*ID: digital collage to the left of the image with multicolored photos over a quilt and text “November: Solidarity as a Practice” with a Freedom Oklahoma logo.*

This November we want to remind you that Solidarity means Movement

When I think about the way I strive to show up in the work, I start from a place of knowledge strengthened by the work of my disabled ancestors, elders, and contemporaries who continue to help me grow in this space. Particularly to Mia Mingus, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (particularly their book Care Work), Robin Wall Kimmerer (especially Braiding Sweetgrass), Audre Lorde, Ndeye Oumou Sylla, Cole Arthur Riley, Marsha P. Johnson, Anna, and Tricia Hersey. I think about the ways my work is fundamentally different because of contemporaries like Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes, and because of community like Katrina and Nate Ward, AC Facci, Anna Langthorn, CJ Garcia, aurelius francisco, Mauree Turner, Jo Beth Hamon, Sarah Adams, Al Phillips Shinn, Kendra Wilson-Clements, and so many others.

And when trying to embody all that I’ve learned and my commitment to continued learning as I watched so many facets of my community face the grief of election results one year ago, I dug into what I could offer to help. And so, I built out The Solidarity Sessions.

What are the Solidarity Sessions???

You might have attended some of our Solidarity Sessions programming last spring. Or seen some posts with lessons we want to continue to refine and share and grow across our social media. But ultimately, it’s a framework that aligns with how I want to show up in this work. Not just during a period of grief and anxiety after (every) election. Not just every two or four years. But always.

As I’ve said in Solidarity Sessions spaces, this framework is for folks who are feeling like they want to get involved in community work, but don't know where to start. This is for folks who are feeling afraid, enraged, hopeless, when it comes to the state of the world and want some way to practice hope. This is for folks feeling alone who want to practice community with intention. This is for folks who want to make some space to talk and move through some heavy feelings together. This is for folks who maybe aren't political, and want to figure out how to show up for community members, family, friends who are feeling afraid, hopeless, enraged, and/or alone right now. This is for people who have some practice of volunteering, community, or solidarity work in their life, and want to share what they know while also learning from others.

This space is for folks who care.

ID: Digital collage featuring a variety of images of 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy buttons including those from the Lesbian Herstory Archives. On the right crystals, bright colors, butterflies, an image of a megaphone, and a photo of Mauree Turner with a Freedom Oklahoma logo.

Because caring, to me, is the work. And care without intention hurts everyone. Care requires the same kind of careful tending as some folks love when they garden, as others love when they nurture youth in learning spaces or as caretakers.

Why are Solidarity Sessions Important for Community???

This is the work of caring for one another, of caring for community. And even as I sit down to write this, I want to attempt to share the hours of presentations, all of the information we’ve tried to synthesize, with you here. I want to take you from the journey of sitting in the parking lot of Empowerhouse Gym and typing in a google doc this idea, to what it has flourished into, and what I hope to continue to find ways to share and practice alongside you. I’m lucky if you opened this newsletter at all, and luckier still if you’ve read this far. So here are some of my big picture reminders from the Solidarity Sessions:

ID: collaged graphic with text “Truths to Remember The work of community never ends. And that means you can reassess urgency and capacity, as you orient towards community instead of volunteerism. What you’re best at is not always what you have to give, sometimes you need to show up differently in community spaces from work spaces. Unscheduled time is not always available time.We have all we need when we share--how are you disrupting fears rooted in scarcity? No one is coming to save us but us. When tearing down the structures that harm us feels overwhelming, shift to what it is we’re building instead.”

Challenge yourself to reflect, knowing your resources, your skills, and your community, how do you effectively offer support during times of crisis and urgency? How do you do that without burning yourself out, overpromising, or overextending?

We always wrap the Solidarity Sessions with a little dance break. And, since the CEO of Spotify is now investing in expanding not only the harm of AI, but doing so by investing dollars in AI weapons manufacturing (no war but class war), we won’t send you the cute little playlist link that we previously closed out the space with because we have yet another online space where we have to leave because of the horrors of capitalism and billionaires.

So, as you finish reading this, as you maybe reflect on what solidarity in practice means to you, put on some music that makes you want to move some tension out of your body, makes you want to dance in whatever way feels good for you, and just brings you a little bit of joy or nostalgia (personal suggestions include Carly Rae Jepsen’s Cut to the Feeling, ABBA’s Take a Chance on Me, Harry Belafonte’s Jump in the Line, Zaz’s Je Veux, the Resistance Revival Chorus recording of All You Fascists Bound to Lose, or Gloria Estefan’s Turn the Beat Around).

In Solidarity,

Cole McAfee | Executive Director | They / She