We’ve (Still) got us
I am writing this on election day, as we approach the halfway mark of polls being open. I voted this morning with my spouse and one of our best friends, in a church gym. It's the first time I think I have ever voted on election day in a presidential year. Typically I vote early or by mail, particularly in presidential years. But I have made a tradition of voting with neighbors and friends on election day, and it felt right to continue that practice for this vote. And maybe the shift has come with no longer being employed on campaigns (where election day voting felt impossible because of all of the work that had to happen), and it also feels like I have some deeper sense of community, voting alongside neighbors at this place down the block. And couldn't we all use more of that.
Image description: photo of Freedom Oklahoma Executive Director and two other people, masked and wearing “I Voted” stickers outside of a polling place in front of a “Vote Here” sign.
I am writing this as an outlet for my election anxiety, knowing whatever we do or don't know when we wake up Wednesday morning, as you come across this, we'll likely be in a place that feels tender and scared. Because this isn't the first election cycle that seems focused on fear in our lifetimes, and it seems unlikely to be the last. And, it's not lost on me that the outcomes that so many folks fear, seem to be the status quo here on the ground in Oklahoma. The worst most people can imagine are the conditions we live through and organize within every day.
I think about the last time I wrote one of these at Freedom Oklahoma, two years ago. I quoted the great Leslie Jordan in asking, "Well, shit. How y'all doing?". And that seems just as relevant a sentiment today. What are you feeling in your body and your spirit? How are you practicing and accessing hope in the face of anxiety, grief, rage, and despair? How are you pushing through the false narrative that conditions change begins or ends at a ballot box, on election day?
There are a lot of unknowns and heavy days ahead. And there's no quick or easy way through the anxiety we're all feeling about now. So, let's acknowledge that and start with how we're getting through today, through this week, through November.
Today we are:
-Reaffirming our commitments to doing this work together. We're checking in with each other. Asking folks how they're doing with the intention of really listening. Supporting one another where we can.
-We're taking time to be present with ourselves in our bodies. We're crying. We're moving some of the trauma out. We're stretching and acknowledging the toll of holding our breath, containing our rage. We're recognizing how harm manifests in physical ways.
- We're hydrating, putting that emotional support water bottle to good use. Make sure there's some water in your day.
- We're nourishing our bodies, taking time to eat.
- We're asking for support where we need it. Time where we need it. And we're offering support, shifts in capacity to one another as we navigate through another of what we have been told is the most urgent election of our lives.
For the rest of this week, our Freedom Oklahoma team is convening space for all staff planning. We're dreaming together, and talking about systems we want to build, work we hope to do in the year ahead. And we're implementing a COVID testing protocol ahead of that space so we can actively practice care for one another ahead of sharing in person space.
For the rest of this month, we have virtual community groups next week. On November 19 we're taking our People's Hearing series to Miami. On November 20, we're starting the day with a community interim study on the importance of repealing the laws that continue to criminalize Oklahomans living with HIV, while offering pathways to repair for folks who have been criminalized for the HIV status. And that evening we're holding virtual vigil space to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance and Resilience and join together to grieve. Then November 22, we're meeting in Tulsa for the heART of the Work, a celebration of art and community and 2STGNC+ resilience, in the face of grief and joy and the complexities of being 2STGNC+ in Oklahoma. And between the events, we're working on making 2025 plans more concrete, getting ready to launch information about the evolution of our Freedom Oklahoma gala as we mark 10 years of this organization, and working to continue to create space for community, resources that meet our needs in this moment, and shift as needed to whatever the outcomes of this election mean for the conditions we're working within.
It is still true that we deserve so much better than these current conditions. There are so many more of us than we realize, rooting and fighting and organizing and practicing hope in the direction of our collective liberation. We're fighting with you for the safety and joy you deserve. Every. Single. Day. We're still here. We always have been. And we always will be. And what absolute miracles we all are for existing anyway.
Whatever you are feeling in this moment is valid. And we all may need to rest and breathe and assess as we learn more in the days ahead. And, we will be here when you're ready to fight, to organize, to build together towards urgent harm reduction and collective security while we make the future where all 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans have the safety to thrive a reality. There is no past and no future without 2SLGBTQ+ folks in it. We have always been here. We belong here. We're being asked to do long-term, audacious change work in hostile conditions. That part is not new. And so we're going to take care of ourselves in the ways we need to in order to keep showing up in this work, to build the power, beyond any single election day, for our collective liberation.
I know I have offered this as a mantra, a guide point, and a reminder many times before, but again, I think back to words from Mariame Kaba today, "hope is a discipline," and ask how you're practicing hope.
I hope as you navigate today and the days ahead, you feel supported and held by community. Our team at Freedom Oklahoma is in this fight with you. Until liberation.
In Solidarity,
Nicole McAfee
P.S. If you, like me, are looking for some music as you move through your feelings today, here's the playlist we shared after election day two years ago. It's going to be on repeat at my house these next few days.