[Lorena Cruz]

The following image was taken by Richard Bluecloud Castaneda, where he watched “unarmed, peaceful Water Protectors at Standing Rock were forcibly repelled with tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets” (Leonard 2018). This image has burned in my brain for any instance in which we attempt to analyze and discuss the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Thinking back to its power when it was taken– I can’t help but to also think about the images taken at the San Diego-Tijuana border, when the caravan sought asylum. Nevertheless, this provides an alternative point that is worthy of discussion– that is, that Native Americans are not ethnic minorities in the United States. Rather, Native Americans are sovereign nations with federal treaties that simultaneously oppress and provided avenues for protection. The protests known to be #NoDAPL, was a moment to be remembered for the solidarity between Sovereign nations. This framework continues the legacy of power that is to be remembered and respected, especially in regards to what is often denied to be –indigenous history.

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[Lorena Cruz]

For this week’s photo-share, I have chosen a screenshot of an interaction online between rapper, Cardi B, and journalist, Stephanie Hamill. The interaction exemplifies many coexisting dynamics in the ongoing #MeToo movement. This movement was subject to white-washing and in turn, the invisibility of the plight of women of color, particularly the vulnerability of Black women. This journalist is not only profiting off her usage of hash-tagging of MeToo (as clickbait), but also exploiting the “likeness” of Cardi B’s name (an Afro-Latina artist). This is example provides the public with two facts: the first of which, tells people that no one is deserving of rape no matter how they present themselves and two, women are autonomous agents worthy of allowing consent. This also is a great example that demonstrates the way in which solidarity is for white women. This is more of a conversational point, however, I believe it to be the duty of young, attractive, blonde, white women, to reconcile with their positionality within this movement and stand strong against the myriads of oppression and harassment is attached to the female condition.

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[Lorena Cruz]

The following image is a cartoon rendering of the powerful, Alicia Garza, a queer Black activist and co-founder of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. This is a 2019 piece by the New York-based artist, Hey Roodney, to celebrate Black “Herstory” Month and LGBTQ+ pride. This week dealt with an intense conversational point that is central to the understanding of organic social movements which is the (un)intentional erasure and simultaneous silencing of the work done by queer Black activists. This idea ties back to what we have understood from the self-empowering comment made by Malcom X whereby he states the “Black woman is the most disrespected woman in America”; along with Dr. King’s exposure on the lack of respected titles Black women in the South receive. We can tie these ideas to Alicia Garza’s work, where she centers the plight of Black people in America in the face of State-sanctioned violence. She points to the “unique burden” imposed on Black queer and trans folk who are catapulted into leadership whilst Black men in their families and communities are encaged and also, erased. With this work, “A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement”, Alicia Garza remains true to her original wording locating Black lives as the most undervalued life in the American social fabric. Continuing her idea, intersectionality functions beyond its theoretical frame– it as an activity in which we must all engage in; it characterizes an extended arm for all those with varying privileges and powers in society. Whereby we recognize the activity of intersectional solidarity as a means for collective liberation.

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[Lorena Cruz]

The following image was taken from a meme challenge on twitter named, “what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for money?”. Though this image demonstrates a comical take on the issue of inflated tuitions and lacking job markets or means for financial security– it is also a place to critique how we receive reparations and what they look like. The students at SFSU were pioneers for educational means of reparations for historically oppressed and marginalized identities, and ethnic groups in America. Nevertheless– as this image, along with the words of my favorite author, Tressie McMillan Cottom, suggests– education is not where the fight for reparations lay. I include this because it’s central to my understanding of the importance of programs like Ethnic studies or Women’s Studies but at the same time, they are operating within the institution that perpetuates the same issues.

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[Lorena Cruz]

The following image is the album artwork of Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides album. I chose this image in reference to the elements of religious and conscientious lyrical material in hip-hop. I went to a charter school which was comprised of first-generation Americans who were from the inner city and sought an alternative education. In this space, our curriculum matter was oriented toward us. We learned poetry through hip-hop legends, most notably the work of Yasiin Bey. This album explores the connections we, as a people, have to our environment (in concrete and metaphysical ways). He discussed the white appropriate of hip hop and other black art forms– in the same ways we discussed during class. The album also connects to Judaism and Islam along with traditional Christianity. All around– he would be proud of our class discussions regarding the product knowledge embedded in the practice of hip-hop– though he was making these claims almost 20 years ago.

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[Lorena Cruz]

<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>The most impactful insight we shared in class today was in regards to the function of intergenerational trauma. Baldwin’s work exemplifies the inherent burdens that are passed down by oppressed people. This is paralleled in his work whereby he considers his letter to his nephew as an example of the “talk”, African-Americans, have with their children, This is conversant with America’s own conservative ties; that is, which “family” of the public sphere is valued. The picture I chose this week is a screencap from 21’s Savage’s “A Lot” music video. This video itself was incredibly powerful for the way that 21 Savage uses the presence</span><i><span style=”font-weight: 400;”> and </span></i><span style=”font-weight: 400;”>absence of his family at the dinner table. This demonstrates how much they empower his motivation to succeed along with what he has lost that has forced him into the life he has led. Together, the previously mentioned theme in Balwin’s work is uplifted with 21’s portrayal of the “Successful” Black family. Organic social movements attempt to describe how activism functions more within the group than it does with its outside missions. Both their works simultaneously serve as a process of “coming to terms” and “healing”. </span>

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[Lorena Cruz]

Thinking beyond the civil rights movement, I attempt to recapture, as Malcolm X does, the differences of “revolution”. In his speech, A Message to the Grassroots, Malcolm X studies the historic nature of a revolution; that is, its objective, morals, results, and methods used in a revolution. This is an essential framework for people like me, who seek to be part of progressive change to humanize the exploited populations of America because it creates the necessary division, whereby we battle “evil”. By this I point to the picture I have chosen for this week. I spent the last week conducting research at a shelter for unaccompanied minors in Tijuana. Most of these kids have arrived to Tijuana with the central american caravan. In the same ways that their stories vary, as do their morals, methods, and results. Nevertheless, their objective remains consistent– they seek to live a life free of violence and intimidating; they seek to learn English, to secure a stable income to send back to their families they were forced to abandon. At the same time, legal pathways of residency and citizenship seem to more fluid and ever-changing. This complicates the safety of these children. Therefore, I echo Malcolm’s words and I say to America, you may change your policies by any meticulous method to “stop” flows of migration, you may devise any program to extend your borders further, you may later change your mind and allow migrants in for further exploitation. However, this is where we begin to document the historic nature of revolution of the people. We begin with photos like this, to commemorate the resiliency of the will to live. We don’t forget the inhumanity that you show to brown children and their families. </span>

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by Lorena Cruz.

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[Lorena Cruz]

<p dir=”ltr”>The following image was posted on a personal blog site by, warng at Tumblr.com. This image was chosen to summarize our weekly discussion regarding what it is to lead a movement. Justice is inextricably tied to love. The fluidity of these terms prove that they can be individually defined, while also, generally <span style=”color: #000000; font-family: Arial;”>apply to describe human movement and action. For this reason, I consider justice, civil rights, and social movements to be recipes; each individually concocted with different measures of passion, confusion, and so on as the image dictates. In all, this is meant to encompass our class discussions regarding the intersections of emotions, “right” and “wrong” protesting, even “violent” and “nonviolent” leaders. With this image, I hope to encourage conversations of the work it requires to love; the work it requires to be empathetic. The words in this image are significant because of their “opposing” nature, such as abomination and mercy. This ties to the American narrative’s erasure of civil rights leaders’ motivations that underlie their varying approaches to self-determination of black communities. </span>Ultimately, I seek to extend Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X’s messages of what it means to dream beyond your limiting circumstances and envision liberation for all those who came before you. This would be, my way of life.</p>

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