Read
On the same theme as my own reflection on the election, friend Naz Hamid has written a piece that’s well worth your time. A brief excerpt:
“The feeling of disbelief is a privilege.
“I’m not surprised. Disappointed and angry, yes. But not surprised. I’ve experienced racism enough times in this country and gone through a lengthy process with immigration to know what this country truly is. Ironically, the racism I’ve experienced has occurred in cities. And despite being heightened to it when traveling through smaller parts of this country, I haven’t knowingly experienced it. The racism is here, in our backyards.
“But this country is unlike any other. There are good people here, aiming to truly make the world a better place.”
Listen
Poet Saeed Jones is one of the hosts of the excellent podcast, Vibe Check. On their most recent episode, he read a poem that he’d written that day, in refleciton on the election results. It’s beautiful and while you can read it, I highly recommend you listen to his own reading of it and the brief discussion afterward. It starts around the 49 minute mark (depending on the hellscape of dynamically-inserted ads in your download). The link should take you close to it.
“I am god talking to herself. I am evicting
America from my body and making room
in the borders of my black bad bitch body
for everyone I was sent into this life
to love loudly.”
Saeed is also a great follow on Bluesky.
Watch
On a lighter, heartwarming note, Cabel Sasser’s talk from this year’s final XOXO Festival is the best 20 minutes you’ll spend on the internet today (or possibly any day). I was lucky enough to be in the audience for it and even in rewatching (several times!), I still get all the feels. Go into it with as little context as possible, but once you’ve watched it, be sure to check out the companion site that Cabel built.