In this monthly discussion group we will explore what arises when we ask: what does the Bureau of Land Management have to do with Black Lives Matter?

Digital platforms and technologies have spawned a new era of momentum-based organizing, such as uprisings in support of Black lives, in response to police brutality, and gatherings of armed militias facing off against the Bureau of Land Management. Thinking with this convergence has provoked us to scrutinize the ways in which lives and lands are managed; how notions of anti-Blackness inform contemporary understandings of agriculture and land use; and how ongoing settler colonialism undergirds past and present relations built on extractive and propertied logics. During these discussions we plan to dive deeper into the myriad assemblages that arise from this intersection, and to follow Daniel Martinez HoSang and Joseph E. Lowndes in thinking through what kinds of solidarity can be forged and in what conditions.

Second Wednesday of the Month @ 5 p.m. CST

Please come to any single session or multiple! We will be facilitating activities and guided discussion on a wide range of intersecting topics.

Also, on 2/10 and 4/14 we will be joined by special guests (detailed below) to help us think through these convergences of white supremacy and settler colonialism in contemporary U.S. politics. If you’d like to get access to readings and suggestions related to each session, request additional details for the Zoom meeting, or request any accommodations, do not hesitate to get in touch: llakind@wisc.edu.

Click here to join the monthly meeting (reoccurring Zoom link)

February 10 – Guest visitors Daniel Martinez HoSang (Ethnicity Race and Migration and American Studies at Yale) and Joseph E. Lowndes (Political Science at University of Oregon) will join us to discuss race frameworks and the complexities of racial politics and right-wing activism.

April 14 – Guest visitors Joshua Inwood (Geography at Penn State) and Anne Bonds (Geography at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) will join us to discuss their work analyzing the unequal political landscapes and geographies of white supremacy and settler colonialism.

Edge Effects Podcast

Check out our interview on the Edge Effects podcast with Johnathan Thompson of High Country News, where we discuss some of his wide-ranging coverage on land management and settler colonialism across the Western U.S.

There’s a New Sheriff in County

@jersimemeblatt

This discussion group emerged out of There’s a New Sheriff in County, our sibling project to highlight the powerful role of the sheriff, to reconsider the role of sheriffs, and to demonstrate the importance of extending abolitionist praxis beyond city police departments. In August and September 2020, we hosted 5 virtual events with a range of guest speakers.

To request and receive full transcripts from these events, please email llakind@wisc.edu.

Listen on Soundcloud:

 

There’s a New Sheriff in County events, pictured left to right: Dylan Rodríguez, Alexandra Lakind, Artemisio Romero, Cecelia Klingele, Robert Lundberg

 

Milwaukee-based artist Madam Chino’s handmade 3081 patch for There’s a New Sheriff County. 3081 represents the number of sheriffs across the U.S.

 

 

BLM x BLM is cosponsored by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Visit their page to learn more about their research and upcoming programming.

 

Project Members

    • Alexandra Lakind (Environment & Resources, Curriculum & Instruction, UW-Madison)
    • Jesse Malmed (Film, UWM)
    • Robert Lundberg (Attorney, Midwest Environmental Advocates)
    • Ryan Holifield (Geography & Urban Studies, UWM)
    • Kassia Shaw (English, UW-Madison)
    • Amy Gaeta (English, UW-Madison)
    • Davielle Lakind (Clinical Psychology, Mercer University)
    @worldofpossums

     

    Follow our sibling social media (@3081NewSheriffs):
    Follow Us on Twitter Follow Us on Instagram