Building Power, Resisting Recuperation: Dean Spade on Mutual Aid, COVID-19, and Beyond

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On this episode of It’s Going Down, we speak with long-time anarchist and organizer Dean Spade, author of the new book, Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next), published by Verso Press.

It’s time to organize. If you can donate time, money, or anything PLEASE DO.

Here’s “a collection of resources and links, as well as a list of active mutual aid projects that are currently mobilizing in the face of the coronavirus.“ via @IGD_News. https://t.co/HyjEY24j12

— William C. (@williamcson) March 14, 2020

We discuss the explosion of mutual aid projects which have formed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued wave of climate change fueled natural disasters and wildfires. We talk about the strengths and weaknesses of these projects, the drive of the State and neoliberalism to recuperate grassroots mutual aid, and the need to deepen and politicize these programs.

As public spaces + events are shut down due to the #coronavirus – the need for building mutual aid survival programs is now greater than ever, especially in the face of the dramatic failure of the State to respond to this crisis. Here's a thread for inspiration. #MutualAid pic.twitter.com/3eG6P3aEOI

— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) March 13, 2020

We also look towards the future, discussing how mutual aid projects can improve, and how autonomous anti-capitalist movements can maneuver in a terrain where the far-Right is presenting itself as an enemy of the State’s attempts at managing the COVID-19 pandemic through lock-downs and other measures.

More Info: Dean Spade on Twitter, Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis, and Big Door Brigade

photo via Woodbine