“Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity.” - Franz Fanon.
For the next couple of weeks, BYP100 staff will be releasing a series of blog posts as part of an overall reset of and recommitment to BYP100. In this document, you will find acknowledgments of several issues that have been raised in the organization, what we have learned so far, and how we want to proceed . This series was started by Dee Dee, and inspired by realignment plans created by abolitionist organizations experiencing similar seasons of misalignment and conflict. This series was edited and looked over by many people who have committed to the strength and values of the organization, including but not limited to BYP100 staff, board members, coaches, and trusted partners. For folks reading this series, please know that as an organization, we have experienced many moments of conflict and disagreement, but this is different. And we want to treat it as such. We understand that there have been many letters written by individuals and groups within BYP100 over the past six months. We recognize the “letter fatigue” that’s settled upon us as an organization. We will be releasing some videos and audio to complement the upcoming blog posts. We want to encourage every person committed to being in principled struggle in BYP100 to use this document as a grounding in the Black Queer Feminist future we seek.
The past few months have been profoundly difficult and have pushed us all to think through the values and commitments that brought us to this organization in the first place. For many of us, this time — one of financial expansion of the organization — has also underscored the need to re-examine our work to ensure how we move in the world aligns with our values, love, and belief in the liberation of Black people. Our movement has more money than it has ever had, and we need to be in an in-depth discussion about what that means for us. This is also a significant opportunity to transform our work, and work from a place that meets our needs as organizers and leaders in our community. Over this series, we will give more context around our organizational budget and invitations for folks to plug-in.
We want to apologize and acknowledge the ways folks have felt unheard and harmed in this organization by the way we’ve mishandled large membership meetings, the mismanagement of staff transitions, and the attempted rollout of the 2021 budget and restructured staff structure. We want to acknowledge and name how some of our actions have not matched our values. Staff is going through a process of listening and learning about the ways we want to move forward and how to rectify some of our actions. We also want to name that collective burnout, lack of confidence, global pandemic, and call out/cancel culture are all conditions that exist on this staff that has impacted us and our ability to achieve the mission of the organization. We are examining and reviewing our processes and, through this series, will share what we have learned and what the potential is moving forward.
“Belief initiates and guides action- or it does nothing.” - O. Butler.
We believe in this organization, and when I say “we,” I mean BYP100 staff, boards, members, other Black formations, advisors, supporters, and our ancestors. Our belief lies in this organization’s potential to outlive our current successes and challenges. We are meant to be in this moment of struggle with each other. The betterment of our movement depends on our strength in this struggle. We can win, and we must. From this series, you can expect grounding, curiosity, and direction for the future of this organization. We are moving forward, and we want everyone invested in building Black futures to move forward with us. Moving ahead for us will look like:
- Series of blogs and office hours scheduled to discuss contents of blogs and next steps
- Part II: Tensions & Conflict- Feb 25th
- Part III: Our Commitments- March 2nd
- Part IV: How We Move Forward- March 4th
- Membership Contact Form, please complete by April 1st
Friday, Feb 26th at 12pm ET- Next Office Hours w/Dee Dee to discuss contents of blog and next steps
Here are some things BYP100 staff have been reading or listening to find joy, get grounded, and learn
- The Awesome Responsibility of Revolutionary Leadership, by James & Grace Lee Boggs
- We Will Not Cancel Us And Other Dreams Of Transformative Justice, by adrienne maree brown
- The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities, by Ching-In Chen; Jai Dulani ; Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
- BYP100: Songs That Got Us Through 2020, Spotify playlist
- We Keep Each Other Safe: Mutual Aid for Survival and Solidarity, video
