THEDECO LO NIZER October 2015
Report From Kolkata
Campaign Zero
Straight, No Chaser
Indigenous Knowledge
TABLEO FCO NTENTS What is THE DECOLONIZER?
1
Report From Kolkata: The Liberation Front
2
Campaign Zero
4
Is Leopoldo Lopez an in for U.S Imperialism?
5
Straight, No Chaser
8
Decolonizing Culture
9
Brief Histories
11
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
12
Who Will Survive America
13
Track The Movement
15
Brief Histories
Track The Movement
Report From Kolkata: The Liberation Front
1
Campaign Zero
4
11 Who Will Survive America? 13 Is Leopoldo Lopez an in for United States Imperialism?
15 Straight, No Chaser
5
39
W hat IsTHEDECO LO NIZER? THE DECOLONIZER is not respectable
THE DECOLONIZER is not reasonable
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be appropriated
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be brought
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be silenced
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be pacified
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be gendered
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be reformed
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be co-opted
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be consumed
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be policed
THE DECOLONIZER cannot be repressed
THE DECOLONIZER is not white property
YOUR DOMINATION stops here
THE DECOLONIZER is the Xicana
THE DECOLONIZER is the Black woman
THE DECOLONIZER is the Campesino
THE DECOLONIZER is the sex worker
THE DECOLONIZER is the prisoner
THE DECOLONIZER is undocumented
THE DECOLONIZER is the Ghetto
THE DECOLONIZER is the Barrio
THE DECOLONIZER is the Reservation
THE DECOLONIZER, by any means necessary
Report fromKolkata:TheLiberationFront Before I could utter a word, the organizers rushed away to edit the itinerary, visibly apprehensive to put an unknown artist in front of a packed auditorium but quick to please Geetesh. I, too, was startled by his spontaneous decision to introduce me like this, for the festival was to commence in less than 15 minutes, while I was unprepared to share anything at all.
By Sophia E. Terazawa On May 19th, 1890, Ho Chi Minh was born. On May 19th, 1925, Malcolm X was born. On May 19th, 1970, a mass of university students and artists marched through Kolkata, India. Under the watchful gaze of a scorching pre- monsoon sun, brown youth raised their fists and with a shout? "Hands off Vietnam! ?? they stopped at Harrington Street. Here the U.S. Consulate rested its lily white buttocks, where demonstrators rechristened the building?s mailing address after the very country its administration was bombing. As I write this now, the U.S. Consulate still stands on the street named Ho Chi Minh Sarani! This was the triumphant report presented upon my arrival to Kolkata, the beating heart of India?s radical protest movements against imperialism with a fiercely transnational conscious. Only recently seizing independence from the British Empire in 1947, the people of India knew very well that the bloody path to decolonization was far from over. They cheered on a soft spoken poet from Vietnam, as he rallied the small country to fight back against domination by three empires at the same time? France, Japan, and the United States of America. Between 1945 and 1975, Kolkata stood in solidarity with David against Goliath, except David was not biblical in any sense of the righteous word. No, David wore the face of my terrified mother, and she was fleeing with her life from Saigon. On November 14th, 2014, I arrived in this city that still bore scars of British colonial rule and partition. I also carried a hunger for proof that the Third World Liberation Front still existed, that transnational solidarity was not simply the mirage of multi- colored fists romantically painted across a wall to please its global audience.
Source: Ann Arbor Sun, May 9t h, 1975 (p. 8-9) I did not want any hand- shaking. I did not want congratulations, and above all, I feared the status of martyrdom granted to a people who had to choose between dying to the sounds of revolution and dying to the silence of bullets passing through. I want to say this again. My mother chose the latter.
Amar nam tomar nam Vietnam!
On January 3rd, 2015, I sat in a dusty office above the traffic?s din on Esplanade Row. My fingers pecked at each other nervously, as I contemplated never returning to the Indo- Vietnam Solidarity Committee. Less than three feet in front of me, its president, Geetesh Sharma, cleared his throat and demanded that I attend more events with him. He recited the famous slogan that once incited his organization to stand with my mother?s people, "My name is, your name is Vietnam." He reiterated how I should be thankful for everything he did for me. I began to cry. This was not the transnational solidarity I had imagined. The night before, the white bearded man? a respected journalist who wrote passionately about Kolkata?s protest movement in support of my mother?s country? had invited me to an international poetry festival. At the door, he beamed with pride as he presented me to the event organizers.
On stage I pulled a notebook out of my bag to scribble something new before the host would announce my name at the end of a list of eminent poets. They had gathered from around the world to present the beauty of their countries through lyric. However, my pen refused to budge on paper. How could I write about Vietnam? I was only half my mother?s daughter after all. With a Japanese name and an American tongue, my split selves prevented nationalistic sentimentality. Suddenly, the image of Malcolm X alongside Yuri Kochiyama flashed across my mind. If I could not write about Vietnam, perhaps I could write about the wounds of Liberation. If I could not sing pleasant truths, perhaps I could burn and burn and burn. In a flash I completed a poem around my exiled Vietnamese body. This is what I said: Who kills Black men? Who erases the heart of Global Solidarity? Amnesia. An audience is at once live and deaf. Celebrate the comfort of velvet. One voice radiates from the crowd. She speaks English because she had no choice in learning it.
My body is a meteor, bursting against the charade of wars won. My tongue is Agent Orange,
"She will read a poem about Vietnam at the opening ceremony,? he demanded.
and my eye, it expels radiation.
Report fromKolkata:TheLiberationFront (Cont) I walked across the stage, slowly turning my back to the audience. My knees were trembling with rage, but I was also afraid. When they started to clap, I suddenly spun around and continued shouting without a microphone from the scratches in my notebook.
They physically trapped me in a circle of moving bodies, as we shuffled toward the van. When the door opened, I had no choice but to enter, followed by as much men as the vehicle could cram into its seats. On the way to the next venue, the men chattered among each other about revolution.
Who has shackled our minds?
They were eager to watch me disrupt the next event, a corporate sponsored science festival half way across the city, but what could I have done if my voice was nearly gone?
Who has shackled the ability to feel something more profound, awful, devastating than the PERFORMANCE of poetry? I DON?T BELONG HERE! I DON?T BELONG HERE! I?M UNCOMFORTABLE HERE! I WANT TO BE WITH BLACK LIVES! HANDS UP! DON?T SHOOT!
My eyes closed before the silent auditorium.
Upon the outdoor pavilion, erected in the center of a large slum in Kolkata, I weakly muttered the Bengali words that once propelled me toward this country in search of the Third World Left, "Amar nam tomar nam Vietnam...? Stars faded in the night sky above me, as one by one another fluorescent flood light flickered on around the field. Children ran around playing tag. Adults wandered from booth to booth. Two television crews competed for the best wide shot. I just stood there in silence.
END COLONIALISM NOW! I jumped from the stage and dashed down the aisle, my face flushed with instant regret and humiliation. Did I just confirm the stereotype of the self- centered, arrogant American? No other guest poet had recited a pinch of negativity. Before witnessing my mess, the audience heard only award- winning verses of Russian flowers, Tibetan landscapes, Chinese meditations, and Bengali folk music. This space was a celebration of transnational unity through poetry. Why did I have to be so angry? At the auditorium?s entrance, Geetesh had gathered a large crowd of men and introduced me as "that Vietnamese poet.? They followed me out onto the sidewalk asking questions about Vietnam, commenting on the beauty of righteous Vietnamese women with machine guns, the glory of Vietnamese women like me fighting for the nation state. I was emotionally and spiritually depleted. Gone was the mix of shame and frustration. At that moment, I simply felt utterly alone. The moon looked down upon me with compassion, but still I wanted to go home, wherever that meant. Geetesh pointed to his rented van and said, "Now you will come with me to another event. You will recite this poem again for the people." I shook my head, "No. No. No. I can?t.? Yet the men crowded closer and started shouting in agreement as Geetesh raised his voice to scold me, "You must! It is your responsibility! " My hands went numb, and I felt my protests fading, "No. No. No...?
To read more of Terazawa's work pl ease visit www.sophiat erazawa.com
CampaignZero Black Lives Matter organizers Johnetta Elizie, Brittany Packnett and DeRay McKesson team up with researchers and analysts to launch a comprehensive agenda to end police brutality. By Dubian Ade As the state- sanctioned murder of black and brown bodies continues to occur in the United States, critics of the Black Lives Matter movement have claimed that no official agenda to stop police violence has been released. In an interview with NPR?s Audie Cornish, Brittany Packnett righteously explained ?we?ve had demands for over the last year.? Why these demands, screamed from the top of the lungs of protesters in Baltimore and Ferguson were still unclear remains a mystery. But Black Lives Matter organizers from Ferguson along with researchers and data analysts have put together a comprehensive package of urgent policy solutions to change policing in this country. The agenda has been called Campaign Zero. In a careful study of the policing state in the United States, incorporating research organizations, suggestions from communities, and the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the campaign outlines a ten point platform to combat policing violence. The the plan includes prerogatives to end broken windows policing, limit the use of force, demilitarize, and end for- profit policing. Broken window policing especially effects low- income communities of color, where minor offences are enforced with the most aggressive rigor. The for- profit policing complex, which derives funding money from police quotas, ticketing, and arrests drives the aggressive oversight of these communities. According to the website, over 287 people were killed by police last year for minor offenses. The plan also includes community oversight infrastructure with discipline power. independent investigations and prosecution, and the use of body cameras. Organizers stress that Campaign Zero is only a starting point. The website includes an interactive feedback page where suggestions for improving the platform can be made and are checked on a regular bases. Campaign Zero is a template for the movement as it relates to policy change, but exists in- step with the lager agenda of liberation.
For more inf ormat ion pl ease visit ht t p:/ / www.joincampaignzero.org
#FreeLeopoldo:IsLeopoldoLopez aninfor UnitedStatesImperialism? By Dubian Ade On September 10th, Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was sentenced to 13 years, 9 months, and 7 days in prison. Lopez, who had been held at a Venezuelan military base since February 2014 had been charged with murder, terrorism, and inciting violence during a 2014 protest. Lopez has been intentionally excluded from the Venezuelan presidential elections and the charges brought against him seem to be an effort on the part of the Maduro administration to silence him. However, Leopoldo Lopez is a wealthy, Harvard educated Venezuelan politician who has garnered enormous support from the United Nations and the United States government. Many Venezuelans have described Lopez as a radical far right- wing leader of the opposition. As Lopez receives increased media attention, unrest in Venezuela is an invitation for United States imperialism. The 1998 election of the late Hugo Chavez saw progress in many areas of Venezuelan life including a decrease in poverty from previous levels. The democratic- socialist government put in place a series of initiatives that aimed to narrow economic disparities. The social programs known as the Bolivarian missions were funded largely from oil revenues, much to the horror of wealthy middle- class Venezuelans. At the start of Chavez? term there were already factions of opposition made up of wealthy Venezuelans. An unpopular and unsuccessful military coup was organized in 2002 that briefly removed Chavez from power. Lopez participated in the street protest that led to the coup, but was never directly implicated. Since then Lopez has continually denied his involvement. The Venezuelan government under Chavez was explicitly anti- imperialist and anti- United States. The Venezuelan socialist government was not favored by the United States and U.S funded military coups are not unheard of in Latin America. According to The Observer, many of the chief organizers including Pedro Carmona, who was to be installed in place of Chavez, made numerous trips to the White House months before the plot. Much evidence points to United States support of the coup.
"it should be clear that no one would like to see La Salida more than the United States government"
In the wake of Chavez?death from cancer in 2013, economic policies including government price controls and overspending have caused massive amounts of inflation. Poverty levels have spiked, crime and homicides have increased, and there is a shortage of basic goods. In 2014 protesters took to the streets in opposition to the government. Leopoldo Lopez was at the forefront of the protest. Anti- government street protests in Venezuela have been characterized by its class bias. Many of the participants have been right- wing middle class Venezuelans. The 2014 protests made use of violent street barricades known as guarimbas, which caused the deaths of over 43 people. Impoverished Venezuelans who had benefited from the Bolivarian missions condemn Lopez as being out of touch with the needs of the people. In response, pro- government Venezuelans have established the militant collectivos to safeguard the interests of the people. Meanwhile, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have openly condemned the Venezuelan government and have called for the release of Lopez and other detainees. U.S Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson had expressed her "deep concern? for the Lopez verdict. UN High Commission for Human Rights spokesperson Rupert Colville called the sentencing "harsh? with many irregularities. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both criticized the Lopez verdict and have called it a human rights violation. Yet both organization have served as talking heads for Western imperial interests. Venezuela contains some of the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere. The socialist- democratic government under Chavez had minimized United States influence in the area. In 2014 Lopez?s slogan was "La Salida? or the "exit? of the current socialist government. With the attempted 2002 coup, and the recent support of Lopez from United States politicians, it should be clear that no one would like to see La Salida more that the United States government. As tensions reach a boil in Venezuela, we must pay close attention to Lopez and his Western supporters. A destabilization of the Venezuelan government would free up oil markets for the United States. United States imperialism in Latin America is not unheard of. Just ask Chile and Nicaragua.
Straight,NoChaser M i ssi ssi ppi GD By Patrice Lockert Anthony
"Straight, No Chaser,? is a monthly column, based in large part, on James Baldwin?s contention (which he wrote of in "The Fire Next Time?) that part of the evolution and revolution around race issues in America will be African Americans acting as white America's mirror. My column will address race issues in America both specifically, and comparatively (race issues around the world). While I care about, and will address, myriad race issues, I will, more often than not, examine issues between whites and blacks in America. White European racial aggression and oppression may not have begun with black folk in America, but it is, arguably, the most historically, legally, and subtextually defined relationship with regard to that bugaboo called, "Race in America." There has been, and still remains, too much running away from obvious truths from our country?s history, and present day pathology. As long as this pathology persists; we cannot heal. I get tired of reading, and hearing about, the pathology of "Black Culture? as if that, or any culture?s pathology, existed in a vacuum. As if it is absent of external causation. As if nothing ever happened before, during, or since which hasn?t had profound effects, either extrinsically or intrinsically on that pathology?s origins or continuum. So what are the events in human history/ American history which have impacted African American existence? These are the topics and issues I will be discussing, and yes, opining on, in this column. I hope that as a result of my thoughts and words others will be inclined toward open and engaged discussion with each other. I?m not interested in fisticuffs, hate, or baiting. I am interested in seeing if there are any people left in America who are ready for intelligent discussion and debate. Religion, politics, education . . . our leaders in these areas are too often content to either close their eyes to the truth, or they are content with lies and ignorance. Unfortunately, these are the major highways of knowledge for most communities.
That type of leadership must end. Too many white Americans are desperately afraid of this conversation. So they fall back on their privilege (acknowledged or not) to create distance and walls. Too many black Americans are too deeply enraged (and terrified given the current climate of policing and justice in America) to have a calm and reasoned discussion. But the conversation must be had. Truth must come out. There is no other way to begin the healing. In later columns I?ll discuss white guilt, American craziness, private meeting space, the black lives matter movement, and a host of other topics. I look forward to putting my thoughts out there for you. I hope you are engaged by them. I hope you are moved by them. I hope they move you to seek evolution over revolution. Accord over discord. People who self- identify as oppressed will eventually choose a plan of action, because only the dead cannot rise.
In faith~
DeclonizingCulture Filmof themonth:
W riter of themonth:
A Place Called Chiapas
Sonia Sanchez
This 1998 Canadian documentary is a first hand account of the Ej茅rcito Zapatista de Liberaci贸n Nacional , or the Zapatista Army of National liberation (Zapatistas). The 1993 signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the Mexican government allowed for the unrestrained exploitation of the Mexican economy by United States business interests and dollarization. To the benifit of the Mexican elite, the agreement had many disastrous implications for the impoverished indigenous communities of the Chiapas.
Sonia Sanchez is one of the most important poets of the Black Arts movement. She is the author of over 16 books including Home Girls and Hand Grenades, I've Been A Woman, Shake Loose My Skin, and Morning Haiku. She is a renowned writer, poet, essayist, activist, and lecturer.
In response, the Ej茅rcito Zapatista de Liberaci贸n Nacional staged an armed insurrection on January 1st, 1994. Zapatistas marched overtaking five towns and 500 ranches. A Place Called Chiapas takes an in-depth look at life in the rebel territories after the 1994 insurrection. The fight for indigenous survival continues today in the Chiapas.
Bookof themonth:
W ordof themonth: Colonialism This months word is colonialism.
Har vest of Empires: A Histor y of L atinos in Amer ica Harvest of Empire spans five centuries-from the first New World colonies to the first decade of the new millennium. Latinos are now the largest minority group in the United States, and their impact on American popular culture-from food to entertainment to literature-is greater than ever. Featuring family portraits of real- life immigrant Latino pioneers, as well as accounts of the events and conditions that compelled them to leave their homelands, Harvest of Empire is required reading for anyone wishing to understand the history and legacy of this increasingly influential group.
Colonialism (noun): The systematic practice of occupying a territory, extracting it's resources, exploiting it's labor and dominating it's people. It is also the psychological destruction of the people, the erasing of their history, the extermination of their language, the eradication of their culture, the abolition of their religion, and the internalization of their inferiority. Colonialism is a racist, patriarchal, and gendered system. Colonialism always begins with violence. Violence is required to sustain colonialism. Because of this, the murder, rape, torture, and genocide of the colonized is made into law. Colonialism justifies its self by claiming that it is brings progress, modernization, and civilization to the colonized. We have known it only to bring death, disease, and hunger. Colonialism used in a sentence: Until Western colonialism comes to an immediate end, the colonize people of the world will continue to pick up their arms in pursuit of freedom.
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Rest InPower
BRIEFHISTO RIES:TheStonewall Uprising By Dubian Ade It was a Friday night in June, 1969. The crowd of drag and street queens, transgender, lesbian, bisexual, and gay siblings gathered quietly outside the door of the Stonewall Inn awaiting entry. If you were LGBTQ in New York City, Stonewall was the only place you could go if you wanted to dance openly. Gay bars were formally outlawed and by the late 1960s a city crackdown was under way. The only reason why the little establishment was allowed to exist was because of the small weekly cash envelopes exchanged on the corners of Christopher Street to keep the police away. Because of their underground nature, gay bars became monopolies for organized crime. The Stonewall Inn was owned by the Genovese crime family. Stonewall?s condition was poorly kept and its customers were generally exploited. The operation tapped into the most marginalized groups in Manhattan. The place had no liquor licence, there were no fire exits and no running water. Alcohol was watered down and police raids were frequent and humiliating. But Stonewall quickly became the hub for LGBTQ nightlife and attracted all kinds of people from closeted Wall Street executives to low- income sex workers. The bar did not make its money on alcohol sales. The bar made its money through the blackmail of closeted Wall Street employees. Mafia activity took place upstairs where drug sales and sex work also provided revenue. LGBTQ people of color were regulars at Stonewall. Trans women of color in particular played an important role in leading the eventual insurrection. Their names are Miss Major Griffin- Gracy, Marsha P Johnson, and Sylvia Rivera. At about 1:20 AM on June 28th, 1969 eight New York City police officers raided the bar. During a raid all of the lights would come on and customers were forced to line- up with their IDs. Women who were not wearing three pieces of ?feminine? clothing were immediately arrested. People dressed in full drag were escorted to the bathroom by a police officer to confirm their gender. After the harassment and molestation, some people were free to go.
On this night however, the people refused to cooperate. Trans people and drag queens refused to be escorted to the bathroom. Queer women and men refused to provide ID. LGBTQ people of color resisted excessive police force. Lesbians fought off police frisks and sexual advances. People who were allowed to leave did not leave right away and began gathering in large numbers outside of Stonewall. Over 150 people surrounded the outside of the bar. Officers had decided to arrest everyone who remained in the building, but patrol forces had not yet arrived on the scene.
The police arrived soon after. Garbage cans were lit on fire. Bricks were hurled. The Rockette kick lines had started again as Marsha P. Johnson climbed on top of a lamp post and dropped a heavy bag onto the roof of a police car. Windows were shattered in exploding molotov bottles. When police seized demonstrators the crowd convulsed to take them back. Many demonstrators were beaten bloody by police officers.
Sporadic actions had continued for days afterward. By Wednesday night a crowd of It was the tipping point; the straw that broke the over a thousand people gathered again camel?s back. The first real resistance came from outside of Stonewall where the violent trans customers inside of the bar. One lesbian struggle against the police continued until woman was escorted out of the bar and into a Thursday morning. When the smoke cleared, police wagon. She complained repeatedly that her the modern LBGTQ movement had been handcuffs were too tight. She was pushed forward. begun. She shoved back. There was a struggle. The woman Many LBGTQ organizations were formed soon was then struck in the head with a billy club. The after the Stonewall Rebellion, including the crowd frothed at the mouth. Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Bottles were thrown from all directions. Windows Alliance. Most importantly was the formation were broken. Tires were slashed. Wagons were of the Street Transvestite Action turned over. The crowd had multiplied to over 600 Revolutionaries (STAR) founded by Marsha P. people, with more arriving from neighboring streets. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, which helped The trans women who were shoved into the police homeless trans youth and sex workers. Miss wagons escaped, some running back inside Major Griffin- Gracy would establish the Stonewall. Black trans woman Miss Major Transgender, Gender Variant, Intersex Justice Griffin- Gracy fought alongside other trans women Project (TGIJP) many years later. of color until she was struck in the head by a police Over the years the Stonewall Rebellion has officer and taken into custody. been whitewashed and appropriated by the Street marches began against the police, with trans white male homosexual community. Gay women and drag queens doing Rockette style kick liberation movements following the routines singing: ?we are the Village girls, we wear aftermath of Stonewall have intentionally our hair in curls.? Everything inside of the Stonewall excluded transgender women of color and Inn was completely smashed. Fires were started. erased their leading role in the movement. Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman, was at The story of Stonewall has been told for the the front lines of the struggle along with Puerto purpose of centering cist gay white men, Rican trans woman Sylvia Rivera who was one of which is not historically accurate. It must be the first to a throw bottle a the police. ?Im not understood and accepted that transgender missing a minute of this, its the revolution! ? she women of color were at the forefront of the yelled. Demonstrators chased police around the events that took place on June 28th 1969. corners of Christopher Street until the crowd eventually dispersed. By 4 AM Christopher Street was cleared. The following Saturday night thousands of people gathered outside of Stonewall. Some people returned from the night before, while others had heard of the rebellion and came out of curiosity. Street queens, trans and homeless sex workers gathered where there was nowhere else to go. The crowd spilled onto adjacent streets.
IndigenousKnowledgeSystems By Fabina Benites Colon I remember like it was yesterday. The Summer of 1989. All I could hear my mother chanting over and over again was "agarrense de las manos! " So, we held hands tight- - me and my four siblings, my grandmother and my mother- - as we ran confused and lost across the airport to find our airline to board the plane. I was excited to leave Lima, Peru, but I didn't expect what was waiting for us in the United States. I was 7 years old when I arrived to the Bronx, NY with my family. Being the youngest child in my family, my cultural history and identity was nurtured through all the amazing stories I heard from my siblings, parents, and my grandmother. Although I don't remember much about Peru, the stories took me through a mental journey that felt so real and triggered all my five senses. I know we left our home village in the Andes mountain of Peru because of a civil war where Peruvian and U.S. sponsored military were persecuting indigenous families and barring us from our rights. Identifying as an indigenous person has been an interesting journey. I remember about 20 years ago, it was explicitly tied to being inferior, savage, under- developed, illiterate, poor, ignorant, etc. I always got the message that our goal was to "mejorar la raza," which actually meant to "whiten our race" and leave our traditions, language, values... our entire CULTURE behind. This was an act of violent cultural rape, which is present today and a living function of colonialism. Today, I realize that not much has changed except for the additional component of people romanticizing with indigeneity. It's still all those negative things, but it's now also exotic! But, resistance also exists in ways that have sustained cultures through strategies that created an illusion that we surrendered and our indigenous cultures are extinct. One strategy my family used has been the power of stories and art. Growing up, I always felt fascinated by the stories my parents would tell me, some of which I thought were fictional, but overall great stories. It wasn't until I was in high school when I started hearing repeats of my mother's stories. These stories came from "professional experts" - - mostly white men with Ph.D.?s- - that take indigenous knowledge and present it to the world as if they owned this new breaking discovery.
One day, as I helped my mother cook, she told me a story about her adventures when she was a young girl. I listened carefully as I pealed potatoes that still had soil on them. My mother stopped to tell me that it?s good to eat the peal. I explained that the potatoes still had soil. And, she followed to tell me that soil is good to eat too. She told me that she and her friends used to go down the hill to the lime trees and they would split a lime, sprinkle a little soil and suck on it. Of course, to many, this story didn?t really sound normal. Actually, this practice has been associated with an eating disorder called "Pica.? Most recently, our genius P.h.D?s are now ?discovering? that soil is beneficial to our health. In a recent issue of YES Magazine, I read an article written by Daphne Miller M.D. How to Eat Like Our Life Depends On It which talks in more depth about soil as a natural way to support the immune system and flex your internal mechanisms. So, now that science agrees, and it?s been "proven by an expert? it?s officially normal? and is now even part of high- end restaurant menus! Ummmm (sigh! ) If you come visit my mom and dad, they can teach you a few more things that may take you another decade to "discover.? I used to just laugh and ignore these "new breaking discoveries" that are currently (and historically) informing leadership development, community capacity building, pedagogy, physical/ mental health and nutrition, neuroscience, social justice movements, etc. But no more. I will no longer allow colonizers to exercise continuous violent cultural rape in my presence. So, now I am in the practice of re- informing and reclaiming what is rightfully indigenous knowledge. These are NOT "new discoveries." We will acknowledge, embrace, and honor the impact and position that our indigenous knowledge has had on guiding equitable and inclusive social, environmental, and human sustainability. INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE BELONGS TO NO ONE, BUT IS FOR EVERYONE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IS SAVING OUR WORLD, YOUR LIFE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE = DECOLONIZING CULTURE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE = INDIGENOUS POWER
W hoW ill SurviveAmerica? KieshaJenkins
JasmineCollins
Kiesha Jenkins was a 22 year-old trans Black woman who was brutally beaten and murdered in North Philadelphia on October 6th. Minutes after getting out of a parked car, she was attacked by five to six males and then shot in the back. She is at least the twentieth trans woman killed in the United States this year.
Jasmine Collins was a 32 year-old trans Black woman who was killed in June in Kansas City, Missouri. She was misgendered by police and remained unidentified until late August, after cist-gendered woman Tia Townsel had been charged with her murder. She is at least the nineteenth trans woman killed in the United States this year.
JeremyMcDole
KeithMcLeod
Jeremy McDole was a disabled 28 year-old cist Black male who was shot and killed by a four-officer firing squad on September 23rd, as he sat in his wheelchair. Officers responded to a 911 call that McDole had shot himself. Video footage shows officers approaching him and demanding that he put his hands up, but no weapon is visible. Officers fired 10 rounds before McDole fell out of his wheelchair.
Keith McLeod was a 19 year-old cist Black male who was shot and killed September 23rd by a police officer after attempting to get cough medicine with a fake prescription. He was chased thorough a pharmacy parking lot and shot three times after he allegedly made a hand gesture that "look like a gun."
Rest InPower
Special thankstoour contributing writers Sophia E. Terazawa Patrice Lockert Anthony Fabina Benites Colon
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.
TRACKTHE MO VEMENT O ctober,2015 # RISEUPOCTOBER # WhatSideAreYouOn?
# FREEBAPUSURATSINGH
A national three day action against police brutality and mass incarceration will be staged in New York City October 22-24th. # RiseUpOctober is a massive call to end police brutality, extra judicial killings, police terror and mass incarnation.
On September 17th Sikh activists staged a state-wide protests outside of Punjab district headquarters on behalf of Bapu Surat Singh. Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa is an United States resident of Lanthrop, CA who has been on a hunger strike in Punjab, India since January 16th, 2015. His demand is for the release of Sikh political prisoners held by the Indian government. U.S based Sikh activists will hold a Freedom Rally October 17th in Time Square to internationalize this issue.
# Bethlehem
# Lote192
Palestinian thirteen year-old Abdel Rahman Abdullah was shot and killed on October 5th by Israeli troops near Bethlehem. He was the second Palestinian teen to be killed by Israeli troops within a 24 hr period on October 5th. On going clashes with the Israeli military and the Palestinian people have been occurring in Bethlehem as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged "a fight to the death against Palestinian terror."
On September 1st Indigenous activists of FECONACO shut down 11 oil wells and seize control of an airport in Loreto, Peru in response to the recent privatization of oil Lot 192. Lot 192 contains the largest supply of oil reserves in Peru. A recent deal with the Peruvian government and Canadian Transnational company Pacific Stratus Energy has licensed the use of the lot for two years. Protesters demand state investment in the lot, the end to oil privatization, clean-up and reparations for the damage caused by years of exploitation in the region.
# DiaDeLaIndignacion # Ayotzinapa
# JusticeOrElse
September 26th marked the one year anniversary of the Ayotzinapa tragedy in Mexico. 43 Mexican students from the Escuela Normal Rural RaĂşl Isidro disappeared at the hands of the Mexican authorities September 26th 2014. To this day, the Mexican government has refused to disclose the true whereabouts of the 43 students. Thousands marched through Mexico City this September including the Zapatistas, demanding no more lies from the Mexican government.
October 10th marked the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March. Thousands of Black activists, intellectuals, artists, educators and community organizers from all over the country gathered at the National Mall in Washington. Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan called for an immediate end to police brutality and extra judicial killings. Indigenous activists also called for the abolition and renaming of Columbus day. The event was intentionally overlooked by mainstream media outlets. News One Now was the only news network that covered it.
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