the ruling class structure both in France and in the French colonies. In the colonies French elites had a vested interest in remaining loyal to the Spanish monarch, while the white slave holding middle class was interested in a colonial independence from France. The mixed mulatto class, who enjoyed some of the privileges of being lighter- skinned but were stilled discriminated against by the French colonizers, wanted the island for themselves. But they despised both the French colonizer and Black slaves. In 1790 Jacques Vincent Oge lead a group of armed mulattos in a failed attempt to capture the city of Cap- Francais. But in the bowels of the plantation Blacks were already forging their resistance. The religion of Voodoo formed out of a synthesis of several African spiritual traditions including Ibo, Yoruba, and Dahomey. Voodoo, although formally outlawed in the colony would only thrive under the oppression of the colonial planter and unify slaves of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. When the boiling point of racial tension finally erupted into a full- blown revolution, Voodoo was at its spiritual and cosmological epicenter. It was the Voodoo ceremony at Bois Caiman on the night of August 14, 1791 that truly began the revolutionary struggle. Led by a Voodoo high priestess, and a tall, well- read slave and Voodoo hougan known only as Boukman, a huge group of slaves gathered in a clearing by the Caiman Forest. The priestess ritually sacrificed a pig. Some say that those in attendance drank the blood of the pig and swore to revolt against the

colonial masters, kill them, destroy their property, and remove them from the island. They were to fight for liberation or become martyrs in the process. With the help of Boukman the slaves initiated a revolt on August 22, 1791. The revolt was incredibly organized: a series of mini revolts broke out at every corner of the Plaine du Nord, the most profitable region in Saint- Domingue. These revolts were synchronized perfectly, and every plantation in Northern Saint- Domingue was systematically set ablaze. Then the mills, factories, and colonial mansions went up in flames. It is said that the fires could be seen from the Bahamas. Blacks were organized at every level of the slave plantation system. Some two- hundred headmen (Slaves who managed other slaves) were involved in the insurrection. Hundreds more house slaves, thousands of field slaves, freed Blacks, maroons, and mulattos were organized. House slaves killed their white masters and their children. The field slaves marched towards Le Cap, some 40,000 of them, and laid siege to the city. By 1793 the situation in Saint- Domingue had escalated into a complex power struggle between the various social classes within the colony and the imperialist European powers. None had the upper hand except the Black ex- slaves. Fearful of the revolt spreading to its own colonies, the British attempted to invade Saint- Domingue to restore colonial order. The Spanish attempted to seize the opportunity to retake the rest of the island. The French, badly wounded from the internal conflicts, would later send a force under Napoleon. The ensuing struggles would last for thirteen years. Meanwhile French authorities under Leger Felicite Sonthonax were finally able to regain some control of the island, but Saint- Dominge was already in ruins. Sonthonax then officially abolished slavery in the colony in order to appease the rebels. One rebel leader by the name of Francois Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture, had participated in the August 22nd revolt and afterwards banded together with the Spanish forces against the French. Upon hearing of the abolition of slavery in the colony, Toussaint switched sides to the French. Toussaint rose in rank and by 1801 had effectively taken control of the entire island. Toussaint's rise to power marked the definitive end of slave plantation system in soon- to- be Haiti, even as Napoleon desired to reinstate it. Toussaint's vision was to unify the Black and mulatto classes and form a new nation. On January 1, 1804, Jean- Jacques Dessalines and Toussaint L'Ouverture declared the independent nation of Haiti.

FindingO urselvesInTheIdeological BattlefieldO f Higher EdIndoctrination By Mani Martinez Ask me to show you a poster child that advocates hard work as the only way to get out of the exploitation of capitalism and that blames the exploited and disaffected for their conditions - - and I can point to numerous poor people who's minds have been processed into elitist fodder through the process of higher education and are now the gatekeepers that protect capitalist bosses' values and interests. Some university graduates truly believe what they have been taught in universities has been genuinely vested, researched, and presented in ways that help them think more critically, empirically, and without bias...but hunty y'all done been duped. The ideas that dominate society - which are produced and secured by the walls of universities (institutions born out of colonialist ideals) are controlled by the class that rules society and the universities...and ain't no oppressed people running these places. So the ideas produced and preferred in these institutions aren't made to benefit poor and working class people. Now, I ain't saying don't get that diploma...just make sure when you're in there to struggle to incorporate an analysis from poor and working class people and learn to be more competent at incorporating their intellectual engagement with the world into your own empirical understanding of the world...most often their analysis will be left out of university classrooms and academic development. But because poor and working class people make up most of the world - - our experience is of profound importance in attempting to develop a scientific understanding of the world.

We are all scientists in the ways we systematically struggle to discover ways to survive the exploitation and misery of capitalism. No one knows this better than poor and working class people. For first generation students this means learning to intellectually engage and debate with people including our parents and family members, our neighbors, our childhood friends who ain't make it to college in ways that open us up to learn from each other rather then just push what we've been taught in the universities and fail to reflect not just on the fact these individuals may think differently but more importantly why and how that can further our ability to understand ourselves and them as people conditioned through capitalism.

Go to them plantations, steal that knowledge, be subversive when they encourage you to be individualistic and nurture within you bourgeois aspirations, discipline yourself to think scientifically - not emotionally or morally (the scientific will be the moral) - and make a commitment deep in your heart to come back and struggle to teach your people how to think scientifically so that with those tools more of us can better understand what capitalism means and whether that is what our people choose to value - and trust that through scientific analysis we will choose what is better and necessary.

We need to strive to breach the gap between their knowledge of the world and the methods we are taught in universities. For students of more affluent backgrounds confronted with the moral disillusion of their status in society and having a fundamental understanding that capitalism most be destroyed - along with their class status - it is of most importance that they learn to genuinely respect and draw from the scientific knowledge that comes from those disenfranchised and disaffected by capitalism. And for everyone regardless of class or race, we must be careful not to essentialize blackness or whiteness - but face history and reality through the lens of the poor and the working class - whose lens has often been left. And engage more critically with the way class contradictions play a role in universities. However, universities in their development of intellectuals and professionals - - tend more so to alienate its participants through its bourgeoisie (classist) brainwashing regiment (conveyor belt).

BreakingTheSilenceAbout W omenInPrison By Taylar Nuevelle

We like to think incarcerated women are so different from the general population. But that?s simply not true. I often say: If you want to understand sexism in America, go to a women?s prison. Gender bias for incarcerated women is the same bias that forces free women to have to choose between career and becoming a homemaker, accept less pay for doing the same jobs as our male counterparts, or put up with seemingly endless jokes about our hormones and poor logic. Women who are incarcerated are told again and again that they can?t be good moms. Children are told to be ashamed of their incarcerated moms, while incarcerated dads are not similarly shamed. Women? and especially moms? are expected to exemplify purity and wholesomeness, regardless of the crosses we bear. Women have to grin and bear it, no matter how cruel people are or how much abuse and trauma we endure. And when we step out of line, we are shamed, abused, and silenced.

I can tell you from first-hand survival: incarcerated women routinely experience sexual assault at the hands of each other. Male guards may find this funny or stimulating, and speaking up to them makes you a target for more abuse. Just as in the outside world, women can be treated as mere objects for pleasure. More often than not, when there is research on, outreach for, and interest about incarcerated women, such studies fall short. However, Vera?s recently released report, Overlooked: Women and Jails in an Era of Reform? which focuses on women in jails on a national level? is comprehensive, fact-based, and offers concrete insights to what honestly happens to women in jails in this country. It also offers substantive ways of changing the system and reducing the number of justice-involved women. The report proves that women who are in jail are suffering because of ignorance and gender bias.

pipeline for women are dissected in private meetings, but in order to achieve true reform, these issues need to be on the front page of The Washington Post and The New York Times. This is a call to action for prominent figures like President Barack Obama, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. I ask you: When it comes down to it, will you speak for women and girls, even when they don?t match a ?perfect? ideal? Gender is a protected class. The late Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote that when a person walks through prison gates, that individual does not give up her constitutional rights. Justice-involved women should not have to give up their right to be free of discrimination. Not even in prison.

While the prison reform movement overall has achieved an increasingly rare political status? bipartisan support? justice-involved women are still left out of the public eye. President Obama visited a federal male prison last year and the world watched, discussed, and vowed to take action.

Many justice-involved women have experienced trauma during their lifetimes. However, jails and prisons offer little or no trauma-informed care or mental health services. No one wants to talk about what it is like to have a monthly menstrual cycle while incarcerated and how humiliating this can be when men run the prison. Pap smears don?t happen, mammograms go incomplete, and rape goes unreported. Thus, the trauma that women experience prior to prison goes untreated and they become more traumatized by incarceration.

Women?s prisons, however, remain largely ignored by politicians. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as of April 2016, 6.7 percent of all inmates were women.

Even when policies are intended to help, they fall short. One example: The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). When it was created it did not include statistics of female-on-female sexual violence.

If we want real change for justice-involved women, those in power must speak up and expose the truth about what life is like for the women who live in prison every day. Conversations about the trauma-to-prison

Yes, this is a small percentage, but it is also the fastest-growing group of inmates. Women and our unique struggles are no less significant to our country than the challenges of men. The Vera report is one of the most validating studies I have ever read and does not shy away from the horrors of jail for women in this country.

Theft ByAnyO ther Nam e By Beverley Ditsie Desiree was a friend and a colleague, until she shared and approved of this madness http://www.timeslive.co.za/ilive/2011/07/11/white-settlers-never-stole-any-land-from-africans-ilive.

I had to respond.

Dear Desiree I am writing this message directly to you because you're not a stranger to me. We are fb "friends" because we have spent time together, shared our stories, our pains, frustrations and joys on a vey human level, and it is for this reason why I need you to know why I'm un friending you and disassociating myself from you. Your endorsement of this truly abhorrent, insulting article, where my ancestors are referred to as savages, means I can no longer in good conscience have anything to do with you. It's not even the rewriting of history that is problematic, but the racist, supremacist language and the inherent belief that our way of life before your people arrived merits the savagery of colonisation, dehumanizations and slavery. You cannot walk into someone's home and say, that room is not being used, and the one that is being used is not being utilized properly according to me, and so I have a right to move in, take over and make my own improvements. Ultimately, that is theft. Whatever the justifications might be. How we were living, and how we were using this land, should be of no concern to you. Some of my ancestors may have been nomads who didn't demarcate land and hold title deeds. That was the African way, where all land belongs to all its people. No we may not have been living in peace. But that was for is to deal with, without your forefathers interference, and is no justification for the theft. Our mud huts and loin cloths and our beliefs may be alien to you and your ilk, but that is because your people are alien to this land. The inherent belief that this made our way of life inferior is the core of problem here. This is the real basis of racism and a superiority mindset. What's even worse is your endorsement of a man who proudly participated in the genocide of whole people's, murdering black people, gypsys, gay people as well as jewish people in their millions. And to even claim that Zimbabweans were 'handed' the land? As though it didn't belong to them in the first place, is ludicrous. And what they ended up doing with their land is totally their prerogative. The bottom line is - your criminal ancestors arrived on a continent already inhabited by people, used canons, guns and a bible and took over. That is theft. That you can endorse this article by sharing it tells me of your inherent racist beliefs about my ancestors, and ultimately, about me. And by doing that, you have drawn a line in the sand. As sad as this is, I am glad because now I know where you stand. And should any other white "friends" hold this belief, please unfriend me. I cannot associate with you. There will be a war, and when it comes, it's good to know who is on which side. Sincerely Bev

DecolonizingVoices How Many More? Unt it l ed

By Rosi AlmĂŠstica

By Rita Jane

Last night, a beautiful baby boy went to go see God himself Last night, the POC community in IC lost a friend But he was more than that, he was our brother, our bestest friend And greatest classmate. The community aches to see a young soul fade quickly. The greatest measure of our own loyalty was when he left us, Will we band together and help one another overcome? A community broken to pieces can?t find the reason to feel safe as of late.

From the sunrise, till the sun sets I care. I care for you & your brothers. I love you & your brothers. I sing with you and your brothers. I protect you and your brothers. I cry for you and your brothers. But where is mine? Where is my protection? Buried deep in the wounds that never seem

How many more black bodies have to drop for us to unite against senseless violence? How many more tears do we shed to feel okay once again? How many sunshines will it take for us to be in a better place? How many more?

to heal. Buried deep in the thoughts that keep me awake While you peacefully sleep at night

This poem is in memorium of the late Anthony Nazaire. This poem was written just a few short hours after I found out of his passing. He will be forever remembered as an ambitious, positive and a very driven young man.

I suffer in silence The loudest silence. But you will never understand. And we will continue to forget

August 1, 2016

Because it is convenient

By Dubian Ade

From the sunrise, till the sun sets. What these pig motherfuckas doing knocking on my fucking door at 9 A.M. in the morning? Said they serving me something. These bitch-ass motherfuckers.

St unt ed By Thomas Moriarty

Now, they trying break in here, I'ma record this shit... Now,

A beautiful heart can be trapped by society. We're told to be a man, but shown how to be a monster. We shove a feminine side away away under a guise that says let the boys play. But how can we grow up if we hate the part of us that cries. If you cut a flowers stem it never blooms, but dies; A painful death that says I never got to be beautiful.

they fucking with my Facebook... what the fuck... I cant get this shit to work... What the fuck is going on? Aint I a woman? Aint I bled enuf? Anit I weeped enuf? Aint I seen Enuf? Through the gapping door I can see men in Swat gear talking, their limp dicks in their satchels. My son says they trying to kill us. I have him in my arms. My gun in the other hand. Feeling some kind of weightless. "If you dont leave here, Ima kill YOU."

The Concret e Isl and by Ariela Perez-Wallach my papi and I took a soul trip home and Borinken opened her arms and kissed our brown skin we were running from the ice that had turned into a cage of despair and homesickness we walked on the sand at Playa Ocho and embraced Yemaya as if she had been calling for us to return for our own sake papi took me to Caguas where he grew up, sleeping with cockroaches on a dirty floor he took me to the bodega where we bought azabaches to protect us from evils but no azabache or Santero could protect our island from greedy white hands that wanted more roads more hotels more casinos my papi gazed at a four way intersection and tears brimmed his eyes "this is where my home used to be" he said to me and I looked at the mountains where the jibaros live and saw McDonald's and Subway like a gaping wound that will take lifetimes to heal la isla bonita the concrete island that we call home

encadenadas By Genesis Garcia We have turned ourselves into theory because they won'y acknowledge our beating hearts. when will they listen? when will we live beyond academic textbooks, the questions of a curious university professor, beyond the limitations of infinite Facebook posts?

t hese bridges/ st il l hol d us by Ariela Perez-Wallach to my white feminist sisters/ sisters that use my back/ to break the glass ceiling/ ceiling that can only be shattered/ by you/ not me/ sister that will never be your sister/ sister outsider do not hang pictures of me/ on your wall/ wall of phony solidarity/ solidarity only meant for/ your sisters/ sisters that rewrite herstory/ herstory that first belonged to me resist the urge to tell me/ how to vote/ how to act/ how to live/ live in your world/ world of white castles/ castles never meant for me/ sister please listen/ listen when my words fall/ from my mouth/ truth that cant be whitewashed/ no matter how hard you try/ try to hear your sisters/ sisters suffering/ sisters dying/ by your silence but i will not be silent/ i have nothing but my words/ words escape me/ and i am struggling/ to find them in the dark/ but its hard when your sisters/ targets plastered to their backs/ backs that broke under the whip/ thrown to the ground in bikinis/ jaws are broken/ lives are taken after traffic stops its tiring you know/ a vigil is being planned/ my gut tells me its not enough/ when will it be enough/ i am desperately trying to find/ solace in a poem/ words alone/ will not do them justice/ liberty sisters/ my sisters keeper/ all i can do is/ say her name/ over and over/ say her name/ again and again

From Bel ow: Fight ing For Unit y By Mani Martinez I will take your anger and I will take your sadness and I will take your rage And I will fight to death To bring out the love that is in you My consciousness under capitalism Has become undone I am not a product of this misery I am the seed of a different destiny My heart and my bravery Is the fire that will burn this house down Because all the wealth that lines these walls Has been accumulated and built by us Those that have none I will not let money and capitalists Keep my people in wage slavery For what, for what, I'm asking? FOR WHAT!?!

I will take your blows and your punches And will be principled I will show you What unity against capitalism looks like I don't do this for you to love me And protect me, to be there for me Or accept me or give me a clap I do this to show you what is necessary To lift the veil that has placed you under a lie That has told you that you are alone That you shouldn't unite with me Because we are different Us poor people, black brown or white Straight or queer We have been taught that we are each other's enemy That we are each other's problem and abuser But who is invested in running and producing This ideology, who benefits?

I will take your misguided hatred for me Because I know that rejection of outsiders Has been institutionalized and popularized To keep us apart I will not accept anti-blackness, xenophobia homophobia, sexism and classism as something that cannot be changed Or use it as pretext to build power in silos With people that I only feel comfortable with I have realized the way capitalists Have strategically built fear within us Divisions, and antagonism To even influence and shape the way we build resistance I will take your homophobic words Behind my back as I work with you Because I know that to fight capitalism I have to struggle to death To humanize myself in your eyes To wrestle your mind and your heart From the distrust and disgust Capitalism's incestuous institutions Have deposited in you Religion has been used to justify The dehumanization and enslavement Of colonized people all over the world It has been used to justify and naturalize Within the minds of colonized peoples A hatred for non-heterosexual people And a warped sense of paternalism towards women under the pretext of protecting them but in reality making them objects To control, criticize and wear out

La Chepía By Genesis Garcia I am admitting that I do not know how to love myself & I don?t think I ever have. Niña de cinco años living & breathing her small beating heart for someone else. pa quién? pa Jesu cristo, claro vestida de vestido amarillo o azúl sintiéndome ridícula. ?y que putas tiene que ver este vestido con Jesús ?? yo amaba a mi tía o tal vez? no lo se? que me moría del susto con su cara de decepcionada of disgust when I couldn?t be Christian enough holy enough virgin enough pure enough sorry enough miserable enough agradecida enough empty enough for Jesus. for her.

I still went to church, though. & no one stopped me. Because no one ever knew. no one. I?ve never loved myself. I loved my mother though. & feared her, too. Pero la quería aunque me sacaba la madre y me hacía llorar por solo interrumpirle mientras hablaba por el teléfono con un tal ?este? o ?esta? me valía, all the same. Y también amaba a mis hermanos porque I didn?t know who the fuck I was yet! (to love yet.) they helped me navigate the world & I can?t tell you if it made me more grounded (powerful, surrounded by penises) or more fucked up. My brothers weren?t my friends. They were simply how I measured everything else about my life. was it cool to roller blade? ?No genny, it?s not. Here. Wear this Nike visor. That?s cool.? & Yuyo? who supposedly loved us all the same? only took my brothers out, giving me a kiss on the forehead & leaving.

I can still hear them laughing in his new car playing Sisqo or Usher laughing at male things a five year old sister would never understand but I did. & I also understood why I didn?t. & I would sit at home alone sin nadie para consolarme hablarme decirme que yo también era cool. wishing I was half as divertida as my brothers with something twice as long between their legs. "es porque eres hembra,? my tía would tell me. Fuck an hembra! I hated that SHIT. Pedazo de mierda that controlled my childhood that still strangles the child inside me, sculpting the womyn or whatever I?ve become (or not). Marta Tía Sara the most female femme fucking pageant queen & her mother picking at my skateboarding shirt saying, "ya te van a salir las chiches.? "ya vas a tener tu periodo.?

with all this bullshit in my ear, it certainly felt like the end. My brothers were not my friends but they were who I wanted to be at every stage of my life until high school. but they. They did not have the pending doom of "el periodo.? the period. the end. end of being the boy I wanted to be, that maybe I could have become had it not been for the most female members of the female side of my family foreshadowing the period of time my life would soon begin or end. I didn?t love myself goddammit but I was trying to goddammit.

periodo. period.

I loved my ?boy clothes? I felt free. & I was stripped of that freedom.

listos pícaros haciendo lo que le daban la gana.

& I still don?t know what has come of me since. since I felt like a boy, but was turned into an hembra. chiches and all, I didn?t love myself.

that?s what I saw.

& even with chiches, las chiches chapinas que tengo ahora bonitas & big y todo I still don?t love myself. I don?t. because being an hembra meant being nothing & I fucking knew that at 7 years old. it meant prison. it meant work. it mean suffering. because I could see the hembra draining my mother as mother & I could see it when I couldn?t see it in my brothers.

they were assigning me blinders & crutches at 12 years old because of blood that spilled between my legs that I didn?t ask for that I was ashamed of. I just knew it even if I didn?t really know it that "el periodo"? the end? was the beginning of hating myself. of hating my body that carries the self I could love but didn?t because I?ve never been allowed to because who I was was never who they said I was:

hembra. the beginning of hating myself when I had never even got to love myself yet. & I can?t shake it. & I wish I could? love it, myself like I do my mother & my tia & los patojos y hasta el borracho de my papá. because what is existing without love? I don?t love myself. because I?ve been told since before my body fully formed that I only am my body anyway. hembra por las chiches for the blood between my legs.

I was too busy even as a niña loving others before myself just like jesus el señor Jesús dying inside for the future hembra I would become & hate too busy loving others like this man (que putada) to make space to love mself to fight the others who forced me to be a self I never wanted in the name of love the self who despite my chiches & the blood, despite my end was not holy enough not cool enough not hembra enough for others, not even for myself to ever swallow.

girl. hembra. niña (de Dios) nada. fue puta. nada que yo era en verdad.

Whit e f Lashes By Rashaad Thomas

white light white words white bones white man Black sin white snake

Black man white bag white dreams white song white feet white face

Black Christ Black dog Black bird Black light Black head Black neck white wash Black death

white stares white dress white eggs white sheets white sperm Black girls white dolls white stakes

white priests

Black song

white robes

Black comb

white flight

Black book

Black eye

Black school

white hair

Black gun

Blackface

Black fist

white flag

white spit

Black smoke

Black theft

white Christ

white might

white pig

Black death

Black tar

white spook

Black box

Black stole

white lens

white peace

Black keys

white rope

Black truck

white horse Black cow white milk Black floors

white knight white hat

Black hole

white sheets

Black slang

Black spook

Black skin

white cops

white stain

Black mask

Black pain

Black face

Black hope

Black fear

Black killed Black marks

white cape white school

Black slacks

Black judge

white homes

Black eggs

Black off

white signs

Black sperm

Black on

Black cat

Black dick

Black crime

white doors

white chick

white myth

Black kid

Black jokes

Black ghost

white lives

white clouds white cars

Black matter

white keys

white roof

white dope

white hate white hoods Black love

Ghost s of Jim Crow?s Sunday By Rashaad Thomas

I tithed pigeons dressed in Sunday?s best laid them down on Communion. Bread and blood spill in tin plates under white sheets Do This In Remember ance of Me Vigil

Empty sanctuary, pews burn bathed in gasoline, waited three days to mourn a wake

Earthworms and maggots Hands Up, Praise?em Lord Hands Up, Save?em Lord Earthworms and magic

My wake waited three days to mourn bathed in demonic water Empty sanctuary, pews dry rot

Vigil ance of Me in this, Remember plates under white sheets. Do body and blood spilled in tin Communion table pieces

Accompanying Haiku: By Rashaad Thomas

Sunday mourning school Four girls burned alive singing This Lil?Light of Mine

Buck Breaking By Rashaad Thomas Coincidentally ran into the coffee house rapist. An Old orange man who smelled bengay, stale whiskey , musty cologne and blue uniform.

Flashbacks suffused my vision. Hogged tied with handcuffs my cheek smushed into the grimy floor near children?s toys. Which doll is the bad doll? He took each letter N.I. G. G. E.R.

six letters from hell ran a train six times over six hours

one - by -one and wrapped them around my penis with his hand. Certificate in a rusty frame, ?Certified Buck Breaker? stood in the light on his one-shelf bookcase. He moved up and down until I was unable to hold onto myself.

Then he took N. I. G. G. E. R.

a metal rod and rammed it into my anus rapidly, in and out. My mouth locked. I lost the key to scream, pain overcame my limbs. I could feel the desire to runaway dry up with the summer drought. Broken

Body Bl ack By Rashaad Thomas I am imprisoned by someone who despises me. I look at flesh on the walls through his eyes. Smell un-nurtured life through his faint inhale.

Open, the shapes of eyes revolve around my earth. Humid air and concrete flesh brush against me invisible has a voice, genderless.

Silence is a .45-caliber Glock handgun preaching the bible study false prophets gunning down multiple personalities. Soul. untouched.

Pity offered by death. Blind beauty of pain spirals monsoon crown to sole. Mind thrown against the sun. Burn flesh suffocates the spirit out. Blown corrupt frozen air glows forms new body

Numb. Cold calcium shares no love.

Screams burn inside out. Never. Free.

Rashaad Thomas is a husband, father, USAF Veteran, VONA/Voices of Our Nation Art Foundation VONA Alum, poet, and South Phoenix, AZ community member. His work can be found in a number of publications, most notably in the book Trayvon Martin, Race, and American Justice: Writing Wrong, Heart Journal Online, and Linden Avenue Literary Journal. He is a member of the Gutta' Collective based in the Phoenix, a group committed to sharing a Black and Brown narrative through art and poetry to give a voice to the silent, isolated, and marginalized.

CayugaW etlandsProject:NewRootsCharter School By Jhakeem Haltom

When Europeans first settled the area at the southern basin of Cayuga Lake, they sought to live in the areas in which 3 significant stream/ rivers emptied into Cayuga Lake. These were, Fall Creek, Cascadilla, and 6 mile. For them they were the new rightful owners and essentially generational newcomers to the area. Twenty years after the American Revolution, the early marketing efforts to despise and hate the so called savages that lived here before was well in place, even before modern media outlets. News periodicals of the time regularly spoke about the horrors of scalping and the intellectual inferiority of the red man. This illusionary gossip was not informed and ignorant to the reality of the vast intelligence and intuitive science developed by the Haudenausanee and in this Cayuga Region, the Cayuga Nation. The scientific world of the Cayuga' included such fields as astronomy, agriculture, environmental practices, genetics, medicine, carpentry, architecture. But all of this was dismissed and viewed as a threat.Their militant stance years before Ithaca, NY was settled, culminated into a last ditch effort to stop this new people who were invading and trying to ignore the human responsibility to the "Great Law" established by the great peacemaker in and around 1000 AD. In fact this "Great Law", at the time Ithaca was being settled, had been co-opted and transformed into a new system with an old name, democracy.

Of course any credit to those first nations people who developed the idea of checks and balances within branches of government, was stripped away from them. An exhaustive study could be done on the mind set, writings, and media of these new Cayuga lake settlers but let us look directly at their actions to reflect on their apparent disregard for Native wisdom. It is true that the Cayuga Nation actively chose not to live in this basin which they called, the "muckyland"; not because they lacked the intelligence to do so, but because they were intelligent enough not too. This sensitive, diverse and pristine natural area was flush with animals for food, beautiful diverse fish population, wild rices for food, and most of all critical to the trading capacity of the Cayuga nation, medicinal herbs renowned and needed by the other 4 nations spanning beyond the borders of New York to the East and West. This southern Muckyland acted as a kind of lung for the lake. It helped the waters of Cayuga lake remain drinkable and pure based on the cleansing capacity of the plant life within this wetland.

the biodiversity which protected the health of the lake was systematically stripped and removed, as it was settled. Even dirt was piled up on top of the lake so that the general public could be accommodated. Those who know Ithaca history have heard the story of the Typhoid break out dating back to the early 1900's. This event affected more than 300 people in a short period of time and resulted in over 80 deaths. This was and is one of the largest outbreaks in North American history. Its origin traces back to poor water quality and sanitation practices of this quickly growing settler population. The causes could easily be linked to the disrespect of mother earth in and around the "muckyland". The original people had so much respect for this wetland that they are called to this day, "the people of the muckyland". Not because they lived their, but because of their balanced utilization and maintenance of the wetland.

The ignorant decision to live in the wetland lacked the Indigenous knowledge of the Cayuga Nation. They believed as did the other Haudenesaunee nations, that each decision we make should reflect on positively for seven generations ahead of your own. If this had been the mind set of the settlers in the Cayuga region they may have chose to live in the hills in a more communal relationship with the Cayuga Nation. Our lake is now polluted for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is

Never Forget TOMO TIVA TEYO URSELF By Keia Thompson

If you know anything about white supremacy, you know it is a MAJOR source of stress. You know that it affects you and those around you in many ways and on different levels. At some point, every part of your life may be affected by this global system of oppression. Knowing that can be very depressing and you may find yourself questioning your purpose, your spirit, or why you even put yourself through it. I don't have all the answers but i can tell you this; motivation is the key to success. The fight must be fought! So what do you do to motivate??? You encourage yourself AT ALL TIMES. You may not have someone to tell you SO TELL YOURSELF. Look in that mirror and see who you are, not who you want to be. See your self in every tense; past, present, and future. You do not come from weakness! Although most of us do come from some form of struggle whether it be financial, physical, or mental; that does not define us. Your struggle does and how you keep up the fight does! Your resiliency and your character define you. As a black woman, man, or child your character will constantly be attacked and belittled. That's why you have to know better! Know that you're powerful and that you've overcome life hurdles coming out on top and at full speed! You have to motivate yourself!!! No one else can love you better than you. If you're looking for motivation or support, its going to have to start from within. You want to know why, you want to know your purpose? Let me be the first to tell you, WE NEED YOU. We need the greatness you can contribute! We will not just succumb and hand our lives, bodies, souls, AND CHILDREN over to oppression!! Who are YOU to just lay down and die when you're needed??

TIPS 1) Take some time out for you even if its just for a day. (Try this once a week) 2) Put your phone down for at least half of that day. 3) Everyday remind yourself that you're INDESTRUCTIBLE AND GREAT (this is very important, if possible do it in the mirror) 4) When you find your mental comfort zone do not let other opinions of you take you away from that. Keep your mind focused on your future and your greatness. By any means!! 5) Dont just think about it and talk about it!! Take baby steps if you have to but BE ABOUT IT! 6) Surround yourself with like minded people or at least find ONE you can connect with. 7) Never forget to love the skin youre in. There will always be doubt in some way. Tuck that away and RE-focus that energy and BE GREAT!!

W hoW ill SurviveAmerica? TyreKing

DeeW higham

Tyre King was a 13-year-old cis Black boy who was shot and killed by police on September 14, 2016 in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus police reports claim they received a call about an armed robbery on the night of September 14, 2016. Officers encountered King along with two other people of unknown age who fit the description of the suspects about a block away from the scene. Officers followed the group and attempted to detain King when he allegedly pulled out a BB gun. King was then shot several times. A independent autopsy determined that king was actually running away when he was shot.

Dee Whigham was a 25-year-old Black trans woman who was brutally stabbed to death on July 23, 2016 in Jackson County, Mississippi. Whigham was staying at a Best Western hotel with Dwayna Hickerson. Hickerson and Whigham went into the hotel room together. Hickerson then stabbed Whigham over 100 times in the neck and face. Hickerson then stole a cell phone and a few other items from her. Hickerson has been charged with capital murder.

TiarahPoyau Tiarah Poyau was a 22-year-old cis Black woman who was shot and killed on September 5, 2016 in Brooklyn, NY. Poyau was at the J'Ouvert festival when a Black man proceeded to grind on her. Poyau refused his advances and told the man to get off of her. The man, Reginald Moise, then shot Poyau in the face. Moise has been charged with murder.

SylvilleSmith Sylville Smith was a 23-year-old cis Black man who was shot and killed by police in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 13, 2016. Smith along with a few others was stopped at a traffic stop and fled from police. Smith was armed but there was no indication that the weapon was visible. Smith was shot dead as he was running away.

TerrenceCrutcher Terrence Crutcher was a 40-year-old cis Black man who was shot and killed by police in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 16, 2016. Crutcher was waiting for help on the road after his car broke down. Officer Betty Shelby encountered Crutcher and believed he was impaired. Shelby drew her gun as other officers arrived on the scene. Video footage shows Crutcher with his hands up and moving to place his hands on the rear of the car. Crutcher is then tased while Shelby fires her weapon.

KeithLam ontScott Keith Lamont Scott was a 43-year-old cis Black man who was shot and killed by police in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 20, 2016. Scott was sitting in his car reading a book when confronted by police. Police claimed he had a weapon and ordered him to drop it. Scott had a traumatic brain injury and was slow to respond. Scott's wife Rakeyia Scott pleaded with police before the officers opened fire.

Rest InPower 33

TRACKTHE MO VEMENT September,2016 # NoDAP

# Charlotte

Anti- pipeline protest are still occurring in North Dakota amidst the national media black- outs and attacks by National Guardsmen and G4S security. The Obama administration continues to do nothing to tangibly stop the pipeline, offering empty statements and asking for Dakota Access to "voluntarily" halt construction of the project. Meanwhile at Standing Rock, encampments are being terrorized by state police and private security forces. In a disgusting display of settler colonialism, the sacred burial grounds of the Standing Rock Souix were destroyed on September 3rd. Many protesters have been arrested and in lock down, including journalists who attempted to cover the story.

After the state sanctioned murder of Kieth Lamont Scott on September 20th, protesters took to the streets in revolt, demanding that the body- cam and dash- cam footage be released. Protesters were met with police in riot gear. Governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency on September 22nd and activated the National Guard and State Highway Patrol on protesters. A 12am curfew was also issued in Charlotte. One protester was shot and killed during the uprising by another protester. After five days of protesting police were forced to release the footage, which shows Scott with his hands at his sides as police open fire. A vigil was held for protester killed.

# PrisonStrike

# Seccion22 The section 22 teachers in Oaxaca continue to strike against the neoliberal education reforms imposed by the Mexican government. The Mexican teachers union has been protesting the Pena Nieto regime for months and have come up against the most violent forms of state repression. At least 30 people have disappeared since striking began. On September 1st some 2,000 protesters marched onto Congress in Mexico City to oppose Nieto's state of the union report. Members of other unions as well as the families of the Ayotzinapa 43 also joined the action.

On September 9th the largest prison strike in U.S. history began in opposition to the prison industrial complex. The action marks the 45 year anniversary of the Attica prison uprising. The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee issued a statement saying the strike is a call to end slavery. It is estimated that inmates at at least 29 prisons are participating in the strike, with at least 24,000 inmates involved. A media blackout by major news outlets has worked to silence the rebellion. The strike, however is continuing and being sustained. On September 21 at Kinross Correctional Facility in Michigan, what started as a strike terned into a prison riot. In Alabama inmates issued a bill demanding an increase in wages and lowering of the prison population within the facilities. The strike has been going for over three weeks.

# BharatBandh In India, workers staged one of the largest strikes in human history on September 2nd. In opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to privatize state- run industries and push for foreign investments, over 180 million public sector workers went on strike. 10 Indian trade unions called for the strike. Thousands of state- run banks, factories, and government offices were closed. The unions demand health care and social security for all and job protection from privitization.

Special thankstoour contributing writers Blache Marie

Thomas Moriarty

Taylar Nuevelle

Mani Martinez

Ariela Perez-Wallach

Rosi AlmĂŠstica

Genesis Garcia

Rita Jane

Beverley Ditsie

Kiea Thompson

Rahaad Thomas

Arissa Hall

Dubian Ade

Jhakeem Holtom

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/

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