#mcgreads

#McGReads"

#mcgreads"

Matt on Instagram: “The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism For The Twentieth-Century” by Grace Lee Boggs with Scott Kurashige # I was thrilled to have this book be my first introduction to the movement leader and activist, Grace Lee Boggs. Having written this book at ninety five years old(!!!!), she offers immense insight into movements of the past and how we must adapt to create the world that we all so desperately need. She makes the case for hope and shows examples of the work being done in communities throughout the country, like in Detroit (with urban agriculture), that we must learn from order to thrive and survive. Challenging some pretty widely held beliefs about how revolution should happen, this book definitely got me thinking.  # My Booklist: bit.ly/mcgread (link in bio)”

Matt via Instagram: "That White Girl" by JLove Calderón ( @JLoveCalderon )  # So much love & appreciation for my friend, coach, mentor, & creative and business partner JLove.  I've known her for only a little over a year, and she has had a profound effect on my life and my activism.  Having only heard little bits of information about her early life and how it impacted who she came to be, I was tremendously grateful to be able to dive into her herstory through her writing. It is honest and has given me a lot to reflect on how whiteness, class, and patriarchy function in this country. I truly feel that this past year of my life has been one of growth that I never would have imagined was possible and that my transformation is largely part of the work that we've been able to do together.  And I've grown to understand how transforming beliefs and fears that were constantly running in the background of my mind have allowed me to feel both more joyful and more bold in my life and activism than ever before.  # I am beyond excited to announce that JLove and I just launched a Social Impact and Creative company together, called Inspire Justice! :) ( ( @WeInspireJustice / WeInspireJustice.com ) There are two main platforms of our work: the first of which is Social Impact Empowerment Coaching for public figures who want to leverage their voices, creativity, and hearts for social change and to help them become the activists that we need them to be to cause real, deep change.  The second part is doing trainings for creative companies on how to shift culture to a place where folx can thrive and be their best and most fully expressed selves.  I am so excited to be living out a dream of mine where I am coaching clients as well (I’ve always said that an alternative career choice of mine could be a therapist, but in many ways this feels even more aligned!). We're also going to be producing socially conscious content, so stay tuned on that! :) # Our company will be giving reparations to Black-led grassroots organization and we have an incredible team of multiracial and multigender badass advisors who are grassroots organizers. (Cont in comments) # My Booklist: bit.ly/mcgreads (link in bio) #McGReads"

I often read people asking for Matt’s booklist, so I wanna remind you that he did it on Goodreads. That’s the link:

Matt on Instagram: ““The Will To Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan” by Dahr Jamail  #  This book details the various forms of resistance among U.S soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through purposeful suppression, many of these stories have never gotten the media attention that they should have. #DahrJamail #TheWillToResist  # My Booklist: bit.ly/mcgreads #mcgreads”

Matt on Instagram: “"John Brown Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights” by David S. Reynolds # The way that we are taught history in the United States, teaches us to be racist. It teaches us how to overvalue the contributions of white people and undervalue the contributions of People of Color. This book is a powerful antidote to the stale history taught in our schools systems that is divorced from the present day systems of oppression and struggles for liberation.  # John Brown was a name known widely before the abolition of slavery, but a name that has largely been erased. I, like most of us, learned a false history; that the Civil War was launched by a benevolent Abraham Lincoln and was fought by the North to free enslaved people. In school, I learned barely anything about the resistance of enslaved people. I learned nothing about Nat Turner, who escaped from slavery, and the violent rebellion that he led which struck terror into the hearts of the pro-slavery Southerners, or the ripple effect that this had, including inspiring the white abolitionist, John Brown, to take violent measures in order to strike a deadly blow to the institution of slavery.  # It makes sense to me, why we are taught history this way by our mostly white teachers. Believing that the North was “good” and non-racist, while the South was “bad” and racist, allows most white Northerners (present-day liberals) to feel a sense of moral superiority over the white South (present-day conservatives) without actually doing much of anything. If the white South (conservatives) are the ones upholding racism, then we don’t have a responsibility in working to see and dismantle it in the our own backyards and our own lives.  # The truth is, Abraham Lincoln (like most white abolitionists of the day) had deeply racist beliefs and was PUSHED to an abolitionist stance by abolitionist organizing. Eventually, he came to espouse abolition, but believed that Africans should be sent back to Africa after emancipation, that they should never have the vote, and that Africans were inherently less equal than whites. Lincoln, like the vast majority of the white abolitionists of the day, held deeply racist points of view. And despite advocating for the abolition of slavery, most had similar points of view to Lincoln. One of the important lessons from this is, that one can espouse beliefs that oppose certain aspects of racism, while strongly upholding others. Today, most liberals would likely state agreement with #BlackLivesMatter. They would say that unarmed Black people should not be killed by police. But most would not have made themselves familiar with the Movement for Black Lives platform, most would not advocate for prison and police abolition, for reparations, for putting their own privilege on the line to deeply restructure a system that keeps People of Color firmly locked in the lower positions in society. All throughout history, there have been movements for Black liberation, led by Black folks, with the knowledge coming firmly from those most impacted by these systems of oppression. And mostly there have been white people that either actively opposed these ideas, or in rhetoric, supported very minimal aspects of the fight for equality. And at the same time, we have, like most of the white abolitionists of the past, refused to listen and incorporate the ideas and tactics of those that are directly on the front line, most impacted by systems of oppression. So, as white people, let’s not pat ourselves on the back for espousing the smallest amount of anti-racist rhetoric, and instead, look to be the ones that are listening to Black folx, Indigenous people, and People of Color on the front lines of this struggle, and push other white people to dig deep and fight these systems with great courage and intention. John Brown believed in the FULL EQUALITY of everyone, regardless of race or gender. At a time when this was truly revolutionary. Eventually, more and more white folks began to see how right he was. But the way that we will achieve equality, and in any even remotely timely fashion, is if white people stop patting themselves on the back for being the Abraham Lincoln’s of the world, and instead, start becoming the John Browns. If we are not ahead of the curve, we are behind it. # My Booklist: bit.ly/mcgreads #mcgreads"

Matt on Instagram: “"Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead” by @BreneBrown # Just recently, I was with a friend of mine grabbing some food during what we had determined would be a chill, early bedtime, night. We met a group of fun people who asked him to get drinks and then announced to the group that “we are going to get a drink!” Knowing that we had agreed to make it a relaxed night, I did not feel like that was the vibe we were about to be in. And knowing myself…I’m never really a “1 drink, hang out for an hour person.” If I am out, then I am OUT. While my friend had asked me what I wanted to do, I tossed it back to him, to which he said he was down to go with the flow. I knew that we wanted to be up at a reasonable time the next morning, and in my mind, knew that this would likely prevent that from happening.  # The next morning, we got up late and I was tired from having a late (and fun!) night out. It made our original plans a bit harder. It wasn’t until maybe two days later, that I realized I was holding on to some anger and resentment about how things went down. Using a tool from the book, I said “this is the story that I’m making up in my head,” and told him that in the moment of deciding to go out, I felt like he didn’t really care what I wanted to do. And my own fear of coming off as “needy” or “having too many needs” prevented me from being fully expressed about what I wanted, or asking for a minute to discuss our plans more fully. A lifetime of conditioning as a man has told me that having “too many needs” is the opposite of what men are supposed to be. We are “supposed to be” self-sufficient and stoic, not vulnerable. # When I fully realized what was happening in me, I was able to express to him the shame I felt in having a need to “talk it out,” not feeling able to express my needs, and the additional shame of holding onto resentment when it came to one of my best friends. Our conversation blossomed, and as with most moments where radical vulnerability is shared, it made us even closer, deepening our connection as friends. I know that the story I shared may seem like a small, insignificant moment. But how we do anything is how we do everything. So many of us spend so much of our lives not even consciously realizing when we are acting from places of shame and not expressing our needs. Expressing vulnerability is a trait requires being intentional about developing, and it becomes even harder to do when we experience trauma. We assume people are “doing things to us” (like my assumption that my friend didn’t care about my needs) rather than leaning into the discomfort of expressing needs and setting boundaries. And we lose the ability to discern when we should and shouldn’t cut people out of our lives. Most of my friends would tell you that I am very good at being vulnerable and expressing my needs, but there is still a beautiful journey ahead with so much more to (un)learn and so much room to grow in my being fully expressed. This is also part of the mutual interest that I, as a man, have in feminism and ending toxic masculinity. This book really resonated with me and also came at a perfect time in my life. I found many useful tools in “Rising Strong” that I have already, and will continue carrying into my own life.  One of the more salient parts of the book, was the way that people often hurt others as a result of not having processed their own shame and trauma. As a prison abolitionist, I believe that learning to deal with our pain and shame and shifting to a culture and systems that support us in doing that, will be the key that allows people to lead lives where they can thrive and be healthy members of the community. Such an integral part of this is also being able to express needs and boundaries. And also understanding that we are deserving of both of these things. # My Booklist:  bit.ly/mcgreads (link in bio) #mcgreads"