It’s been a rough week in the news.
Record heatwaves have taken hold of summer. Pervasive wildfire smoke is undoing the gains won from hard fought-for air quality laws. And remnants of a SpaceX rocket (which the people never asked for) crashed into the moon.
But in moments like these we must remember: we make the world.
We Make the World, a forthcoming book by author, educator, artist, and abolitionist Patrisse Cullors, explores how we dream new worlds into being. Counterstream is honored to share an exclusive first look at the book in our new issue of Peace & Riot—plus a bonus interview between Cullors and Counterstream Co-Founder and President, Shilpi Chhotray.
“Aesthetics has always mattered to organizers,” says Cullors. “The reason why so many of our movements have an arts movement inside of them or at the heartbeat of them, is because it's about how we practice our liberation. It’s how I practice my liberation in a place that I am not fully liberated yet.”
Cullors reminds us that building movements isn’t solely about direct action and on-the-ground organizing. Aesthetics of liberation have the ability to take us out of our despair, exhaustion, and doubt.
“Imagination is what allows us to see beyond the systems that tell us what is possible. It allows us to rewrite narratives, to build new frameworks, to create spaces where healing is prioritized over harm,” Cullors adds. “When I create, I am not just making art, I am engaging in a process of world-building.”
Movement News
Solar provided 51% of California’s electricity in May
It’s the first time solar power has produced more than half of a large economy’s energy for an entire month. Read more
July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States
Pollution from fossil fuel burning continues to warm our planet at record levels, surpassing levels during the 1936 dust bowl. Read more
Court halts mining project in Mojave National Preserve
A federal court ruled on Monday that new mining operations in the national park, which protects one of the largest desert preserves in the world, must halt immediately. Read more
Worth Revisiting
Mass Movements with Patrisse Cullors
Imagining a future beyond mere survival.