What Does Collective Liberation
Look Like?
It begins with healing.
We begin by naming the harm that has been and is being caused, dismantling the systems that allow that harm and beginning to heal together, first as Black, Indigenous and other People of Color. We aim to create spaces for this and for those most affected by harmful systems to begin to unravel and reform new systems, first for ourselves and then for the world.
Fugitivity is the approach.
“Fugitivity is a term that has been used by Black theorists to describe the process of seeking and creating freedom within completely enslaving circumstances past and present. I think of fugitivity as Harriet Tubman-ness, the process of seeking and prioritizing collective freedom. The shapeshifting evasion of capture by slave catchers, norms and institutions. The ways we find each other and free each other again and again.”
– Alexis Pauline Gumbs
We are not striving for partial liberation, or incremental gains, we will settle for nothing less than total liberation for ourselves as individuals and as a collective. We intend to achieve this through radical and audacious thought, rooted in historical practices Afro-Futuristism, our collective ancestral knowledge and thorough exchanges with other liberation minded groups and individuals. This will allow us to model new systems and ways of being in the world for others to duplicate and share in.
Think Tank in action
A “think tank” is a body of experts providing advice and ideas on specific political or economic problems.
As “experts” in our own liberation, our goal is to give space for our ideas and turn them into action. We are raising $50MM to build and support liberating models of what we know our economy and ways of being will and should look like.
We name and recognize all of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color ancestors, thought leaders, creatives, and wisdom holders who have been imagining and co-creating this possibility for centuries.
We need time, money, and resources to aggregate this wisdom and lead us into this new reality.
That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?
Of the 20 most prominent think tanks, the median annual budget is $36MM, some of which whose purpose is the perpetuation of and promotion of the very systems of white supremacy we are working against.
We need to be as bold and louder than they are and we need your help.
Our immediate priorities
Wealth Creation: We refuse to accept that struggle is inevitable. In order to show up fully and completely for the work of dismantling, we must be able to meet our own needs. This means that we are raising enough money to be able to secure our long-term salaries, pay off all outstanding debts, and build towards the wealth of ourselves and our families.
Establishing our First Properties: We are working to establish multiple physical spaces to manifest Dismantle Collective’s vision of healing and liberation for BIPOC folks. We have chosen Sacramento, CA as our first property and our working to acquire mixed use real estate in Oakland. We are also exploring opportunities in New Mexico and internationally in Malta and Ghana.
Podcast Production + Promotion: Our podcast, Collective Audacity, invites listeners into our weekly meetings. Through this medium, we are modeling how we work together in alignment with our values—Collectivity, Care, Enoughness, Liberation, Pleasure, Transparency, and Fugitivity. Our goal is to provide both inspiration and practical resources for other folks doing this work, igniting even greater impact.