Much to share from last week, but from my view, Saturday’s and Sunday’s posts are the ones to go back to. Critiques of capitalism and colonization in the context of America’s most shameful histories: slavery and indigenous genocide.
Words of Wisdom. Roxanne saw this on Facebook Saturday and given that the last two Retake shows on KSFR have focused on gun violence prevention and the causes of mass gun violence, the quote from Gloria Steinem seemed apropos.
A Look Back
Last week we critiqued the Santa Fe planning process for the development of a 64-acre property in the Heart of the City, reported on the Red Nation march through Santa Fe, offered excerpts and links to two extraordinary articles tracing the influence of slavery on the current political and economic systems, and presented two videos offering differing perspectives on colonization. I highly recommend the first article from the Saturday post, tracing how the roots of slavery are ever-present in our current economic system. Also, I recommend the 13 minute Nikki Chavez video on colonization—found in the Sunday post which is last in the series of posts below.
Concerns About Santa Fe’s Midtown Project Planning Process
Thursday, August 15. With a once in a generation opportunity to address Santa Fe’s affordable housing crisis, the city appears to have sought input from our artists, architects and business–“the usual suspects” as former Director of Community Development, Matt Brown, put it. But with an opportunity to mount a local grassroots to seek the input of the impacted community, the city appears poised to skip passed that opportunity. It has begun taking ideas for projects and development of the site even before that input process is complete and an economic analysis completed. While this post focuses on Santa Fe, the lessons apply to processes in any New Mexican community. While on our Roadtrip last summer, we visited city leaders and grassroots organizers in over two dozen cities and anywhere anything effective was being done to address economic justice, those impacted were guiding the way…..a lesson for Santa Fe. Click here to read the full post.
Red Nation March: Reclaiming Sacred Land
Friday, August 16. We celebrate an all too rare win: the demise of the Verde Transmission Line. We also provide details on a unique and important Red Nation march in Santa Fe on Saturday. I participated in the march and it was truly a moving experience.
In Tuesday’s post I will be writing about my reaction to our Indian Market weekend where we heard a talk by Nice Estes, Red Nation Founder, attended an enormously moving panel on Indigenous Women Artist Resilience, participated in the Red Nation march, attended a talk by TEWA Women United Director Corrine Sanchez, and then a poetry reading by Joy Harjo, the first indigenous poet to be named our national poet laureate. What a powerful weekend. So much to absorb and retain. Click here to read the full post.
Reading for the Weekend: The NY Times 1619 Project
Saturday, August 17. Four hundred years of slavery, Jim Crow, voter intimidation, mass incarceration, lynching, segregation, voter suppression, redlining and poverty. The NY Times shines the light on it all.
If you haven’t read this post, you really need to do so. The first article describes how the roots of our current economic system can be traced to slavery. And it is eye-opening to say the least.
The second article traces how the same anti-democratic practices used in antebellum politics to preserve slavery are in play today. The threads of political and economic theories and practices that are revealed in these two articles should serve as a warning: the powers that be will stop at nothing to retain their power. Click here to review the post.
Sunday at the Movies: A Look at De-Colonization
Sunday, August 18. We begin with Nikki Sanchez’ powerful: Decolonization is not our fault, but it is our responsibility. Sanchez is a skilled TED Talk speaker who outlines quickly the current implications of colonization, the urgency of exposing and opposing it, and what you can personally do about it. We conclude with Jaskiran Dhillon, Tami Navarro, and Macarena Gómez-Barris who discuss decolonization and climate crisis in a most informative 80-minute panel from three powerful women of color.
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Take a gander at this!
https://therednation.org/2019/03/05/newsletter-8-neoliberalism-and-its-alternatives/
Then there is this, no local media covered it, nor did the mass corporate media, cover it in a responsible manner. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-missile-defense-test-over-pacific-ocean-key-milestone-n766311 Our local politicians all see dollar signs from the defense industry.
It still doesn’t look as if people are paying attention.