Video about Mutual Aid Inside Prisons
Don’t miss this video of a very useful conversation about mutual aid work that prisoners have done and are doing to support each other surviving inside prisons.
Classroom-Friendly Version of Animated Mutual Aid Explainer Video
Ciro worked up a version that doesn’t have such strong language, hopefully useful for spaces where that is more appropriate.
Teach In: Handling Money for Mutual Aid Groups
On February 9, the Barnard Center for Research on Women is hosting a teach-in where Mike Haber, author of this useful guide for mutual aid groups about legal issues, will be sharing info about dealing with money and taxes for mutual aid groups. Many groups collected a lot of money last year and distributed it or bought supplied, food, tents and other survival items and distributed those. Now, some of those groups will be facing the problem of a tax bill for a member who used their Venmo or Paypal account to receive the money. Mike will be talking about these issues and more. We also made a handout for the event that might be useful, about how mutual aid groups can handle money. It looks at pros and cons of various approaches.
Project South Report on COVID Testing and Mutual Aid in the South
Check out this new report from Project South about the mutual aid work they are doing, providing free COVID testing. The report also looks at histories of radical mutual aid in the South that are so important for us to be learning from right now.
Handy Guide for Legal Issues Facing Mutual Aid Groups
Check out this handy guide that looks at the kinds of things mutual aid groups might get sued about or have tax problems about and offers clear answers to common questions.
Recommended Reading about COVID-19 Mutual Aid in China
Check out this recently translated article about the failures of government responses to COVID-19 in China, the reasons for those failures, and the responses coordinated by mutual aid groups. It raises very interesting questions about centralized responses to epidemics and other disasters.
Video: Conversation about Mutual Aid with Mariame Kaba, Kali Akuno, Klee Benally and Dean Spade
New Video: Conversation with Dream Defenders, Ujimaa Medics, Mariame Kaba, Dylan Rodriguez, and Dean Spade about Mutual aid
“Mutual Aid” is a People’s Movement: Beyond Philanthropy, Charity, and Dependence on the (Police) State
An American Studies Association 2020 Freedom Course recorded on April 22, 2020
Framing questions: * What is “mutual aid,” and how is it different from charity, philanthropy, and state social services? * How is mutual aid part of current and historical freedom, liberation, and self-determination struggles of different peoples? * How are mutual aid efforts responding to the COVID-19 pandemic? * How can people participate in mutual aid projects RIGHT NOW?
participants: * Rachel Gilmer, Helen Peña, and Dr. Armen Henderson Dream Defenders (https://dreamdefenders.org/) * Amika Tendaji Ujimaa Medics (https://umedics.org/) * Mariame Kaba Project NIA (http://project-nia.org/) * Dean Spade Seattle University School of Law (http://bigdoorbrigade.com/) * facilitated by Dylan Rodríguez Univ of California, Riverside; President-Elect of the American Studies Association (2020-2021)
Mutual Aid Interview Series in Black Agenda Report
Roberto Sirvent and I are publishing a series of interviews with mutual aid groups in Black Agenda Report. This series of interviews with mutual aid project initiators and participants explores how mutual aid projects work, why they are so essential to social movements, and how they confront obstacles. These interviews will be published over the course of 2020.
The Interviews
Ejeris Dixon on Transformative Justice
Timmy Châu on People’s Response Team and other Chicago anti-police violence work