A New Graphic Novel Celebrates Beloved Community and the Wisdom of MSC’s Transitions Initiative
Beloved Communities Network Launches Kickstarter for Ten Thousand Beloved Communities
In the earliest and most precarious days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Leila McCabe of Beloved Communities Network (BCN) and Kristen Zimmerman of Root. Rise. Pollinate! hosted a series of powerful conversations with ecosystem buddies including Aisha Shillingford of Intelligent Mischief and Mimi Ho, then executive director of Movement Strategy Center (MSC). The focus of their Zoom calls, Zimmerman says, was the fact that, facing isolation and struggle, people “needed to be connected to community and needed to prioritize community.”
The result of these rich and transformative conversations among friends is now a forthcoming graphic novel, Ten Thousand Beloved Communities. Zimmerman had just completed a program on creating graphic novels around this time, and along with McCabe, she believed the format would offer a beautiful way of inspiring others to commit to community.
Those early conversations centered on what McCabe calls “the arc of this long vision,” or the hundred year vision, along with the sort of portals and touchpoints needed to apply it. Zimmerman shares some of those prompts: “how do we deal with harm when it happens? What are alternatives to the justice system we have now? How do we feed people?”
“The world I imagine my son growing up in has to start with this strong foundation. I want him to have a daily community of practice with beloved community, because that is what will shift us all into the “big B” Beloved Community with big ideals and visions.”
It also coincided with McCabe’s early days as a core staff member at Movement Strategy Center (MSC). She was drawn to MSC a few years before, consulting on some of the Transitions Initiative work, which sparked her imagination. And, as a new mom, her idea of what Beloved Community “actually looked and felt like in practice shifted.” She calls out the sorts of things we can take for granted like “the importance of how we live and show up for each other day to day,” along with “smaller daily interactions” — phone calls, check-ins, help with meals or chores that helped her “feel held.”
McCabe continues: “the world I imagine my son growing up in has to start with this strong foundation. I want him to have a daily community of practice with beloved community, because that is what will shift us all into the “big B” Beloved Community with big ideals and visions.”
That concept of Beloved Community is rooted in the legacy of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Grace Lee Boggs, and others, and is carried forward through many people investing in the idea that we can live in a world of economic and social justice.
These concepts — that Beloved Community started from the ground up and was much more than a big, overarching vision — didn’t just inspire Ten Thousand Beloved Communities — they also informed her launch of BCN.
The organization, a Movement Strategy Network (MSN) partner, is a continuation of the years of work and wisdom that went into MSC’s Transitions Initiative, which focuses on the journey of transitioning to a world of love, interdependence, and resilience. McCabe calls the graphic novel “really important for BCN as it is sharing, publicly, the purpose of BCN — our place in this story and how we see Beloved Community. In some ways it feels like this is the launch of BCN.” Truly, it is one of BCN’s first large undertakings, and it acts as a springboard for readers looking to deepen relationships to people and places while becoming catalysts in radically accelerating the practice of Beloved Community through a lens of indigeneity.
“The beautiful thing about this project is it is very alive in the sense that it keeps growing and showing us new ways it can be useful.”
Ten Thousand Beloved Communities’ 160 full-color pages define the story and lineage of Beloved Community, and feature stories of Beloved Community in action along with practices to help readers integrate Beloved Community and the wisdom of the Transitions Initiatives into their daily lives. In all, the book includes writings by 25 artists, cultural workers, movement leaders, and spiritual practitioners, along with a foreword by adrienne maree brown and Zimmerman’s illustrations.
Zimmerman sees Ten Thousand Beloved Communities as a jumping off point. It already contains people centered stories about particular places and happenings plus quotes and facts about artists and political figures. She envisions postcards and other companion pieces in addition to multiple teaching and learning opportunities, and — hopefully — a proper publishing run with a values-aligned, independent publisher.
McCabe wants to see the book inspire people to embrace Beloved Community. She also sees it as a workbook or curriculum for trainings — “one of BCN’s foundational labs.” She adds, “the beautiful thing about this project is it is very alive in the sense that it keeps growing and showing us new ways it can be useful.” She envisions a stories series, a podcast, and “some other exciting projects that are on the horizon.”
Initially, McCabe and Zimmerman imagined self-publishing their book with a print on demand platform. Ultimately, they decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign instead — to build energy, momentum, and a sense of community around the project. MSC is helping fund the project, and providing copies of the book to core staff who are still learning the tenets of Beloved Community.
But the guide is intended for an audience well beyond the MSC ecosystem. Zimmerman says, “it builds on a lot of the wisdom and the voices of the transitions community,” and it “shares some core practices that people can apply in their own communities.” It’s a chance for anyone who encounters it to continue the work of Beloved Community, and Zimmerman hopes to see “a lot of people pollinating it in many different places, applying it, making it their own, and riffing on it.” She sees Ten Thousand Beloved Communities as a resource for “for people writing their own story, and creating their own community.”
You can pre-order Ten Thousand Beloved Communities here, at the project’s Kickstarter.
It seemed like an open and shut case.
Movement Strategy Center on How Philanthropy Must Evolve
A minor with an illicitly-sourced military-grade semi automatic firearm crossed state lines to join a group of pro-police vigilantes who gathered in Kenosha to allegedly protect homes and businesses from those protesting yet another instance of extreme police brutality against yet another Black man, Jacob Blake.
That minor then murdered two men and wounded another.
But he — Kyle Rittenhouse — is White. And conservative christians and blue lives flag wavers declared him a new sort of hero sent to protect their property and their values. So they bankrolled his release from jail and his defense.
And the judge presiding over the court case — a good old days, good old boy vestige called Bruce Schroeder — took him under his wing. He delighted in young Kyle. He banned anyone in the courtroom from calling Kyle’s victims what they were, what they are — forcing participants to use the words “rioter” or “looter” rather than “victim.” The “honorable” Bruce Schroeder even decided young Kyle should choose his own jury via lottery — an arcane bit of legal theater for racist fans at home who were already delighting in his old school, patriotic attitude (and ringtone).
Rittenhouse was found not guilty today. On all counts.
We are devastated. We are outraged. Essentially legalizing the coldblooded murder of activists — who are fighting for equity, who are fighting for peace, who are on the right side of history — well, that is a hard pill to swallow.
But now, as always, we stand by all people who are speaking out for social justice and for equity. We will not stop fighting for you, and with you, and standing behind you. And we will never stop honoring the victims of police brutality and this hideous strain of racist vigilantism — we only need mention Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Bryan — the three murderers currently on trial for hunting down and killing Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia; a man killed for merely jogging while Black.
Let’s call a spade a spade: this is an absolutely disgusting conclusion to an atrocious crime, a circus of a trial, and a cyclone of racism. And proof that the carceral state cannot be rehabilitated and the criminal punishment system cannot bring justice. Be angry, be sad, but don’t be hopeless. Keep working and keep fighting towards abolition and equality for all. In the words of Mariame Kaba, “we do this ‘till we free us.”
Acting Boldly, Creatively, and Collectively on Climate Change
“As we witness our planet transforming around us we watch, listen, measure … respond.”
This summer, the normally pleasant Pacific Northwest has seen three-digit temperatures while unprecedented heat advisories were in place for 80 million Americans across 20 states. As you’re reading this, 97 large wildfires are scorching over 2,000,000 acres in the United States — creating a cloud of smoke visible from space and affecting air quality as far east as New York City — to say nothing of the flames engulfing parts of Canada, Greece, and elsewhere.
Tornadoes have ravaged the Middle Atlantic. Weather has been so bad in the Midwest that Wisconsin declared a state of emergency. The United Kingdom recorded a hundred year storm, Afghanistan and Germany reported flash flooding, and it’s believed that the Amazon Rainforest is now emitting more carbon than it’s absorbing as a result of both wildfires and controlled burns to clear land for farming and grazing. Songbirds are dying on the east coast; the Gulf of Mexico was literally on fire; and in California — a place ingrained in our collective imagination for lovely weather and a summer state of mind — sewage contaminated beaches, historically snow-capped mountains went bare, and water levels plummeted.
Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),which is the United Nations’ climate science research group, released a new report ahead of the next global climate summit taking place in Glasgow in November. The authors found it “unequivocal” that humanity is behind these catastrophes; and that temperatures will likely rise by at least 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next two or three decades — a goalpost that intended to limit (but does not avoid) climate catastrophe. Further, since 1970, global surface temperatures have risen faster than in any other 50-year period over the past 2,000 years.
It is worth noting that our climate is changing largely at the hands of just a few corporate conglomerates and world superpowers — the United States among them. But every individual everywhere in every region is affected — with Indigenous and low-income communities along with citizens of less industrialized nations poised to bear the brunt of these existential threats.
Climate change is real, it’s already happening, and it’s going to get worse. As we read these reports, see the images of devastation, we also reckon with how our lives — our summer vacations, our bird feeders, our favorite places — are already changing forever. We see how these crises are disproportionately affecting us. Not only displacement and relocation from long-standing communities due to fires, land erosion, and rising sea levels, but children attending schools inadequately equipped to handle rising temperatures.
As BIPOC, women, LGBTQIA, and gender non-confirming leaders, we continue to fight for equal rights and economic justice for all, but we cannot turn a blind eye to the climate and the world. These issues are intersectional. As the environment becomes less hospitable, new challenges — rising sea levels and water and food shortages — will only exacerbate the social injustices we are working so hard to correct.
We may feel fearful but solutions exist. We just need to tap into them. Giving up is certainly not an option — there is too much at stake and doing so only supports the capitalist polluters invested in delayed action. Despite all we have lost, we have so much left to save. We can’t forget to heed the wisdom of our Indigenous brothers and sisters, the communal vision of our movement builders, and those fighting to protect land and promote permaculture and regenerative farming here and around the world.
Let us dare to believe a different way is possible — net-zero emissions, regenerative energy and agriculture, reforestation, and a rejection of constant, unchecked growth to embrace the concept of enough.
In the words of Taj James, one of MSC’s founders, “the only solutions are real solutions. The acceleration of the crisis must unlock our wisdom. No fear. No half measures. No more trying to use the way of thinking that created the crisis to try to solve it. The only way out is healing and reconnection at the root.”
There are solutions and everyone has something to contribute. Individuals can take small steps that lead to collective action. Greta Thunberg, who warns us that “our house is on fire,” was just one kid — she’s now a household name and has the ears of policymakers around the world.
With radical love we encourage you to join us and the MSC ecosystem in working towards a Just Transition — our futures depend on it. We have so much love and respect for our fiscally sponsored partners working in this space. To mention just two: Climate Innovation, an MSC anchor project, and Facilitating Power are working with the NACRP on a workshop series with a focus on building community power through a lens of climate resilience. In addition, we look to the amazing Pandora Thomas — a senior fellow at Climate Innovation and founder and land steward of EARTHseed Permaculture Center and Farm, the first Black-owned permaculture farm in Sonoma County.
As James says: “act boldly, creatively and collectively to defend and protect life. Every second wasted is life lost. Every act of courage is life saved. Be bold. Act now.”
It's Time For A Vision That Is More Humane
Movement Strategy Center Stands with Cuba, Haiti, and All Victims of Imperialism
On July 11th, for the first time in 62 years, thousands of Cubans took to the streets in Havana and other cities, calling for freedom, vaccines, and food. Since then, two dominating views have made headlines: one calling for US intervention and the other supporting the Cuban government and an end to the American trade embargo that continues to cause pain and suffering to the Cuban people.
The Cuban government-regime has shown solidarity with freedom fighters like Assata Shakur. At the same time, however, the powers that perpetuate violence and deprivation among their own and the media frames anyone exercising their rights to resist as chaotic and violent. Remember, it is Assata who said that “part of being revolutionary is creating a vision that is more humane.”
We condemn all state-sanctioned violence against protesters in Cuba and everywhere. That includes reports of the Cuban government shutting down access to the internet. We support on the ground movement leaders like @holagemeny who is working to replenish cellular minutes and data; the Friends of Caritas Cuba who have been working to feed Cubans in need for 20 years; and @cubanospalante, is working with organizers on the ground to deliver resources directly to Cubans.
Haiti, just a few hundred miles from Cuba, is reeling from the recent assassination of their President Jovenel Moise. The crisis has led to the calls for an American or international intervention that can infringe on Haitian sovereignty while echoing centuries of disastrous imperial intervention in the country. Many Haitians are fearful of the sort of military intervention that upends everyday life at home; and those seeking asylum in the United States are being deported or detained.
What if, instead of military force, the United States supports sustainable development in Haiti — whether among the business community or among farmers?
We at Movement Strategy Center urge our leaders here and abroad to lead with the needs and consent of the governed — in Cuba and in Haiti and elsewhere. We urge President Biden to lift the economic blockade in Cuba immediately. We also urge President Biden to put an immediate end to Title 42, a continuation of a Trump policy that adds suffering and insult to asylum seekers at our borders.
We stand in full solidarity with Cuban people and Haitian People; and those involved in recent uprisings in Venezuela and Colombia. These struggles — for fair representation, for ancestral land, for basic human rights and equality, for an end to imperialistic policies — echo the works of the extended MSC family here at home: Black Lives Matter, the rights of women and immigrants, equality for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and LGBTQIA communities, and sovereignty for Indigenous people and their land. It is time for a vision that is more humane.
Condemning Violence and Colonialism and Stands with Palestinians
Movement Strategy Center's thoughts on Israel and Palestine
This week, Muslims around the world are celebrating the end of Ramadan and the holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr. In Palestine, however, days meant for families and communities coming together in joy and prayer have been marked by brutal violence and oppression. As we view the images of families being evicted from their homes and brown-skinned people being viciously attacked by officers, we at Movement Strategy Center are struck by the parallels to the struggles of low-income, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA communities here in the United States.
As we fight for the preservation of indigenous sovereignty for Native communities here in the US, how can we turn a blind eye to the occupation and illegal settlements in Palestinian territories?
As we speak out against police brutality and militarism here in the US, how can we remain silent when armed officers storm into a mosque full of worshippers using teargas and stun grenades?
As we seek to transform our world towards racial equity and economic justice for all, how can we ignore the system of apartheid that the Israeli government has established against the Palestinians?
We can’t.
As an organization whose goal is to support movements working to dismantle unjust systems of inequality and oppression, we must add our voices to those condemning the persecution and killing of innocent civilians, including children. We welcome and echo the many statements in support of the Palestinian people from community leaders and elected officials. Unfortunately, the lack of empathy for the Palestinian people has become so normal that many withheld any condemnation of the Israeli government’s violence until rockets had been fired from the other side.
We are well aware from the police brutality we see here at home that the monopoly on violence belongs to the powerful, and that the right to self-defense is not afforded to people with brown and black skin. We must also not forget that it is American tax money being used to supply the weapons and training behind this violence.
The lethal hold used to kill George Floyd is also used by Israeli officers on Palestinians.
Just as we call for the de-escalation and an end to violence in policing here in the United States, we call for the de-escalation and an end to violence from the Israeli government.
For our brothers and sisters spending their Eid holiday mourning their family members under an endless barrage of bombing and brutality, we send our deepest condolences and radical love.
Relief, reflection, a reminder to keep fighting
Movement Strategy Center thoughts in the wake of Derek Chauvin's conviction
We at Movement Strategy Center acknowledge Derek Chauvin’s conviction for the egregious murder of George Floyd last May for what it is: A bittersweet victory that won’t bring Floyd back. His loss is one his family and our communities will forever contend with.
We hope Chauvin’s guilty verdict signifies an opportunity in Minnesota and across this country for more accountability in the age-old brutal violence against Native Americans, Blacks, Latinx, and other people of color at the hands of law enforcement.
Does it mean an authentic and honest federal investigation of police brutality at large in Minneapolis will occur? Does it mean that our representatives at the Federal level will be re-energized and refocused on last summer’s police reform bill bearing Floyd’s name?
Does it mean that we and our communities will continue the fight to transform the role of law enforcement and what it means to keep our community safe?
You better believe that MSC and the communities we represent and support will continue fighting with love and intention for radical change!
It is very clear that if not for Darnella Frazier’s footage of Floyd’s slow and tortuous murder, the intentionally false narrative of the Minneapolis police department would have prevailed.
So yes, we are not stopping our fight for honesty, accountability, and equitable justice for Black lives, Brown lives, and the lives of the Indigenous and poor.
Let’s not forget that while Chauvin’s verdict was being determined, we learned that instead of using other methods to defuse a dangerous situation, police in Columbus, Ohio killed Ma’Khia Bryant — a 16-year-old Black child.
These over-policing and shoot-to-kill tactics resulting in the senseless killing of people must stop!
Per The New York Times, roughly 1,100 people are killed by law enforcement officers each year, with at least 64 fatalities occurring between March 29 (the day testimony in Chauvin’s trial began) and April 21. More than half those recent deaths were among Black and Latino individuals.
So we must always say their names: Duante Wright, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, Tony McDade, Michelle Cusseaux, Tanisha Anderson, Tamir Rice, Natasha McKenna, Stephon Clark, Jayne Thompson, Walter Scott, Bettie Jones, Philando Castile, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Eric Reason, Dominique Clayton, Breonna Taylor, Adam Toledo, and every other Black life extinguished by law enforcement officers.
And we must pressure our elected officials. We must demand restorative justice and equity within our public safety and criminal justice systems. We must support our movement leaders in their tireless work dismantling systems of inequality and oppression. And, we must step up and speak out for true justice for our Black and Brown Brothers and Sisters!
Our hearts go out to the family of George Floyd; and to the friends and families of all victims of police brutality.
Supporting Our AAPI Friends and Neighbors
Movement Strategy Center stand with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community
Movement Strategy Center (MSC) recognizes that the world we live in is dominated by white supremacy and Anti-Blackness, and we have spent our first 20 years incubating a diverse coalition of BIPOC- and women-led activist organizations as they tackle systemic racial and environmental inequities from the ground up.
Our staff, board, and movement leaders are devastated by the tragic murder of eight victims in Atlanta, Georgia last week. This crime, committed by a white male, claimed the lives of eight individuals — six of whom were Asian women. We stand with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in solidarity, now and always — as violence against our AAPI neighbors and friends has escalated over the last year in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic and the incendiary remarks of the former United States president.
On the same day as this brutal shooting, Stop AAPI Hate — an organization formed just last year to prevent Coronavirus-related discrimination — released a report stating that nearly 3,800 hate crimes had been reported against AAPI individuals (mostly women) in the last year alone. We call on our elected officials and philanthropy at large to stop overlooking AAPI populations and organizations. In the meantime, here are some actions you can take to help fight violence against AAPI communities; and here are three pieces that highlight the voices of and issues facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders right now.