[Excerpt] On Grief and Struggle w/ Sarah Jaffe, Camille Barbagallo and Asad Rehman
Jan 22, 2025
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Join acclaimed labor journalist Sarah Jaffe, known for her powerful writings on grief and activism, alongside Camille Barbagallo and Asad Rehman. They dive into the unspoken connection between grief and social movements, advocating for a more empathetic approach to activism. The discussion highlights how personal loss shapes political engagement and builds community resilience, especially in the face of systemic neglect and racial violence. Discover the urgent need to address collective mourning in our fight for justice.
The conversation emphasizes that personal experiences of grief can illuminate broader socio-political struggles, revealing connections between individual loss and collective movements.
Participants argue for integrating emotions like grief into political activism, advocating for a more empathetic approach to organizing against systemic injustices.
Deep dives
Exploring Grief in Personal and Collective Contexts
The discussion highlights how grief pervades both personal experiences and collective societal events. The speaker emphasizes that personal grief can often open pathways to understanding broader socio-political issues, as their own experience with their father's death led them to recognize grief as a recurring theme in various struggles, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and labor issues. The notion that grief can often be overlooked or under-discussed, particularly in the context of significant societal shifts like deindustrialization or pandemics, is central to this conversation. By acknowledging these dimensions of grief, individuals can reclaim spaces for dialogue and understanding, which are crucial for catalyzing action against injustices.
Linking Emotion with Political Activism
The conversation sheds light on how traditional political processes often exclude emotions, such as grief, from their framework, which can hinder authentic activism. Participants argue that integrating emotions into political discussions can reshape strategies and enhance solidarity among activists who are often processing shared trauma. Asad and Camille suggest that engaging with grief is vital to fostering healthier organizing spaces, as it enables a more empathetic understanding of collective struggles against issues like climate change and police brutality. By centering emotions in political activism, groups can better navigate the challenges posed by systemic injustices and work towards meaningful change.
Navigating Boundaries of Acceptable Grief
Throughout the discussion, the concept of who is deemed 'grievable' emerges as a significant theme, challenging the narratives that dictate whose suffering is worthy of acknowledgment. Historical examples of racial violence reveal disparities in media coverage and public empathy, illustrating how certain victims are politicized based on their social standing or community representation. The complexities of grief are further magnified when discussing events like Grenfell or contemporary conflicts, where not all lives are equally mourned by society. This disparity underscores the need to confront these biases and advocate for a broader definition of grief that considers structural inequalities and collective mourning as essential components of social justice.
James is on personal leave this week, so we’re bringing you a special recording from October 2024: the book launch of From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire by Sarah Jaffe. Find the full episode at patreon.com/Macrodose.
Grief is everywhere in today’s world, yet even in our movement spaces, it’s often a topic left unspoken. As we navigate an era of intersecting crises, how can we carve out space for our essential human needs—rest, care, and time to mourn—while organising to meet the urgent challenges of our time?
Sarah is an acclaimed labour journalist based in New Orleans, USA, is the best-selling author of Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion To Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone and Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt.
This event is guest-hosted by Dalia Gebrial, Lecturer in Geography and Social Justice at King’s College London, and features Camille Barbagallo and Asad Rehman - interviewees in Sarah’s book, offering their powerful perspectives on grief and organising.
