Queer and anti-racist strategies for safety during a time of protest and pandemic
What is it about?
This article was written during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, a moment that was at once bleak and lit with possibility. The lockdowns coincided, not only with an intensification of racial profiling that partly occured in the name of COVID safety, but also with the biggest global protests against racism of all times. Grounding itself in the activism of multiply marginalized communities in North America and Europe, the article argues that as in previous crises, queer, antiracist and other self-organized movements are leading the development of new societal visions and norms that bear the potential to transform safety for all.
Why is it important?
This is a moment where visions of transformation are being formulated with increased clarity. In the autonomous spaces of mutual aid and direct action emerging on the conjuncture of pandemic and protest, marvellous grounds appear where new possibilities of care and of collectivity are being rehearsed that open up worlds beyond racial capitalism.