In response to the murders of Minneapolis residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the student organizers responsible for last Friday’s large-scale shutdown in Minneapolis have called for a broader, nationwide strike. The ICE OUT Strike calls for “NO BUSINESS AS USUAL” (no shopping, no school, no work) today, Friday January 30th.
Darling Mental Health wholeheartedly supports organized protests, strikes, and other mobilization efforts that disrupt capitalist systems of oppression including the use of colonized lenses to justify murder.
As a small business who provides healing services, we are unable to participate in the “no work” aspect of this strike. We cannot let our clients down who rely on us for care, especially during such precarious times. Instead, we take this day to do our part in other ways, and to reflect on what it means to stand in solidarity with those who have historically and continue to experience oppression.
Beyond allyship- which describes a loud or visual act to show others that we are informed about oppression and against it- solidarity requires a more intentional action. It not only says, “this is a problem and we are against it,” but also, “this is what we are doing about it.”
Action is both individual and communal, and can look like many things. It can mean organizing a neighborhood watch program, protesting, delivering groceries to folks who are not safe to leave their homes, or contacting your representatives.
It always means learning the weight of your words.
When white people post on social media: “I feel unsafe doing x, y, z” thinking they are calling to end ICE occupation, they are really feeding into the very system that allowed ICE occupation to happen in the first place. It happens because these very people say “I feel unsafe” when their safety is not actually under threat. This is often used to justify systemic violence. While feelings of unsafely are valid given the circumstances, it is important to keep in mind the historical implications of these statements when made public, and who these statements are giving attention to. Because it perpetuates the systems of oppression we all would like to dismantle.
It always means listening to immigrant and BIPOC people around you, but not relying on them to educate you. So many BIPOC and immigrant folks have made their lived experiences and knowledge easily accessible through books, videos, blog posts, and more.
It can mean showing up to that protest, that meal share, that informational webinar, and for those around you, but it always means doing what you can. Not everyone can be on the front lines, but we all have a part to play in the revolution.
Here are some examples of easy ways to play your part, and resources we love:
LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of MA: https://www.lucemass.org
Write to your reps in 1-step: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/congress-shrink-cruel-immigration-detention-system
Create “whistle kits”: https://migrawhistle.carrd.co
Find protests near you: https://www.findaprotest.info/?radius=15
Hand out Tarjetas Rojas (Red Cards): https://www.ilrc.org/redcards
Choose your shopping wisely. Here are some of ICE’s top corporate collaborators:
- Amazon/Whole Foods
- Target
- Palantir
- Every major hotel chain
- Home Depot
- Lowe’s
- AT&T
- Dell UPS
- Eastern Airlines
- Aramark
- Global X
- Flock Systems
- FedEx
- Delta
Put your financial support elsewhere. Shop small businesses, donate to the below organizations, or use your time and skills to raise money for organizations (e.g. if you enjoy crafting, sell your crafts and donate a percentage).
- Shop for clothes that donate to immigrant defense funds here: https://chnge.com/collections/abolish-ice
- Immigrant Defense Project: https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org
- Defending Our Neighbors Fund: https://defendingourneighbors.org
- Don’t forget about individual funds for folks needing lawyers, food assistance, and more.
Add to your reading list:
- Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
- Everyone Who is Gone is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis, Jonathan Blitzer
- The Land of Open Graves, Jason De Leon
- The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border, Francisco Cantu
- The Undocumented Americans, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
- Dominicana, Angie Cruz
- The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande
“Revolution is not a one-time event. It is becoming always vigilant for the smallest opportunity to make genuine change in established, outgrown responses.”
– Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider
