July 10, 2020
At the same time that we are facing tremendous horrors, we are experiencing the powerful accumulation of years of abolitionist organizing led by Black feminists. The future we want feels so much more possible than it ever has. The state has been doing everything in its power to keep that from becoming true - protestors have been tear gassed in nearly 100 cities across the U.S.
We are reaching out because if you or your comrades have experienced the brutality of the state in the streets these last few weeks, we want to hear your stories.
Through July, we're looking to collect and publicly amplify stories from people who have been tear gassed during protests in the uprisings.
Email us at warresisters [at] protonmail.com to share your story.
We would be interested to hear about:
- Where you were tear gassed in your city & what led up to it
- How police deployed tear gas in your city & if you know what company's tear gas was used
- The experience of being tear gassed (physically, emotionally, etc)
- Anything you would want people to know about conditions in your city
- Anything you would like to say to a wider audience
From 2012 to 2014, WRL organized a story-telling campaign, Facing Tear Gas, that shared stories from people who were being tear gassed internationally and inside US prisons. We are reviving the work of this campaign in light of how much tear gas is being used once again.
We know this is a time to be especially sensitive to our security culture. If you or a comrade shares with us, you can use aliases or be fully anonymous. All information we receive will be read on a secure email platform (Protonmail), and stored on WRL's server at Mayfirst Movement Technology. If you or a comrade are OK with us sharing your name and story on our site, then we will only use your first name. Share your story with us at warresisters [at] protonmail.com.
Submissions will remain open so long as law enforcement continues to use tear gas.
In the most repressive of times, in the most hopeful of times, we have each other - and the stories we tell can shake the world to its core. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
