We’re back from our time off, and making the transition to virtual facilitation. As summer arrives, we’re reevaluating how to keep supporting ourselves under drastic new conditions, but have had some amazing encouragement from our friends and community. We led some great remote sessions last month for youth at the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, and faith leaders under Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, and are using these to propel ourselves into new teaching challenges under COVID-19. Continue to hit us up for facilitation, and we can work together to figure out how to gather virtually.

In poetry news, the beautiful bilingual anthology which accompanies the Elements of Vogue exhibit, and which is the first time the script of our performance Dancer As Insurgent has ever been published, is finally out. It will be available in print soon, but for now the PDF is available for free at CA2M’s website. We’re also excited to share that this coming Tuesday, June 9th we will be a featured performer at Young Chicago Author’s (virtual) WordPlay open mic! We’re ecstatic about this opportunity to share some of our in-progress work with younger poets, and discuss police and prison abolition through creative writing during Pride month.

In other positive news, Francisco is free! Francisco Morales Torres whom we profiled a few months ago in Truthout has been released from ICE custody and is home with his family. Support immigrant communities in the Chicago area during COVID-19 by donating to Organized Communities Against Deportations and these other fundraisers.

Lastly, we cannot talk business without also talking about the rebellions sweeping the nation currently. As always, we side with Black lives, the right of oppressed people to protest however they see fit, and the ultimate abolition of police and prisons. As such, we ask you uplift the demand of Black organizers to #DefundPolice at this time. We’ll have some new writing addressing this in the near future, but for now, here are some resources to support the learning of yourself and those around you. Please share widely!

You Are Already an Abolitionist by yours truly

The Pandemic is the Right Time to Defund the Police by Melissa Gira Grant

The answer to police violence is not ‘reform.’ It’s defunding. Here’s why by Alex S. Vitale

The George Floyd Killing in Minneapolis Exposes the Failures of Police Reform by Alice Speri, Alleen Brown, and Mara Hvistendahl

Police abolitionists find fuel in the protests by Maya Dukmasova

In love, solidarity, and rebellion,

BH