Activism

a group of Black women march together in Chicago, many of them with their fists up

LGBTQ Rights Organizations Fighting for More Than Marriage Equality

by Dr. Jon Paul
July 16, 2020 at 10:19am
These organizations are centering the need to end the violence and persecution of LGBTQ people. Read more »
a photo of a Black woman with an afro holding her Black child, who also has an afro, as they sit on the floor of a forest

Free Radicals: Abolition’s Roots in Healing Are a Key to Its Future

by Barbara Sostaita
July 1, 2020 at 11:39am
Abolition is, at its core, about creating new worlds. Read more »
A group of Black women, under a ‘Women’s Liberation’ banner, march in support of the Black Panther Party, New Haven, Connecticut, November 1969.

Political Possibilities: Black Feminism Offers a Path to Abolition

by Elizabeth Jordie Davies
June 25, 2020 at 9:55am
Black feminists and abolitionists teach us to demand more, even in a moment when it seems like we’re already fighting for so much. Read more »
A protest sign reading “White supremacy did this.”

A Fresh Framework: The Feminism of the Abolition Movement

by Rayne Fisher-Quann
June 24, 2020 at 12:26pm
The police are not a feminist institution—they’re both the footsoldiers and the benefactors of racism, sexism, misogynoir, colonialism, and violence. Read more »
A collage of trans women, including Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, Nina Pop, and Layleen Polanco.

Changing Tides: Black Feminists Are Mobilizing for Trans Women

by Koritha Mitchell
June 23, 2020 at 9:36am
The fight for racial justice can only be enriched by feminist strategies developed with an eye toward trans inclusion and empowerment. Read more »
a photograph of a police car on fire

No Crime, No Punishment: #8toAbolition Imagines a Future without Police and Prisons

by Kylie Cheung
June 22, 2020 at 9:00am
Societal definitions of the violent and criminal are designed to absolve the violence and criminality inherent to our white-supremacist capitalist system. Read more »
Photo of Annie Segarra, an American YouTuber, artist, and activist for LGBTQ and disability rights, in a wheelchair wearing a rainbow skirt next to a doorstep and door that reads Make Pride Accessible”

(Un)safe Refuge: The Built-In Ableism in Queer Spaces

by Ace Tilton Ratcliff
June 19, 2020 at 9:47am
There’s still a huge chunk of the population who have trouble accessing Pride events and LGBTQ safe spaces: disabled queer people. Read more »
A pair of hands raised in protest with the words “Our lives are in your hands”

Our Only Home: Mapping a More Socially Just Earth Day

by Charlotte Levy
June 11, 2020 at 9:33am
Collective action in this critical moment can set the stage for a truly inclusive environmental movement. Read more »
The Women’s March co-chairs speak on stage during the Women’s March, surrounded by signs and wearing winter clothing.

Too Great to Ignore: The Perils of Feminist Prominence

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
June 10, 2020 at 11:03am
Across social media, those with high followings have activism mapped onto them. Read more »
mixed-media linocut on wood of Dawud Lee, a Philadelphia-based Black writer and mentor currently incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, standing with his hands clasped in front of him wearing a white t-shirt with a drawing of a Black child posing in

Beyond Bars: Prison Abolition Should Be the American Dream

by Reina Sultan
June 4, 2020 at 3:16pm
The possibilities are endless, if we allow ourselves to dream bigger than criminalization and bondage. Read more »

Pages

Best of Bitch

Politically Correct Language Isn't Just About Being Polite—It's About Survival

by Leela Ginelle
February 10, 2015 at 12:23pm
Photo by Phillipe Leroyer (Creative Commons). Two weeks ago, Jonathan Chait published the lengthy essay “Not a Very P.C.... Read more »

Where My Girls At: Meet Two of Ferguson's Black Queer Activists

by Erica Cardwell
April 27, 2015 at 3:26pm
Amid national discussions of police brutality and systemic racism, Black women have been the loudest and most consistent voices demanding change. Read more »

Dear Bear: My Partner Makes No Money. Is That a Problem?

by S. Bear Bergman
February 2, 2016 at 4:47pm
Our advice columnist offers a lesson in anticapitalist self-care. Read more »

Sister Soldiers: On Black Women, Police Brutality, and the True Meaning of Black Liberation

a blue and white illustration of police brutality
by Tasha Fierce
Spring 2015 • Law & Order
Unless you’re looking for their names, you won’t find the stories of all Black women shot and killed by police officers in the past five years in the discourse surrounding police reform. Read more »