Hello all–

Happy Black August! Much has occurred since my last post, but I am so grateful to commemorate the long arc of the struggle for Black liberation across this entire month.

On an administrative note, I figured out an issue that prevented people from becoming paid subscribers to this newsletter. I certainly invite you to sign up in that way (at the end of this post), especially if you did so for my Substack.

An exciting update from me – along with Dr. Charles Holm and my beloved father, Rev. Dr. Daryl Hairston, I’ll be presenting at the Socialism Conference in Chicago on September 5. We will discuss Black socialist ministers, past and present. The audio will be recorded, and I look forward to sharing more about the panel soon.

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I believe that Black August first came on my radar in college, but I can’t quite remember. Having attended a historically Black university where I took a seminar in which we robustly discussed the Cuban Revolution, it was only a matter of time before this important month became a fixture in my consciousness. As I went deeper into prison abolition work and socialist organizing, I learned more of important events that occurred in and around August that are integral to the Black radical tradition. The Attica Prison Rebellion, although it took place in September, is a prominent example. As long as capitalism has exploited us, police departments have brutalized us, and prisons have confined us in the United States, Black people have assiduously fought against the indignity.

This summer, I left the non-profit world, in which I worked from 2016 to 2026, and turned 35. In July alone, I went to Oklahoma, Illinois, and Minnesota. In each of these places, as well as in Texas, I experienced grounding moments that prepared me for Black August.

During my birthday trip to Chicago, after a visit to the beach along Lake Michigan, my fellow travelers and I grabbed lunch at a nearby Harold’s. A lovely Black woman exchanged banter with us; she expressed her skepticism about the Trump Accounts and lamented the aggressive immigration enforcement that characterizes this epoch. She talked about her nine-year-old son with pride, and I prayed in the moment that he’ll eventually be free from the violence of police & prisons. I cherished this moment and felt a deep connection with working Black folks, across time, who have called out the insidious cruelty of American capitalism.

On my 35th birthday, which I started in Oklahoma and ended in Texas, my parents, sister, niece, and I enjoyed a nice lunch on Lake Hefner. I thought of the many challenges in our individual and collective journeys through which we’d come. Like other Black people whose ancestors endured the horrors of chattel slavery, we deserve reparations. As I fight for that reality in the coming decades, I thank God for the gift of making irreplaceable memories with other Black folks in 2026.

In Minnesota, I spent a collective ninety minutes in George Floyd Square on July 24. I felt deep pain and reverence. I mourn the unnecessary loss of our comrade six years later; I marvel at what people in Minneapolis established in his honor. An autonomous zone exists where people can take free clothes, host community meetings, and hear melodious songs. Plants bloom, and a nearby park has an installation that honors Black people who were murdered by the police and lynched across American history. I will write more about the circumstances that brought me to the Twin Cities soon; for now, I just express my gratitude that I could be there and draw further inspiration for what the socialist future will look like.

Back in Austin, I gathered with members of the Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus of Austin DSA earlier this week as we processed the murder of Anthoneil Williams II, a 17-year-old Black child, by the Austin Police Department. We acknowledged that many of us came into this work through other such tragedies. I remembered Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, who were both killed on my 25th birthday in 2016, and noted that this decade culminated in me becoming a dedicated socialist organizer. We came together for a general body meeting of Austin DSA the next day, and then we rallied at City Hall on Thursday. I expressed my love & appreciation to fellow caucus members for the political grounding we offer one another.

Although there are many sorrows in a country that persists due to the viciousness of racial capitalism, there are also moments of connection and joy. Yesterday, as I grabbed stamps from a post office, two Black workers showed me the available collections. They could see on my face that none of them called out to me; accordingly, one of them asked me if I wanted a book that featured a Black person. I laughed as they handed me a sheet of Muhammad Ali stamps. I lean into that innocuous levity experienced with other Black people in thousands of occurrences during a lifetime.

During this Black August, the Black radical tradition is alive & well. Black folks offer a soft place for one another to land in this harsh world. Local Black politicians, namely Misael Ramos in Austin and Attorney Joy Jackson in Tallulah, seek to build legitimate Black political power through inspiring campaigns. Black organizers convene to discuss the organizing terrain that we’re presently navigating, reflect on the past, and strategize about what’s to come. Black people fortify ourselves through the community and care we find with other Black people. These realities inspire me and make me so proud to be a part of the Black radical tradition.

I’ll end on this note, which I wrote during a convening in New Orleans, hosted by the Dignity in Schools Campaign and Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, last August. I know that the efforts of past, present, and future Black comrades will yield a better world.

Venceremos!