Radical History Club

Been cycling between rage and hopelessness for what we’re made to endure just to survive. So these rare moments of joy are more important than ever. Never thought these would end up in a real store, let alone a shop as radically dedicated to the people as . Thank you jesi, celi and everyone there showing us what’s possible when we care for each other’s liberation. Please stop by and check out all their offerings. 🖤

First venture into two-color linoprints. You can get these 2022 calendars at the North Park Book Fair from 10am-1pm Saturday, 12/10 with . Or online starting tomorrow!

💔 Creating this was an outlet for rage and heartache over the exploitation of immigrants and land stolen from Indigenous Peoples to build the Transcontinental Railroad (see previous post for more details). When the rail lines were finally connected in 1869, Chinese laborers were infamously excluded from speeches and photos. Erased from white memories, a speaker proclaimed, "Who else but Americans could have laid 10 miles of track in 12 hours?"

📣 In 1883, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (also known as "Sitting Bull") pretended to read an approved speech at the celebration of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Instead he proclaimed, "You are thieves and liars. You have taken away our land and made us outcasts," leaving the translator to make up phrases to a standing ovation of white people.

❤️ This piece was an attempt to honor all those who resist exploitation and control however you can, from going on full strike to letting a dish get 86'd to lingering a little longer on your break. The narrative of hard-working immigrants, while true, is also designed to reduce our humanity to the value of our labor.

Sources: and Unsettling Truths by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah

Currently binding issues for 🤟 Meet me and tons of other zine makers this weekend and next. I’ll be there Sunday, 10/10 only in the parking lot of 🍞🧂Pick up your copy of issues 004 and 005, become a subscriber or just say 👋! I sort of still know how to interact with people irl 🙃

It’s been 2 years since this project made its debut in 2019. Also where I shared a table with and got to know their work and friendship 🖤. See you all this Sunday 🙏

Image description: photo of two issues of radical history club on a cutting mat with binding tools. Next image is a flyer for showing a collages face with the words SD ZineFest 2021. At the top it reads “2 Days then 2 More Days” and “Ninth annual.” The words “free!” and “All ages” also appear above the days, October 9 and 10, 16 and 17.

A reminder that liberatory education is founded in the Black radical tradition. Radical History Club only exists because of that legacy.

Recently got this Golden Legacy Illustrated History Magazine, a publication “to implant pride and self-esteem in black youth while dispelling myths in others.” ‼️This issue, published in 1976, tells the story of Robert Smalls, who was also on the very first cover of Radical History Club 🥺. Everything is circular. Thank you for the opportunity to be a caretaker for this piece of history.

👉 to the end 😆

Image description: photos of an illustrated magazine with illustrations from the life of Robert Smalls. Postcard with the Blk Mkt Vintage logo appears on the first image.

Enter to win this package of good stuff from Radical History Club and other beautiful local art pieces to benefit water protectors resisting line 3. Raffle and film screening tonight 7:30-10, Movie starts at 8:45. BYO seats and mask!

If you can’t make it in person, you can enter the raffle at tinyurl.com/line3artraffle

Highlighting another contributor for Issue 005. Taylor Pennewell (Tyme Maidu) is the Executive Director of . She has a Masters in Teaching and a CA ELA teaching credential. Taylor leads trainings and Master Classes for educators through Redbud Resource Group, which helps organizations, institutions, and employers become valued partners with Native peoples and their communities. She was also instrumental in highlighting Indigenous history based in so-called California. Redbud released an excellent workbook called Seeing Our Native Students for educators, which you can download or purchase from their website redbudresourcegroup.org.

Give some support as they continue to uplift Native youth.

Image description: (slide 1): On a blue background with a black border is a collage of images with a photo of a person with dark curly hair posing outdoors. Next to her photo is the title, "Taylor Pennewell (Tyme Maidu), Executive Director of Redbud Resource Group, Masters in Teaching, CA ELA teaching credential, she/her." The words "contributor spotlight" are repeated in black in the background along with a desert landscape image. (slide 2): A photo of a white and teal spiral bound book titled, "Seeing Our Native Students: A Guide for Educators" on top of a blue and black background. In the top left corner appears the Redbud Resource Group logo. At the very bottom in white reads, " and RedbudResourceGroup.org."

Catch some wonderful book friends in the sun at the table at the North Park book fair Saturday July 17, including Radical History Club from 2-5. I’ll have the latest issue along with some goodies to raise money for Two Spirit Nation and the Sage family youth horse program. 👉 to see Burn All Books tabling schedule. Come mingle with book lovers all day.

Flyer by the magical ⚡️

Volume 2 issues will now come with embroidered patches. For Volume 1 members, you'll notice something flatter to keep the postal service happy and to ship at a low cost. Every issue 005 comes with these 1.5" patches as a reminder to share what you've learned with other folx.

"Unsettle settler ways" is a message especially for settlers to remember the depth of settler culture in our lives – not just in the wars waged in our names on this land and abroad, but also in how we relate to plants, animals, time and space everyday.

Settlers had little understanding of land management, so Indigenous Peoples in so-called California were presumed to be lazy and derogatorily called “diggers.” But settlers were so caught up in their worship of "progress," they only saw their own actions as valuable. They didn't see that the Kumeyaay farmed corn in mountain valleys and invented irrigation techniques like diversion dams and terraces, or that a network of trade existed between thousands of nations and bands along the coastline. In fact, settlers believed routes had been created by their god and upheld them as proof of their supremacy. The Indigenous practice of dormant seed planting led the Spanish to believe agriculture would grow without intervention. So they allowed their livestock to decimate the life-giving land.

Today we presume land, plants, animals and time to be commodities. We ignore other ways of being in relationship with those things because we are indoctrinated into settler culture from an early age. And this mis-remembering is by design – so that we can continue to dehumanize and Indigenous Peoples and justify our exploitation of stolen land and resources – so the colonial machine can continue in perpetuity.

Sources: "The Missions of California: A Legacy of Genocide" edited by Jeannette Henry Costo and Rupert Costo and "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Image description: photo of multiple circular patches featuring a blue border with a mountain and a burning flag at the top of it. Around the edge of the patch are the words "Unsettle Settler Ways." A packaged patch in a translucent white paper bag sits on top.

Please put some respect on who was truly an honor to work with. Candi Brings Plenty, Wakinyan Tunwanpi Iyoyanpa Win (Bright Lightning Womxn), is the Executive Director of the Two Spirit Nation, Indigenous Justice Organizer & Lobbyist at the ACLU, and Two Spirit Warrior Queen (they/them/she/her). A lifelong educator, organizer and activist, Candi is planting seeds to bring recognition back to Two Spirit people.

They are hosting virtual and in-person camps for LGBTQ2s+ youth through the Two Spirit Nation, and teaching ribbon skirt and shirt making this July. Two Spirit Nation is requesting donations for materials. Please honor Indigenous LGBTQ2s+ youth and donate at www.thetwospiritnation.org.

Image description: (slide 1): On a blue background with a black border is a collage of images with a photo of a person with long dark hair and white beaded earrings. They're wearing a red shirt with the words "My sisters are warriors" in white. Next to their photo is the title, "Candi Brings Plenty, Wakinyan Tunwanpi Iyoyanpa Win (Bright Lightning Womxn), executive director of the Two Spirit Nation, Indigenous Justice Organizer & Lobbyist of the ACLU, Two Spirit Warrior Queen, they/them, she/her." The words "contributor spotlight" are repeated in black in the background with a flower and planet image to the left.

(slide 2): A photo of a group of people wearing bright colors and smiling proudly while holding a banner that reads, "Two-Spirit Camp." Blue and black cut out images of a bird swooping downward and a mushroom decorate the edges. In white lettering it reads, "" and "TheTwoSpiritNation.org."

When you support Radical History Club, you're also providing resources to hire multiple contributors for each issue. I'm so excited to introduce you to their work if you don't know it already. Our first contributor for Issue 005 is Helen Thomas, M.Ed, Hunkpapa Lakota educator and professional development facilitator, . Helen (she/her) is leading multiple workshops this month, including Decolonizing and Indigenizing Your Classroom, a 4-part workshop for all educators on July 12-15. It's a privilege to be able to learn from Helen. Don't miss out on this opportunity. You can sign up for the workshops at tiny.cc/DAIYCSS. And follow her , website helenwoapethomas.com.


Image description: (slide 1): On a blue background with a black border is a collage of images with a photo of a person with long dark hair and glasses, wearing brightly colored earrings. Next to her photo is the title, "Helen Thomas, M.Ed, Hunkpapa Lakota educator and professional development facilitator, she/her." The words "contributor spotlight" are repeated in black in the background.

(slide 2): A collage of black and blue images on top of a torn sheet featuring a post from . It reads, "Decolonize and Indigenize Your Classroom: Summer Workshop Series. Four topics over four workshops. Monday: Naming Settler Colonialism in Schools. Tuesday: Combatting Indigenous Erasure in Curriculum. Wednesday: Teaching to Affirm Indigenous Sovereignty. Thursday: Respectfully Learning from Indigenous Knowledge Systems. July 12th-15th, 3-5pm PST. Register at Tiny.cc/DYCsummer."

THIS IS WHAT COMMUNITY CARE LOOKS LIKE. Thanks to your support and a private donor, here are 170 donated copies of Issue 004 on their way to teachers to prepare for the upcoming school year. I’ve read so many posts from educators about the difficulty of this year. I appreciate your vulnerability and I wish you received the immensity of gratitude you deserve. The expectations we’ve put on you to uphold a crumbling institution that devalues our young people, the difficulty of caring for yourself, your families and your students during a global pandemic, the upcoming/ongoing battles against critical race theory (aka truth telling). You deserve so much more.

I can only hope you find time to heal and rekindle during this summer break. And I hope in the new year, we will all give students the space and encouragement to think and learn for themselves, to get curious about how we’ve allowed these systems to continue, and to be unafraid to experiment with what’s possible when we take care of each other’s needs.

Issues will be going to 8th through 12th grade classrooms in California, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Thank you to everyone who applied. I wish we could give issues to you all.

Image description: Photo of multiple stacks of brown paper envelopes tied up with string with a copy of Issue 004 entitled Housing and a Radical History Club sticker on top.

Have you listened to “Redlines” by yet? Every issue 005 comes with a ticket to listen to his original song released last year.

Do yourself a favor and check out the musical poetry he’s putting out almost everyday. 🖤