Fiction as Liberatory Imagination

I just read the chapter titled “Tending the Acre” by Shawn Taylor from the book “Practicing New Worlds” by Andrea J. Ritchie. When I started reading the chapter, I didn’t realize it was a fictional piece. The way my heart jolted when I read “The tide was too big and too powerful. Prison abolition was no longer a thought experiment of over-eager activists. It was real. It was happening. Hell, it happened.” My logical thought was like NO WAY and I felt my heart feel a “MAYBE!".”The tears that ran down my face as I read this chapter. It sparked so much hope in me…it was painful.For those who haven’t read the book yet, the chapter is a fictional piece that is about this inmate that walked out of prison when prisons were abolished, and the transition into a caring space to help freed prisoners adjust and heal. Actually, I found a dramatic reading of it - listen to it here.Tiffany’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.That THAT is liberatory imagination or at least a powerful way to do it. It’s the audacity to let your mind go there. To see it, to smell it, to feel it, to taste it. That takes bravery and an intact heart. I love that piece, because it reminds me to start investing in caring systems that will be in place when the empire crumbles. When the prison walls fall down. Learning how to be in community and live out transformative justice - that happens NOW.How do we reduce harm? How do we prevent harm? How do we hold each other accountable without punishment? How do we protect the most vulnerable?That’s not a far off thing we’ll get to when we finally burn down Supremacy. It is now.In reading that chapter, I felt like I was reading into the future. Especially because it was set in Oakland where I grew up. Lake Merritt is referenced, and I was at that lake every week to visit my grandparents. It made it all feel so tangible. When the imagination is stimulated like that, my being gets confused with what is made up and what is real. That’s the magic! Being able to transport to a version of reality that we are moving towards.We (my friends and I) always talk about non linear time. So in really immersing ourselves in a version of the future…it could be literally creating a stronger pathway towards it. I’m not the hugest fan of manifestation, because I think that most people do it without acknowledging oppressive systems - the popular way is a very white washed way that can be weaponized against folks of the global majority very quickly. That being said, there’s something about it that I do think that works. The focus and clarity of manifesting can be powerful, because it helps us align with that future. I also think that prayer is a version of it.Of course, how can I not pay homage to Octavia Butler? The queen of liberatory imagination. The way her books will circulate in my blood forever. There are certain works of art that changes my DNA.Growing up I wanted to be a librarian, because one of the few ways I could escape reality was through books. I was desperate to be swept away to another reality, because I felt so trapped. So the thought of having infinite portals to go through was the dream. When people say children are the most vulnerable, I always think about this aspect - there is no way to escape or hide from the adults in the home. What a terrifying thought.Talking about kids…I’ve been dreading and needing to watch Quiet on Set.Back to fiction, I believe the daily practice of creativity is KEY to building a liberated future. We need to push the boundaries of what is possible, because supremacy wants us to compromise for crumbs. Supremacy always wants us to get the watered down wins and replicate its structures with the illusion of progress. Not to diminish growth and progress on small and big scale, but that’s totally different from settling for liberation for ALL.What does Liberatory Imagination spark in me today?Fully stepping through portals and blurring the lines between “not yet” and “it’s here.” I want my body to be fully in the present and fully in the possible future. I want to fully accept that I might be seen as totally delusional or unhinged. My north star is strong right now, and I’m thankful.Tiffany’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to LIBERATORY IMAGINATION at tiffanywongart.substack.com/subscribe