Otherwise possibility

At a Charlottesville solidarity vigil for Buffalo*, Zy Bryant evoked Ashon Crawley’s “otherwise possibility.” This means daring to imagine a radically different world—a precursor, I hope, to material change:

“The otherwise is the disbelief in what is current and a movement towards…other ways for us to be with each other. Otherwise Ferguson. Otherwise Gaza. Otherwise Detroit. [Otherwise Buffalo. Otherwise Uvalde.] Otherwise Worlds. Otherwise expresses an unrest and discontent, a seeking to conceive dreams that allow us to wake laughing, tears of joy in our eyes, dreams that have us saying, I hope this comes true.”
—Ashon Crawley, “Otherwise, Ferguson”

My dream is a peaceful culture that loathes contempt, celebrates life, trusts and stewards the earth’s abundance, senses our interconnection, knows how to look and listen, and, on any given day, centers the needs of those who are most vulnerable.

Your turn now. What do you dream for the world? How will you live it? How will you live it today? We are not beholden to the status quo.

Related: Chiara Di Leone’s call for more imaginative climate scenarios, the short film Message from the Future II: Years of Repair**, and the Building Utopia toolkit.

* Led by the Charlottesville Black Youth Action Committee.

** Via Anti-Racism Daily (via Avalon Consulting).

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