| What is mutual aid?**One of our favorite resources is this illustrated history of mutual aid by Ariel Aberg-Riger, featured above. The compilation of illustrations from Bloomberg News also has a great reading list for people wanting to learn more.*** The term “mutual aid” was popularized by Russian thinker and writer Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin. Kroptkin advocated for anarcho-communist ideals in his essay collection Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, in which he argued, “Sociability is as much a law of nature as mutual struggle.” In other words, it is just as (if not more so) natural for people to cooperate than to compete. However, the concept/practice as we know it today long predates Kropotkin and is rooted in communities of color, particularly the black community. There are records showing that black mutual aid networks in the US were organized as early as the 1700’s. WEB Dubois wrote about formerly enslaved people would pool money together to buy the freedom of enslaved people. As more people immigrated to this country, immigrant communities set up their own formal and informal mutual aid networks. Many of these continue to this day. Mutual aid, as we know it today, was popularized by the progressive activist movements in the 20th century— most notably the Black Panthers. It was a tenant of disability anti-war, LGBTQ+, labor, anti-capitalist, and disability activist groups. At its core, mutual aid is a way of community organizing that aims to meet basic community needs. It is grassroots, community-led, non-hierarchical, and emphasizes that our wellbeing is tied up in each other’s. A famous mutual aid slogan is, “Solidarity not charity.” |
