Dear Resist Community,
Sometimes it can feel difficult to grab people's attention to resist injustice, and sometimes national attention is grabbed. In these moments of hyper-televised crisis, it can be tough to cut through the spectacle and get a true sense of who is doing the crucial work on the ground. The non-televised, grassroots, decentralized recovery that we know is so essential in the days and weeks during and after a crisis rarely gets recognized. In the Northeast after Hurricane Sandy, Occupy Sandy and other local responses were crucial to thousands needing housing, clothes, food, medical care, and more.
Grassroots groups in Houston, led by those from communities hit hard by Harvey, are working not only for immediate relief, but for long term political change. Organizers, activists, artists, and healers have been and will continue to organize for environmental and economic justice, build local democratic economies, and weave together community governance structures. They know under global capitalism, it's not if crisis happens, but when.
Whether a crisis is well-publicized or wounds communities quietly, there are organizers and activists across the world who know the strongest safety net is an organized community. Communities that work toward justice, equity, and democracy will always be stronger in the face of crisis. The struggle in Houston and all Hurricane Harvey impacted areas is not over. In fact, because of disaster capitalism, it is just beginning.
If you're interested in supporting organizations that are working working long-term for justice and social transformation check out this list, curated by the brilliant, racial justice organization Colorlines.
For peace and justice,
Jax
Co-director of Radical Philanthropy
