Solidarity Wedges and Opportunities

[Music] Welcome to the Solidarity is this podcast, an initiative of the Building Movement Project. On this podcast, we explore the power of collective action. We imagine our shared futures and uncover stories of communities making Solidarity possible. In this special episode, we're sharing our May 20, 26th State of Solidarity conversation, brought to you in partnership with Transgender Law Center, the largest national transled organization advocating self-determination for all people. For this conversation, co-host Adaku Uta talks with Anna Castro from Transgender Law Center, Rinku Sen from Narrative Initiative, and Sharman Hosei from 18 million rising, about the Solidarity wedges shaping our movement ecosystems, and how transformative solidarity can move us into deeper alignment and collective action in the midst of them. Whether you're a seasoned organizer or just beginning your journey, we're so glad you're here. Let's jump into the conversation. My name is Adaku. I use all pronouns and the director of movement building programs at building movement projects, and we are a national capacity building organization that deeply cares about our people, and part of how we express that care is through developing alongside with so many of you on this call, really insightful research, helipractical resources and tools, and facilitating strategic spaces that build the ecosystems that make transformative solidarity much more possible. And within VMP, we have a program that a couple of us are part of called Solidarity is that's deeply committed to building up the infrastructure, embodiment, and practice that makes solidarity more possible inside of our movements. And as Wingtee mentioned, we are throwing down this space with our fellow Comrade organization, Transgender Law Center, and want to bring our Comrade and a cash syrup to share a little bit about TLC and the powerful work that they're up to. Hi, Anna. Hi. Well, it is a privilege to be here with all of you knowing that everyone is right now doing their best to show up for their community and for others. Transgender Law Center takes very seriously the work of solidarity. It is not only a value we hold, it is a practice, and in our work we center the lives of BIPOC, disabled, and HIV communities, transmigrants, trans athletes, young trans people, you name it. And we understand that work of centering only begins when you really know yourself and know what it is that you are capable of doing both for your communities and for others. And so our work is highly driven by being in community as weavers. We are social butterflies and we like gathering people. And we also take seriously the role of guide, which is why we are here with Adaku, with Wingtee, with Frithi, with the folks of Building Movement Project, who are honestly connecting so many movements together to ensure that as a whole, our movements are leaving no one behind. So I want to say thank you to Building Movement Project and also encourage folks to check out the Trans Agenda for Liberation, which is on TLC's website. I'll also drop it into the chat. We think of this as a blueprint for liberation for all, and it is probably my favorite solidarity based text right now, not only because it guides the work of TLC, but because I've seen how powerful it is in action. So I hope to share some of those lessons here today. I also hope to learn some from the folks at Narrative Initiative and E-T-Million Rising. And with that, I pass it back to you Adaku. Come on, Anna. Always a gift to get to share space with you. And to be practice partners in this lifelong journey of creating the conditions that we need to be more free, to be more dignified and be connected to each other and to the planet. So, want to go through what our flow is, what we're going to be up to in this space together. In a moment, we'll talk a little bit about what we say transformative solidarity, what do we mean? And also share a little bit about how we understand solidarity wedges. We'll invite you all to also share your own reflections and stories and possibilities around wedges and ridges. And then we'll turn to our conversation with our co-conspirators and then hopefully leave with a bunch of resources and reflections to share with you all. So even though this is primarily going to be a panel conversation, we want to invite your wisdom into the space. So all of the questions that we're going to be having our panelists, our co-conspirators answer, we're going to be dropping them into the chat as well for you to reflect on, offer your own answers, contradictions, questions that you might have. And again, the chat is there so you can offer not only your reflections, but maybe you have a resource or a story or some medicine that could add to this conversation. We want to receive that as well. So, y'all, it has been a time. What a time to be alive right now. It has been over a year into this administration's havoc and so many of us are feeling the intensifying and more chaotic impacts on our cellular selves on our communities. And of course, in our organizations, we know that so many of our communities are experiencing increased gentrification, war, deep amounts of violence, and also deep amounts of abandonment by the state. And we also know the state was never meant to service and a lot of people still rely on the state to live. And simultaneously, a lot of our organizations that are working so damn hard are losing a lot of resources right now, whether loss in funding, loss in people, loss in meaning, loss in connection. And all of this, all of what we're experiencing right now can feel both exhausting. It can feel confusing. It can feel you might feel unsure around how to sustain. And we want to not only name the conditions, but also name the reality of what we might be holding with a lot of compassion and with a lot of care. And also with a lot of deep recognition that even inside all of these conditions, we are still here doing the damn thing, whether we're showing up tired and exhausted or ready. Your presence here is here and it's also relevant. Every single one of us is a necessary part of how we get free. So thank you for all that you're doing to make sure that we get there and creating the conditions, even if it's just 2% more in our neighborhoods and our organizations and the ways that we treat each other. Solidarity is more possible when we are resourced and we have received some level of care. And so something that we want to offer in this space as we talk about wedges, which can bring up a lot of heartbreak and also a lot of tenderness. And excitement and possibility is that you might need some additional care as you tend to your heart and your body in the space. So we want to drop into the chat some healing justice and care resources that you can turn towards while you're here and then also afterwards for some aftercare. In the resource that we're going to drop, there are individuals that you can connect with and also practices that you can engage with to support your body as you're here. And we also want to invite you to move towards something that might be caring and support your presence here. So maybe you let the sun hit your face or you move up to an altar or you grab an extra snack or that weighted blanket or furry animal or lie down in your vent and get as comfortable as you need to be so that you can this space can also be supportive of not only your intellectual nourishment but also how your body is held here in this space. Shout out to my team for dropping in those resources and the chat appreciate you so so much. So we have survived one of the many ways that we've been able to resist and reclaim our futures is because of the many different ways that we've been able to harvest lessons around how we coordinate how we build solidarity and how we care and organize with each other. And I just wanted to to highlight a resource that we just put out and shout out to many organizations who got to inform this resource, some of whom are in this room. And I think a lot of times in the midst of fascistic tendencies, we can narrow our attention to what is wrong and we should, right? Because we are trying to change those things. And we can also expand our attention to include how we are winning, how we are adapting, how we are seeing each other as clearly as possible. So here's some highlights around how our movements and organizations have been adapting by learning from global movements who have been withstanding authoritarian conditions for a really long time, by really being really clear about what is our role right now and what's the level of discernment that will make sure that we are meeting the moment. We are also getting to witness safety and security and digital infrastructure to make sure that our people and our information is well protected and all of the different forms of collective care and sustainability infrastructure that folks are building. If you see something up in here and you're like, "Ooh, I want to learn more about that." How people doing that? Take a look at our resource, read a little bit more and also feel free to connect with us. We can connect you to organizations and people who are doing this work really, really beautifully, even as we do it imperfectly. So solidarity, we've been saying that word over and over and over again and there are lots of different definitions of solidarity out there. And we specifically claim that solidarity is not some intellectualized amorphous term, even though it's a buzz word out here in these streets. But we hold it as a verb and as a way of practicing consistently in a way that deepens our relationships, that changes who we are and who our organizations and coalitions are. And also strengthens the infrastructure that connects our organizations and movements over time. I would say over generations and over lifetimes. We also hold solidarity as building up our collective capacity to change conditions that are constantly changing and getting more and more intense. And as we do that change, we're not just changing a campaign or changing a person, but we are up to shifting culture. We are up to shifting systems that are needed for us to be more free. And y'all, it's hard. Solidarity is really difficult. And one of the many reasons why solidarity can be really challenging either to start or to sustain is that there are many, many wedges that are both internal to our organizations and also part of our political conditions that keep us away from each other. And we're going to be talking a lot about what are some of these wedges that we are seeing and also experiencing in our work. When we talk about solidarity wedges, if we go to the next slide, what we're talking about is the tensions, fractures, and also contradictions that we can our trust, our alignment, and our collective capacity to build transformative solidarity. And a wedge often presents something deeper, manifesting within our organizations and movements, which is part of the, it's a double edged sword. It both feels really difficult and it can also reveal where we might need to turn our attention to to be more in integrity and more accountable to us. So wedges can reveal where is there more relationship needed, where might we need to increase accountability, where do we need to sharpen our political clarity, and where do we need to rebuild or build the infrastructure that we need to make transformative solidarity possible. So there's all kinds of wedges and not all wedges are the same. And something to know about building movement projects is that we love alliteration. So you will all see a couple. But it's part of how we remember and also categorize some of the impacts and also some of the resources that we have. So when we look at solidarity wedges, a couple of different ones emerge that we've been noticing in the work that we've been doing, the movement building work we've been doing alongside our comrades. So there are wedges around representation, which are tensions that emerge around whose story gets told, whose analysis is getting centered, and what kind of framing or strategy is going to define the collective agenda. There are wedges around resources that are fundamentally about competition, whether it's around funding or organizational visibility and social capital, and then who is making decisions up in here. Yeah. There are wedges, and a lot of us are experiencing this right now around repair and some of the harm that has happened. And in particular, when we disagree about did harm happen? And what kind of process or practice might be needed to repair and protect our folks? And then there are wedges around risk and strategy. So what kinds of tactics and risk tolerance can we take? And for some coalitions, networks and organizations, risk being defined as distancing themselves from particular communities that feel, quote, unquote, too costly. And then we start to leave so many of our people behind. And then the last one, which we see a lot of is wedges around relationships, tensions that emerge around unequal power distribution, unequal labor distribution pacing even, and a lot of unspoken shadow dynamics that haunt how we do our work over time. Thankfully solidarity, wedges, wedges, I've been calling it wedges. Because sometimes they feel that way, you know? But wedges, however you want to call it, have antidotes, you know, and some of us are already practicing things, shout out to all the things that we're already practicing to transform, the shape, the impact, the texture of these wedges. And so bridges, some of the bridges that we're going to be talking about today are around skills, spaces, scaffolding, and structures that we get to build to transform the wedges happening at all, and also the impacts those wedges can have on who we are. So skills really focus in on the sets of capacities and competencies that help us build trust, care and coordination and safety over time. So that might look like how we practice naming our needs and boundaries, how we know how to be leaders and when to follow appropriately. And then there are spaces which are containers where our relationships have enough space and time to grow. This can look like community accountability hubs or political education places to sharpen our analysis or even peer-to-peer learning exchanges. So we can deepen not only our understanding of each other's strategies, but deepen our understanding of who people are. We have scaffolding which are the tools and systems that help people move together. So this could be tools that help inside of leadership transition right now, which a lot of folks are experiencing or tools that help with role clarity. Also having really good skilled facilitators that are not causing the shift and trying to impact their pockets is a part of scaffolding as well. And then the last thing is around structures which are sometimes things that we skip over because we feel like we have the same values and so we should be moving in similar ways, but actually agreements around governance, around how we hold conflicts, around how we align around our values are really crucial and fundamental. All right, y'all. So we want to hear from you. We're going to do a call to feel into to hear what you all are seeing and experiencing from where you are within your movement location, whether you're connected to an organization or not. So we want to know what wedges are impacting solidarity. And there's a bunch over here as well as what transforms wedges into bridges. So a poll, shout out to Wing Tee. Thank you for the poll. Should have popped up right now. What are some wedges that you're experiencing? Is it around cross-racial or cross-cultural solidarity tensions? Maybe it's around strategic or political difference or siloing of our organizations. Maybe people are competing where you are at what's going on. Intergenerational tensions, y'all. Let's get into it. National versus local or your wedge might not be here. So if it's not here, feel free to drop it into the chat so that we know what you're holding. And then what's transforming the wedge as well as the bridges? Is it the skills, the spaces, the scaffolding or the structures? Awesome. Beautiful, beautiful. Give like another 30 seconds here to get more responses. Some of you might be like, I don't know. And that's okay. Thanks for telling the truth. And this might also bring up curiosities for you around where your organization is at. So feel free to drop those curiosities into the chat as well. Beautiful. Yeah. Okay. All right. Yeah. So when I look at this first question. Okay. Give it a stick. It's still coming. It's still coming. A couple more seconds here and then we'll close it out. All right. Give me a thumbs up if you can see the poll results. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yes. Come on. So y'all can see with me, you know, where a lot of our focuses, wedges are. Are focused around right now, at least in this moment. Obviously this could change. But lots of cross racial, cross cultural solidarity tensions. Tensions specifically also around strategy and political difference. And then we have a resource competition which breaks my heart because I'm like, no, y'all. We need to share more rather than compete. And we also know that there are conditions that are making it. Making that competition happen just like what's happening in our funding world. And then in terms of wedges, what you all feel transforms wedges into bridges are. We need these spaces where we can build relationship, learn and collectively take action together. Beautiful. Feel free to drop into the chat, you know, questions or even resources or reflections that might be coming up for you as you answered this particular poll. Thank y'all so much for your wisdom here. Speaking of wisdom, we are about to share with our comrades Anna from transgender law center, Rinku from narrative initiative and shaman from Eats Emillion rising. Again, I am so thrilled to have these folks here. These are folks who have been throwing down inside of movement for decades. Not only have a deep commitment to our people, but also have such sharp analysis, have such deep reverent humility for how the work gets done. And have been tethered to a community in both local national and for some in other here in international ways. So come with a lot of both like tried and true experience and deep listening with our people and also have their own questions and contradictions. What I like about them is that they're hell are real. They're hell are real and tell keep it all the way 100. So, yeah, so welcome loves and like I mentioned at the beginning, just because we have these folks spotlighted does not mean their wisdom is the only one they get to take up space. So, if you got something else to offer up the collective drop it into the chat, whether it's an answer a question a contradiction a feeling a poem, a song, a memory from your ancestors about how we should right now. So welcome y'all I'm so grateful to have y'all and I'm really I want to dive into this this first question here around you know we talked a little bit about wedges solidarity wedges. And I'm really curious about how have challenges to solidarity revealed the state of your relationships within movement, whether it's within your organization or across organizations across movements that you might be working with. We talked about how solidarity wedges yes they are these tensions and fractures and then they also reveal something deeper that might need more attention so I'm curious for you all. What has that wedge what's a wedge that you've seen and also what has it revealed about the state of your relationships and also what else might be needed. And we'll start with you. Charmin then go to Anna and then rinko. Thank you so much a doku and really glad to be here in a room with people that are really thinking about the future and the prefigurative politics that we want to bring forth in these relationships so just really appreciate the framing. i'm charmin I use she her pronouns and i'm the organizing director at 18 million rising we are a national Asian American abolitionist organization and we do a lot of base building and campaigning. For those of you curious about what the 18 means over 13 years ago when we started we were 18 million Asians in this country and now we are more than 34 so I think it's time to update that name. But you know it's it's cool to be a part of one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in this country and also what it means to organize alongside people in a diaspora that have varying differences of their relationship to the issues of immigration and policing and democracy. And also one of the fastest growing right wing populations across the country as well and so those like contradictions or something that I carry in my body both as like a bomb that she Muslim who comes from a lineage of liberation fighters while my homeland is also you know experiencing a growth and far right populism. And in its Islamist power is anti feminist power and what that means for the future of like our people and how we fight. So a little bit of my understanding of some of the wedges has come from that knowledge that even though you know especially in hubs like New York Asian Americans are working class poor communities there's also a huge. A breath of folks that have like lineages to far right parties and or beliefs that are rooted in classist you know power and so I think that that contradiction highlights itself when there's like a homeless shelter being built in a community and what the far right opposition looks like to those homeless shelters or when we saw. Early on when the right wing maga folks were organizing to remove LGBTQ books off of shelves across libraries and schools in this country there were Muslim people that were allying with these folks that wanted to also remove LGBTQ books and sex education from their schools and libraries. Of course after October 7th everything changed a lot of these far right alliances that were happening were there were fissures within the fissures so all of a sudden these maga alliances with these Muslim conservative communities were being faced with the contradiction of the Palestine question. So we saw it within our communities but also some of the organizers we were working with that across Texas Michigan Chicago these alliances were bringing up fights and and and disagreements and I think those are good disagreements to have in the sense that there were all of these people that were allying themselves. With these causes that were you know oppositional to these beliefs that we have as progressives and then Palestine kind of catapulted this question about what it means to be in solidarity in this moment. And so for 18 million rising we saw it particularly in our campaign against the Asian American foundation you know being the largest foundation that funds Asian American issues they had the anti defamation league on their board and the anti defamation links CEO Jonathan Greenblatt was also one of the main seed funds. of this foundation. And so for us as Asian Americans that were internationalists and we didn't have debates around the Palestine question, we internally have always supported Palestinians and their right to return. We were surprised to see the amount of Asian Americans that were silent around this question. And so we took it upon ourselves when Palestinian comrades asked us like, hey, can you guys figure this thing out? You know, it's really concerning for us that the ADL is partnering with Asian American organizations to do K to 12 educational campaigns to do some of that work of conflating all a critique of Israel as anti-Semitic. And we saw this happen within like Japanese American communities that were organizing, you know, as well as folks within Asian American hubs that were looking to bring anti-racist education to their schools and to have played a key role in that, right? And so when we raised our campaign, all of those contradictions came up. We had to really confront what it meant to do education but also relationship building with partners that might not have brought this question to their base, right? There were grantees of the Asian American foundation that needed money. They needed these resources. And who were we to say drop-taff, drop the money, boycott-taff? You know? And so to answer your question, Adaku, it was one of those moments that I was like, oh man, what is the call here, right? Do we ask people to stop their relationship with the largest philanthropic partner in the Asian community or do we think about creative ways to wage a struggle that is a right struggle? It was a good demand of ours to demand that they drop Jonathan Greenblatt from their board. But in a way that really respected our relationships and centered the way that we engage with these Asian American partners, many of whom, if they lost that money, their programs would be impacted. Their people would be impacted. And so we see, we saw that in our work, and I think we're still wrestling with who showed up, how they showed up, who signed on to the letter, who called their program officer, who decided to boycott Agala, you know? And those were all moments for us to really learn about the intricacies of what it means to make this brave call, right? But also consider the nuances of what it means to be in solidarity. Whoo! Those nuances are so real and have a clear impact. And just want to shout out the clarity, the consistency, and the both stands around Palestine. I know for a lot of people still, that's still a question. And I think it becomes even harder to be in solidarity when folks aren't clear about who they are and what they stand for. And as you beautifully articulated, that can come with a lot of risk, which I know that you all experience, and you'll talk a little bit about that later. And when we're inviting folks to be a bridge around a solidarity practice or practices, we're also inviting them to take some risks that they may or may not be ready to take on. So I love the multi-pronged approach that you took about, just different entry points around being present with, and staying committed to Palestine. That that can take on many different shapes. And still, that impacts the way that relationships fundamentally look like right now for you. And I hear you all still in that wrestling that's very much alive. And I appreciate just that nuance that you're bringing to the conversation. Anna, how about you? What's the wedge? And what is that wedge revealing? Within TLC and with the organizations that y'all are holding down with? Again, Anna, they then principal narrative strategist, a transgender law center. I want to start with the wedge of the world that missing disinformation plays in the world right now. You know, balancing the tension between understanding that our opposition is bombarding. B-Pox, so black indigenous, API Latino communities with missing disinformation about transcommunities every single day. Holding that. And then holding that folks are really tired of trying to justify their humanity. They are tired of answering questions. They are tired of having to explain themselves. And holding that, if we aren't talking to people, the opposition is. And so really, for me, as a narrative strategist trying to piece together the work that legal advocates, policy advocates, organizers, communicators, direct service providers have in this work, understanding that each of them are in some way contributing to the information ecosystem that we have. But also having to kind of be very honest and say, we aren't reaching beyond our bubble. And we aren't persuading. We are not, we do not have the right message to reach people right now. And more than that, we're not approaching this in a way that encourages people to listen. And so for me, you have to build that trust with people before you say, this strategy isn't working. And you have to really hold that people will be mad at you for saying that. And so I will be angry with you and ask you to show the proof. And then also there are some folks that are going to be grateful because they've been saying the same thing. And so, you know, the challenge with solidarity at times becomes the challenge between balancing the relationships that nonprofit folks. For whom this is a job, what perspectives and ideas they have. Versus what the greater public needs. And so I share that in this space, because this is a space of practitioners that a docus when you said that I have great humility. And I'm like, yeah, it requires having a really thick skin to be able to hold anger, confusion, mistrust from both people within the movement. And from the people outside of it. Oh, I felt that in my heart. And I feel out old. You have probably been holding that and how you've had to navigate some of that complexity for a really long time to be in right relationship with our people. And I think it's some of the nuance that we don't often talk about like what is required to be in humility. What is required to reach our people. And I think you offer such a powerful invitation for all of us to really bear witness. And who's a part of our circle right now? Do they feel not only included? Do they feel persuaded? Do they feel activated to take action? And I think a really big question right now is do they feel belonged? Do they feel a sense of belonging? And like, this is my political home. With people who I can trust and relate to. Through all the tensions and the stuff. So thank you, Anna. Thank you for that. Thank you for that. And I'm just going to reinforce Shermie and Anna's points because they were so beautifully said the wedge that occurred to me was competition for resources and not competition within the nonprofit world competition for funding. And the world competition for jobs for housing for tax benefits and their benefits. Competition for credit like a lot of the cultural appropriation conflicts we have are about who gets credit for, you know, making the most beautiful aspects of life exist and. And I think that there, there is a wedge between so called elites who find it very easy to support each other because none of our livelihoods are at stake. and be like, yes, all the way on TransInclusion. or undocumented people's inclusion or, I don't know, kid power, power for children. But I have very little in fact to lose. And so I think there is the mis and disinformation that is so easy to spread is in part so easy to spread because sometimes we're not connected with our own bases, deeply enough to move them, or to negotiate something with them. They are constituent bases, find it easy to dismiss, and dismiss us. And we as leaders maybe find it a little too easy to dismiss them and their objections to things. Anna Story reminded me of when we were doing the Drop the I word campaign when I worked at Race Forward. And a colleague said, "I don't think we should ever debate this. We're never gonna debate this usage with anybody." And I was like, "What do you mean?" I thought the whole point was to generate a debate about it and like make people think instead of just adopting the inertia position. So we rejected that as a strategic move because we wanted to win and we thought in fact we could persuade people, we could change their minds. So the wedges in part between elites in our movement, leaders, paid professionals, and the constituents we claim to organize and represent. And I'll just say one other thing, which is that I think that the search for commonality often gets interrupted, disrupted. So it's true that no two people are exactly the same ever. But I think to move forward, we need some shared identities. We can't be so different from each other that we're perpetually on our own with no friends and no community and no family. So if, but what I find is sometimes when I assert some commonality, what I get back is a barrage of no, we're different this way, this way, this way, this way. We're not the same. We're never the same. We could not be the same. But something about us has to be the same if we're gonna really operate on real-time solidarity. - So real. So real. I mean, I feel the fear of a ratio behind that, and how the flattening of differences throughout history has disappeared a lot of us. And to your point, Rinku, we have to find these places of convergence, whether it's around identity or how we understand the world or the futures that we're trying to bring into reality. Where might those intersect with each other and how can we keep building those connections and commonalities that allow for us to do more work together? So for folks who are listening before we drop into this next question, just notice where you are in this conversation, what was revealed to you from what was shared? What's the wedge that is knocking on your heart right now and being like, "Ooh, take a look at me." And what might it want to reveal about the state of your relationships, the state of the risks that you're willing to take right now? And maybe even the state of your longings and your needs across and within your organizations. - Yeah. Thanks for dropping things into the chat as well. Your questions and your knowings. - So, and I wanna come back to you and you know, you shared and we are also experiencing in real time just the cruel and increasing attacks on trans communities over and over and over again, which requires right now, this is not just like a transgender law center issue, this is a wheat issue. Trans issues are, our issues, trans people are our people. And it really requires both you all extending solidarity to a lot of different movements and then also asking for solidarity as well. And just given the level of misinformation and disinformation that you talk about, it's so easy for both solidarity to either become transactional or you all are overextending into other movements and organizations and people aren't extending back to trans folks. And so I'm curious for you how you're thinking about bridges in the midst of that, like how are you all bridging and building solidarity in ways that aren't overextending you all in a way that's losing your center and also is just dismantling some of the extraction politics that could happen inside of movement (laughs) where it's like, you know, people are really not showing up, but the performing like they show in it. So yeah. - I wanna start by highlighting something that Rinku said, which is the focus on winning. We actually want to achieve material conditions change for our communities. And at times, solidarity can be a performance. It's a post online. It is a statement sent. And this leads me to believe. I'm like, you know, extractive is in the eye of the beholder because as Sharman said, speaking out is important. We do actually need to see more people speaking out on an issue. And so, you know, I go back to the social change ecosystem map and I think through the roles that we play in our work and that guides how we engage in solidarity. As I said, transgender law center is a weaver. Many of the people that work there come from the anti-violence movement, come from reproductive justice, come from immigrant rights, come from abolitionist work. So inherently, our orientation is one of solidarity. We are not asking for acceptance. We are demanding respect. And that means and that accompanies material conditions change. And so when, you know, I think about us moving out of our center, it's at times when we engage in solidarity that has no backup when it comes to action. We, I strongly believe that to move through this moment, we need to practice solidarity on principle. And that means everybody has a stake. And so, you know, when we receive support, however it looks like, we appreciate it and we use it as an opportunity to build relationships because that's the step towards deepening something from seemingly transactional or extractive to real. And building relationships under crisis and chaos means you've got to accept messiness. We are not always going to show up as our best selves. I know that for me and I know that for the people that I work with and I hold that grace. And so, you know, to kind of close off on this, we really need to think about what it looks like to be rebuilding the foundations of a government right now. And we have all the tools to do that because of the mutual aid networks that we've created because of the way that we've seen opportunities to shift law and policy, because of the risks that we've taken. And so, the challenge then becomes how do we navigate our own interpersonal relationships with grace, with curiosity? With openness, because if the self-regulation doesn't start with us, it's not going to be received. And so, you know, it goes back to how are we as individuals engaging in solidarity, unprinciple, and relationship building that is open, honest, and uncompromising in its belief that no one is disposable. Yes, no one is disposable, including ourselves. You know, we can't give what we don't have. And for a lot of us, our relationships with ourselves are debatable right now. We don't have relationships with ourselves, just given not just a lot of us. just the, you know, the objectification and colonization and fracturing that we've been forced into and also have had to do in order to exist. And so then we end up casting that on each other in so many different ways, in ways that fundamentally, as you just beautifully described, impact the relationships that we're able to have, impacts the level of messiness that we're able to tolerate, impacts the level of being with over time. And it's, and that's a skill, that is a skill to build. And I think we underestimate what's required to build the, the being with the relating, the belonging and also the negotiating of difference and connection. And speaking of, Rincquire, I actually want to come back to what you ended with around, yes, we have differences. That is the reality of being human. That is the reality of living in this world. It is what shapes us. And in order to win together, we have to build these connections and commonalities there, places where we have to connect. And I'm curious for you how that happens, especially within the terrain that you're in around narrative work. How does solidarity become more possible in that terrain in a way that builds connections without flattening our differences? - Yeah, thank you for asking that. So the basic theory is that in order to organize any group of people toward any goal, they need to feel like they belong with each other. We are not just a bunch of strangers pulled together by money, for example, or some other not enduring condition that is gonna change quickly and is transient. So if we're going to organize our workplace to have a fall of the law and give us expanded labor rights, or we're gonna organize our city so that when a natural disaster hits, good things will happen and not just a whole bunch of corporate takeover, then the people in that organizing effort, whether they are going after something big like democracy or something small, like repairs in their building, in the building they live in, they have to feel like a collective, like they belong together. And they have some level of shared identity. And I think if we can acknowledge what we share, that that's super helpful. And I don't know, I mean, there's a narrative question coming maybe a separate one, but I'll adjust. We are so overwhelmed, I think, in social media, in entertainment, in all sorts of realms, with stories of people in conflict, people who should be together, but really are just in deep conflict. And all of them is trust, like people, these folks never supported me, I'm never gonna support them, just real cynicism about the idea that we might be able to stick together. And I see that happen between people who look quite obviously like they belong together, and people who you can't imagine why they're in the same room. But the question we have to answer, I think, is what level of shared identity do we need to move this organizing effort forward without any, then your effort is probably gonna fall flat, you'll fail to ever get enough people in the mix. And then once people are in the mix, what do they feel entitled to? It's hard to get people to fight for something to which they don't actually feel entitled. So I think we have to generate solidarity narratives, which I can say more about later, but that are capable of overrunning all that cynical bullshit that we're just surrounded with constantly. I think you're Rinku for that really rich response, and just call in to our movements around how might we build shared identities, even as we hold the differences that are really distinct and also shape how we understand the moment, how we strategize, how we move together. And speaking of differences, Charmin, I wanna pull you in here, the work differences and shared identity work for an organization where there is a shared identity. And yet you also beautifully articulated how, even within shared identity, there's key differences around political clarity and understanding and also even readiness to organize and take a stance. I'm curious how you all build solidarity with those internal differences, and then also how you bridge solidarity to other racial justice movements as well. - Yeah, yeah, thank you for that question. I feel like Rinku's point around what it means to have a shared sense of identity was really integral to understanding like how we wanna fight around the issues that impact our base. And I think having a decolonized understanding of what we mean when we say Asia, like Palestine is Asia too, and that we meant that like decolonize understandings of this region will actually allow us to see how the US war on terror and the imperialist industrial complex has actually shaped the political realities of our people. And so I think it's really beneficial to actually understand economics and policy and how we are all being manipulated by this regime, but also our government that is not using our tax dollars for our communities and connecting it to how our homelands and the histories that they carry were also victims of this military industrial complex. And I think for many people who weren't staunch, let's say anti-war activists, these last few years have changed the public perception. They've changed how people see the military as well as our government's complicity in war. And also the contradictions of what it means to fight for one policy while not naming the behemoth of the war industry that is usurping all of our resources. And so for us like solidarity required a red line around anti-war and understanding the military industrial complex as like the center of so many of our issues. I think that is also why we attract a lot of Asian Americans that are either demoralized by their non-profit silence or the fact that they have not been a part of a very strong anti-war movement, especially after the invasions of Adal-Khanif-Lanathan. And so I think those relationships actually allowed us to transform how much risk we take and how we show up. And we face the consequences at 18MR where our funder, well spring foundation decided to take away one fourth of our organizational budget for our activism around Palestine. But it also opened a huge door where hundreds of allies and people across the country that were like, yeah, actually I was deeply impacted by a funder doing this to me or saying that I must be silent on this. Or the fact that like so many of our movements are silent because of the fear of what could happen. And so we were able to really transform how we spoke about these issues because of what we faced as an organization. And it allowed us to build a bigger tent around the millions of people within our movements that are actually like reckoning what this war has done to their bases, their organizing, as well as the fact that like policy work is a lot harder now, right? And so yeah, I feel very like of course when it happened, it was a very scary moment, but I feel very surprised by the number of people that have shown up to this moment, that have really appreciated us naming the foundation, right? And naming what happened publicly. So many of us go through this quietly, you know? And actually pointing the finger back to this regime and how our tax dollars are being weaponized. So yeah, yeah, that's some of my thoughts on that. - We were definitely one of the organizations who were really grateful for that generosity in your sharing, recognizing that it may or may not have put you at more risk. And I know from what I got to see inside of movement that more folks feel, more courageous to not shame and blame themselves, but to be more vocal about some of the impacts of the withdrawal, the intense withdrawal from funders in this moment, and calling funders to task about what it means to be meeting the moment right now. Thank you so much, Charmin. Shout out to Hattie Million Rising, soon to be renamed to 34. So I actually want to bring in some of the conversations that's happening in the chat and some questions that are there from Y'all who are also in circle with us, offering your own wisdom, shout out to some of the organizations that have been named in the chat. Shout out to all the eldest children. I see there's a shout out there for this and every child, everybody, all every role is important. And I'm curious if you want to give voice to this reflection that you offered to cue around how fragmenting of ourselves happened during rising fascism and how that reverberates out to our relationships and our movements. And then if folks have additional questions, feel free to drop it into the chat. We won't get to all of them, but we want to harvest them and also put them in a paddlet share responses later too as well. But Anna, anything you want to offer here out loud? Yeah, the question that you presented really made me think about an underlying theme here in what Charmin and Rinku and you have said around the role of truth and relationships in this moment. And at its core, fascism shakes our beliefs to the point where the truth is debatable. And it also makes us question our relationships to each other, our relationships to government, our relationship to the future. It ups the uncertainty so much that our system is really, really, and searching for someone to give us the answers. And strong men around the globe step in in this moment and present an answer. And whether it's by convenience or by really leaning in towards people's fear and uncertainty, that new reality makes it possible for people to engage in actions that they would not otherwise engage in. And so our job, like Rinku said, is to tell a better story right now. And we can't lean away from what people are feeling. If we ignore how much people pockets are hurting right now, if we ignore how hard it is for, you know, to access health care, how hard it is to keep a roof over your head, if we ignore those conditions that people are facing, our answer will not ring as true. But like Rinku said, it's just really a matter of bringing us back to the collective. An example I can give very quickly is that transgender law center is an organization that believes that universal health care should be the focus of what LGBTQ organizations fight for. Because it is not a matter of whether trans people can access health care, that is gender affirming. But rather can anybody access health care, that is affordable, that sees us for all our identities, that is going to be filled with answers rather than more questions that is going to be humanizing. And so really asking internally for our movement to wrestle with this idea that if we only talk about gender affirming care, we are making it seem like trans people can access this magical health care that is gender affirming available to all trans people, clearly laid out in some sort of guide. When none of that is the reality, particularly for black trans people, disabled trans people, trans migrants, poor trans folks, and so expanding our demands is critical in this moment to rebuild that trust that our opposition has been attacking by saying things like, you know, this transitioning is happening in schools. So that is where I think the layers are of how do you fight authoritarianism? It is by building deep relationships that can hold through conflict and through misindist information. That is at the nucleus, right? The quality and the depth of relationships that can withstand more pressure and changing conditions. Thank you so much for that, Anna, and thank you Q. And how is time moving in the way that it is? And it is where it is. And Rinku Sharman, Anna, you've offered us so much to both reflect on to wrestle with, to negotiate with, to integrate. And so I just want to say just like deep amounts of gratitude, not just for the work that you're doing, but for who you are in this moment and have been for many, many moments. And for being in the wrestling alongside with us, not just like on some pedestal over here, but really being in circle with us. And I hope you all who listened really felt nourished by the conversation and also can continue to support the work that each of these folks are doing at their organization with their bases. In a moment, a padlet is going to be dropped with additional resources from that we shared along the way, as well as info about each of these organizations. And if there are resources that you want to share or experiments that you're working on or things that we should know in our community, feel free to drop it into the chat and we'll add it to our padlet of resources. And for you Anna, Rinku and Charmin, I hope that the ways that people relate to you and the quality of relationships that you have helped to sustain your life and your life force in this moment. And it feels less extractive and a lot more engendered and possible. If you all are like, what is ending already? I want more. Well, we got more for you. We have an intensive coming up on June and June around solidarity wedges and opportunities where you can really dig in to scenarios that you might be navigating with fellow folks who are also nerds and people who are interested in how we might build solidarity in these times with some really clear practical resources and tools. And Anna also has something you wanted to share from CLC. They went out of highlight. Yes. So we recently launched a queer and trans migrant reporting guide to help reporters and also fellow advocates learn how to talk about detention, immigration enforcement in a way that acknowledges both medical needs, dispels the good migrant, bad migrant, black and white binary that we have at times. And so this is a guide that is available to all folks. If you want to learn, if you ever wanted to create a post in support of trans folks and you do immigration work, this might be a good resource for you. It is also in Spanish. Hey, you love that. Rin Kuchram and any resources that you want to share that the people need to know about? Yeah, thank you so much. 18 million rising responded to the call from our comrades in Minnesota to really target the pillars of support that derision is using to kidnap our neighbors. And so we are taking on enterprise and demanding enterprise stop rent in cars to ICE. So if you'd like to join the campaign, please take action here and then you can email me to join the coalition. We're joining people who are organizing where enterprises had quartered to really apply pressure to the CEO of the company. And so if you want to cause some trouble and get an ICE collaborator to drop a contract, please email me, join us. We need as many people as we can get. Let's get them where their wallets hurt. So what are our communities of practice is building a unity between rural communities? communities and urban communities and we just released a guide. I've posted the Zine version of it, but if you go to the website, you can see the full guide. And it's a bill to out of the experiences of statewide organizers around the country who want to have really stronger urban operations and strong rural operations, but also connect them so they cannot re-wedge particularly in election seasons. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Thank you all so, so much. In addition to this fabulous crew, we had Amber and we had Erica and we had Lindsay and Corey held down accessibility and translation and interpretation. So thank you all so much and shout out to the BMP crew, wing T and PTH for all of your incredible in front of the scenes and behind the scenes work. And special shout out to each and every single one of you who are holding things down as you are able to in these wild, wild times. And I hope you feel less alone, a little bit more resource and more connected in this space. And yeah, and keep reaching out to support where you need, where you need, so that we can keep meeting each other in these times. Thanks again for being here and thanks for staying a little bit over as we shared more resources with you. Again, the recording and all of the resources will be in the padlet and we'll share that back out. But till we meet again, everybody be kind to you, be as courageous as you can and please keep connecting with our people. We do this until we free us. Thanks y'all. Appreciate you and until next time. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Solidarity is this. And thank you to our partners at Transgender Law Center for making the state of Solidarity conversation possible. Please visit us online at SolidarityIs.org to find links to resources from this conversation, as well as graphic notes illustrated by our friend Corey Nakamura-Lynn at Onee Baba Studio. Also, visit our website to learn more about the Solidarity is cohort taking place this fall. This is a six week training program on transformative solidarity principles and practices designed for emerging activists with one to three years of experience who are connected to a movement organization or group. Applications are due on July 20th, with the cohort taking place virtually in September and October of 2026. You can learn more and apply at SolidarityIs.org. As always, take good care of yourselves and your communities. We'll see you next time on Solidarity is this. [BLANK_AUDIO]