This apology is long overdue and that in itself has caused additional violence. As Resilience OC, we wholeheartedly apologize to Black youth, more specifically we apologize to Black young womxn, within our spaces and programs who have been harmed by anti-Black statements and actions. 

Recently, young Black womxn have raised and voiced the harm and anti-Blackness that they experienced in our space, and in our collaborative spaces back in 2018. In the summer of 2018, three organizations (KRC, VietRISE, ROC) came together and launched OCYOP (OC Youth Organizing Project) and the “Power to The People” program. Although the intention of these projects was cross-cultural solidarity among youth in OC, blatant anti-Blackness prevented this collaborative intention from being realized. 

Within these summer programs, young Black womxn were harmed by anti-Black actions, statements, and complicity by our organizers, facilitators, participants, and collaborative partners. We take responsibility for the manner in which anti-Blackness was dismissed and tolerated. 

In an effort to use transformative justice tools to address the harm that was caused, we took too long in our processes to address the instances of anti-Blackness that took place. By failing to reject anti-Blackness as soon as it manifested in our space, we prolonged harm to the young Black womxn in our space. It is our deep regret that our personal and organizational learning is happening at the expense of two young Black womxn.

We understand that anti-Blackness is deeply rooted in our daily lives and recognize that we have not done nearly enough to dismantle systemic anti-Blackness in our work, in our movement, and in our community. We are truly sorry and we want to take the time to welcome dialogue with anyone that has been hurt by our anti-Black actions and complicity, including the young Black womxn who experienced harm and anti-Blackness in 2018.

To begin, we want to hold a public community listening session for Resilience OC to listen to Black youth in OC. While we understand if folks that were harmed may not want to participate in our accountability process or learning, we do want to take the necessary steps to have folks feel most comfortable in participating in this process. We are open to being in conversation to plan this out together and consider what additional steps need to be taken to ensure that we respect and make folks feel the most comfortable possible in this open dialogue.

We don’t expect Black youth to be burdened with the emotional labor of showing us how to move forward, but if Black youth are open to supporting us and to guiding us, we are open to that and humbly welcome that support and guidance. We understand that as an organization ending our complicity in anti-Blackness is our responsibility and something we will have to work on our own as an organization. 

WE MAKE A COMMITMENT TO TAKE ACTIONABLE IMPROVEMENTS TO END OUR COMPLICITY IN ANTI-BLACKNESS.

The post A Public Apology and Acknowledgement of Our Complicity in Anti-Blackness appeared first on Resilience OC.

As Resilience Orange County, we are an organization who values and dedicates our work towards young people, queer, undocumented, migrant, and formerly and currently incarcerated folks. We stand in solidarity with our communities of color, especially during these times of crisis. 

Since its inception, the U.S. Constitution has been a tool for white supremacy that has inflicted state sanctioned violence in our communities through efforts to police, criminalize, incarcerate and separate families.Our current administration has sided time and time again with white supremist values and has prided itself on seeking to push forward a xenophobic and violent agenda to terrorize immigrant communities. The Trump administration’s careless actions in ending DACA, the increased militarization of the border, and the expansive use of Immigrant Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) in our local jails all point to calculated efforts to destabilize our immigrant community. 

It is frustrating to see the goverment exploit our community of migrants and undocumented folks for its own benefit and to push its beliefs of capitalism and imperialism in the U.S and across the globe. Rather than supporting our vibrant immigrant community and many others who contribute so much to this country, we are shamefully scapegoated, targeted and dehumanized for trying to forge a better future for our families. And through all of this our communities continue to strive and flourish by supporting one another during these moments of crisis. We are a strong resilient community and we uphold our values and honor the shared humanity among each of us. 

We will not tolerate anti-immigrant attacks. We are tired of living in the shadows and tired of living a life with fear of deportation. We are strong, resilient communities that will fight and demand our basic human rights. We strongly believe our community deserves more.

We will continue to work towards building community and embracing our people power to radically transform all forms and structures of state-sanctioned violence. We ask you to join us!

We Believe the Following:

• Upending Systems of Oppression
  • We believe that prisons, detention centers, all forms of policing, and the criminal justice system are all rooted in systems of oppression and white supremacist violence, including racial, anti-trans/queer, sexual and gender-based violence. Therefore we seek to abolish and dismantle these systems of oppression and transform them into systems that generate positive possibilities for our communities.

• Defending the Criminalized
  • Our communities are not disposable. The War on Drugs taught us that people of color are disportionately and overly represented in the criminal (in)justice system. This is no mistake. The system was created to criminalize and dispose of latinx, queer, undocumented, trans, black, and community members with disabilities and mental health needs. We can not fall into the narrative “trap” that criminalizes our community members to fill their jails and detention centers. We’re here to fight for all!

• Abolish Detention Centers & Prisons
  • Our carceral system is a representation of power and oppression. We believe it is inhumane to keep human beings behind bars. You can not get well in a cell. Carceral policies and prisons/detention centers are harmful to the human spirit. 
  • GEO and CoreCivic are for-profit private prison companies who make millions from operating immigration detention centers like the Adelanto Detention Facility in San Bernardino County. Any system or company that works towards the criminalization, incarceration, and profitability of our community should be abolished. 

• False Promises of Immigration Reform & Pathways to Citizenship
  • We believe that our U.S immigration system is purposefully broken and works to be racist, xenophobic, and violent. 
  • Creating an easier pathway for citizenship can be seen as positive reform, however it’s past attempts have often excluded part of our community including folks who are formerly incarcerated or currently incarcerated from receiving equal opportunity. We will not throw anyone under the bus to advance any agenda. We do not seek piecemeal approaches. We are here to fight for EVERYONE!

• DACA is Not the Ceiling
  • We believe that DACA is not a permanent immigration solution. To begin, DACA was not inclusive of all undocumented folx and excluded many members of our community. It is a good first half step to support the needs of our community. 
  • And while DACA is limited in its scope, the Supreme Court should uphold DACA as constitutional. 

• Human Rights are for Everyone
  • We strongly believe that our immigrant communities deserve basic human rights to Housing, Food, Safety, Dignity – everything essential needed to thrive in society 
  • We strongly believe that our immigrant community deserves the right to migrate regardless of borders.

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