mixtape volume VII

for justice, with love.

(photo by: meghan farrell)

This is for my sisters. My black, brown, white, mixed, trans, cis, queer, questioning sisters. This is for my undocumented sisters, my second-gen sisters, my depressed, anxious and tired sisters.

This is for my scared sisters. For the ones who are holding on by a micro thread right now. For those who are speechless. For those who can’t stop crying. screaming. shutting down for survival.

I don’t believe in coincidences anymore.

A grand jury did not charge any police officers with killing Breonna Taylor in her apartment on March 13th. RBG, a powerhouse for women’s equal rights, passed away one week ago, today. And now, where is the justice?

I came to realize long ago that nothing is Black or White. Pure. One or the other. So many things can be true at the same time. This I believe whole-heartedly.

And right now, I feel scared and ignited. I feel despair and hope. I feel sadness and joy. I feel the weight of this moment, on all of us, to step the fuck up. To get generous with my generosity. To dig as deep down as I can, pull out whatever’s there, and make it work. These next 39 days are not going to be easy. In fact, they’re going to be terrifying. They’re going to be uncomfortable. But we can live with discomfort. We can live with disagreements. We can live with compromises. What we cannot live with is this level of division. This binary thinking. This us against them mentality. This hopelessness. It’s toxic, it’s dangerous and it’s destroying us. I’m not here to tell you what to do, because I have no clue. But I am here, begging you: don’t you dare give up. Not now. Not when your love, your spirit, your courage is needed most. Don’t you dare give up on Breonna, on RBG, on the women who care for you, protect you, challenge you. Don’t follow your complicity. Follow your righteous rage. Follow your heart. Follow those who are not afraid to get loud. Follow your dreams of a better world. A more just world. All of us are in this together right now. We have no choice but to keep striving for something better.

I recently listened to a podcast interview with the author Nicholas Powers, who talked about the intersection of psychedelics and social justice. Just stay with me for a minute. I basically transcribed the entire interview because his words were so inspiring and accessible. One thing he said that I wanted to share with you all is this:

The price of being a human being is that we belong to each other.

We belong to each other. This is a collective of spirits, beliefs, feelings and skills. We are in this together. We belong to each other.

This week’s mixtape is all about the power of sisterhood. Of dismantling systems of oppression, one breath at a time.

Love,

Jesse