On breaking away from unjust systems
The first thing is understanding that Black people can be a part of militarism and capitalism, and that is not a solution for racism. King said there were three evils: militarism, capitalism, and racism. A lot of folks are like, “Fine, we can get down with the idea that racism is bad.” But I think the reason they’re okay with it is because all these people of color can help with the militarism, can help with the capitalism. These things all go hand in hand. At a certain point, it all comes back to empire and domination, and you just can’t do it without hurting people.
So I think the big step is that folks need to be able to divest from a system that, if it’s not hurting you today, it’ll hurt you tomorrow. If they’re coming for my neighbor in the morning, they’re coming for me at night.
But as easy as it is to say people just need to do better—and I get in trouble with my radical and revolutionary friends for this—the question I turn back to us is: what is our responsibility to help them do that? How do we contribute? I think a lot of times we can have a deficit mindset—pessimism of the intellect and the will. We have a responsibility to build communities around more than just a critique. We have to come to the table and say, “Community is bigger than just what we know is wrong with this world. It’s also about building the thing that we want to see.”
Yeah, we have to fight the power, but we also have to build the power within ourselves.
On how to build community in a divided world
Do what you can when you can, and when you can’t, don’t. It’s just that straightforward for me. Whether you’re a blood relative or a stranger off the street—if you’re somebody I can work with, then we’ll work together. I’m looking to learn. I’m looking to grow. I’m looking to contribute. And we can build this garden together. If you’re going to dig the ground, I can plant the seeds. We’re going to build this garden. We’re going to feed people. It’s just that simple to me.
And if you happen to be somebody who is deeply connected to me, who has been intimately in my life, who is somebody I turn to all the time, and you don’t want to be a part of this—then I’ll do it without you. Because the principle I wish that journalists had been committed to is that the story is bigger than the person. The story is what matters because people matter. That’s the thing that needs to be guiding us—this thing is bigger than all of us. And the folks who want to make it smaller and smaller make us think that it’s just about us. They’re wrong.
