PrOps Resource: Caring for the Movement: Black Feminist Care Logistics

Anuncios y’all anuncios! The MEV Program Operations (PrOps) team came together to offer you all one last gem from our coco-collaboration. That gem is the “Caring for the Movement: Black Feminist Care Logistics” toolkit where we seek to address how we can work better together, as a movement. There are plenty of ‘how to create a positive workplace culture” articles and resources out there. However, we found that many (at worst) were entrenched in white supremist practices and policies and (at best) failed to account for the values-led work required to create violence-free movement spaces. As people committed to ending violence, we sought to create a resource that wove liberatory black feminist theory into organizational development and practice. Through years of working with one another, our collaborators, and consultants we have had many opportunities for learning and strengthening the ways in which we do our work. When we reflected back, we saw an opportunity to amplify these learnings of creating care-centered movement spaces. As a result, we put many of these juicy wisdoms, hard learned lessons, growth edges, and practicing what we preach into the "Caring for the Movement: Black Feminist Care Logistics” toolkit.  A toolkit where theory meets practice.‍

The fact of the matter is that harmful behaviors and norms do seep into movement spaces, relationships, and work. They do, and we don't have to create a home for them when they creep in. Instead we can acknowledge them, name them, and create our own practices and agreements for accountability and restoration. This is how we shift towards more liberatory ways of being and working.

And that's what we did. 

As the Program Operations Team - or as we call it at Move to End Violence (MEV), PrOps - we wove our collective wisdoms into a framework of Intersectional Care Logistics that centers relationships and the fullness of people’s lives in movement work. 

Intersectional Care Logistics asks,“who needs to be centered and how do we design an experience that centers them, while holding the multiplicity of the whole?” Let us be the first to say that this led to some messy and,at times, uncomfortable conversations and interactions about internalized -isms, misaligned communication or expectations, and how we as [oppressed] people experience conflict and/or even harm one another. 

Our "Caring for the Movement: Black Feminist Care Logistics toolkit goes there. 

 From addressing colorism to addressing white supremacist informed hierarchial structures and dominant languages to resourcing our intersectional care teams, to truly asking caregivers what’s needed to care for ourselves and our loved ones as we show up for work. 

We hope this offering broadens the understanding and appreciation of the labor, care, and analysis that folks bring to the design and operation of movement spaces. The sections “Perspective, People, and Praxis” will guide readers through the political lineages we call on, frameworks we built on, understandings of ourselves, the story of our teams, examples of powerful practices and strategies, and genuine moments for self- reflection and real talk. 

We hope this toolkit is the fertile ground you crave to deepen your care logistics praxis in service of a radically different world. 

In the words of the Cleveland based Black women TikTok sensation, Tanisha Godfrey, ‘y’all better come get one of these’ itsa resource for building better, together. It’s a toolkit where Black feminist theory meets practice.

                                                                        Click here to download the toolkit in English             Click here to download the toolkit in Spanish

                                                                                                 Click here to download the toolkit in bilingual English and Spanish