March was a blur. I don’t almost even remember January and February.
I did not see March coming. Here at Admin HQ, otherwise known as the Tikka Rose Abode, I had so many plans for articles.
Finish up the Tenets and the Crucible Series. Get back with Relational Ethics. Start mentorship groups. Recruit for new Gaggle and a nonprofit working group.
Then it started. What seemed like a trickle from faraway places quickly became a flood.
I pivoted away from my worthy list to start Notes From The Coronavirus Cubicle/Couch, where I shared my personal story, then pivoted again to talk about larger, macro issues.
And then, at the same time, we saw the gaping holes in the safety net, and saw the ineffectiveness of government to protect her people. We saw grassroots groups, some shifting focus; some brand new, stepping up to provide supplies and support and advocacy to those who would have had no where to turn.
Housing inseure; border issues; LGBTQIA of color.
That was the focus of our late March Ask. We asked the community to step up, and you all did. With a concurrent self engagement from my own personal reserves, we donated almost $1600 to these three groups, over and above Basic Budget, so we could continue to serve you here.
It was important that my hands filled the pot, in a sacrificial way. Hear this: I know I ask a lot of you, beloved community. It is an unshakable ethos of mine that I ask no less of myself than I do for you, in terms of internal work, in terms of outward praxis, and, yes, also in financial engagement. My contribution, from my desk job salary, hurt more than a little. Good. It should have. Know that I walk right alongside each of you in this.
So. Welp.
We want to do it again. With you.
So, the Early April Ask.
Again, we are not reaching for anything beyond our bare bones Basic Budget. We want to get there fast, so we can pivot fast.
We do need to reach that $2000 goal, but we will stop there. We are beyond frugal and careful and discerning with what you all contribute. For now that small amount meets our needs.
Rather than reach for Enhanced Budget, we are again identifying groups that are doing grassroots, frontline work and seeding them with funds to do even more for even more people.
This is why we do what we do. As I said last month, this community is an almost sacred place. But we are not just grasping each other’s shoulders; we are not only gazing into one another’s eyes. We are looking ever outward to tangibly be the persons we are internally encountering and internalizing.
We are becoming the people the world needs. With our thought lives, with our outside advocacy and praxis, and with our funds.
This is a hard time to do an ask. It’s taken me fully six days to do so. I am painfully aware that many are stretched to the breaking point. But many of us are indeed in positions to financially engage, both with the community here and with our organizational partners.
I am not at all telling any of you to give away your rent money or your last spoonful of soup or tankful of gas.
But I am suggesting that it is imperative to do what we have been learning to do for over two years now–to tell ourselves the truth about where we are financially, discern what you are called to do both here and outside, and finally, crucially, what that means for your racial justice walk.
We will be keeping the three orgs from March, and are currently in research and vetting phase for any other organizations we could support with full heart. When we identify them, we will add them. You can specify where you would like your tangible engagement to go, or you can leave it to us by saying ‘General’; we will disburse accordingly for as much parity and mindfulness as we can.
Thank you to those who engaged without the Ask so far this month. It is greatly appreciated. Sustainers who did so, deep appreciation, and for any other Sustainers who have not yet had the opportunity to honor your pledge, this is the time.
We will be running this ask several times, to bring it to as many eyes as possible and to get around Facebook’s suppression. If you see it more than once, your graciousness is appreciated.
And this newly articulated principle: unlike other spaces that work in this arena, we are asking this of everyone, regardless of racial or ethnic identification. We believe that everyone is responsible for the health of this space, and for walking with our Partner Organizations. And, most importantly, every cohort deserves the opportunity to exercise this enhancement of their internal work and external practice. I refuse to insult any cohort by carving them out of this imperative.
I am confident we can do both Basic, and then pivot to the outside, like we did last month, to walk with the people we stand with. We almost doubled Basic. I wept.
We will be doing this as long as there is a crisis, and a need. Eventually we will reach for Enhanced Budget. We will be able to do even more of our shared vision. But for right now, let *this* be our shared vision.
So, then. Let’s walk in this the way we have done, reflexively, resolutely, reliably, relentlessly.
The Ask is not just an ask. It is an Opportunity. Let us seize it.
As always,
With Love,
Your Lace
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