Help Build The Abbey Underground

Earthfire Abbey invitation to act from the Revs. Jeannie and Alaina Alexander:

Like the milkweed, sometimes being torn is what allows us to expand and live into the future.

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In Tennessee, we have been honored to have so often been on the front line of keeping Us – the broader Us, the communal us, the queer, hunted, targeted, and still holy dangerous Us – safe.  And just as we have been the ones to keep others safe, we have also been honored to be on the receiving end of the protection and care that comes from mutual solidarity. “We keep us safe” is not just an affirming phrase we hear in activist spaces, it is the truth, and it is a knowledge we know has saved our lives.  Our work, out of necessity, is changing, but we are not leaving it. Not now, not ever. Our roles in how we go about keeping Us safe must evolve with the historic times we find ourselves in, and we need your help to do so.  

Here are some hard truths: queer, and especially trans people, are being targeted by the TN Legislature and Gov. Bill Lee for extermination. This is not hyperbole.  It is not an overstatement to say that with regards to trans folk, we are talking about genocide. If you know us and our work, then you know that for years we have been speaking out loudly, warning that this was coming, and now we are witnessing this infection of Christian Nationalism consume entire state governments, with Tennessee emerging as a leader in this cult of death.

The greatest act of resistance is to survive, not be martyred.  We want to live.  We want to thrive.  And we want our queer siblings to live and thrive in safety.  We know that is no longer possible in Tennessee, and indeed, no longer possible in the South. Therefore, it is our personal duty and obligation as queer women and organizers who have the ability to leave, to do so and create a safe space of queer liberation and abolition in the Northeast.  It is a huge undertaking and we have big plans, but we have shown ourselves capable of dreaming big and accomplishing big goals.  We are witnessing an escalating and desperate need for trans and queer folk to escape the South, and there must be secure places to go, and networks of transportation established.  For obvious reasons we can say no more than this.

You, our dear friends and comrades have always provided, and we ask that of you again because you have proven yourselves as committed to this as we are. And we thank you for that commitment. 

Most all of us have asked ourselves: “What would I have done when the fascists were taking over?” The answer is now clearly, "Whatever you are doing now". 

We are hearing so many people and organizations ask “What can we/I do?” In fact there are a number of things you can do, but this, what we are asking of you, is a concrete action that will remove people from danger in the coming months and years, and save lives.

This is a big move and one we have struggled with for some time. But we believe now is the time to build for the future, or we risk coming to the work too late. Our initial goal is to raise $20,000, this will make the move much smoother and allow us to start getting additional spaces prepared sooner than later. We also need those of you who feel prepared to commit in other ways to contact us directly so that together we can co-create a vision and concrete means of escape and liberation. Please give whatever you can so we can continue our work of building community and saving lives. 

Help us to take #EarthfireUnderground.

OTHER WAYS TO GIVE

Venmo: @Alaina-Cobb-1

PayPal: @EarthfireAbbey

CashApp: @AlainaKCobb

Please give, and give generously - $20, $50, $100 - to take #EarthfireUnderground to save lives!

THANK YOU

Revs. Jeannie and Alaina Alexander