Root networks of radical care: Mutual aid in Minneapolis’ abolitionist movement

In this essay, I theorize the role of mutual aid in the 2020 uprising for police and prison abolition as root networks of radical care that shook Minneapolis’ illusion of “progressive” politics from the ground up. I preface the conversation with a partial tracing of groups throughout history that have practiced collective care alongside and in service of overturning oppression such as the Zapatistas, U.S. fraternal organizations, the Black Panther Party, and disability justice organizations. I comment on mutual aid in the context of neoliberalism that attempts to privatize caring infrastructure, and finally reflect on how the Minneapolis sanctuary movement for housing justice moves us to an understanding of mutual aid as transformative to oppressive systems as well as to the self in relation to others