Who keeps us safe? Anyone who was out in the streets last summer knows an immediate response to this question: We keep us safe! In our upcoming conversation, let's continue to wrestle with this question and imagine new systems of accountability for ourselves and our communities. Last month, we were offered a gift in the form of a question by community member Karen Suen-Cooper. She asked, "How do we keep each other close?" In the spirit of generosity, we will continue to let this question guide us into our coming meeting and imagine ways of being with each other that move us toward active advocacy rather than remaining bystanders.

Despite the recent guilty verdict placed upon Derek Chauvin for the public murder of George Floyd, it is clear that our justice system is failing us. It should not go unsaid or unrecognized that it took a year of protest, organizing, and direct action to get the American judicial system to even begin an accountability process to convict Officer Chauvin. This verdict is one very small stop on the road toward dismantling the system that brought death to George Floyd, and continues to bring death upon so many other Black and brown people. In our upcoming conversation, let us imagine beyond our carceral state and explore new ways of safety.