Episode 23: Liberation is Not Linear - Intersectional Organizing with Raquel Willis and Derecka Purnell

February 20, 2020

On Episode 23 of “The Activist Files,” Staff Attorney Chinyere Ezie talks with Raquel Willis, activist, writer, Executive Editor of Out Magazine, and founder of Black Trans Circles, and Derecka Purnell, human rights lawyer, activist, writer, and Deputy Director of Union Theological Seminary Spirit of Justice Center, about their organizing and how they bring multiple identities into their advocacy, cultural, and coalition-building work. They discuss the unfinished project of liberation, how we must be rooted in struggle while recognizing who is being left behind, and understanding the spectrum of privilege and oppression that impacts each of us. They also uplift the value of political education and building empathy as an organizing tool, the necessity of seeking joy and restoration for continuing their work, and the importance of acknowledging burnout.