organize, build, educate. we must stick together in the face of hatred

Donald Trump is the new President-elect of the United States of America. How did we get there? Voter suppression is real. Many also see the failure of the neoliberal Democratic establishment who tried to impose their candidate against the people’s will. Politics based on money and ego backfiring by creating apathy in true progressive voters.
Of course it also says a lot on the state of white supremacy in the United States that a candidate with such racist and bigoted views could be elected President in 2016 (and that he could even be considered in the first place). It should also be noted that Trump didn’t win the popular vote but was still elected due to the antiquated electoral system in place.

Now what? History shows us that meaningful change happens from the bottom up. No one can take our power away from us. We must continue to support each other (and do it more), create spaces for the community online and offline to build, organize, resist and create a better world. Join organizations or create new ones, encourage and practice solidarity and thoughtfulness, organize our communities, reach out to like-minded people and other communities facing oppression, help each other out, share knowledge with one another, understand the importance of education. And fight for intersectional inclusion, as fighting racism falls flat if Black women, the Black LGBTQ+ community, poor Black people or any other group is still discriminated against for who they are. All of this can go a long way in a world bent on excluding anyone who’s not a part of the dominant patriarchal, white supremacist status quo.
Together we can continue to make magic happen and organize our resistance.

– Lou Constant-Desportes, AFROPUNK Editor-in-Chief

Photo: African American students at a Black Panther solidarity rally, University of Frankfurt, 1971 – by: n/a