Jalessah Jackson

Assata Shakur Taught Us That Struggle Is Spiritual Yesterday, we lost our beloved revolutionary, Assata Shakur.

Last month, I facilitated a writing workshop on spirituality and struggle for Black August. I was thrilled to discuss Assata’s introduction to and engagement with African Traditional Religions while in Cuba.

Assata taught us that struggle is spiritual. open.substack.com/pub/decoloni...

Looking forward to facilitating “Spirit, Struggle, and the Word: Writing Through the Spiritual and Political for Black August” this Saturday 8/30. There’s still time for you to register to join virtually or in-person: bit.ly/WriteforBlac...

Be sure to also tap in on the 23rd for my comrades’ fiction writing against cop cities and George Jackson and persuasive writing workshops taught by Ra’Niqua and Julian.

Register at the above link!

On Aug. 30th, I’m teaching a hybrid workshop linking the spiritual + political for #BlackAugust w/ EndState ATL + @decolonialfc.bsky.social! We will consider what political prisoners can teach us about spiritual discipline and dedication?

Register: bit.ly/WriteforBlac...

Revolutionary Care as Political Warfare Audre Lorde, Andaiye, and a Critique of Self(ish) Care

My latest examining how Lorde’s revolutionary vision of care was transformed into neoliberal “self(ish) care” — and what we can learn from her friendship with Andaiye. open.substack.com/pub/decoloni...

Farewell to Anas, Mohammed, and the companions of truth In Gaza, the journalist has become a direct target. Carrying a camera here is like wearing a mark on your forehead that reads, “Kill me”

In Gaza, the journalist has become a direct target. Carrying a camera here is like wearing a mark on your forehead that reads, “Kill me.” In a new op-ed, Shaimaa Eid honors Anas, Mohammed, & their 240+ companions of truth, killed by the Israeli military since the most recent genocide in Gaza began.

“Reflections on Parenting and Revolutionary Struggle”: An Interview with Jalessah T. Jackson | Black Agenda Report “Reflections on Parenting and Revolutionary Struggle” is a space for parent-organizers to share their experiences practicing liberated parenting that reflects revolutionary ideals. This week, Roberto ...

I've always seen motherhood as political work. This interview with Black Agenda Report for their "Reflections on Parenting and Revolutionary Struggle" series was published on this day last year. www.blackagendareport.com/reflections-...

If you missed my workshop “Confronting Reproductive Imperialism: Criminalization, Cop Cities, + the Transnational Fight for Reproductive Justice” earlier this year, it’s not too late to check it out! There have been so many great ones! $ goes to the sameer project, and you might learn something new!

Happy birthday to the brilliant, June Jordan 💕

recognize that "colleagues" that enable and defer to agents of mass suffering are themselves agents of mass suffering.

“Researchers have found that Black long COVID patients report experiencing implicit bias, microaggressions, and other forms of discrimination when seeking treatment for their symptoms.”

The Fight to Be Believed: Long COVID’s Toll on Black Americans Nearly a third of Black people who contracted COVID-19 have experienced long COVID symptoms, one study found, but are “not being taken as seriously,” said one patient.

“Even before the administration’s cuts to programs designed to help the nation address the disease, studies have shown that Black Americans with long COVID encounter significant disparities in health care when compared to their white counterparts.”
capitalbnews.org/black-americ...

Case 8:25-cv-00951-PX Document 211 Filed 07/02/25 Page 2 of 5 3. The proposed Amended Complaint details the Government's defiance of court orders after this Court granted preliminary injunctive relief. The Amended Complaint includes allegations that the Government made decisions to defy judicial mandates. These allegations are new to the Complaint, but have been cited in various filings in this Court as the case has developed. They are directly relevant to Plaintiffs' constitutional claims and outstanding requests for declaratory and prospective injunctive relief. 4. Plaintiffs also seek to incorporate evidence that emerged in a June 2025 whistleblower disclosure from former DOJ official Erez Reuveni, who was previously counsel for the Government in this case. The new allegations include government officials internally acknowledging that Abrego Garcia's removal was an "administrative error" while simultaneously working to prevent his return and to make post-hoc justifications. These revelations provide evidence of deliberate misconduct that was unavailable when the original Complaint was filed and directly support Plaintiffs' claims. 5. The proposed Amended Complaint also Includes Abrego Garcia's first-hand account of torture and mistreatment at CECOT, as well as developments regarding his return to the United States and the Government's stated plan to remove him again. These allegations identify the severe harm actually suffered and the threat of repeated unlawful removal that supports Plaintiffs' request for prospective injunctive relief. The inclusion of these facts, which could not have been pleaded at the time of the original filing, is essential to present a complete picture of the violations and ensure adequate relief. 6. Plaintiffs also propose to clarify that the relief sought includes restoring the status quo ante, which requires (among other things) the Government to return Abrego Garcia to 2

NEW: Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s lawyers seek permission to file an amended complaint in his civil case in Maryland.

Among other things, the amended complaint “includes Abrego Garcia's first-hand account of torture and mistreatment at CECOT…”

120. Upon arrival at CECOT, the detainees were greeted by a prison official who stated, "Welcome to CECOT. Whoever enters here doesn't leave." Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was then forced to strip, issued prison clothing, and subjected to physical abuse including being kicked in the legs with boots and struck on his head and arms to make him change clothes faster. His head was shaved with a zero razor, and he was frog-marched to cell 15, being struck with wooden batons along the way. By the following day, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia had visible bruises and lumps all over his body. 121. In Cell 15, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia and 20 other Salvadorans were forced to kneel from approximately 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM, with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion. During this time, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was denied bathroom access and soiled himself The detainees were confined to metal bunks with no mattresses in an overcrowded cell with no windows, bright lights that remained on 24 hours a day, and minimal access to sanitation. 122. After approximately one week at CECOT, prison director Osiris Luna and other officials separated the 21 Salvadorans who had arrived together. Twelve individuals with visible gang-related tattoos were moved to another cell, while Plaintiff Abrego Garcia remained with eight others who, like him, upon information and belief had no gang affiliations or tattoos. 123. As reflected by his segregation, the Salvadoran authorities recognized that Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was not affiliated with any gang and, at around this time, prison officials explicitly acknowledged that Plaintiff Abrego Garcia's tattoos were not gang-related, telling him "your

“In Cell 15, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia and 20 other Salvadorans were forced to kneel from approximately 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM, with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion. During this time, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was denied bathroom access and soiled himself…”

Surveillance camera prevalence and racial diversity in ten US cities - Nature Cities Surveillance cameras are a widespread tool for monitoring in modern cities. This study shows how camera placement reflects racial dynamics in neighborhoods, revealing a new form of inequality in the m...

“Notably, surveillance cameras are most common in racially diverse neighborhoods experiencing an influx of white residents, suggesting that white householders are instituting this means of social control as they move into or gentrify non-white neighborhoods.”

Fund Abortion Not War — Workshops 4 Gaza Step 1: Donate to Sameer Project here (sugg. donation $40). Step 2: Register for “Fund Abortion Not War” here . In this workshop, three reproductive healthcare providers who have been...

Have y’all registered for this upcoming Fund Abortion Not War workshop hosted by @workshops4gaza.bsky.social?! The money raised will go to the Sameer Project providing on the ground support to Palestinians.
www.workshops4gaza.com/calendar/fun...

Spirituality Is Not a Substitute for Study African Spiritual Traditions and the Necessity of Revolutionary Theory

New on my substack:

“Spirituality is Not a Substitute for Study: African Spiritual Traditions and the Necessity of Revolutionary Theory”
open.substack.com/pub/decoloni...

As Gaza starves, GoFundMe accused of blocking ‘millions of dollars’ raised GoFundMe is accused of unfair restrictions and financial freezes on Palestinian aid fundraisers.

GoFundMe is accused of unfair restrictions and financial freezes on Palestinian aid fundraisers.

If you’re zip-tying grandmas protesting losing health care maybe you’re not the good guys in the story?

YouTube video by New Economy Coalition Care For The People: Who Cares? Racial Capitalism, Social Reproduction, and Collective Entanglement

Just added to YouTube from earlier this year, “Who Cares? Racial Capitalism, Social Reproduction, and Collective Entanglement” for New Economy Coalition’s “Care for the People” series: youtu.be/7Q1d070m2Q0?...

It’s literally the only thing that does.

Restoring Gold Standard Science By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United

tl;dr — this EO co-opts the language of open science to implement a system of political control wherein presidential appointees are given broad latitude to designate any number of reasonable scientific activities and inferences as scientific misconduct, and to penalize those involved accordingly.

“A Pan-African Movement divorced from statecraft and patriarchal politics. Only then would Africa breathe life into the symbolic date of May 25-African Liberation Day.” — Sylvia Tamale

African Liberation Day 🫡

2/2

“The decolonization agenda and decolonial politics are closely bound up with the Pan-African one. Therefore, if Africa is ever going to realize its liberatory vision, it must consciously revitalize Pan-African nationalism outside state structures and mainstream institutions…” 1/

A stacked bar chart (oriented horizontally) labeled: Living with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome) Each horizontal bar is a disease status: Pre-ME, Mild ME, Moderate ME, Severe ME, Very Severe ME. The width of each bar represents how much energy is available in each status (100, 50, 25, 12.5, and 6.25 respectively). Each bar is divided into sections for how one might allocate their energy: hygiene & nutrition (gray); caregiving, cleaning errands (red); work (orange); exercise (yellow); friends (green); hobbies (blue); fun (purple). With worsening ME, the hygiene & nutrition takes up a larger proportion of total available energy and the amount of energy available for all other parts of life shrinks. Mild ME has most things cut in half, with exercise cut smaller. Moderate ME removes exercise altogether, and everything else shrinks. Severe ME has only tiny slivers of red, orange, green, blue and purple. Very Severe ME has only a tiny sliver of green.

NIH recently found 1 in 22 ppl who’d had Covid developed ME/CFS. The “mild” form of that disease, as @julialmv.bsky.social’s graph shows, means losing capacity to do 50% of your daily activities.

What would you give up?

Friends? Time w/your kids? Could you cut work hours in half w/o losing yr job?

COVID data quietly disappears while cases rise Concerned citizens call for more funding after “major blow” to key COVID-19 tracking metric

I wrote about the erosion of reliable COVID data last year for @prismreports.org , and unfortunately the problem has only gotten worse under the new administration.
prismreports.org/2024/08/06/c...

33: Returning to Source Death, Rebirth, Remembrance

It’s my birthday and I started a substack. Check out my first post where I share a short reflection on 32 which was all about death and rebirth. Read and subscribe: open.substack.com/pub/decoloni...

It’s okay to change your mind.

Reflective Journalism Project: Hope in Desolate Times - Prism Bring your newsroom or publication into alignment with movements for liberation Open application through 11:59pm ET, April 18, 2025 Are you a journalist,

Are you a journalist/editor/media maker who wants to align your work with liberation movements? Applications for our next Reflective Journalism Project workshop are open now!
🌼 Apply by April 18
🌷 Sliding scale & scholarships available
🌹 More info here ⤵️
prismreports.org/reflective-j...