Under the Banner of Grief

Grief is a radically social phenomenon that can be used to connect the unique experiences of individuals across space, time, and place. Organizers and activists within various social justice movements have used collective grief and public mourning to transform political landscapes and to process systemic forms of oppression. Understanding the ways that grief is central to organizing and activism deserves critical analysis. Pairing death doula activism with Stop Cop City organizing, I argue that grief and mourning is foundational to activism and organizing and I intend to examine what can be learned from frontline organizers who both respond to and hold compounded grief with and for others while holding solidarity and action at the center.