Selected pages from "The Protest and The Recuperation"

integral component of progressive forwardmotion. Indeed, recuperation is a necessary counterpoint to the work of transformative justice in the spheres of public and political life. By foregrounding the protesters and their work, I aimed to create a tribute to the effort it takes to create public resistance and revolt, not only logistically but also conceptually and emotionally. Naming recuperation as a necessity gives it visibility and efficacy and places it as part of a cycle of action and reflection. Many protests are themselves a formof recuperation, of that which has been lost or has never been allowed to flourish. The Black Lives Matter movement, like the civil rights movement before it, is a space for articulating recuperative needs as well as restitutions. Likewise, many collective uprisings aremarked by a determination to restore dignity, an aspiration for the full and healthy lives of humans, or a deep regard for nonhumans and the planet itself. Healing, ritual, and repair generate calmand resilience and are a respite from the physical and psychic demands of protest but are also inwardly guided practices toward self-realization. These often personal and sometimes collective activities are a way for us to do the internal work necessary to breakwith useless or destructive habits in order to reorganize ourselves to construct amore just world. The reimagined is within our reach. This is why it is so important that we spend the time to recuperate, sowe can prepare ourselves for that next phase of justice making. Others may prioritize reparations and other forms of returning precious objects that have been stolen through imperial acts of thievery and disregard.

20 The Lure of Protest

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