July has been a month of challenges and inspiration. We are feeling the escalated push of state violence against our most vulnerable people. We have also been inspired by those very same vulnerable people who exemplify bravery. Federal neglect, carceral violence, climate crisis, and the absorbed tendencies of alienation and separation put us in a reactionary condition. But we know we cannot just react to the system, we must imagine and build better than what it can provide for us so that we may all thrive. When our very health is at risk, along with the health of our planet, we are called to task with more urgency every day.

For that reason, we enter August considering abolition: the practice of removing the institutions and practices that cause harm, reparations: the practice of healing the ramifications of those harms, and health: the subject of the harm, both internally and externally, from ourselves to our beautiful planet.

We hold all three together at our next gathering:

The 8th Reparation Salon — Abolition, Reparations, Health
Monday, August 24th | 7:00–9:00pm
Kol Tzedek, 5300 Whitby Ave

Grounded by Dr. Marie-Fatima Hyacinthe, Global Health Justice fellow with contributions from Philly's own RiZ, artist and educator.
Expect music, performance, dialogue, and connection. Food and drink will be provided.

As we continue to build capacity for reparative justice with the Rise up for Reparations campaign, and the Reparation Salons, we hope that you join us in expanding the possibilities of the Philadelphia grassroots reparations movement.