This website emerged when group of people based in and near Seattle, Washington who knew each other through organizing and activism on issues that include criminalization and imprisonment, anti-fascism, rural organizing, social services, anti-racism, queer and trans movement building, and more began meeting in June 2016 to reflect on the political moment and share useful readings. We shared a desire to see increased participation in left social movements and we spend time talking about how to remove barriers to participation, especially for people who are newly mobilizing now. We imagined ways that our movements become more welcoming, easier to participate in–a wide and welcoming entryway into movement work. We were dreaming of a big door. We met for about a year as a group, and then kept working together and separately in many organizations in our region and beyond. As part of and inspired by that group, Dean Spade created this website to lift up the significance of mutual aid as a strategy for survival and mobilization, and he continues to maintain it.
The pink stencil “Solidarity Not Charity” image comes from https://janiemacblog.wordpress.com/.