Anti-Racism Speaker for Education and Empowerment
These days, national media and popular content creators are largely dictating where we put our attention and it is overwhelming at times. So much so that it becomes easier to tuck in, do the bare minimum or less and just trust that things will work out before we get messed up by the system. To ... Read more The post The overwhelm of it all and the spike of “frozen water people” in Maine appeared…
Today marks two weeks since Maine resident Johan Sebatian Guerrero s life was snatched away from him by an ICE agent who, by the Border Czar Tom Homan’s own words, may not have been properly vetted. No shit, man! It seems like most of the people hired by ICE tend to be problematic, if not literally ... Read more The post Two weeks later: Maine and the musings of an organizer appeared first on Shay…
A little over two weeks ago, I woke up with a deep feeling of exhaustion, and not the type of exhaustion that would disappear with a few good nights of sleep. In fact, I had actually experienced a good night of sleep when I woke up. While I felt perky, as I went through the ... Read more The post Self-care during the chaos: Selfish or life affirming? appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley .
For a year-and-a-half, we have watched ICE come into communities to terrorize and kill people in upholding what increasingly feels less like immigration policy and more like ethnic cleansing. All to satisfy Stephen Miller’s twisted blueprint for a white nation. Each time they come into a community and take a life, our feeds are filled ... Read more The post When ICE kills in Maine: No one is safe…
You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em Know when to fold ‘em Know when to walk away And know when to run The Gambler One of the earliest country songs that I ever recall liking was “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers; in some ways, the lyrics struck me as a cautionary tale on ... Read more The post When messy and complicated blows up in everyone’s faces—First thoughts on the aftermath of Platner appeared…
One thing that the current primary season seems to be revealing is that far too many of us are not recognizing that the United States of today is not remotely the country of 18 months ago. Despite the reports that the United States has slid into competitive authoritarianism, far too many of us seem not ... Read more The post A messy man for Senate and silencing of scientists: Thoughts on The New…
After the national revelation over the weekend that U.S. Senate hopeful Graham Platner early in his marriage was texting with other women—and that the texts were sexual in nature and the resulting pearl-clutching around that—I have become thoroughly convinced that the Civil Rights movement and other movements would never have happened if they had occurred ... Read more The post Senate races and…
NOTE: Almost certainly this piece will travel beyond my usual readership, so I thought it wise to add a quick preface. I am not a journalist by trade or training. I am a writer who traditionally has written long-form pieces commenting on or analyzing social issues like race and racism, and I have added writing ... Read more The post Platner is the presumptive candidate, but is he the right person?…
A few weeks back, a movement colleague—noted anti-racist writer and activist Tim Wise—started making videos about a young white man in Tennessee, Dalton Eatherly, who goes by the online persona of Chud the Builder. Chud apparently for weeks had been posting on X about his adventures in Nashville and other areas, where he “exercised” his ... Read more The post They believe in racism; do you really…
A white as Maine is—tied with West Virginia for first place in that regard—we are not without notable Black people. And no, I’m not talking about myself; I’m talking about those whose presence here (sometimes a form of activism in and of itself) and whose work in civil rights and related efforts made my work ... Read more The post Yes, there was a civil rights legend in Maine; RIP, Mr. Talbot…