Saturday, February 20, 2010

On (De)Cheesing the Revolution



So, I woke up this morning with something to Say (which I usually do, but let's just leave that alone for dramatic effect) because I've just spent the past two days with two of the most real, inspiring and empowering women of color I know. Our talks in the last couple of days have really demonstrated that we are in dire need for CHANGE. And I mean that real systemic-structural- beat-down-the-Man-and-his-twisted-armies-of-Oppressors-on- every-imaginable-level of-world-society-kinda-change.

But let me just say a word (or two) about "REVOLUTION". Revolution has become cheesy. Yea, I said it--Cheesy because it's been commodified from Che T-shirts, to images of Angela Davis' glorious fro and the raised fists of the Black Power and Third World Liberation movements co-opted into kitschy graphic designs. Cheesy because while the contributions of MLK, Malcolm X and Ghandi to the world and to the fight for freedom have been great and far-reaching, their words have been made into cliched soundbites for college dorm room posters, coffeemugs and t-shirts for a generation (of which I'm very proud to be a part of) that has come to see revolution as something past, something retro, something static belonging to our history books. There's nothing further from the truth.

Also, just as an aside: since this post is about "de-cheesing" the revolution, "cheese" as in corniness but also "cheese" as in money: READ: "The Revolution Will Not be Funded"-- a seriously on-point, hard-hitting book on the non-profit industrial complex (posts on this to come) by an amazing org of radical women of color INCITE!.

What we're talking about is a revolution of minds (yes, Bob Marley...), internal revolutions in consciousness and creating change on our terms-- being creative about that change that activism, using the tools at our disposal and TALKING BACK and TAKING BACK as young people of color. Activism is beyond rallies and marches, activism is a choice, a choice to challenge power and speak truth to power and understanding that knowledge is power.... Okay, imma slowly step off the soap box...
All I really wanted to say was: this blog strives to be a space for us to think about activism and how we can create social change from the ground up. And we'll try to keep the preaching to a low...

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