RESYST
Encyclopedia
RESYST was started in the San Francisco Bay Area
by Amy Sonnie and yk hong in 2000 in conjunction with the release of Revolutionary Voices
: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (ISBN 1555835589) edited by Amy Sonnie (Alyson: 2000).
Road Trip," employed an activist-approach rooted in radical popular education
and arts movements. Their mission statement reads, "RESYST Seattle is a political and cultural resource for GLBT/Queer
activists and educators, particularly youth of color, young women, (dis)abled youth, working class youth, trans youth and other young people from marginalized communities, working to build a movement of youth united for radical social change." RESYST Seattle's final project was the production of the zine
, Scars Tell Stories: A Queer and Trans (Dis)ability Zine, published in 2007.
approaches to activism, with a mission statement that states: "It is our mission to work toward an acceptance of the multitude of queer
identities and unite through the shared struggles that our differences create so that we can broaden our foundation to effect change. We intend to strengthen the queer liberation movement and inspire the abolition of heterosexism
and homophobia
in progressive groups through education, outreach, and direct action
. We also aim to foster a radical queer community" (Thomas Merton Center). According to their website, RESYST All Forms of Oppression's most recent action took place in 2005.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
by Amy Sonnie and yk hong in 2000 in conjunction with the release of Revolutionary Voices
Revolutionary Voices
Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology, edited by Amy Sonnie, is an anthology created by and for radical queer youth, committed specifically to youth of color, young women, transgender and bisexual youth, abled youth, and poor/working class youth.The anthology gave rise to the...
: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (ISBN 1555835589) edited by Amy Sonnie (Alyson: 2000).
Goal
The goal of the organization, as stated by Sonnie, was "to further build a community of queer artists and activists that recognizes the role of art and writing in social change and seeks to develop those skills as weapons against oppression."Book Tour
The book tour for Revolutionary Voices was also designed to help the grassroots struggles of grassroots Queer and Trans identified youth. Called the "RESYST/Revolutionary Voices Road Trip," the book tour spurred the creation of several RESYST chapters throughout the United States. The intention of Sonnie's anthology, as well as RESYST, was to " (prioritize) the voices of the traditionally underrepresented: young women, transgender and bisexual youth, youth of color and mixed-blood youth, differently abled youth, and youth from low-income backgrounds."Change
RESYST as a network of affiliated grassroots organizations quickly dissolved, however, sending the energies of the radically minded organizers in other directions. Two chapters remained, sharing like-minded goals for radical Queer youth communities and the organizational name, but differing substantially in their activist approach and mission statements.RESYST Seattle
RESYST Seattle, founded by Colin Kennedy Donovan and Qwo-Li Driskill in 2000 during the "RESYST/Revolutionary VoicesRevolutionary Voices
Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology, edited by Amy Sonnie, is an anthology created by and for radical queer youth, committed specifically to youth of color, young women, transgender and bisexual youth, abled youth, and poor/working class youth.The anthology gave rise to the...
Road Trip," employed an activist-approach rooted in radical popular education
Popular education
Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle, and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish educación popular or the Portuguese educação popular and rather than the English usage as when describing a 'popular television program,' popular...
and arts movements. Their mission statement reads, "RESYST Seattle is a political and cultural resource for GLBT/Queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
activists and educators, particularly youth of color, young women, (dis)abled youth, working class youth, trans youth and other young people from marginalized communities, working to build a movement of youth united for radical social change." RESYST Seattle's final project was the production of the zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
, Scars Tell Stories: A Queer and Trans (Dis)ability Zine, published in 2007.
RESYST in Pittsburgh
RESYST All Forms of Oppression in Pittsburgh, started in 2002 after RESYST's initial emergence, adopted direct actionDirect action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
approaches to activism, with a mission statement that states: "It is our mission to work toward an acceptance of the multitude of queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
identities and unite through the shared struggles that our differences create so that we can broaden our foundation to effect change. We intend to strengthen the queer liberation movement and inspire the abolition of heterosexism
Heterosexism
Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It can include the presumption that everyone is heterosexual or that opposite-sex attractions and relationships are the only norm and therefore superior...
and homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
in progressive groups through education, outreach, and direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
. We also aim to foster a radical queer community" (Thomas Merton Center). According to their website, RESYST All Forms of Oppression's most recent action took place in 2005.
See also
- LGBT rights in the United States
- List of LGBT rights organizations