The chorus for radical action demands a versatile effort: it needs people power, initiative, and funding, but if we’re caught between offense and defense, how do we take time to insure the well-being of our most vulnerable communities?
The Laura Flanders show this week revisits a conversation with Adaku Utah, founder of healing collective Harriet’s Apothecary, and J Bob Alotta, executive director of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, which supports grassroots LGBTQ efforts across the globe.
Utah and Alotta discuss what healing and healing justice would look like for communities under attack and in particular, for trans women of color and gender non conforming people. It’s not enough to fund direct action or leadership training, say our guests; activist organizations have a responsibility to help their concerned communities heal from trauma, and to empower them towards fellowship and autonomy.
Adaku Utah is a master herbalist, educator, and artist who is “armed with the legacies of a long line of healers, witches, priestesses and fearless women who refused to shut up.”
J Bob Alotta is a filmmaker, global activist, and one of the organizers of the Women’s March on Washington.
