22/07/2026
We had a great evening in Manchester last week learning from the Black Panther Party’s Health Clinics. Thank you to everyone who came, cooked, cleaned and participated.
We acknowledged the dimensions of resistance - the frontline and community care are one in the same, the BPP believed resistance against capitalism and white supremacy had to be rooted in the care of the children and people targeted by state violence.
We had discussions about what this history brings to us now. This learning comes from Black and racialised communities who continue to lead struggles and resistance movements. Some key things that emerged were:
— The need and desire to have breakfast together more often;
— When the state fails to meet community needs, we have to step up and meet them ourselves today, and not wait for state reform or some future revolutionary horizon;
— Love for the people, love of community is the foundation of any resistance against oppressive forces;
— Education within a practical framework of community care builds a movement;
— Building alternatives beyond state and private provision provides a way to challenge the colonial organisation of medicine itself (who counts as worthy of care, whose knowledge matters, who controls health infrastructure etc)
— Sites of health and care are sites of social reproduction
— Community models shape us as political subjects, thinking of ourselves beyond consumers and volunteers, and instead as co-producers and organisers
— The fight for freedom against oppression is long and the knowledge from the people who’ve come before us is rich, powerful and not to be overlooked… we don’t have to re-invent the wheel, we are apart of a lineage
We’re sitting with how these conversations translate into action, how we build more capacity so we can embody our collective capabilities…
How do we put this learning into practice locally?
What role would a group of radical health workers play within Manchester communities?
There is plenty more dialogue, dancing and dining to be done together before we get any clearer on how we move forward but until then
Solidarity
