FEMINIST activated it’s first-ever IRL & URL event. 🌐 ✨
The week-long collaboration powered by Somewhere Good in support of the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women March with Black Women Radicals gave care, community and love 💕🏡
From Left to Right: Top row–Ky Polanco (Founder, Head of Brand & Vision at FEMINIST), Naj Austin (Founder of Somewhere Good), Aisha Becker-Burrowes (Head of Impact & Strategy at FEMINIST) Bottom row– Dr. Jaimee Swift (Executive Director of Black Women Radicals and co-organizer of the Defend Black Women March) Trinice McNally (co-organizer of the Defend Black Women March) 📸 Event photography by Paola Chapdelaine.
What does it mean to ‘Defend Black Women’?
How do we practice intersectional feminism and transnational feminism?
What does it mean to live through the rallying cry for Black Lives Matter and then to feel the lull?
These questions centered a week-long activation that gave space for communal discourse and connection both virtually and in-person to the FEMINIST global audience. To meet the critical need for Black feminist solidarity across borders, FEMINIST convened with Black Women Radicals and Somewhere Good from July 18–24 as part of the first-ever ‘FEMINIST Activates’ through a multi-channel activation and community pop-up with Somewhere Good, the newly launched Black and Queer-owned social platform for thoughtful conversations on your phone and IRL in support of the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women March.
ICYMI read up on all the Black Joy ☀️ that was felt in our recap below. ⬇️
The week-long experience featured both in-person and virtual community conversations about intersectional solidarity for social, racial and reproductive justice. We extended the invitation to a nationwide audience featuring communal audio conversations in the Somewhere Good app’s ‘Deep Discourse World’. Participants were prompted with daily ‘seeds’ in the app from co-organizers of the Defend Black Women March, Dr. Jaimee Swift (Executive Director of Black Women Radicals) & Trinice McNally.
In addition to the digital takeover on the Somewhere Good App, FEMINIST hosted a free 3-day in-person community pop-up and programming series in partnership with Black Women Radicals powered by Somewhere Good. The collaboration included a panel discussion, mixer, live music, food, drinks and workshop at the Somewhere Good community space in Bedstuy, Brooklyn.
“It’s giving Bed Stuy’s living room”
Friday evening’s panelists Dr. Jaimee Swift (Executive Director of Black Women Radicals and co-organizer of the Defend Black Women March) Trinice McNally (co-organizer of the Defend Black Women March) 📸 Event photography by Paola Chapdelaine.
To kick-off the weekend’s activations, the organizers of the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women March, Trinice McNally and Dr. Jaimee Swift participated in an intimate conversation moderated by FEMINIST’s Head of Strategy and Impact, Aisha Becker-Burrowes.
One of the attendees described what it felt like being in the comfort of the Somewhere Good community space: “It’s giving Bed Stuy’s living room.” We agree. With likeminded community members and thoughtful conversation centered in Black feminism, the candid conversation felt like the recipe to communal care in a time of collective grief.
The panel discussion touched on the political priorities of the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women March, including the work of transnational feminist educators and activists. To raise attention to this, Aisha Becker-Burrowes, the moderator, asked “How do you think about Black feminism as a transnational practice?” In response Co-organizers Jaimee & Trinice answered, “Oftentimes transnational Black feminisms and particularly Black women and gender expansive people at the vanguard of radical transnational struggles are further marginalized, as Black feminisms in the United States are often centralized in various discourses.” Trinice emphasized, “What’s happening in Brazil, Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica is what’s happening here. Until we see those people as our people then were going to lose.”
In an effort to bring the larger global community into the intimate space, we streamed the entire panel on Instagram live. The live-stream attendees were met with prompts throughout the panel driving internal discourse. Attendees joined from across the world including Brazil, South Africa, the UK, Arkansas and more!
It’s worth the listen, 🎧 you can catch the panel discussion via Instagram here.
Naj Austen (Founder, Somewhere Good) in a moment of gratitude during the panel discussion Friday evening in the Somewhere Good community space in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. 📸 Event photography by Paola Chapdelaine.
Just as political thought and education are key to our movement, joy must exist at the same time. That is why FEMINIST continued the free 3-day activation on Saturday with a mixer catered by Bed Stuy’s Barb’s and a full day of live music and dancing.
The line up was kicked off by up and coming DJ Ciara Chaii, then broke for a soulful piano performance by Brunson and we were led into the sunset with DJ Tru Violet.
👉 We were feeling all the vibes; you can catch the IG live here of the performance.
The weekend was steamy but thanks to feminist founded businesses Vybes, Superfrau and Ghia, our thirst was quenched, vitalizing us to keep moving to the beat all day long.
Hearts and stomachs were full; multiple guests claimed the curry was some of the best they’d ever had while others joined in line for a two step. 📸 Event photography by Paola Chapdelaine.
We ended the free 3-day activation with a sign making workshop. During the Sunday activation it happened to be the weekly Building Black Bedstuy market. The doors opened up to the greater Bed Stuy community and nurtured a steady flow of deep discourse and communal care all day long. Guests were offered tools to create protest signs to “Defend Black Women and Gender Expansive People.” The signs will be passed out during the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women March on July 31 in Washington DC.
By Sunday, attendees knew each other’s names and star signs after spending each day together. One three-peater attendee mentioned, “this weekend felt like one big communal hug.” And after breaking bread with over 400 like-minded people over the course of 3 days, we couldn’t agree more. Next stop is Washington DC, where we will be joining the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women march.
The free 3-day community activation ended on Sunday, July 24 with an open house and sign making workshop. “Center Black Feminist Voices” read one of the protest signs. The signs will be handed out during the Defend Black Women march in Washington DC on July 31.
ICYMI The conversation doesn’t stop: continue to have meaningful communal dialogue on the Somewhere Good iOS app 🌀 invite code: RADICAL
Learn more about the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women March in our interview with the co-organizers Dr. Jaimee Swift and Trinice McNally.
ABOUT SOMEWHERE GOOD
Somewhere Good is a Black and Queer-owned social platform for thoughtful conversations on your phone and IRL. The platform is designed to encourage discovery and connecting with one another through shared curiosity, dreaming and play. Download Somewhere Good in the app store here and use invite code: RADICAL.
ABOUT THE 2ND ANNUAL DEFEND BLACK WOMEN MARCH
The 2nd Defend Black Women March honors the life, leadership, and legacy of Afro-Brazilian bisexual feminist, politician, activist, and human rights defender, Marielle Franco (1979-2018) and is in solidarity and celebration of Black feminisms in Latin America and in the Caribbean. The March is taking place on Saturday, July 30th in Washington, D.C.
ABOUT BLACK WOMEN RADICALS
Black Women Radicals (BWR) is a Black feminist advocacy organization dedicated to uplifting Black women and gender expansive people’s radical political activism. Rooted in intersectional and transnational feminisms and Womanisms, BWR is committed to empowering Black women and gender expansive activists and centering their political, intellectual, and cultural contributions to the field of Black Politics across time, space, and place in Africa and in the African Diaspora.
ABOUT FEMINIST
FEMINIST is a women-led social-first digital media platform and collective that exists to actualize the intersectional feminist movement through the amplification of a diverse network of change-makers and creators. With a global audience of over 6.5M+, it is the largest social platform serving the multifaceted lives of women, girls and gender expansive people. As the hub for a socially conscious global community by and for purpose-driven makers through media, technology and commerce, FEMINIST seeks to amplify, educate, inform and inspire.
