Migration is Life
“Migration is life,” I was reminded by Mexican artist Santiago Mazatl via his print for CultureStrike. An obvious truth, yet one that might escape our consciousness as we continue to live within the colonial imagination. Even having written a piece which … Continue reading Migration is Life
Beer is a Bummer
Beer has spread like kudzu over Asheville, NC. We are drowning in a beer tsunami. In this moment, we can’t ignore the troubling implications of being Beer City U.S.A. Bloated with beer (and money from it) A 2017 smartasset study … Continue reading Beer is a Bummer
Abolitionist
When white people learn about the horrors of slavery, we may think, “If I had been alive during that time, I would have been an abolitionist!” Well, friends, we ARE living during that time. We can be abolitionists. We can … Continue reading Abolitionist
Pause
Just before sunrise, birds begin their “dawn chorus,” singing melodic, jubilant songs in the first light of morning. The music of birdsong welcomes the sun all the way around the globe each day, as it has for over 25 million … Continue reading Pause
Gentrification Hurts
The intention behind my work is to illuminate, amplify, and fortify transformative ideas and action. To shine honest light on what binds us while tuning into positive possibility. On this sunny spring day with a periwinkle sky, I will write … Continue reading Gentrification Hurts
Complexities
I almost left a few minutes into last week’s Citizen’s Police Advisory Committee (CPAC) meeting. The overwhelming emotion that filled the room poured over me like boiling water. After a deep breath, rather than running from the scalding, I stood still … Continue reading Complexities
Horrific History Repeats
Our horrific history of racial oppression continues to repeat itself. Case in point: we learned last week of the completely unjustified and brutal beating of Johnnie Jermaine Rush, a black man, by members of the Asheville Police Department. This incident … Continue reading Horrific History Repeats
intersections on my path
Intersectionality guides me. Collective liberation requires undoing all systems of oppression. If our movements lack intersectional awareness we will fail. And failure is not an option, for, as Assata Sakur said to her fellow black freedom fighters, “it is our … Continue reading intersections on my path
Radical Imagination
We live within the imagination of others. Within made up narratives that skew our reality. Within crushing systems of oppression that began as opinions. The white cis capitalist patriarchy is an invention. Rather than staying within constructs that do not … Continue reading Radical Imagination
Whiteness, Grief, and Belonging
White friends, we get to work. We get to wallow around in the wilderness of our whiteness. Bushwhack through our b.s. Ferociously face our roots and fissures. Do you feel aversion to this? Good. Let’s feel some productive pain. Because … Continue reading Whiteness, Grief, and Belonging
Ami Worthen 