FAQs


Taking back your power means first acknowledging that you have it, both inherent and external. There is your personal power that cannot be given nor taken away. Then there is the power you have in relationship to systems and society - be it your voice, your vote, your money, your work, your talent, your vision, etc.

Why do we do this? Because womxn have power.

The systems in this country depend on us—our work, our time, our bodies. On #aBlackFridays, we refuse to comply with those who demean, destroy, and erase us. We refuse to take care of a system that doesn’t take care of us.

We are an intersectional group of womxn* from every cross section of life who have come together in sacred rage. We are individuals not institutions who are coming together in mutual responsibility for the liberation and healing of all womxn.

We are committed to centering and holding space for Trans, Black, Indigenous and Brown womxn, femmes, two-spirits, and gender non-conforming community members whose bodies carry generational trauma and sexual violation rooted in systemic oppression.

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What

Black Fridays are a call to action for womxn everywhere to rise up and disrupt business as usual. We are inspired by the Black Monday protests in Poland, the womxn's street actions happening right now in Brazil, and the many movements led by and for womxn.  

On #BlackFridays, we will disrupt the many places that give us the Kavanaughs, the Trumps, and the CEOs who harm us. The places where white supremacy, colonialism, patriarchy, and rape culture thrive. We will take action where we live, we will walk out of our workplaces and schools and disrupt business as usual to build power that transforms our society. We will be a show of force in the streets and in the halls of government, corporations, and institutions alike.

*Womxn with an x, acknowledges the historical exclusion of gender expressions. We intentionally use x to hold intersectional space for individuals who identify as trans, genderfluid, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people.

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Why

It is no longer acceptable to the people of this country to have rapists and abusers in high office. Despite our persistence, our government won't listen. The Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to advance Brett Kavanaugh's nomination is just one more disgraceful and violent act against womxn.

Why should we continue to be ruled by a government that refuses to represent us?

Why should we continue to contribute to a workforce that denies us equity?

Why should we continue to consume a marketplace that profits off of our disempowerment?

We’re calling womxn to take creative action and disrupt business as usual, while building the power to create lasting change. When women come together in diverse and collective power in the name of love and justice, we have a chance at not only avoiding harmful rollbacks but creating the system that we all deserve.

How you choose to take risks is relative to your social location, personal circumstances and ability.

Consider your proximity to privilege and oppression and how that informs how you show up for our collective liberation. What is it that you can risk? What consent or cooperation can you withhold? How can you leverage the forms of power that you have?  

Taking back your power means first acknowledging that you have it, both inherent and external. There is your personal power that cannot be given nor taken away. Then there is the power you have in relationship to systems and society - be it your voice, your vote, your money, your work, your talent, your vision, etc.

How you choose to take risks is relative to your social location, personal circumstances and ability. Consider your proximity to privilege and oppression and how that informs how you show up for our collective liberation. What is it that you can risk? What consent or cooperation can you withhold? How can you leverage the forms of power that you have?  

Here are some thought starters:

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We encourage you to be visibly resistant so that our power is felt and heard. Creative disruption is not a one-size-fits-all but rather invites us to show up in ways that are authentic, unexpected and impactful. We encourage you to think out of the box, take risks and get noticed.

Civil disobedience is one way we force change by drawing attention to a problem and making our dissent visible. We turn to disruptive nonviolent action when we feel strongly about something, strongly enough to put our bodies and freedom on the line for justice. We also recognize that in a system that denies us freedom and wellbeing, healing and mutual care are radical acts of disruption.

What if you can’t exit work?

We understand that womxn’s relationship to work is not easy, and that our lives and our bodies are not valued equitably. The more structurally oppressed you are, the harder and risker it can get. We recognize this will shape the ways we each show up.

We invite you to consider your unique capacity to show up based on your location in relationship to systems of power/privilege and your responsibilities to care for yourself or others.

What are the unique and powerful ways that you can visibly take back your power and disrupt business as usual?

Do I have to do this each week?

You choose. What’s great about a participatory movement is that it creates capacity and coverage for people to both show up and take care of themselves along the way. This is a commitment to sustained action that builds and scales up as we go. We understand that the systems we are confronting will not be transformed overnight, so we must be in it for the long haul and cultivate mutual resilience to keep going together.

What’s beyond the election?

We’re in this for the long haul. This is one moment in a long path towards transformative change, and we are committed to continuing to build sustained, collective power that both dismantles systems of oppression and harm AND works to create new systems of inclusion and care. We are building toward the strongest possible outcome in the November elections -- and recognizing that we need vibrant grassroots movements to hold our elected officials accountable and create meaningful change over the long run.

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