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From the Black Panthers to the No-Cop Co-op, the long history of American mutual aid

caption: A corner of CHOP was preserved for Black people only -- an "all black healing space." The sign asked that "non-Black fol please respect this perimeter," on Friday, June 19, 2020. June 19 is Juneteenth, the day that enslaved people in Texas learned they had been emancipated -- two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
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A corner of CHOP was preserved for Black people only -- an "all black healing space." The sign asked that "non-Black fol please respect this perimeter," on Friday, June 19, 2020. June 19 is Juneteenth, the day that enslaved people in Texas learned they had been emancipated -- two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
KUOW Photo/Esmy Jimenez

When systems fail marginalized groups, mutual aid is a way for them to take collective action and make change.

Two weeks ago, record numbers of Washingtonians voted. A lot of folks said they had waited four long years to finally make political change at the federal level.

But in that four years, there have been plenty of opportunities to take political action. And Seattle University law professor Dean Spade argues that the movements we build that way are the key to creating lasting change.

His new book is called Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next).

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