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

by Adrienne Maree Brown

I want them to wonder how we foment such consistent and deep solidarity and unlearning. I want our infiltrators to be astounded into their own transformations, having failed to tear us apart.

Moving towards life affirming movements includes asking: In cases of abuse or assault, what does the survivor need? In cases of conflict, what resolution is possible? What are the visible and invisible power dynamics? Do I have the necessary information to form an opinion? Do I have the time to seek understanding? Did a conversation/process already happen? Is a conversation/process possible? How do we be abolitionist while gaining accountability here? Who benefits from me doubting that our movement can hold this? Who could hold this well? What will end the cycle of harm here? What will help us find a way forward?

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.