By Feliks Garcia, Offsite Editor
The primary tool of oppression is silence. Through silence, communities are erased, rendered visible only through the lens of a dominant narrative told by those in power.
There’s power in publishing, yet it’s abundantly clear that the publishing industry is overwhelmingly white and disproportionately male. In this landscape, whose stories are shared?
DIY-publishing is a subversive act that gives voice to communities left out of the literary world. And through zine publication, stories of oppression, community, love, sex, and life can reach a greater audience, bringing visibility to lives that matter just as much as the lives of those dominating narratives.
For the Uprising issue, we are spotlighting some zines that address issues facing communities of color. The majority of those selected are black-published, gender non-binary zines that focus on black lives. Those that don’t explicitly pertain to the #BlackLivesMatter movement still address the racial inequity that led to it across the United States.
The zines below are only a few in a sea of diverse, poetic, and beautifully self-published projects out there, and I encourage you to explore the archives, distributors, and publishers linked at the bottom.
Black Women Matter
ATX Social Justice Artists and Writers Collective
“This zine is dedicated to black women. Read the stories of 11 black women who have been killed by law enforcement. Know their names. See their faces. Remember their stories.”
Read Online | Donate for Print | Website
#TransLivesMatter
Third Woman Press
Volume 1 features work by Sasha Alexander, Kay Ulanday Barrett, Andrea Jenkins, Olympia Perez, and Rommy Torrico. Available in print or e-reader formats.
Blue & Black: Stories of Policing and Violence
Project NIA
“We believe that this zine will contribute to making the world a little more just as it facilitates reflection and discussion among the youth and adults who read it..” Blue & Black is a collaboration between Rachel Marie-Crane Williams, Project NIA, Chicago Freedom School, and the Jane Addams Hull House Museum.
Burn Something Zine
Burn Something Collective
“Burn Something is a submission-based, queer-inclusive alternative media space focused on amplifying the voices of women of color.”
Shotgun Seamstress
Mend My Dress Press
“A zine by and for black punks, queers, feminists, activists, artists & musicians [by Osa Atoe]. Each issue features interviews, articles and a few personal writings that promoted free expression and anti-consumerist/DIY ethics for everyone but especially for black youth.”
Purchase | Online Back Issues | Website
Excellent Projects
Brown & Proud Press
Brown Recluse Zine Distro
Lesbian Herstory Archives
Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP)
and the POC Zine Project (link below).
