Audacia Ray

Moving Back from RedUP

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 13:29:55 -0500

Big announcement time: after more than a decade doing sex worker rights activism in various forms and five years of founding and running Red Umbrella Project, by the end of February 2016 I will be moving back from the movement and from my role as Executive Director of RedUP.

I’m striving for transparency in my leadership and want to start talking about this now, during a good moment for both me and the organization. Stick with me for a long post as I lay out some ideas of why this is happening and WTF next.

Moving back, supporting new leadership: I have always intended to move back as the leader of RedUP at some point. From observing other organizations where founders hang on for decades and create a toxic environment, I have always known that I don’t want to be that person. I want RedUP, and the movement more broadly, to thrive without me being a central figure. I am a former sex worker, and at this point I have been a former / non-full time sex worker for many years. I’m also a middle class white cis woman with a masters’ degree who was an indoor, independent worker. The member base RedUP has established and continues to grow has radically different experiences of the sex trade than I do, and they are overwhelmingly trans and cis women of color. They, as women who are directly impacted by criminalization, need to be at the forefront of the movement, not me. The US sex worker rights movement is very white supremacist in its form and function - this is something that must be transformed. I don’t want to prop up entrenched, stuck leadership in this movement and I want to encourage other white sex worker rights leaders to consider their role, impact, and the space we take up, so I’m modelling this by moving back.

The personal toll of activism and trauma work: Last year when I was reeling as a very recent survivor of intimate partner violence, RedUP’s Board told me, “Its ok to quit.” I was determined not to, and though I have paid a personal toll for trying to keep doing work that I’m seriously burnt out on and often triggered by, I am glad that RedUP is now in a place that it can thrive without me, and that was not the case a year ago. Over the last year it has become very clear to me that the accumulation of years and years of trauma - my own and other people’s - has made me less effective and less empathetic, and I don’t want to be that person. I have put a lot of self and community care practices into effect over the past year, and I am taking that seriously in a way I never have before in my life. I have to keep reminding myself that my health and wellness, my survival, matters. It is not selfish, it is necessary. So though I am moving back for the above reasons, I am also moving back because I just cannot keep going the way I have been and honor my community and self without breaking down even more completely than I did this last year. I think I will come back to trauma and activism work in the future. But I need a break.

What happens now: Over six weeks, I will transition out of my role, and leading up to that I’m going to be working hard to raise funds for RedUP’s future and develop the organizational infrastructure further. I will celebrate all we have achieved at the Red Umbrella Project 5 Year Anniversary Gala on February 11th. On my departure, the very capable and brilliant Sarah Patterson will move into the role of RedUP’s Executive Director. Along with our community organizer Jenna Torres and our Board and members, including the Persist Health Project team, which became part of RedUP last year - they will kick ass. RedUP will become a community organizing-driven powerhouse beyond my capabilities as a leader, and that is something that makes me very proud. Within the next couple years, Sarah will also transition out and the organization will either move forward with women of color in paid leadership positions, or it will scale back dramatically.

What’s next in my life: The short answer is, I don’t know - but I am open to many possibilities. During the spring I will be taking a break to do a hard reset on my life. I want to have some adventures, so if you have suggestions or invitations that include bike touring, hiking, camping, road trips, weird history, other dog-inclusive outdoor experiences or something completely different - I want to hear about it. By late spring/early summer I will be making some career type and location decisions, and will hopefully be closer to answering big questions like NYC - stay or go? and what is next for me career-wise? I have some career ideas, which range from museums/history/arts education related stuff, to communications and advocacy work, to starting weird businesses in the woods. I’m open to having conversations with folks who have ideas and leads for me.

This week Red Umbrella Project is celebrating the WORLD PREMIERE...

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 10:31:35 -0400

Dominick and Nadia

Boomer walking through Dacia's interview

Abbi and Anna

Peanut (Page's cat)

Daryl chewing on the couch (another of Page's cats)

Ceyenne's dog Sparky

Dacia with Ziggy and Jake

This week Red Umbrella Project is celebrating the WORLD PREMIERE of the Red Umbrella Diaries documentary at Portland Film Festival. We’ll have two screenings, plus cast members are running a writing workshop and a media training (both FREE and for current and former sex workers only).

To celebrate. I’m posting pictures of cast members and their pets!

PORTLAND WE’RE COMING FOR YOU!

Details on screenings and workshops here.

This Is Why Everyone Cheering Gay Marriage Should Stand With the White House “Heckler” Now

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 12:03:40 -0400

blackgirldangerous:

While many in our community post about how Caitlyn Jenner is so courageous for transitioning, they are somehow blinded to seeing the real heroes before them. Real courage is being the lone voice in a room full of fake allies and still speaking up. Real courage is putting your immigration status and life on the line to fight for your immigrant trans sisters. Real courage is crashing a party at the White House to demand liberation for your people.
READ MORE.

sarahgreenillustration: I’ve been seeing way too much coverage...

Sun, 21 Jun 2015 21:28:09 -0400

sarahgreenillustration:

I’ve been seeing way too much coverage of the terrorist rather than of the victims, which isn’t right, so I made this. Went more realistic to get more of a resemblance, and all information is based off what I could find on the internet. Hopefully it’s all accurate, if something isn’t, please tell me.
Such a horrible event. RIP.

jmjafrx: professorfangirl: “How a group of black social media...

Tue, 16 Jun 2015 10:16:12 -0400

jmjafrx:

professorfangirl:

“How a group of black social media activist’s built the nation’s first 21st-century civil rights movement.”

Read. Read again.

thisisfusion: Graphic journalist Dan Archer recently spoke with...

Sat, 23 May 2015 07:24:18 -0400

thisisfusion:

Graphic journalist Dan Archer recently spoke with several community members in Baltimore about the unrest there since Freddie Gray’s death. All drawings were done live while people told their stories and shared their thoughts. Archer visited Gray’s neighborhood of Sandtown and nearby areas, retracing Gray’s final steps before being taken into custody.
More from this series on fusion.net

actjustly: Don’t ignore this. Trans black lives matter. London...

Wed, 20 May 2015 07:23:34 -0400

actjustly:

Don’t ignore this. Trans black lives matter.
London Chanel, a 21-year-old transgender woman, was stabbed to death in North Philadelphia early Monday, a city official told BuzzFeed News.
Chanel is the eighth transgender woman of color killed in the United States this year — a trend that anti-violence advocates have called an epidemic. And as in many of the cases, Chanel was misgendered in early reports.
Source

babesimpson: this is the funniest thing ive seen on the...

Wed, 29 Apr 2015 23:28:58 -0400

babesimpson:

this is the funniest thing ive seen on the internet all day

krxs10: IMMIGRATION OFFICER FATALLY SHOOTS UNARMED 19 YR OLD...

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 22:32:21 -0400

krxs10:

IMMIGRATION OFFICER FATALLY SHOOTS UNARMED 19 YR OLD BLACK MAN 10 TIMES DURING BALTIMORE RIOTS.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed 20-year-old Terrence Kellum, Monday afternoon on Detroit’s northwest side.
Police say the agent — part of a fugitive task force involving ICE and officers with the Detroit Police Department — was attempting to serve an armed robbery warrant at a home in the 9500 block of Evergreen near W. Chicago when the shooting occurred.
“I am told there was no forced entry into the residence, that they were allowed inside,” said Detroit Police Chief James Craig. “And I’m also told that the agent may have been faced with a threat, and it was at that point when he decided to use deadly force.” Craig would not talk more specifically about that alleged threat.
One of the eyewitnesses, a woman, shouted at the chief as she described what she claims happened. “It was 10 bullets…and did it take 10 bullets? When he came out, they didn’t have the handcuffs on him!” she said. “They shot him! He was not able to run to do nothin’. Y’all didn’t give him a chance!”
An Investigation has been promised but we all know how that goes….
Source / Source
#STAYWOKE

Photo

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 09:46:25 -0400

Photo

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 09:46:17 -0400

"When nonviolence is preached as an attempt to evade the repercussions of political brutality, it..."

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 07:01:37 -0400

“When nonviolence is preached as an attempt to evade the repercussions of political brutality, it betrays itself. When nonviolence begins halfway through the war with the aggressor calling time-out, it exposes itself as a ruse. When nonviolence is preached by the representatives of the state, while the state doles out heaps of violence to its citizens, it reveals itself to be a con”

- Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Nonviolence as Compliance
(via
ackb
)
This is such a good piece.
(via southernish)

micdotcom: 14 powerful images from the #FreddieGray protests...

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 06:50:42 -0400

micdotcom:

14 powerful images from the #FreddieGray protests currently rocking Baltimore
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Baltimore on Saturday to protest the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died this month while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department — the details of which are still somewhat unclear.

10,000 Strong Peacefully Protest In Downtown Baltimore, Media Only Reports The Violence & Arrest of Dozens

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 22:54:07 -0400

10,000 Strong Peacefully Protest In Downtown Baltimore, Media Only Reports The Violence & Arrest of Dozens:

doomsday519:

“A number of protesters were concerned that Baltimore—nicknamed “Charm City”—was being treated unfairly in the media after the trouble on Saturday. Baltimore was not out of control,” said Karen DeC…
Amidst all this fuckery, this needs to be shared. Because the media and social media are not talking about this. These are thousands of people peacefully protesting Downtown as opposed to a couple hundred acting up at Mondawmin.

Photo

Fri, 17 Apr 2015 07:51:37 -0400

stoptellingwomentosmile: Women Are Not Seeking Your Validation,...

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 21:50:33 -0400

stoptellingwomentosmile:

Women Are Not Seeking Your Validation, wheat paste installation, 2015
by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
Papillion Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
I installed this piece in LA a couple of weeks ago. It will be up through the summer. Today I talked with the gallery owner about the reactions the piece as has been causing in the community and… a lot of men are not happy.
Of course.

spreadmagazine:Photos of Spark to a Flame art show by Stacie...

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 18:29:06 -0400

spreadmagazine:

Photos of Spark to a Flame art show by Stacie Joy.

That wall of magazines is actually my personal collection of mags!

The $pread anthology is now out in the world! You can win a copy...

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 13:51:32 -0400

The $pread anthology is now out in the world! You can win a copy in this Goodreads giveaway or buy one wherever you like to buy books.

SWERF troll letter to $pread magazine (circa 2005), before...

Mon, 23 Feb 2015 17:11:18 -0500

SWERF troll letter to $pread magazine (circa 2005), before SWERFs were called SWERFs, with torn up copy of issue 1.2 of the magazine.

Women's prison mass jail break after inmates in dominatrix gear handcuff male guards expecting 'mass orgy'

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 22:30:31 -0500

Women's prison mass jail break after inmates in dominatrix gear handcuff male guards expecting 'mass orgy':

moresongsaboutbuildings:

belcanta:
theblindsilenceblogs:
class-struggle-anarchism:

“Police found three wardens naked and handcuffed inside the Nova Mutum public jail, near Cuiaba, central Brazil
Twenty-eight inmates escaped from a Brazilian jail after three women in fantasy police costumes “seduced” prison wardens, it was reported today.
Police found three wardens naked and handcuffed inside the Nova Mutum public jail, near Cuiaba, central Brazil, the morning after the mass break-out.
The women reportedly drugged the prison guards by giving them spiked whisky after convincing them to take part in an orgy, according to investigators.
Inmates then left the prison through the main doors, even taking with them guns and munitions they had taken from prison caches.
Police later found a bag of lingerie and dominatrix police uniforms believed to have been worn by the temptresses.
Last night photos of one the naked wardens, believed to have been leaked by amused police officers who found him, had been shared thousands of times on social network sites.
The three women - one of them reportedly the girlfriend of one of the prisoners who escaped - arrived at the prison at 3am on Thursday morning and asked to be let inside to “chat and drink”, police said.
The prison guards reportedly obliged and were soon persuaded to leave their posts, accompanying the girls to staff sleeping quarters.
After drugging the wardens the women handcuffed them, took their keys and unlocked all the prison’s cells, according to chief Angelina de Andrades Ferreira.
She told a news conference: “The plan was to seduce them. They served them cheap whisky with some substance to knock them out, then unlocked the central gate which accesses the internal cells.
"Whoever wanted to escape left by the front door.
"From the moment they drank the whisky the agents don’t remember a thing. One was found dizzy, trying to wake up. Another slept for the whole afternoon and couldn’t even be questioned.”
The inmates took three 12 caliber rifles shotguns, two 38 caliber revolvers and munition, she said.”
This is the greatest story of all time

I concur.

This is awesome. They were expecting to take advantage of imprisoned women, who were probably there as a result of structural violence, and what they got was exactly what they deserved.

This story should be filmed and shown every Christmas.