I'm embarrassed that it took me this long to read Afrogenderqueer Toi Scott's zine Philosophactivism. They gave it to me when we were on tour together in October. I knew they were an amazing writer from having seen them perform, but I forgot exactly what an incredible writer they were.
The zine starts of really strong. The first essay "Overworked and Unpaid" rings painfully true upon reading. This essay examines the economic exploitation of queer and trans people of color, and how we internalize ideas about our value being tied to our productivity. Themes from this piece that can be found throughout the zine include the myth of the meritocracy, the problems of capitalism, and the need for self-sufficiency within communities of color.
The next few essays are about organizing and dig into the problematic race politics of the food justice and broader environmentalist movement. Toi's analysis is so on point, it's clear that the patronizing and tokenizing attitudes of white environmentalists is something they have experienced first-hand. A lot of people don't know that people of color have been involved in environmental organizing FOREVER, but sometimes their organizing is not recognized as such because it tends not to be look like chaining oneself to a tree or painting a bike lane. The first half of this zine also provides a useful primer on environmental racism.
Another one of the themes of this zine is "getting back to our roots" as people of color: pre-colonial, pre-capitalist ways of organizing communities and sharing resources. I always get weary when people talk about getting "back to roots" because I feel like, as a mixed person, my roots are untraceable. I know (most of) the countries that my ancestors are from, but there are so many of them, and there has been so much assimilation over such a long period of time, that trying to reclaim lost culture feels false and appropriation-y to me (personally. Not saying this is true for Toi.) Though Toi doesn't propose a lot of super concrete solutions for social problems, I am inspired by the hopeful note they end almost every piece on.
One thing that's a little bit strange about this zine is that it's not quite in reverse chronological order, but almost. The posts towards to beginning are from 2012 and 2013, and Toi's political analysis in them is super sharp. In some of the later pieces (that date back to 2011), Toi's political consciousness is a little bit less well-developed. It's sort of like you are watching the progress of their political education in reverse. (This zine includes pieces from Toi's earlier zines Notes From An Afro-Genderqueer #1 & #2.)
The strengths of this zine are that it's well-written, applies a strong intersectional analysis to a variety of different issues (poverty, food justice, environmental racism, health), and is extremely content-rich. The amount you pay for this zine clearly reflects only a very small fraction of the work that went into producing the content. Nothing in here feels like filler.
I recommend this zine for people of color (and white people) in the food justice and environmental justice movements. For people of color, it might help to know that you are not alone. For white folks, it should help you identify what you are doing wrong.
I also recommend this zine for queer and trans people of color who are struggling economically and blaming themselves for it. Toi identifies all the reasons you shouldn't, and articulates them in a very convincing way.
