I can’t do this as an army of one. Or an army. It has to be a collective of many.
Instead of being an army of one, not just against aggressive driving and overgrown vehicles, but broken sidewalks, abrupt bike lane endings, moldy and unstable buildings, underpayment, and idea exploitation in formal jobs and design spaces and governance chambers, we need to be lifted up by a collective of many.
Today, not in the future, but today, the collective of many, that we must see ourselves as, must design universally. We must plan for all contingencies. And we have to act boldly.
We acted boldly as governments and industries and individuals in 2020 around an extreme health challenge, demanding, but unfulfilling careers, our children’s wellness, and education, and against anti-Blackness and Asian exoticism.
What happened to all of that? You’re really gon tell me that all the changes we made were all that bad? That when one metro area modeled something new and innovative, yours couldn’t take on that innovation? That those of you reading this who are of wealth and means couldn’t sustain your new normal?
And please stop couching it behind supporting the “essential” and the “visionary”. If that were the case, our bodies wouldn’t bear the scars and grief of the past few years. Our proverbial barns would be of plenty and you would trust our logic the way you claim you do.
You would also trust yourself to fully feel things and use all of your resources to process your grief and anger and sadness, then listen and work collectively with others doing the same with far less.
I think what I need y’all to understand is that 2018 and 2019 weren’t as great as you think they were.
I don’t know when the fibroids I just had removed started to grow, but I know the stress of not knowing if I could make enough with speeches and writing did. I could see that being my full out and proud self, both on a Black level and queer level and yes, an ability-challenged level wasn’t going to cut it in a world that thinks saying that you read this newsletter and you donate and partner with my colleagues’ equity-focused nonprofits and social benefit corporations are solving something when the communities that hold us up are fraying at the seams because the support ends at surface levels of comfort.
No amount of going back to 2019’s behavior is going to bring back the homes of the 33 million and counting people in Pakistan who’ve had them washed away, because people in power started to fail them and their systems years ago. Likewise with Sri Lanka and other “Global South” nations that we love to benchmark and claim we’ve achieved better than — as a “collective”.
So many other nations have become gentrified playgrounds for people of meansin the so-called “Global North”, that rather move from place to place than ground and root themselves donate and run for office, or learn how to be a better boss, parent, partner or other dependable individual and invest back into the reality of what our lives are in 2022.
No amount of operating like it’s 2019 is going to clean Jackson, Mississippi’s water, which just went from bad to worse over the past week. How many of y’all knew that they were already in an acute water crisis? How many of y’all have tested your own water?
And I know several of you reading from Southern California are having to dig up your yards, limit your showers and stop swimming in some of your beaches. New Orleans, Houston, Flint, and parts of cities across this country and continent and globe are holding on as best they can, because you’re on the wrong side of the resource pool.
And seriously, the conferences were always boring. The best times I had outside of bringing energy and my story to stages across the continent, were at those lunch tables next to the food trucks, in the farm-to-table restaurants, showing up for the local community not just while we were convening, but learning that I have cousins in this movement and work and building that collective and helping them shed the armor they’ve had as an army of one.
But, I know so many of you who do have power and you use it poorly.
That’s why, I’m taking this coming month, to fortify myself, because I’m not coming back in October and beyond with mere wishes that seem to blow into the air. I’m taking my own advice and I’m going to prioritize healing and building up that collective in September.
You will hear from me a few more times, as I put out my calls for staff and resources, but I’m suspending our regular newsletter format to give myself time for strategic planning and to interview staff and vendors.
Right now, if you’re reading this, I have a budget of $500 a month for an editorial and administrative assistant. This person and I will need more resources and funds. But for now, if you think you’re able to dedicate about 5–10 hours a month at the rate above, please send a resume and/or portfolio to theblackurbanist@gmail.com, with the subject line — I Can Help. Feel free to use the email body to write a cover letter of sorts explaining how you can help at that rate.
And if you’re reading this and actually do want to be helpful to make this platform more than just me, my underpaid assistant and an institution that acts boldly, consistently, pledge monthly. With my current contract structure, all Patreon funds will be going to build personnel and revamp the website so that it functions the way it should. Also, to my colleagues who are able to share resources in other ways, let’s set up some time to talk about what that could look like. This is your invitation to have one of your team members reach out to me and set that up!
And before you ask, yes, I’ve considered the thing you’ve asked me. I pay attention. I read all your tweets and your job descriptions and your reports and I see who you want me to see that you are.
My question as we go into this next phase is — Do you see me? And do you see how this platform is part of the bold action we need to take to remain on a humane Earth?
I hope so, but if not, I’ll be here in a slightly different way, building my collective of many.
By the Way
If you’re new here, I write out my grand thesis of the week above, then I share other articles/videos that were noteworthy for me this week in this section.
If you missed parts one ,two and three of this Black Queer Feminist Urbanist War on Cars series, they are linked above by number.
This surgery and all the pain and illness leading up to it, plus all my grievances from above have had me thinking about evolutions, of the Serena Williams kind, myself. However, like her, I’m just getting started in my sparkly black suit. (And if you are connected to any of her venture capital people, have them holler at me as well).
S/O to the Beer Chick, Eugenia Brown who I know through mutual friends, on their Charlotte Magazine feature. Often we(native, often POC North Carolinians) don’t get featured in local mags until we’ve gone national, so even though she’s had some national press already, I’m glad to see one of our NC mags higlight her before she plants a flag in slightly more acceepting sands and allowing her access to the networks they hoarded for years.
That’s also why I’m really excited to hear about the KC Defender, one for being a Black abolitionist paper, doing it in KC, and three, being motivated by my Nieman Lab prediction of a rising Black press. (I talked to them after seeing this and they confirmed it!)
Before You Go
That call for an assistant. You made this possible and continue to make this possible. You all also knew about this a few weeks ago and I promise there will be tier updates and more information to help you understand the next direction. I’m going to spend at least the next two weeks continuing to recover from my surgery, then I’m going to start writing my strategic plan for October 2022-2023 — our 13th year! I don’t want to rely on luck, I want to be firm on footing, especially as we all adjust to a new normal. I also want to thank everyone who has brought me on for workshops, and especially Greater Greater Washington for having me on as a contract editor, so now I can really make something awesome of this platform. I’m also going to be prepping my book this fall and working with a team I’ve been working with to do an in-person event in a TBA place. Once again, you’ve made all this possible and I thank you! I’ll be back in a few days with more details and tangible next steps.
Until next time,