Hopefully it has not escaped your notice that Flypaper has been quiet at this moment in time, we have done this carefully and thoughtfully. It has not escaped our notice that while the Masthead and submission readers of Flypaper may be very queer, we are also very white, and in an effort to avoid performative allyship we have taken the time to listen and not speak. As white writers attempting to support a movement of justice and equity for Black people in this country, we feel our voices should not be prioritized at this moment and much of what we say can and will ring hollow without tangible actions. We wanted to lead by example and not by speech in these times when action, rather than statements, make all the difference—it has been said by many a person: “direct action gets the goods.”
We are seeing major shifts in people’s imaginings of what the future can and will look like and we wanted to be transparent in what we’ve done to participate in the actions leading to that shift. At Flypaper in 2020 there will be no yearly print anthology, we have taken the rest of our operating budget for the year and donated it to the Minnesota Bail Project and the Okra Project. We have begun adjusting the syllabus to our summer workshop Flight School to include social justice and liberation readings by Black writers that speaks to our current moment. We have also begun massive restructuring within the organization: we are recruiting a more diverse group of readers, we are restructuring how we compensate and promote writers we publish (paying more and partnering with other local organizations to expand our reach), and changing our Masthead—our poetry editor, Zack Lavoie is stepping down and will be replaced by Taylor Byas.
In addition to the steps taken by our organization as a whole, the editors and submission readers of the magazine have been participating in protests, donating our own funds, calling and emailing representatives, and advocating for systemic changes in our country. At this moment in time we would like to unequivocally state that we support the Black Lives Matter movement, the protests (in all forms they have taken, including those dubbed as “riots”) occurring across the country in solidarity with that movement, and that we advocate for the following changes, among others: abolition of the police, military, and prison systems in this country; reallocation of public funds to housing, education, and systemic support of low-income communities; free public healthcare for all as well as a movement in healthcare towards reducing racial and income disparities; and the end of capitalism as we know it. We do not yet know what the systems replacing these will look like, but we are committed to supporting any that include within their fabrics equity for the most marginalized members of society.
We at Flypaper believe in the movement towards a more kind, just, and equitable society—one that centers community solutions, one that centers a peace foundationally built on justice, and one that operates in the best interest of society’s most vulnerable members. We condemn the actions of a racist police force and governance against Black people and other PoC in this country, we condemn the actions of our elected officials that have amounted to nothing but performance, we condemn the actions of our neighbors and family who have been silent, and we condemn the actions of anyone in opposition to a more just and equitable society.
Black lives matter is the minimum statement. Black lives have value. Black lives are worthy. Black lives are necessary. In addition, Black futures, Black art, Black histories, and Black experiences matter and we will work within our means and to the best of our abilities to further their telling.
Signed,
J. David (editor-in-chief)
Zack Lavoie (former poetry editor)
Ben Kline (submission reader)
Edward Sambrano III (submission reader)
We are seeing major shifts in people’s imaginings of what the future can and will look like and we wanted to be transparent in what we’ve done to participate in the actions leading to that shift. At Flypaper in 2020 there will be no yearly print anthology, we have taken the rest of our operating budget for the year and donated it to the Minnesota Bail Project and the Okra Project. We have begun adjusting the syllabus to our summer workshop Flight School to include social justice and liberation readings by Black writers that speaks to our current moment. We have also begun massive restructuring within the organization: we are recruiting a more diverse group of readers, we are restructuring how we compensate and promote writers we publish (paying more and partnering with other local organizations to expand our reach), and changing our Masthead—our poetry editor, Zack Lavoie is stepping down and will be replaced by Taylor Byas.
In addition to the steps taken by our organization as a whole, the editors and submission readers of the magazine have been participating in protests, donating our own funds, calling and emailing representatives, and advocating for systemic changes in our country. At this moment in time we would like to unequivocally state that we support the Black Lives Matter movement, the protests (in all forms they have taken, including those dubbed as “riots”) occurring across the country in solidarity with that movement, and that we advocate for the following changes, among others: abolition of the police, military, and prison systems in this country; reallocation of public funds to housing, education, and systemic support of low-income communities; free public healthcare for all as well as a movement in healthcare towards reducing racial and income disparities; and the end of capitalism as we know it. We do not yet know what the systems replacing these will look like, but we are committed to supporting any that include within their fabrics equity for the most marginalized members of society.
We at Flypaper believe in the movement towards a more kind, just, and equitable society—one that centers community solutions, one that centers a peace foundationally built on justice, and one that operates in the best interest of society’s most vulnerable members. We condemn the actions of a racist police force and governance against Black people and other PoC in this country, we condemn the actions of our elected officials that have amounted to nothing but performance, we condemn the actions of our neighbors and family who have been silent, and we condemn the actions of anyone in opposition to a more just and equitable society.
Black lives matter is the minimum statement. Black lives have value. Black lives are worthy. Black lives are necessary. In addition, Black futures, Black art, Black histories, and Black experiences matter and we will work within our means and to the best of our abilities to further their telling.
Signed,
J. David (editor-in-chief)
Zack Lavoie (former poetry editor)
Ben Kline (submission reader)
Edward Sambrano III (submission reader)
