liberation summer + Boricua archive fever + moving to Philadelphia + support my love!
Beloveds, this summer has been searing and searching. After immersive involvement in the CUNY Hunger Strike for Gaza (and getting my first Democracy Now cameo), I’ve pivoted to anti-ICE neighborhood outreach so as to envision and practice in NYC the collective immigrant defense we see in LA and elsewhere. Also kindling movement reflections with friends about how to vehemently resist the widening maw of fascism, AND how to lovingly challenge the sectarian ultra-leftism that admonishes earnest responses to it (including on the NYC mayoral front). My heart and mind continue to evolve, but my bank balance is often in the negative, EBT and cash assistance never stretch far and long enough, and debts keep piling up. On these sweltering days, time softens, concrete melts, and sweaty vision becomes fuzzy. But I’m keeping my focus clear for seismic shifts underway.
I’ve been spending many days in the Centro (Center for Puerto Rican Studies) archives doing background research for a new book project Hemisphere in Bloom on 21st century social movements in the Americas and the Caribbean. Diving into the papers of Helen Rodríguez Trías and Lourdes Torres to learn about the struggles to end forced sterilization, in complex kinship with the fight for abortion rights. With Rafael Anglada Lopez, Richie Pérez, and Pedro Pietri, learning about deep complicities between the South African anti-apartheid movement and healthcare activism, Palestine and Puerto Rico solidarity, street poetics and music, and anti-policing campaigns. Honoring the innovative Black and Brown queer and trans liberation of HoMoVISIONES media initiatives as the HIV/AIDS epidemic unfolded. Connecting dots across the records of Kathy Andrade, Manuel Diaz, and Robert Garcia to learn how Israel sought to curry favor with US, Puerto Rican, and Latin American labor and community organizations in the early 70s and early 80s (previous bloody periods for the Zionist settler-colony). All of this is back-story to the chapters I’m working on, but it feels like these liberation legacies are embracing me from behind, squeezing my shoulders, as I keep pressing into the wheel of motion.
More major news! In early September, I’ll be extending my NYC ecosystemic roots to Philadelphia. This will not be “goodbye,” but rather “see you across the way,” including at least one weekend a month in NYC (or more, if work opportunities arise). After finishing a PhD and then publishing New York Liberation School a few years ago, and then after a dysfunctional experience with a “non-profit Left” job ended suddenly last August, I’ve sought to secure steady employment in NYC, and yet my 20 years of academic, cultural, and community bonds here generated nothing solid. I perceive this as the universe inviting me to learn more about my purpose in other places. Indeed, there’s so much to celebrate about my future new home. My partner Chanel just moved to Philly to start an exciting new job (more on this below!). Several longtime friends are based there and are eager to welcome me into movement work. The DC33 strike and Save SEPTA campaign are at the top of mind. Overall, I hope these new horizons will inspire my teaching, writing, relationships, and self-journey.
I’ll have more to share in the coming weeks and months, including solicitations for community support and job leads, research and movement breakthoughs, and perhaps some beach photos. For now, please consider lending a hand to support my beloved Chanel’s fundraiser for moving to Philly and prioritizing her creative practice. Chanel, we’re rooting for you!
Sending all of you out there love and more love — life is not nihilistic, but it can be witheringly bleak sometimes, so let’s cherish each other near and far, and fight like hell for the abundant wholeness we all deserve.
-Coco