A quick June round up:

We had our first essay in Autostraddle for their Principles of Pride series, thanks to Xoài Pham! Our piece explored police and prison abolition as a demand of our queer ancestors, and a necessity for a liberated queer future. We were also featured in Elite Daily alongside other abolitionists we respect, probing the significance of defunding police on Juneteenth, and listed in Block Club as one of 10 Black Women and Queer Activists Working to Change Chicago. We closed out the month with an Abolition 101 workshop for A Just Chi, and our poem in honor of Layleen Polanco was featured on the podcast When We Fight We Win!

As always, summer is our busiest time. Though COVID-19 has changed some of our usual plans, it has also allowed us to connect with our old loves in some new ways. Over the course of July we’ll lead virtual workshops and discussions on abolition and defunding police for local groups including Pilsen Alliance, Chicago Freedom School, STOP Chicago, Engage Chicago, and more. We’ll also be connecting with youth organizers in Boston through St. Steven’s Youth Programs, and in New York through the Abolitionist Youth Organizing Institute with Project NIA.

Finally, on July 7th we’ll be back at The Hoodoisie podcast for a virtual roundtable calling out current Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot. The first Black, lesbian mayor of the city who ran as a “progressive,” she is fighting even at this moment to up spending on policing while continuing her predecessors’ legacy of closing schools, poisoning immigrant neighborhoods, and cutting social programs. Together we will talk about the weaponizing of Black, queer identities to silence Black, queer communities, and insist that progressivism is a political commitment, not an identity. Join us if you can.

On that note, we are proud to have signed on to a statement from trans and queer community members denouncing a recent forum with Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown, and demanding the immediate defunding of CPD. Pride Month is over, but the battle for our liberation never is. Read the full statement and the over 100 signatures of local leaders, organizers, and community members here.

BH