Up, Up with Liberation!
Welcome to Up, Up with Liberation! We are a digital collective dedicated to liberation through creative expression. We are excited to announce this new platform that serves as the call to action taped to the streetlight, the megaphone at the protest, and the journal entry processing the pain of justice denied.
With our roots firmly planted in the DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area, we believe liberation starts with community. Born from a rich tradition of community organizing in the DMV, we are nurturing a culture of resistance through storytelling. We believe that no human being is illegal and reject the narrative of criminalization that seeks to draw lines between those who deserve dignity and those who do not.
As witnesses to dreams deferred, we seek to challenge the status quo that callously deems human beings as illegal, expendable, and disposable. While a pandemic exposes the crushing inequalities in our society, we dismiss naive requests for a return back to normal where white supremacy parades around unchecked and unaccountable and corporate greed threatens people and the planet. We understand normal is, at best, what Langston Hughes described as “a lousy peace.” Rather, we embrace the belief that another world is possible.
Up, Up with Liberation! is an unapologetically brave space where we provide room for people to speak their truths in whatever ways feel authentic to them — even in ways that feel most difficult. We believe storytelling is a powerful tool that can build solidarity and serve as a catalyst for collective action. Too often, the stories of people that don’t fit into popular narratives of the privileged and powerful are pushed to the margins. When they do appear, their inclusion exists precariously, conditional on remaining timid and tidy bystanders in someone else’s deliverance. Through this new platform, we seek to lift up these experiences through responsible reporting and reflection.
Every week we will publish struggles for dignity, reflect on community organizing, and inspire action through the arts. We hope this new platform allows for honest sharing of lessons learned and best practices for channelling hope, rage, and joy. With an understanding that the personal is political and often survival is a revolutionary act, we are amplifying voices of resistance rooted in our guiding principles, and would love to hear from you! We hope you will join us in building a community of action and reflection and keep coming back to share these stories of liberation.
In solidarity,
Team UUWL
