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a love note, a vote note, & recap of the Free Black University instagram takeover (Patreon)

Published:
2020-06-16 01:27:49
Imported:
2023-04

Content

(public post)

hallo loves.

greetings from hastings, aotearoa, where i'm losing my mind slightly less. i'm even going to be playing a show this weekend....that's right, i am not kidding: i am going to busk at the napier farmer's market from 9am-1pm. this is what my life has become. i am taking my ukulele to the farmer's market and taking whatever i make and buying some kale. this really is the life for me, here in new zealand. i'm not telling social media. i'm just telling you. see you there.

meanwhile...

i hope you're all okay wherever you are and things are easing up and not too difficult. a lot of my friends are having really hard times at the moment....a kind of very-long-term exhaustion and confusion seems to be kicking in for a lot of people. i know at least three couples breaking up or getting divorced. some are having babies, too. is it maybe just always like this and right now everything feels greatly magnified? probably.

i have spent so much of my time in a personal free-fall for the last month that i feel i hardly know you anymore.

i miss posting here all the time and having time to read comments. i miss feeling connected on the internet. part of it is the time change and part of it is just the exhaustion of single-parenting in a new community, plus a house move, plus all of the usual....but i miss everybody.

i'm still here. i love you and i hope everythings okay.

i know everything is not okay.

feel free to just check in in the comments with how your'e doing.

and whatever is happening....

i am sending you my love, my support, my heart. 

i am holding your pain, your exhausted pain.

 i'm here. i'm exhausted, too, 

but i'm here....

in a pile

of love.


let's throw our tired arms around one another in an exhausted embrace.


shall we?


we shall.


..............


i did a zoom call this morning with over 90 people from the live music industry, led by headcount.org.


it was a lot of musicians, managers, agents, and promotor people talking about how we can GET THE VOTE OUT:

get ready to be real bothered by a ton of artists nagging you to register to vote.

i don't need to tell you how critical it is. 

and a lot of people are going to need to vote by mail this season.

it may get confusing. but it doesn't need to be, and we all have to pull together to make sure EVERY SINGLE PERSON YOU KNOW IS REGISTERED TO VOTE, AND THEN ACTUALLY VOTES.

start here. headcount is such a great organization...i've worked with them for almost two decades on tour - they are the experts in MAKING SURE NORMAL PEOPLE JUST KNOW SHIT. if you're young and you're sort of intimitaed about the voting process: DON'T BE. just go to headcount.org and start poking around. 

promise me:

https://www.headcount.org/

promise me you will vote.

promise.

promise.

...................

and just a short note/recap, as promised, about the instagram live...a little recap of what happened the other day when melz owusu from Free Black University took over my IG feed and we did a long chat together.

melz is hard at work with black lives matter uk and just wanted to pass along the message that they are deeply appreciative of your support and for joining us on the live. 

let me echo that. it was really nice to see so many of you there.....and i DO think we should probably do more of these using crowdcast, as instagram being owned by facebook makes me squitchy, and i'd like to get more and more things happening off FB and IG.

i'm currently working on securing a few more guests and am trying to do a takeover like this once a week or so. it's hard with the many time changes, but i'm on it. if you have any ideas, throw them my way.

and....i am still working on a post about my own thoughts - old and new - about my personal accountability when it comes to race, choices, privilege. this is really good and hard stuff to be thinking about now. and it is good to be moving slowly, making small but deliberate choices in what feels like the right direction. that's all we can do at the moment.

.........................


here is the patreon post where i announced the takeover: https://www.patreon.com/posts/38118110 ....if you haven't read that yet, please check it out... it has some background info on melz as well as a link to their TEDx talk.

the best news is that melz's gofundme for Free Black University raised about $10k during the takeover. if you donated, i just want to personally thank you for stepping up. THANK YOU. money is real.

by the way, shout out....

how did this even happen? it's worth pointing out that the free black uni gofundme fundraiser was shared HERE, by hannah on a patreon post last week....where i encouraged patrons to use the comments to share stuff they were they were supporting:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/black-lives-37857676

just goes to show that a spark can light a fire.

THANK YOU, HANNAH.

so, NOW, if you missed the takeover because of time/timezones, etc:
you can watch an archive of the stories melz shared in my IG story feed, collected here in a highlight:
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17904182278468569/


and you can watch the archive of our instagram live stream here....it's had over 30k views, hoorah.

this is available to view on web and in app:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBT8avdFh3-/

the fund is now at £41,000, let's keep it going.....donate here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-free-black-university


.........

more......reading list!!!

here are two books that melz recommended as a good place to start when considering issues of race: 

How to Be Less Stupid About Race by Crystal M. Fleming

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo

and one for the more advanced movement builder: 

Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene A. Currthers

more more more....

here are some books melz recommended in the IG story feed:

Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis

Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

melz and i discussed both being really inspired by this book by octavia butler.

if you're into feminism, climate crisis, SF, and a great story....THIS IS THE ONE.....

i read this one in college during a course on the end of the world. no shit.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler 


i'm not posting amazon links to poke you into using your local independent book shops.....there are some great lists online of independent black-owned bookstores, and if you can, i encourage you to order from one if them. here's a place to get started:

https://lithub.com/you-can-order-today-from-these-black-owned-independent-bookstores/


.........

thats it fer now loves

more soon.


i love you.

xx

AFP


 

------THE NEVER-ENDING AS ALWAYS---------

1. if you’re a patron, please click through to comment on this post. at the very least, if you’ve read it, indicate that by using the heart symbol.

2. see All the Things i've made so far on patreon: http://amandapalmer.net/patreon-things

3. JOIN THE COMMUNITY FORUM, find your people, and discuss everything: https://forum.theshadowbox.net/

4. new to my music and TOTALLY OVERWHELMED? TAKE A WALK THROUGH AMANDALANDA….we made a basic list of my greatest hits n stuff (at least up until a few years ago, this desperately needs updating) on this lovely page: http://amandalanda.amandapalmer.net/

5. general AFP/patreon-related questions? ask away, someone will answer: patronhelp@amandapalmer.net


Files

Comments

Anonymous

Just so you know, there are people in small town Iowa fighting what seems to be the impossible fight against discrimination. Our small BLM group decided to protest Vice President Pence's visit to our little bit of the world. I took it as a chance to emphasize the wonderful Supreme court decision yesterday supporting LGBTQ Rights. I made a sign and stood there proudly by myself in front of about 100 Trump supporters as Pence pulled up to go have pie.

Anonymous

I’m solo lockdown in Cape Town, South Africa. My husband is currently sailing from the Azores to Gibraltar. He left November. I don’t know when I’ll see him again. He completed a 17 day sail recently (only limited email communication) one day of verbal contact, now he’s offline for another 10. I am deflated, tired, drinking and smoking too much, and though I tell myself tonight I “won’t”; be 7pm I can’t care why I shouldn’t. I’m holding onto my job by a thread and have stopped caring about most things. I’m so bad I bail on friend calls and zoom meetings with buddies. It feels like I’m stuck and will never move forward again and I kinda hate myself for all the pity parties I’ve thrown myself. Sending hugs to anyone who needs it, though, and even if I sometimes feel like I’m fooling myself, I hold onto “this too shall pass”, whatever lies at the end of it might be and then another lesson will start

Anonymous

Also, I adore you, Amanda, for all your art, but also this safe space you provide to the tired and the weary

Anonymous
>>38758246

Hey there. That sounds hard and lonely. I'm hugging you back. It's ok. You're ok. Even if you're not. Whatever this is will end and things will change again. So hey, I heard you.

Len Tower Jr.

Its been slowly sinking in for months now, that as a high-risk elder, I have a year to two to ??? of self-isolation to go. not the retirement i wanted. not the life any of us wanted. hope you have already made time for this 20 minutes of ART! https://live.nationalsawdust.org/event/sxip-coco xXxXxXx -len

erica munhoz

it was great to read this post, Amanda. It's weird but yeah, when you said you missed posting here I realized how much I missed your more frequent posts... but we totally get it. Juts really glad to hear you're feeling a bit better. Ever since you went to New Zealand and the world went haywire I've had your New Zealand song stuck in my head, you know? Always asking myself how much you must find it ironic these days, and if you're considering making a new "new zealand national anthem" hehehe. I wish I could give you a hug. Really happy to know how well the instagram take-over went, I really think you're doing the right thing. Proud patreon always here. Stay shinny and you. Over here (Brazil) we're struggling with The Worst President in the world, but there are dogs and there is poetry and there is love. love you.

Anonymous

As an Australian who is required compulsorily to vote, I am bemused often as to why people in other countries in which it is NOT compulsory, don't realise/understand HOW IMPORTANT it is to cast a vote in an election. For everything's sake, folks, go and register and vote! And Amanda, as always, love is beaming your way from western Victoria, Australia xx

Anonymous

Hey hon, I'm late to the party. It's nice to hear from you again. I've been really turned around about all of the events that keep happening. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the discussion you had with Melz and their recommendations and posts while they took care of your account for a day. At work I was part of the events committee and I was part of the diversity and inclusion committee, but I was finding them way too triggering. I've pulled out of them. I have a lot of personal trauma I'm still working through and that makes discussing these topics on a broad level pretty unsafe for me. I think it's Brene Brown who says don't share things publicly unless you have processed them properly first for yourself and therefore it's safe for you to do it. I can't find where it was I saw her say that though. I've realised that for me, where I'm at, it's best for me to do the work on my own anti-racist learning - do the reading and the unpacking for myself first. So happy to hear about you busking tomorrow!! I hope it's an ace day :) Much luv as always xx

Anonymous

Hey there, thanks so much for the hug. I badly need one. I haven't got a hug since a friend gave me a hug in February when I told her that I had just ended my 20+ years relationship. Then the pandemic hit in Germany, and now I lived together with my ex during lockdown and the partial opening up in Berlin, and know I should move out sooner than later but I seems insurmountable right now, and my family is 500km is away, and the number of new infections in Berlin is picking up this last week, and anyway I don't want to risk infecting somebody. So there are no in person hugs in my foreseeable future and I'm missing them badly right now.

Anonymous

*Hugs* ❤❤

Anonymous

Thank you so much for listening and sharing to the voices we need to hear <3 I am so excited for this book list. Amanda, have you seen the Google Doc going around of anti-racist resources (geared towards white people, but useful to all)? Perhaps you shared in a previous post, I am catching up after a couple rough weeks...

Anonymous
>>38982967

This was shared with me from another artist I follow, Emerald Barkley, though she did not make it either; it's the most comprehensive list of anti-racism media and literature I've seen out there: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/edit

Anonymous

Register to vote, RE REGISTER to vote if you have moved, even if you have moved apartment numbers in the same building, or you've changed your name. many states have a registration deadline that is usually around 15 days before the election, but some state's election codes are hot messes, so the earlier the better. Provisional ballots are not automatically discounted. They are provisional because they are counted provided that you are an active registered eligible voter.

Anonymous
>>39213352

If your state allows No excuse vote by mail, sign up for it. if your state does not allow no excuse vote by mail, start bugging your state legislators like whoa.

Anonymous
>>39213352

at least in California, you can get a replacement vote by mail ballot until 7 days before the election. So if you don't receive that vote by mail ballot, you call and get another one sent to you. We even go out to voters who have mobility issues.

Anonymous
>>39213352

If you live in parts of Colorado and California, you can vote in person before election day. You can vote starting the Saturday before election day. DO THAT DO THAT.

Anonymous
>>39213352

Ballotpedia.com is a FANTASTIC resource for US based elections. Tells you all of the state propositions that are going to be on the ballot, as The deadline at least in California to get measures on the ballot is June 25th. things are ready before all of the sample ballot stuff is ready. We have to make the ballot you know. That means a lot of lead in time.

Jozias

Congratulations to all with the results of Amanda, Melz and fans for a free black university. #BlacklvesMatter Also, go vote. I cann't but I sure would. I'm not a citizen. Have to consider if I want to get that and study what I have to do for it. I'm very critical to institutions, rituals, traditions. They are so misused by abusive power in history that we all should be very aware of. So vote in this system. As you don't have anything else to get to a better world but the things you can do yourself about it. This two party system doesn't work. You need a system which is more concerned with minorities. It's quite a revolution for the United States. The voting system the presidency the way it is. We learned how dangerous this can be. You need a system that prevents better from corruption. But anyway, GO VOTE! And share in your communities.