undercurrents (issue #4)
De-fueling Red Hill, supporting survivors of genocide in Sudan, and more.
“Resist the suspicion that any shared grief or advocacy is performative. Your interior world should be disrupted by the pain of the world around you. Feel what you need to feel with sincerity. Do what you must to remain your integrity. You have nothing to prove.” – Cole Arthur Riley.
This issue of undercurrents includes resources on the genocidal conflicts in Sudan, a success story of the military defueling of Red Hill, and more.
If you are interested in my thoughts on COP28 based on what I have seen and read so far, I honestly feel that they are similar to what I shared in my past 3-part series:
A follow-up essay I wrote to address some common questions that came up afterward was “Green vs. ‘green’—and exposing the messiness of it all.” Then another follow-up essay to address common pushback was “Free range thinking: Beyond binary reductionism.”
These five pieces combined sum up my sentiments about the U.N. and mainstream political climate agendas and narratives quite well, and they still stand two COPs later. I wish I could be made to feel differently. But I still maintain that what continues to inspire me most is learning about community-driven work and seeing everyday people taking matters into their own hands.
For now, sending warmth and light to you and your loved ones.
1. Darfur Women Action Group
Darfur Women Action Group is an organization that “works on empowering survivors of the Darfur genocide, both in Sudan and in the diaspora. It does this by providing them with access to tools that will enable them to combat violence, address massive human rights abuses in their societies, and work with others to prevent future atrocities while promoting global peace.”
To learn about the background of the escalating conflicts in Sudan, I recommend these resources from independent, anti-imperialist media as starting points:
“How US meddling split Sudan, creating an oil republic drowning in poverty and conflict” by TJ Coles
“Winners and losers in Sudan: Proxy wars, superpower rivalries, and the changing world order” by Ramzy Baroud
“As Sudan Fighting Escalates, Displacing 3 Million in 3 Months, Peace Talks Must Include Civil Society” by Democracy Now
Also check out Good Chat, a Substack publication by Sudanese author and social advocate Yassmin Abdel-Magied, and citizen journalism feed @bsonblast
2. “The Future is Collective Liberation”
For today’s “something creative,” I wanted to plug this fundraising artwork I had the honor of creating for Progressive International—in support of their work with the Arab Resource & Organizing Center and Palestinian Youth Movement. They are doing a limited edition run of this print, and you can check it out and purchase it here.
3. Black Liturgies
Black Liturgies is “a digital project that connects spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black memory, and the Black body.” It is also soon going to be published as a book by its creator—author, liturgist, and speaker Cole Arthur Riley.
“Inviting readers to reflect on their shared experiences of wonder, rest, rage, and repair, and creating rituals for holidays like Lent and Juneteenth, Arthur Riley writes with a poet's touch and a sensitivity that has made her one of the most important spiritual voices at work today.”
Learn more about the book here; and learn more about Cole here.
4. The de-fueling of Red Hill
A success story of a people’s movement, over 100 million gallons of fuel have finally been removed by the U.S. military from Red Hill as a part of a de-contamination effort.
As Oʻahu Water Protectors shares, “It’s been nine years since 27,000 gallons of fuel spilled in 2014, poisoning residents. It’s been two years since 19,000 gallons of fuel spilled in 2021, poisoning residents.” The organization attributes the win to “the hundreds of voices and peaceful actions” that have taken place over the last years. “Our aquifer is safer today because you spoke up and we stood together to protect Wai.”
Learn more about the background context here; and learn more about Oʻahu Water Protectors here.
5. Gentle reminders
“If you have a chance to look in the night sky, find a constellation or a star and find out what the people of the land you're on call that star or that constellation.”
–Mi’kmaw astronomer Hilding Neilson via Green Dreamer EP413 on “Astro-colonialism and the stories of our night skies”
ICYMI:
alchemize, Green Dreamer’s new 8-week program of daily imagination practices, is now open for enrollment through the end of December! This offering was created for people curious about engaging with the topics we explore on the show in more experimental and embodied ways. Learn more here.
My latest Substack essay connected the dots between the growing “narcissism epidemic” and our broader socio-cultural-economic trends. Check out “Narcis-systemic allelopathy: Unwiring the exploitative logic underpinning a troubled society.”