We’re back! 🌻
We missed you! Sharing reflections from our team about new directions, and insights about the past year
Hi folks, it’s been a while since we checked in! We hope you’re all doing well and taking care of yourselves. We’re finally back after a productive break where we worked on our internal strategy and re-grouped as a team. This year so far, has been a reflective one for us as a collective - we’ve spent a really long and intentional amount of time thinking about who we are and how it is we want to show up in the world.
We’re sharing some reflections from the team touching on collective belonging, lockdown blues, kinship, and community.
One of our peer advisors told me that the Latin meaning of the word radical is “root”. For me, a lot of this year has been about understanding and grounding back into our roots. I’m excited to share this with our communities in the coming months!
- Nishma
This past year has really emphasised the value of community in the work that we do at the collective. We want to create a space where people can come together, connect, and feel like they belong.
- Habiba
The past year has been both challenging and rewarding in so many ways and given us time to take pause and re-think what drives us to do the work that we do. For me, a lot of the last year has been about both finding my community outside of the formal ties of family, and also creating the space for others to find home in places and people that give you a sense of belonging, something I have found in the TRC team.
- Disha
I’m really excited to be face to face with our networks and community members in a post-lockdown world. Isolation has been the theme of the past year and a half, amongst feelings of grief, loneliness, confusion and frustration, so I hope that by acting in line with our new mission, values and vision, we can strengthen communal bonds and relationships and respond to the needs of our community members.
- Inaya
We have spent many months deliberating on our values, vision and purpose – and through this, I have regained hope, that no matter what we contribute and however small the impact might be, it will not be insignificant in challenging oppression.
- Huma
Thinking about how i engage with realities of oppression, instability and hopelessness; i have recently also begun to, re-think, re-imagine and experience stories of solidarity, diversity and cross-boundary kinship.
- Manogni (our new TRC member!)
We have exciting campaigns planned for the coming months so keep your eyes peeled! If you want to drop us a message to collaborate, or simply say hi, please email us here.
In solidarity,
The Rights Collective
📚Musings with Freire Community Book Club
On Sunday 19th September, we held our first community book discussion! The Rights Collective community members, Qanitah and Sanayah Malik hosted an insightful discussion on ‘The Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ at the trendiest cafe in East London Root/25 created by our friends over at Restless Beings!
We discussed community, the importance of dialogue, the relationship between the oppressed and the oppressor, and finished with a dose of optimising in exploring hope! See more pictures from day over on our Instagram.
Thanks to everyone who made it, and see you soon.🌻
📰 What we’re reading
Despite 7487 letters of objection from the local community, the Old Truman Brewery Development Plan has been given the green light by TowerHamlets council, threatening the livelihood and culture of Brick Lane. Read Suresh Singh’s piece for Tribune Mag here.
“Whilst race certainly accounted for a large part of the media attention given to Everard’s case, the vigil was not called because of her whiteness.” - Aviah Days article on Why We Must Stop Comparing Sabina Nessa’s Murder With Sarah Everard’s.
“Carceral feminism operates under the assumption that violence is caused by individuals in isolation and that the punishment of these individuals will lead to greater safety for women.” - Shahed Ezaydi for Huck Magazine on how the current criminal justice system fails to protect women.
Placards reading ‘Save India from fascism’ were seen by protestors in D.C. where many gathered to protest Modi’s visit. See pictures from the protest here compiled by Al Jazeera.
تحریر // Tehreer participant Niharika Pore shares a snippet of her life since being diagnosed by Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, connective tissue disorder. Read her blog here.
Have you read our resource hub yet? We’ve compiled articles, podcasts, and videos to expand and aid existing knowledge on issues of caste, class, race, anti-racism, and more.