The 'Usap Tayo' Pods

Holding Ourselves Accountable to Anti-Oppression Work

Within the past few months, we have been hosting conversations around Anti-Oppression, how to challenge and confront Anti-Indigeneity and Anti-Black Racism, and how these discussions can be extended with our families and circles. Now, we see this space we are creating to be expanded into a frequent circle and into something that is known as a pod.

Where did the term 'Pod' came from?

During the spring of 2014 the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective began using the term “pod” to refer to a specific type of relationship within transformative justice work.

"We needed a term to describe the kind of relationship between people who would turn to each other for support around violent, harmful and abusive experiences, whether as survivors, bystanders or people who have harmed. 

These would be the people in our lives that we would call on to support us with things such as our immediate and on-going safety, accountability and transformation of behaviors, or individual and collective healing and resiliency."

- Mia Mingus for the BATJC, June 2016

Essentially, pods are a space that reject the notion of cancel culture, which instead, centres humanness and accountability.

Pods amend situations by realizing that communities and community members make mistakes. Through pods, accountability lies in (re/un)learning and commitment to correcting our wrong doings and/or lack of actions. It also serves as a reliable time & space to reflect on ourselves, our actions, and ongoing issues in our society.

What are the "Usap Tayo" Pods?

  • A shared (re/un)learning virtual space that’s held once every month for the Filipino community
  • Discussions will focus on deepening our understanding and carving out actions that we can take towards Black and Indigenous solidarity
  • Monthly sessions that do not require monthly attendance. Participants are free to attend whenever they'd like.

What are the limitations of this Pod?

  • We are non-Indigenous & non-Black Filipinas who are doing this work to alleviate some of that pressure off of Black & Indigenous communities.
  • We too, are holding ourselves accountable and are (re/un)learning as we try to organize this initiative.
  • We will not have all the answers but we will strive to learn in the fullest way possible. We commit to bringing in and properly compensating Black & Indigenous voices in our spaces.

 

Our Deepest Pasasalamat (Gratitude)

We would like to deeply thank and recognize Karla Villanueva Danan,
Ashley Caranto Morford, Kaitlin Rizarri & Jovie Galit for all the knowledge they offer and for their work in ensuring these spaces continue to happen. Their support and care have continued to build our capacities to share knowledge, hold space, and support our communities' (re/un)learning. Their determination to make these learnings accessible and grounded with power from the community makes this work all the more valuable. Maraming Salamat, thank you so much.

Resources

In this link, you will find a living library of readings, videos, podcasts and other forms of media that aims to support our learning of Anti-Black racism. This resource is compiled by Karla Danan, Jovie Galit, Ashely Morford and Kaitlin Rizarri in June 2020.