Why sell Thin Mints when you could be starting a revolution?
January 22, 2015 8:16 PM Subscribe
Meet the Radical Brownies. In Oakland, activists from Black Lives Matter have started a Girl Scout-style troop of girls of color ages 8-12 that puts the focus on social justice, taking the girls on marches for police accountability and offering merit badges in "Radical Beauty" and "LGBT Ally."
A chat with the founders
An Open Love Letter to Radical Brownies
The Radical Brownies on Facebook
A chat with the founders
An Open Love Letter to Radical Brownies
The Radical Brownies on Facebook
offering merit badges in "Radical Beauty" and "LGBT Ally."
Wait a minute - we can get badges? I want badges. Where are our badges? Why hasn't mathowie ... OK this is probably better said in MetaTalk, but we have been having some great pro-feminist, pro-trans*, anti antisemitism etc discussions recently, and if we voted #1 for a certain someone, we'd all have badges by now. Just sayin'.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:44 PM on January 22, 2015 [31 favorites]
Wait a minute - we can get badges? I want badges. Where are our badges? Why hasn't mathowie ... OK this is probably better said in MetaTalk, but we have been having some great pro-feminist, pro-trans*, anti antisemitism etc discussions recently, and if we voted #1 for a certain someone, we'd all have badges by now. Just sayin'.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:44 PM on January 22, 2015 [31 favorites]
yes lets award ourselves ally badges great work everyone its not like there's a steady trickle of radicals who do great work leaving this website 'cause we're so white and bougie
posted by thug unicorn at 8:50 PM on January 22, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by thug unicorn at 8:50 PM on January 22, 2015 [8 favorites]
thug unicorn: "yes lets award ourselves ally badges great work everyone its not like there's a steady trickle of radicals who do great work leaving this website 'cause we're so white and bougie"
"and now to read the articles and watch the videos, heh."
posted by boo_radley at 8:57 PM on January 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
"and now to read the articles and watch the videos, heh."
posted by boo_radley at 8:57 PM on January 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
They might stay if we gave them badges. Is there a single problem in the world badges can't solve? Climate Change? Badges. Inequality? Badges. Brian May's quest to halt the culling of BADGES BADGES BADGES
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:57 PM on January 22, 2015 [16 favorites]
posted by the quidnunc kid at 8:57 PM on January 22, 2015 [16 favorites]
I am eagerly awaiting SOMEBODY establishing a real-life version of the comic book "Lumberjanes". Because they have badges. (you can guess which one I would want)
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:00 PM on January 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:00 PM on January 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
I think this trend of having a wider variety of scouts-like organizations or DIY groups that pander to the parents' special interests is a good thing, overall.
posted by michaelh at 9:05 PM on January 22, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by michaelh at 9:05 PM on January 22, 2015 [5 favorites]
Is there a single problem in the world badges can't solve?
Well, I did suffer through 3 years of Boy Scouts, just long enough to get 4 of their badges, and I have to say my knot-tying ability never saved a single life.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:14 PM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well, I did suffer through 3 years of Boy Scouts, just long enough to get 4 of their badges, and I have to say my knot-tying ability never saved a single life.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:14 PM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wonder how long until it's overrun by white girls whose parents sign them up with the good intentions of having their kids grow up exposed to diversity? Because this is exactly the sort of group my parents might have sent me to if it had existed when I was a kid.
This is Oakland. There aren't enough white kids to outnumber kids of color. "White" people make up 26% of Oakland (35% if you include people who say they're white and hispanic). Where by "white" I mean US-census-white which may or may not be your personal racial construct of whiteness.
posted by GuyZero at 9:43 PM on January 22, 2015 [4 favorites]
This is Oakland. There aren't enough white kids to outnumber kids of color. "White" people make up 26% of Oakland (35% if you include people who say they're white and hispanic). Where by "white" I mean US-census-white which may or may not be your personal racial construct of whiteness.
posted by GuyZero at 9:43 PM on January 22, 2015 [4 favorites]
...I have to say my knot-tying ability never saved a single life.
But what has it done for your sex life? ;)
posted by Jacqueline at 9:46 PM on January 22, 2015 [10 favorites]
But what has it done for your sex life? ;)
posted by Jacqueline at 9:46 PM on January 22, 2015 [10 favorites]
This is Oakland. There aren't enough white kids to outnumber kids of color.
But it sounds like they have plans for expansion so eventually there will be chapters in cities where whites are the majority.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:50 PM on January 22, 2015
But it sounds like they have plans for expansion so eventually there will be chapters in cities where whites are the majority.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:50 PM on January 22, 2015
One thing that seems absent from the article's discussion is any mention of community service or activities driven by the girls in the group - every activity mentioned seems like either a lecture on radical activism or protest participation. Obviously these are young kids, and it's still a very young organization, but I'm curious whether the group is planning to do service projects, because that could be an amazing force for good.
posted by LSK at 11:14 PM on January 22, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by LSK at 11:14 PM on January 22, 2015 [6 favorites]
Service work was a huge focus of the Black Panthers. (I think also the Brown Berets, though I'm much less familiar with that history.) The article mentions that they discuss and are inspired by both those groups, so I'd guess that service projects are something they do or will do.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 11:35 PM on January 22, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by spaceman_spiff at 11:35 PM on January 22, 2015 [5 favorites]
Metafilter: Is there a single problem in the world badges can't solve?
posted by thug unicorn at 12:13 AM on January 23, 2015
posted by thug unicorn at 12:13 AM on January 23, 2015
Badgers? Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers!
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 3:02 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 3:02 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
> I wonder how long until it's overrun by white girls whose parents sign them up with the good
> intentions of having their kids grow up exposed to diversity?
There's an associated group for them, the Radical Pinkies.
posted by jfuller at 4:09 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
> intentions of having their kids grow up exposed to diversity?
There's an associated group for them, the Radical Pinkies.
posted by jfuller at 4:09 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
There's an associated group for them, the Radical Pinkies.
Pinkos, I would think. The lot of them.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:09 AM on January 23, 2015
Pinkos, I would think. The lot of them.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:09 AM on January 23, 2015
I have my reservations about children acting out parental political causes whether it is "radical brownies", "antiabortion picketers", "children's crusade for christ or ....(you name it)", manning picket lines"etc. The political cause (liberal, conservative, radical, reactionary) is irrelevant to me. Teenagers, yes/maybe, preteens no. I have no data or scientific support for my concerns--just does not feel right. Much different if the groups are organized for building widely applicable skills, individual responsibility, community service etc.
posted by rmhsinc at 5:19 AM on January 23, 2015 [12 favorites]
posted by rmhsinc at 5:19 AM on January 23, 2015 [12 favorites]
Aren't kids already acting out their parents' political causes, though? I.e. not engaging politically is still taking a position.
posted by ropeladder at 5:48 AM on January 23, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by ropeladder at 5:48 AM on January 23, 2015 [7 favorites]
I have my reservations about children acting out parental political causes whether it is "radical brownies", "antiabortion picketers", "children's crusade for christ or ....(you name it)", manning picket lines"etc. The political cause (liberal, conservative, radical, reactionary) is irrelevant to me. Teenagers, yes/maybe, preteens no. I have no data or scientific support for my concerns--just does not feel right. Much different if the groups are organized for building widely applicable skills, individual responsibility, community service etc.
I generally agree with this principle but I also want to push back a little.
Should Ruby Bridges' parents have not let her participate in early school integration?
Should the children of Birmingham not marched?
posted by leotrotsky at 5:51 AM on January 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
I generally agree with this principle but I also want to push back a little.
Should Ruby Bridges' parents have not let her participate in early school integration?
Should the children of Birmingham not marched?
posted by leotrotsky at 5:51 AM on January 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
leotrotsky, I know and I agree there are times where direct political action may be necessary to enable a suit or make a political point.
posted by rmhsinc at 6:00 AM on January 23, 2015
posted by rmhsinc at 6:00 AM on January 23, 2015
I have my reservations about children acting out parental political causes whether it is "radical brownies", "antiabortion picketers", "children's crusade for christ or ....(you name it)", manning picket lines"etc. The political cause (liberal, conservative, radical, reactionary) is irrelevant to me. Teenagers, yes/maybe, preteens no. I have no data or scientific support for my concerns--just does not feel right. Much different if the groups are organized for building widely applicable skills, individual responsibility, community service etc.
The difference being, as young girls of color, there is no opting out for them. These politics are their lived experience. They will be educated in these areas either through a pro-active group like this or through life experiences. This group seems to be trying to make that education beneficial rather than limiting and demeaning (as their life experiences as POC in a white supremacist society often are).
posted by anansi at 6:05 AM on January 23, 2015 [23 favorites]
The difference being, as young girls of color, there is no opting out for them. These politics are their lived experience. They will be educated in these areas either through a pro-active group like this or through life experiences. This group seems to be trying to make that education beneficial rather than limiting and demeaning (as their life experiences as POC in a white supremacist society often are).
posted by anansi at 6:05 AM on January 23, 2015 [23 favorites]
I have my reservations about children acting out parental political causes whether it is "radical brownies", "antiabortion picketers", "children's crusade for christ or ....(you name it)", manning picket lines"etc. The political cause (liberal, conservative, radical, reactionary) is irrelevant to me. Teenagers, yes/maybe, preteens no. I have no data or scientific support for my concerns--just does not feel right. Much different if the groups are organized for building widely applicable skills, individual responsibility, community service etc.
In my experience, most of the kids at protests and radical events are the children of radicals, and they participate because they want to - sometimes it's to do what mom is doing, sometimes it's because they very specifically want to participate in the issue (I know a couple of young kids who have created and led kids' events about gender, for example, and I certainly know lots of young kids who want to participate in protests and events), sometimes it's because there's a fun aspect (food, fun childcare games), sometimes it's because it's a chance to see their friends.
When I was a little kid, I was basically champing at the bit to do activist stuff, and I grew up in a suburb where there was no activist stuff to do. I was strongly influenced by some stuff about feminism from Sesame Street, reading about the Civil Rights movement in school and reading Jane Langton's The Fragile Flag* I did not grow up around radicals - on the contrary, I grew up in a very conservative town with left-liberal but very quietist and isolated parents - but I was absolutely radicalized [to the extent that I'm radical, and I'm sure, thug unicorn, you wouldn't think that's a very great extent] by both my personal circumstances and my reading.
I think it's a mistake to assume that kids should be protected from social engagement, or that kids can't want to do that stuff. Kids are moral agents and they have beliefs and ideas - sometimes terrible ones, just like adults! - and they aren't just being manipulated by their parents or forced to do stuff. Also, little kids in Oakland are living discrimination and social violence - it's not abstract. (Even when I was growing up in a very safe suburb, I was experiencing a lesser amount and kind of social violence, and spent quite a lot of time very aware that I was not safe, wanted or acceptable, and that this was structural - kids aren't stupid.)
*It's in her Hall Family series. It starts out with the parents going out to protest what is basically Reagan's space-based nuclear defense system (in the book, the "Peace Missile") and coming back really discouraged (probably based on the mass 1982 antinuclear protest). And there's this "write a letter to the president" contest, but Georgie - the heroine - is sick and can't hand in her letter, and all these kids go on a march to DC, and it's in some ways very typically peacenik-y and flawed, but reading it was a total emotional turning point for me. It's also very realistic - in a child-appropriate way - about the media, political spin and various kinds of political corruption.
posted by Frowner at 6:07 AM on January 23, 2015 [16 favorites]
In my experience, most of the kids at protests and radical events are the children of radicals, and they participate because they want to - sometimes it's to do what mom is doing, sometimes it's because they very specifically want to participate in the issue (I know a couple of young kids who have created and led kids' events about gender, for example, and I certainly know lots of young kids who want to participate in protests and events), sometimes it's because there's a fun aspect (food, fun childcare games), sometimes it's because it's a chance to see their friends.
When I was a little kid, I was basically champing at the bit to do activist stuff, and I grew up in a suburb where there was no activist stuff to do. I was strongly influenced by some stuff about feminism from Sesame Street, reading about the Civil Rights movement in school and reading Jane Langton's The Fragile Flag* I did not grow up around radicals - on the contrary, I grew up in a very conservative town with left-liberal but very quietist and isolated parents - but I was absolutely radicalized [to the extent that I'm radical, and I'm sure, thug unicorn, you wouldn't think that's a very great extent] by both my personal circumstances and my reading.
I think it's a mistake to assume that kids should be protected from social engagement, or that kids can't want to do that stuff. Kids are moral agents and they have beliefs and ideas - sometimes terrible ones, just like adults! - and they aren't just being manipulated by their parents or forced to do stuff. Also, little kids in Oakland are living discrimination and social violence - it's not abstract. (Even when I was growing up in a very safe suburb, I was experiencing a lesser amount and kind of social violence, and spent quite a lot of time very aware that I was not safe, wanted or acceptable, and that this was structural - kids aren't stupid.)
*It's in her Hall Family series. It starts out with the parents going out to protest what is basically Reagan's space-based nuclear defense system (in the book, the "Peace Missile") and coming back really discouraged (probably based on the mass 1982 antinuclear protest). And there's this "write a letter to the president" contest, but Georgie - the heroine - is sick and can't hand in her letter, and all these kids go on a march to DC, and it's in some ways very typically peacenik-y and flawed, but reading it was a total emotional turning point for me. It's also very realistic - in a child-appropriate way - about the media, political spin and various kinds of political corruption.
posted by Frowner at 6:07 AM on January 23, 2015 [16 favorites]
I have my reservations about children acting out parental political causes whether it is "radical brownies", "antiabortion picketers", "children's crusade for christ or ....(you name it)", manning picket lines"etc. The political cause (liberal, conservative, radical, reactionary) is irrelevant to me. Teenagers, yes/maybe, preteens no. I have no data or scientific support for my concerns--just does not feel right. Much different if the groups are organized for building widely applicable skills, individual responsibility, community service etc.
Except in this particular case they teaching kids universal love and acceptance. If that is political then everything is.
posted by srboisvert at 6:08 AM on January 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
All education is indoctrination. Children learn from their experiences and reflect them, so literally everything is indoctrination. Since we're not locking our children in barrels until their thirteenth birthdays, better we control their exposure to steer them in the right direction before the bad guys can get there first. And yes, I realize that this is exactly the same argument used by the bad guys, but it's still true, so let's be aware of it.
More power to the Radical Brownies.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:33 AM on January 23, 2015 [9 favorites]
More power to the Radical Brownies.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:33 AM on January 23, 2015 [9 favorites]
Just a note--indoctrination (by common definition ) suggests the teaching of the right or correct belief/ideology/values/etc. Education can be, and in my view, the teaching of fundamental ways of analyzing experiences, building problem solving skills, introducing problem solving methodologies, building content base etc. We can quibble but there is a difference between educating and indoctrinating children unless one asserts and defines them as the same. One can be educated about very controversial subjects without being indoctrinated into a position on them.
posted by rmhsinc at 6:50 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by rmhsinc at 6:50 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have my reservations about children acting out parental political causes
"Black lives matter" is not a concept that is beyond an 8-year-old's grasp.
posted by almostmanda at 6:52 AM on January 23, 2015 [20 favorites]
"Black lives matter" is not a concept that is beyond an 8-year-old's grasp.
posted by almostmanda at 6:52 AM on January 23, 2015 [20 favorites]
Pinkos, I would think. The lot of them.
posted by leotrotsky
Eponysterical!
posted by Gelatin at 6:53 AM on January 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky
Eponysterical!
posted by Gelatin at 6:53 AM on January 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
I have my reservations about children acting out parental political causes ...Teenagers, yes/maybe, preteens no. I have no data or scientific support for my concerns--just does not feel right.
My baby book is full of pictures of me in my little pink "I AM WOMAN" shirt at various protests my parents took me to. I think my favorite picture is the one of me at an abortion rights rally with a sign hanging off my stroller that read "Every child should be wanted." Later, one of my earliest memories is making my own anti-nuclear weapons picket sign for another protest. Every now and then we'd have to leave early because the police were about to start arresting protestors for blocking traffic and my response was "AW, MOOOOOOOOOOOOM, I don't want to goooooooooooooooo."
While my adult political beliefs (libertarian) vary significantly from my parents' (revolutionary socialism), I don't mind having been dragged to all those rallies as a kid, not even the ones that supported socialist causes that I wouldn't today support. (However, I would have definitely minded being sent away to Socialist Summer Camp for reeducation, which is something my parents constantly threatened me with once I became a rebellious teenager with my own political beliefs.) IMO, attending those protests with my parents were not just a fun family bonding, but also an inspirational education in how to be an informed and participating citizen in our democracy.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:55 AM on January 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
My baby book is full of pictures of me in my little pink "I AM WOMAN" shirt at various protests my parents took me to. I think my favorite picture is the one of me at an abortion rights rally with a sign hanging off my stroller that read "Every child should be wanted." Later, one of my earliest memories is making my own anti-nuclear weapons picket sign for another protest. Every now and then we'd have to leave early because the police were about to start arresting protestors for blocking traffic and my response was "AW, MOOOOOOOOOOOOM, I don't want to goooooooooooooooo."
While my adult political beliefs (libertarian) vary significantly from my parents' (revolutionary socialism), I don't mind having been dragged to all those rallies as a kid, not even the ones that supported socialist causes that I wouldn't today support. (However, I would have definitely minded being sent away to Socialist Summer Camp for reeducation, which is something my parents constantly threatened me with once I became a rebellious teenager with my own political beliefs.) IMO, attending those protests with my parents were not just a fun family bonding, but also an inspirational education in how to be an informed and participating citizen in our democracy.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:55 AM on January 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
One can be educated about very controversial subjects without being indoctrinated into a position on them.
i guess i'm having a hard time trying to figure out what is super controversial about teaching them that black lives matter, or participating in a mlk march, or making sugar scrubs while talking about natural beauty and self love.
posted by nadawi at 7:06 AM on January 23, 2015 [9 favorites]
i guess i'm having a hard time trying to figure out what is super controversial about teaching them that black lives matter, or participating in a mlk march, or making sugar scrubs while talking about natural beauty and self love.
posted by nadawi at 7:06 AM on January 23, 2015 [9 favorites]
nadawi--I was only responding to this statement in a preceding post : "All education is indoctrination".
posted by rmhsinc at 7:15 AM on January 23, 2015
posted by rmhsinc at 7:15 AM on January 23, 2015
but you also said this made you uncomfortable, and after looking through the things linked in the post i'm struggling to see what is wrong or overly political with the activities they're involved in.
posted by nadawi at 7:26 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by nadawi at 7:26 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
I tookynkid to protests just like I take him to o vote... As Jacqueline says, it models civic involvement.
This group looks awesome to me. Like any group for kids it could be ruined by adults who don't listen or care what kids think.
posted by chapps at 7:43 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
This group looks awesome to me. Like any group for kids it could be ruined by adults who don't listen or care what kids think.
posted by chapps at 7:43 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wow, this is fantastic. Just look at them. I am crying all over the place and I want to be them when I grow up even though I am 32.
So much love for my fellow young activists! (So wonderful to see some of you on MeFi, too.) I've been accompanying adults to progressive-minded protests of my own volition since I was five years old and I haven't exactly gotten less liberal with age. Opting out of activism has never been an option for a whole lot of people; every move we make is political because of the society we live in. So if you think children are too young to protest no matter the cause, you might want to consider yourself lucky for not belonging to a population -- say, girls and women of color -- whose identity, appearance, and motivations are relentlessly picked apart by all comers.
When your whole existence is inherently and unavoidably marked, it's never too early to start acting up, speaking out, and demanding respect for yourself, your culture, and your community.
Which is all just a tedious way of saying OMG I LOVE YOU RADICAL BROWNIES.
posted by divined by radio at 7:46 AM on January 23, 2015 [15 favorites]
So much love for my fellow young activists! (So wonderful to see some of you on MeFi, too.) I've been accompanying adults to progressive-minded protests of my own volition since I was five years old and I haven't exactly gotten less liberal with age. Opting out of activism has never been an option for a whole lot of people; every move we make is political because of the society we live in. So if you think children are too young to protest no matter the cause, you might want to consider yourself lucky for not belonging to a population -- say, girls and women of color -- whose identity, appearance, and motivations are relentlessly picked apart by all comers.
When your whole existence is inherently and unavoidably marked, it's never too early to start acting up, speaking out, and demanding respect for yourself, your culture, and your community.
Which is all just a tedious way of saying OMG I LOVE YOU RADICAL BROWNIES.
posted by divined by radio at 7:46 AM on January 23, 2015 [15 favorites]
I wonder how long until it's overrun by white girls whose parents sign them up with the good intentions of having their kids grow up exposed to diversity?
I'm part of an LGBTA (the "A" standing for Allies) chorus in the town where I live, and we occasionally have these discussions because we have a growing number of folks representing the "A." My personal opinion is that as long as the focus is still on LGBT, then ok. As long as there is actual LGBT representation in the chorus, ok. If anyone starts pushing any other kind of agenda we need to have a more serious discussion and get things back on track. Partly because of our "A" members, we've made more connections in our community than we might have otherwise and been able to service our mission statement more effectively.
Now, this is obviously a different situation. But I hope that if there are eventually a lot of white girls interested in joining the Radical Brownies that they - and their parents/guardians - will respect the purpose of this organization.
posted by custardfairy at 8:07 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm part of an LGBTA (the "A" standing for Allies) chorus in the town where I live, and we occasionally have these discussions because we have a growing number of folks representing the "A." My personal opinion is that as long as the focus is still on LGBT, then ok. As long as there is actual LGBT representation in the chorus, ok. If anyone starts pushing any other kind of agenda we need to have a more serious discussion and get things back on track. Partly because of our "A" members, we've made more connections in our community than we might have otherwise and been able to service our mission statement more effectively.
Now, this is obviously a different situation. But I hope that if there are eventually a lot of white girls interested in joining the Radical Brownies that they - and their parents/guardians - will respect the purpose of this organization.
posted by custardfairy at 8:07 AM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
One day, I hope to live in a world where saying that cops should be accountable if they kill unarmed people is not considered a political act.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:21 AM on January 23, 2015 [14 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:21 AM on January 23, 2015 [14 favorites]
The Radical Brownies are good for the movements they participate in, too. Picture these girls at a Black Lives Matter rally. That whole "we have to subdue the thugs" rhetoric cops use to bust these things up is going to look pretty ridiculous when the front row is a dozen elementary school girls in adorable hats.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:30 AM on January 23, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:30 AM on January 23, 2015 [9 favorites]
I love the idea.
However if they're not affiliated with the Girl Scouts of America, I wonder how long it will be before GSA comes down on them with a copyright/trademark infringement claim for the use of "Brownies".
Sigh.
posted by suelac at 9:01 AM on January 23, 2015
However if they're not affiliated with the Girl Scouts of America, I wonder how long it will be before GSA comes down on them with a copyright/trademark infringement claim for the use of "Brownies".
Sigh.
posted by suelac at 9:01 AM on January 23, 2015
If the GSA thinks Oakland's brownies are a problem, wait until they see the kind of brownies they sell in Berkeley.
posted by GuyZero at 9:44 AM on January 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 9:44 AM on January 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
Wow, this is fantastic. Just look at them.
Yeah. I don't get the concern about white girls joining this either because that pic shows a lot of non black kids down with the idea that black lives matter.
posted by zutalors! at 10:04 AM on January 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yeah. I don't get the concern about white girls joining this either because that pic shows a lot of non black kids down with the idea that black lives matter.
posted by zutalors! at 10:04 AM on January 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
I just sent this link to my coworker, who IMed me as follows:
"Modern mathematics cannot begin to calculate the amount of ass those girls kick."
posted by Sheydem-tants at 12:05 PM on January 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
"Modern mathematics cannot begin to calculate the amount of ass those girls kick."
posted by Sheydem-tants at 12:05 PM on January 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
Cool - a Facebook page - after all, why should the government wait to start tracking them.
posted by nimmpau at 12:53 PM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by nimmpau at 12:53 PM on January 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wonder when they're going to let the girls know about COINTELPRO and show the pictures of Fred Hampton's bloodied bed...
That said - considering it's in Oakland and the history of the Black Panthers there, I love this idea. I don't hold much hope that it would end up being much more radical than, say, a project to teach kids organic gardening in the city, but maybe some will learn enough and get engaged enough that they might aspire to be the next Huey or Fred...
Fuck that - much as I love them, they need to speak with the voice of women and women should not be denied their right to speak - so, better than those boys, may they aspire to be Angela Davis (if we're going with the Black Panther milieu which is my partiality), or any other number of great black feminists.
✊
posted by symbioid at 6:52 PM on January 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
That said - considering it's in Oakland and the history of the Black Panthers there, I love this idea. I don't hold much hope that it would end up being much more radical than, say, a project to teach kids organic gardening in the city, but maybe some will learn enough and get engaged enough that they might aspire to be the next Huey or Fred...
Fuck that - much as I love them, they need to speak with the voice of women and women should not be denied their right to speak - so, better than those boys, may they aspire to be Angela Davis (if we're going with the Black Panther milieu which is my partiality), or any other number of great black feminists.
✊
posted by symbioid at 6:52 PM on January 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
« Older A very specific sequence of weird tricks that... | Soot is not food. Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
I wonder how long until it's overrun by white girls whose parents sign them up with the good intentions of having their kids grow up exposed to diversity? Because this is exactly the sort of group my parents might have sent me to if it had existed when I was a kid.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:31 PM on January 22, 2015 [7 favorites]