When BPP started free breakfast programs they weren’t just giving away free shit to be nice, they were also using it as a tool of political education and building with people in their community. That is inherently organizing and inherently political and also very meaningful.

It’s discussed in many people’s writings including Assata. She was inspired by how they engaged with the community and that’s why she became a member. Sadly today it IS inherently radical to think that people within prison deserve to be cared for, deserve to have safety

and their needs met. Not every imprisoned person or their family is an abolitionist but through mutual aid work, we are able to build lasting connections between organizers on the inside and outside.

As always, just because something has been co-opted by white people, doesn’t mean we should abandon the whole idea. Mutual aid work is one of the most sustainable forms of organizing happening right now as the virus spreads!