Sustaining Ourselves When Confronting Violence

Published June 2, 2020


In participation with the week of action In Defense of Black Lives, we’re republishing a critical conversation that was shared under our previous name, Healing Justice, in April 2018. 

Kandace Montgomery and Miski Noor of Black Visions Collective in Minneapolis took time to share with us about the 18-day police station occupation that followed the police murder of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis in 2015, and how healing, escalation, and direct action need to go hand-in-hand.

We desperately wish this episode wasn’t so timely right now. For so many of our movements, times like now -- the moments when we are experiencing the most direct, deep racialized trauma, emergency, and injustice, when we really need to slow down for our own well-being -- are often the very moments that we also need to give the most, to escalate, to organize actions, hone our message, and fight back. We hope this wisdom-sharing from the past helps support you in navigating this time.

For up to date trustworthy calls to action and places to donate, please see Black Visions Collective & the Movement for Black Lives.

Related resources

About our guests

Miski Noor is the Co-Director of Training at Momentum, and is an organizer and writer based in Minneapolis, MN where they organize with Black Visions Collective, a power and base-building force for Black Queer and Trans people and their families within the larger Movement for Black Lives. Miski is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where they studied Political Science and African and African-American Studies, and has been published in Colorlines, HuffPost BlackVoices and TruthOut. Miski prioritizes relationship building, transformative justice, and co-creating movement cultures that are collaborative and sustainable. As a Black, African, and Queer immigrant, Miski is committed to working to create a world in which Black life is protected and our collective liberation is realized.

Kandace Montgomery is the director at Black Visions Collective and a Lead Trainer with Momentum. She’s a Black, queer, feminist, organizer and strategist, living out the legacy of her ancestors. Originally from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and she grew up mostly in Maine. Kandace graduated from University Massachusetts Amherst with a Public Health degree. When she isn't organizing she's learning how to grow food (but basically as anticipation for the revolution), reading Octavia Butler, and being with her the chosen fam. Kandace is here for all black femmes whose leadership was ever erased and believes fully in #BlackGirlMagic.

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