Sparks Will Fly

Watch: Amandla closes her empowering statement by describing the three things she’s sick of seeing.

“But I have a real problem with expecting us– the underdogs of Earth, women of color especially– to fix the bullshit mess — war, violence, genocide, destruction of our diverse ecologies, global warming — made by white, male, dominant hegemonic, patriarchal, capitalist systems. My problem is not that I don’t want to help. I want desperately to heal and help! Myself and any others! My problem is not that I don’t want to work. I need something productive to do that I can feel good about. I’m a busy able body. My problem is not even that I can’t work on these massive problems. I have a few ideas up my sleeve, generated by years of close observation and analysis. No, my problem is that under the current regime structure I am genuinely afraid that my– and others’– unpaid labor, even in the service of the people and the earth, might actually make all of our collective, related issues worse. Why? Because I’ll starve. I’ll go homeless (heck, full disclosure, I am already there). I won’t be able to afford life-saving medication. In short, I could die from neglect. I need to be compensated for my work. I need to be recognized for who I am and what I am doing or trying to do. I need to know that I am valuable. I need to (be able to) see that what I am doing is valuable. I need to be appreciated.Yet (of course) I loathe capitalism. I don’t want to participate in that system. I don’t have a price on my head. …“

I live in a haunted house.

Thankful.

Whitney Sparks 2015