This is The Black Urbanist Monthly. I’m Kristen Jeffers and I’m making this monthly digital newsletter to share my Black, Spiritual, Diasporic North Carolinian, Working/Lower Middle-Class, Educated, Queer, CisFemme thoughts on how places and communities work. Think of this as my monthly column, the one that flaps open as you start browsing that coffee table magazine or printed alt-weekly newspaper or as so many other of your favorite newsletters do, in your inbox. This is the one that will transition us from October to November of 2020.

This time of year has always been full of spookiness. This year is overdelivering.

But, I still have that hope I talked about as we started this month because as I stare down my own fears, I’ve been able to pull up many at the root and replace them with fulfilling fibers and fruit.

I could have been afraid to address industry and academic disparities ten years ago this month, and not launched this platform.

I could have stayed afraid to address many of the things I talked about on National Coming Out Day, but I’m glad I did because spiritual bondage and failure to be intersectional in how we make policy will create goblins we’ll never be able to settle.

I could be mourning at the feet of my beloved, but now dead online-only suburban clothier New York and Company, but instead, I picked up my crochet hooks and I’ve gotten re-acquainted with both my local yarn shops and the still remaining big-box craft suppliers and the wonderful community of folks I’ve encountered as I’ve breathed new life and fiber into Kristpattern.

Where fear tries to live, I replace it with clear analysis, action, and hope.

As we go into this month where we express gratitude, let us not forget the folks who originally claimed the lands many of us sit on. Let us not be afraid of continuing to dismantle the terrors of anti-Blackness, queer and transphobia, sexism and misogyny/misogynoir,  xenophobia, classism, colonialism, ableism and ageism and so many others that are felt but in-descriable.

Now, to the candy and enjoying my Lovecraft Country/Josephine Baker/Roaring 20s but make it 2020 Pandemic inspired costume, which you’ll see on all of my socials later today. 

Keep up with my socials so you’ll know when I drop things and consider supporting me at any level via Patreon.

And yes, the book is still coming.  

Take care of yourselves and I look forward to seeing you all soon!

P.S.  In my most recent chapter breakdown of Chocolate Cities: A Black Map of American Life, live today in both my Patreon and Mighty Networks book clubs, I break down how many cis-masculine Black men create villages, and I promise, I recorded these videos before the recent news around certain Black male celebrities endorsing our sitting president).

(Post image by Ben Cheung via Pexels).