We Will Not Cancel Us: And Other Dreams of Transformative Justice

by Adrienne Maree Brown

But I believe we can build effective and accountable movements. We can tear down this system without destroying each other. With attention, intention, and practice, we can transform our understanding of accountability. Over many years, I’ve learned that accountability isn’t something anyone can hold another to, it is something we can help each other be, within boundaries that keep us secure. Accountability isn’t punishment, though it is frequently wielded as such. But, when we are able to discern between what our triggered bodies say and what our grounded bodies do, we can build the kinds of systems and practices we need to align our leadership and our movements. This is a spiritual alignment as much as it is a political one. It correlates principle and purpose to process and outcomes. It is not reactive. It is not punitive. It walks through the dystopia of the moment toward the world we want. Though the digital age and a growing social media market make it hard to take the time required to transform triggered responses to grounded ones, we can still slow down.