Saturday, October, 1–5PM
Simulcast on Zoom + In-person in LA
The Loft at LINT (fka NAVEL):
1611 S. Hope St. LA 90015, enter through door in alleyway from 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.
Our October gathering focuses upon local elections and the presidential election, from the context of U.S. imperialism. Considering the upcoming elections, we unpack the U.S. occupation as it exists within a global context. The focus is upon how the war economy, police state, and foreign policy are intimately tied to maintaining white settler supremacy. We will identify indigenous roots of U.S. democracy and what our democracy would be if the global majority, impacted by U.S. imperialism, could participate in the elections. As a collective, we will unlearn, uproot, and experiment with decolonial forms of knowledge creation.
As always, 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. In the next Inqlab, we’ll explore with play, through my ‘U.S. Imperialism Bingo’ game, ‘The Imperial Subject Votes’ thought experiment, and engage in sowing seeds of change through ‘Build a Nation’ activity. Lastly, the Inqlab community lab will be followed by an informal gathering to further connections, share laughs, and relax in a community space. Join us for the social hour, stay for the light refreshments, and joys of community.
Resources for Saturday, Oct 26
- Please bring your own local voter guide, or download California’s Official Voter Information Guide
- The Doctrine of Discovery excerpt from An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- U.S. Triumphalism and Peacetime Colonialism excerpt from An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- Find past readings here
Past/Future Inqlab Gatherings
July — Inqlab: Uprooting Settler Colonialism, Re-Rooting Ourselves
August — Inqlab: Economic Displacement
September — Inqlab: Social Exclusion
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.