How To Citizen with Baratunde Prelude: Revolutionary Love is How to Citizen (with Valarie Kaur)
Aug 27, 2020
In this engaging conversation, Valarie Kaur, a civil rights activist and author of 'See No Stranger,' explores the transformative power of love and joy in citizenship. She shares her poignant perspective on viewing America’s challenges as a birthing process rather than a tomb. Valarie reflects on her roots, the impact of 9/11, and emphasizes revolutionary love as a means of combating racism. She calls for a reimagining of power and underscores the importance of community grief in activism, encouraging listeners to reclaim citizenship as a verb and protect joy as a form of resistance.
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Raised On California Farmland
- Valarie Kaur describes growing up on family farmland and being raised by her grandparents.
- She links that upbringing to a deep orientation to land, faith, and returning to feeling at home in her body.
See No Stranger As Practice
- 'See no stranger' is a practice, not just an idea, that requires letting others' grief into our hearts.
- Revolutionary love binds personal courage to political solidarity and sustained movement-building.
Grief Led To Policy Change
- After the Oak Creek massacre, thousands came to grieve at the Sikh gurdwara and then stayed to organize.
- That collective grieving led to federal changes in hate crimes tracking and policy.
