Reframing Activism & Self-care with Dean Spade

Dean Spade is a writer, professor, and activist, who has been part of struggles against policing, prison, immigration enforcement and poverty for the last two decades. In 2002, he founded the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a non-profit collective that provides free legal help to low-income people and people of color who are trans, intersex and/or gender non-conforming and works to build trans resistance rooted in racial and economic justice. He is the author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of Law. Episode Highlights Dean shares how he first came to studying law through witnessing law enforcement from the perspective of queer activism in NYC. He then started teaching law as a way to create change from the foundation of the legal world. We discuss his forthcoming book, "It's Not You, It's Everybody," which is a self help book for people who want to change the world. It looks at the way that capitalism and hetero-patriarchy contribute to stress, and how we can bring communal healing to activist individuals and groups. We explore the difference between self-help, self-care and expanding those practices to groups and communities. Dean talks about being conscious of your autopilot behaviors, and how they are supportive and detrimental to your wellbeing. He shares new and radical ideas about self-care, challenging the capitalist and escapist ideas of self-care. Dean asks, How do we cultivate an economy of care? How can you be well while being of service? We talk about the different kinds of self-care which might not be what most think of. Web links Find Dean at DeanSpade.net And his other projects BigDoorBrigade.com & QueerTransWarBan.com You can also find him on Twitter & Facebook    Grab your FREE Guide - Needs, Boundaries & Self-Care for Queer Folks.  Download it here.  Join the Queer Spirit Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and stay up to date on new episodes.  And follow us on Instagram! Join our mailing list  to get news and podcast updates sent directly to you.