Saturday, September 28, 1–4PM
On Zoom + In-person in LA
The Loft at LINT (fka NAVEL): 1611 S. Hope St. LA 90015, enter through alleyway in parking lot
Parking: Limited parking in back lot + street parking
Cost: $10-50+; no one turned away for lack of funds (email us at [email protected] if cost is prohibitive) — offerings contribute to our community fund which supports future gatherings and collaborations with critical partners
Inqlab, which means ‘revolution’ in Urdu, is a place where we’ll build community by engaging in political education, experiential anti-colonial activities, and experiment with revolutionary tools for change. Each monthly session will expose central organizing principles of settler colonial nation building across critical geopolitical territories, and will invite us to unravel the knots of our collective oppression, foster new modes for connection, and strategize the means for constructing a world beyond the current occupation.
The September gathering focuses upon social exclusion as one of the three central tenets in the making of settler colonial nations. We will explore the emergence of Eurocentric narratives that justify colonial occupation. In particular, taxonomy of racial hierarchies, practices of eugenics, scientific racism have served to codify social fictions into material realities of white settler supremacy. Our systems of formal education and knowledge production are central to furthering systems of social exclusion.
As a collective, we will unlearn, uproot, and experiment with decolonial forms of knowledge creation. Our Inqlab community lab is a space to understand systems of oppression while building upon modes of liberation; a creative undoing of sorts. Our political unlearning will incorporate experiential modes of embodiment that range from the whimsical to the astute. We will explore with play, through my ‘Eurocentrism Origin Story’ game, ‘Occupation Timeline’ reflection, and engage in sowing seeds of change through ‘Knowledge Maker’ activity.
Lastly, the Inqlab community lab will be followed by an informal gathering to further connections, share laughs, and relax in the new FCCW community space. Join us for the mini after party, stay for the food, music, and the joys of community.
Resources for Saturday, Sept 28
- Part 1 – Chapter 3: Racism as Social Control from Settler Colonialism: An Introduction by Sai Englert
- Part 2 – Chapter 3: Racism as Social Control from Settler Colonialism: An Introduction by Sai Englert
- Astronomy has a Colonial Problem; Scholar Dr. Fatima
- America and its Unfit: Then & Now, Scholar Dr. Nancy Ordover — American Eugenics: Race, Queer Anatomy, and the Science of Nationalism. You’re welcome to watch the whole talk, but Dr. Nancy Ordover begins at 32:58
- Find past readings here
Past/Future Inqlab Gatherings
July — Inqlab: Uprooting Settler Colonialism, Re-Rooting Ourselves
August — Inqlab: Economic Displacement
About The Facilitator
Dr. SaunJuhi Verma is a Fulbright immigration scholar, former professor, published author, and a researcher-activist with fifteen years of experience working on race and immigrant rights issues within a transnational context. Dr. Verma pivoted out of academia to found and serve as Executive Director of Inqlab, a community think tank for critical research on modes of collective liberation. Much of her passion and energy are invested in excavating the surveillance/policing infrastructure and its impact upon migrant labor, displaced communities of color, and the establishment of a settler colonial nation state. Her time is shared between scholarly productions and building community efforts for empowerment through creative expression.