Mutual Aid
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Collectives
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Higher Ed Inclusion
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Mutual Aid 〰️ Collectives 〰️ Higher Ed Inclusion 〰️
GALERSTEIN COMMUNITY CENTER
location: University of Texas at Dallas
Formerly known as the Gender Center, became my safe haven during my undegrad years in Texas. There I learned about intersectionality for the first time and created healing spaces for my queerness.
Sadly, in the spring of 2023, Texas passed Senate Bill 17 (SB17), which restricts any Texas state college from doing diversity, equity and inclusion work. This led to the closure of the GGC, but the new center is yet to open. (will share the link as soon as they open)
LEFT BANK BOOKS
location: Occupied Duwamish land, Pike Place Market
Left Bank Books is a collectively operated business. This means that they have no boss; they are their own boss. The core staff is composed of roughly six paid members. This is my chosen local book shop.
MUTUAL AID BOOKS
location: Occupied Duwamish land
We give out free books centering Black and Indigenous authors for readers of all ages. We distribute the books at pop ups, and in partnership with local mutual aid groups.
FOOD NOT BOMBS
location: Occupied Duwamish land, Occidental Square
Food Not Bombs is a decentralized global movement dedicated to sharing free food every Sat & Sun at 5PM. While each Food Not Bombs group is independent, we all adhere to a set of common core principles:
Dedication to mutual aid over charity
Horizontal decision making using consensus
Opposition to all forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia etc.
Dedication to nonviolence and promotion of veganism/vegetarianism
Food is a human right, not a privilege
LEADERSHIP WITHOUT BORDERS
location: University of Washington
Leadership Without Borders (LWB) was created with Undocumented Students in mind and with the mission to serve as a launch pad for students’ leadership, a space for community building, and a connection point for awareness as well as to resources and services for undocumented students.
SLINGSHOT COLLECTIVE
location: Berkeley, CA
Slingshot is a quarterly, independent, radical, newspaper published in the East Bay since 1988 by the Slingshot Collective. I have used most, if not all, the information I have gathered from this collective and want to share it with you. You can more info about this amazing collective by clicking the tile of this item. There you will find tips for dealing with the police, their Radical Contact List, and info on how to order their amazing Planner/Organizer.
Current Readings
Interested in engaging in dialogue about any of these books? I am always down, just contact me!
FOR BROWN GIRLS WITH SHARP EDGES AND TENDER HEARTS
Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez
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A beautiful and empowering letter for Brown immigrants in the U.S. (especially for people who do not identify or present as cisgender men). It explores a variety of topics raging from machismo to colorism with an intersectional frame.
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★★★★☆
TEACHING TO TRANSGRESS: EDUCATION AS THE PRACTICE OF FREEDOM
bell hooks
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An empowering guide with vulnerable reflections recommended for educators who utilize their classroom as the place for healing and revolutionary action. Words cannot account for how grateful I am to have had this book as my strongest companion during my first year of teaching.
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★★★★★
TEACHING COMMUNITY:
A PEDAGOGY OF HOPE
bell hooks
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bell hook's second book out of the two other books (Teacher to Transgress and Teaching Critical Thinking) in her teaching trilogy. This book focuses on fostering an environment in the classroom that pushes for mutual liberation through the abolishment of the student-teacher hierarchical relationship.
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★★★★★
TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING : PRACTICAL WISDOM
bell hooks
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Final book out of bell hook's teaching trilogy, which includes Teaching to Transgress and Teaching Community. This third book focuses on responding to a range of issues that emanate while building community and revolutionary thinkers in the classroom. This is bell hooks' most powerful book, in my opinion, since it was born from conflict and issues raised by students. This is about allowing others to teach you, and engage in the continuous dialogue for liberatory education.
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★★★★☆
PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED
Paulo Freire
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The most revolutionary book of its kind. This book completely radicalized my understanding of education. I began reading this masterpiece during the early beginnings of Philosophy Circle in 2018. It was my very first companion as I tried to understand how to facilitate dialogues with unhoused neighbors. Freire builds his liberatory theory out of a critical reflection of what is means to be a complete human and how education should strive to humanize the oppressed. It can be a little difficult to read since it relies heavily on Critical Theory and other Frankfurt School philosophies.
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★★★★★
ONE-DIMENSIONAL MAN
Herbert Marcuse
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Another revolutionary book based on Critical Theory by one of the most proficient philosophers in the Frankfurt School, Marcuse. One-Dimensional Man works against capitalism's newest forms of control and walks its reader through a thought-provoking analysis of our current systems of oppression. It was his most famous book and the foundation for many other critical thinkers. This book is the continuation of Marcuse's earlier reflections in Eros and Civilization. It has awaken every generation with his critiques on modern civilizations and Late Stage Capitalism.
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★★★★★
MUTUAL AID BUILDING SOLIDARITY DURING THIS CRISIS (AND THE NEXT)
Dean Spade
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A must read for grassroots community organizers today. It has a good mix of historic references, narrative, and tools to continue the fight (from the George Floyd uprisings to the COVID pandemic struggles) for mutual liberation.
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★★★★☆
MY PEOPLE ARE RISING
Aaron Dixon
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An amazing autobiography written by a Central District local legend of the 70's (the captain of the Black Panther Party in Seattle). This is not only the story of a leader that emerged from the civil rights movement but also the story of Black and Brown migrant struggles in the U.S.
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★★★★★
TOOLS FOR CONVIVIALITY
Ivan Illich
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A philosophical inquiry of technology and liberation. Illich poses multiple questions on how we have transformed concepts (or rights) into institutions (like medicine into hospitals, education into schools). He also talked about how we must reclaim them into tools for conviviality for the humanization of those who have been dehumanized by such institutions.
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★★★★★
ABOLISH THE FAMILY:A MANIFESTO FOR CARE AND LIBERATION
Sophie Lewis
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This book will shake your views about the concept of the nuclear family. However, for abolitionists this will also continue the work for liberation of youth, queer and femme identities. It is a collection of historic figures and movements that urge us to abolish our current understanding of the cis-hetero nuclear family. It is heavy in historic references and has less narrative than I was used to.
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★★★★☆
TRUST KIDS!: STORIES ON YOUTH AUTONOMY AND CONFRONTING ADULT SUPREMACY
carla bergman
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A collection of essays dedicated to the youth liberation movement. It has a lot of narrative involved text, poetry and multi-generational vibes.
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★★★★★
PAULA
Isabel Allende
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A philosophical inquiry of technology and liberation. Illich poses multiple questions on how we have transformed concepts (or rights) into institutions (like medicine into hospitals, education into schools). He also talked about how we must reclaim them into tools for conviviality for the humanization of those who have been dehumanized by such institutions.
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★★★★★
Currently Reading!
aka. the pile of books that I have not finished but am still excited about!
Ivan Illich
DESCHOOLING SOCIETY
Ashley J. Bohrer
MARXISM AND INTERSECTIONALITY
Herbert Marcuse
EROS AND CIVILIZATION
WHY LOCAL AND NOT AMAZON?
If you want to buy any of these books for yourself I recommend buying from your local independent bookstores. If you must buy online, I recommend using bookshop.org instead of any other website that benefits big corporations like Amazon dot com
Here is why:
Unlike Amazon, you can support independent bookstores by purchasing books from this cool website. All sales made through bookshop.org end up going back to benefit independent book stores. They get 30% of the profits and then 10% goes into a pool that they all share at the end of the year.
If you want to gift me a book to help me continue my independent studies and grow my library, check out the link below.