Two "No"s and a "Yes": tortuous paths to "doing something" -- or not

Yesterday, as soon as I heard my husband gasp when he opened the browser window, I knew. Later, at a writing event when people were looking at me, I quoted LaLasha Murphy: "What do I tell my babies? Run? Play dead? Fake a seizure?" Later, another writer (white, as am I) said, "What you read was like a poem. It's too bad you can't use it." I said, "No, that's hers. I can't use that."*

So my first "No" is: This verdict is about anti-Black racism in the U.S. and the structures that feed it and feed on it. DON'T try to make it about anything else. If you're already not doing that, great -- this statement is, obviously, not directed toward you.

My second "No" is in some ways more indirect. Blogger Ana Mardoll has been posting for the past day or so about the American Legislative Exchange Council, which furthers legislation like the Stand Your Ground law. More about ALEC and the companies that support it (as well as companies that have cut ties) here at its Buycott campaign. Rather than (or in addition to) boycotting, Mardoll recommends writing letters to the companies on the "Companies to Avoid" list whose services you use. I'll be writing to AT&T, my phone carrier. Write to my gmail address, publiclycomplex, if you would like a script for a letter.

My "Yes" is more indirect still. In my classes, I already ask my students to be attentive to the assertions they're making -- to evidence, to source, to interest. Who wants this statement to be true? Why might someone make it, other than its truth? Where does our knowledge come from, and where could it come from? How can we search for voices and beyond the ones that are easiest to hear? So -- more of that.

*With regard to all the actions in this post: I'm listing them as examples of things TO do, NOT because I want "credit" for them or anything weird like that.

African-American Writers Respond to Zimmerman Verdict

Read these things today.

Roxane Gay
Cord Jefferson
Gary Younge
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Jelani Cobb (this links to several articles)

ETA: Roxane Gay also has a syllabus of sorts for you.

Voting Rights

I just donated to Election Protection, which has this list of resources and recommendations on the recent Supreme Court decision striking down section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (in response to which Texas and North Carolina have already announced additional restrictions on voter ID).

I'm on the lookout for places to donate that will specifically pay for new ID for people who need it and might not otherwise be able to afford it (including travel to places where it can be supplied, copies of birth certificates, etc.) and if I find them I will let you know (all six of you).

You may refer to the last paragraph of this post for my thoughts on voting.

I reviewed Simone White's UNREST!

My review of Unrest, Simone White's resistant and impassioned chapbook from Ugly Duckling Presse, is up today at Coldfront in their Chap Nook column. It's so good -- the chapbook, I mean, though I hope the review is too. Do your mind a favor and buy Unrest here!

How to Stand With Texas (Even If You Don't Live in Texas)

Donate to the Lilith Fund or Texas Equal Access Fund (or both!) to help low-income women pay for abortions they want.

Jane’s Due Process counsels teenagers with questions about abortion services in Texas, connecting them when necessary to pro bono legal counsel who can represent them if they opt to seek a judicial bypass waiver to get around the parental notification requirements for minors getting abortion in Texas. They also monitor policy and help make sure that bad cases at the lower court levels don’t become bad precedent at the state Supreme Court level.

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast does all the things that so many of us have so many reasons to be grateful to Planned Parenthood for doing.  Their Action Fund supports more direct political engagement.

Blogger Nonsequiteuse from Houston gathered these and other resources to support reproductive justice in Texas. If you'd rather donate to an abortion fund in your own state, the National Network of Abortion Funds lists them by state (you need to type in your zip code).

*

NOTE: Of the six(?) people who look at this blog from time to time, there may be those among you who object to abortion. These links are for the other four(?) of you.

THE GROUND / THE PASS / THE WAVE

Excited to report that my new chapbook, The Ground / The Pass / The Wave is out from Grey Book Press!

Here it is while still forming:

What Presses Most: I teach for Frequency

I'm teaching a six-week workshop called What Presses Most for the Frequency workshop series in Providence. Here's what you need to know before you register:

This is a class for students who are ready to be braver in their writing practice and presentation. Writers will challenge themselves on two fronts: by writing in ways or under circumstances that are strange but important to them, and by exploring ways to arrange meetings between their work and the world. Plan for in-class writing, mini field trips, and the design and making of three chapbooks in six weeks. Writers in any genre are welcome; we will be reading and writing mainly short-form pieces.

Dates: Tuesdays, 6:30-9pm from July 9-August 13

Location: Ada Books, 717 Westminster St. Providence

Tuition: $240 (does not include photocopying costs, which are estimated to be around $40. Frequency has a few scholarships available to cover the copying costs for those in need -- let them know when you register that you'd like to be considered.)