Liberate Afro Folks | Juneteenth

Moon Phase: Waxing Half Moon Sun Phase: before Summer Solstice
Book Review: Lose Your Mother by: kuwa jasiri
Moment to Pause to honour all the Freedom Fighters throughout the Ages

This Moon cycle we have much to celebrate and invite you to join us in celebration.

We celebrate our 1st anniversary of focusing our services and programming on genderqueer Afro folks. As we approach a decade of service, I continue to unravel my own internalized racism and purpose in this world. I choose to believe that another world is possible, that there is another way of being. I believe in the nature based ways of the ancients. The ways passed on through the generations. From my GreatAunt as a home birth aide, to my Grandma as a culinary genius, to me as a Seed + Medicine + Birth Keeper, my work at Artistic Apothecary is directly linked to me owning my inherent greatness as an intersex, Ghanaian descendant.

We celebrate Juneteenth (June 19)! A holiday which commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of chattel slavery in Texas, and more generally the emancipation of enslaved Africans throughout the former Confederate States of America.

Our action plan for continued queer Afro support

– Grow Seeds with West African techniques
-Gift two Liberation Coaching sessions
– Prioritize their requests
– Celebrate and rest on pan-African holidays
-Hold a June reparations fundraiser

How To Create equitable community

• Begin with reparations: The process of repairing and making amends to African descendants of the disparities caused by chattel slavery such as access to weath, knowledge and resources.
• Open, accessible nature spaces: Bring and/or make space for Afro folks on your next Nature outing. If you have private land welcome marginalized folks to this land to engage in activities of their choosing, with or without you.
• Truth telling through open communication: Learn about your Ancestry and their role(s) in chattel slavery, have one-to-one conversations directly addressing our collective traumas and undo the ways your position and actions contributed.
• Networking: sharing of resources and knowledge: Privileged folks need to offer their expertise, stuff, and volunteer their labour for marginalized folks. Give folks access to your networks and support them creating their own.
• Affinity space: Having like minded spaces to share our experiences grounds our work in community. Everyone find your people, group up and have the hard conversations that will shift our existence. Privileged folks you are not welcome in marginalized-only spaces. Make your own spaces and do the work to deprogram, unlearn and challenge til you dismantle your dominant hold on society.
• Personal and generational growth: Self reflection, accountability and transformation are essential ways in showing up. We all hold a cosmic connection. The long journey of repair starts within you and ripples through us all.

Recently, a rhetoric of applying reparations in day-to-day life has been coming up. What a sweet sound. I like that privileged folks are thinking about how our interactions affect me, and realizing that we experience the same situations in VERY different ways.

Juneteenth Reparations Fundraiser

Support me in receiving a 5,000$ livable stipend for my Solidarity work and helping us to welcome 3 new patrons for continued support.

We raised 838$ because people like you are spreading the word about our campaign! This was raised from 13 patrons, 3 one-time donors, a merchandise sale and a rendered service. Our patrons’ collective contributions total 106$. We gained 1 new patron at 5$, and one of our old patrons increased their pledge by 10$. The one-time donations are from Matt who gave 500$, Junebug who gave 100$ and Nico who gave 5$. There was also a 2$ e-zine sale and a coaching session at 120$.

Generous community contributions provide vital leadership for our dynamic, liberatory programming and are matched dollar for dollar by the Trans Justice Funding Project totaling 10,000$. If you believe in the work we do, become a donor this Juneteenth.

Five Ways to Support

1. Word Of Mouth: The only way to achieve our goals is for you to spread our request far and wide. Print, Post, Share. Circulate our campaign so we meet our goals! #BeginWithReparations

2. Give Money: A single donation, ongoing contributions via Patreon, Cryptocurrency donations or legacy bequests. Every donation is important. Please give a little.

3. Purchase: Our original design merchandise, educationally playful e-zines, majikal items and zero waste community garden Seeds.

4. Hire me: to facilitate a workshop, as your Liberation Coach, and/or to make you a zine.

5. In-kind donations: of Seeds, hygiene items, gift cards, dehydrated herbs + spices, dehydrated fruits + foods, herbal medicine, majikal items, healthcare treatments, and/or remote administrative work.

Let us prove that grassroots, genderqueer, Afro led, mutual aide initiatives can thrive. Will you give this Juneteenth to support us in reaching our goal of 5,000$ and 3 new patrons?

As always we value you!