About Me
A photo of me standing by the Combahee River, site of the historic 1863 river raid
Hey hey! I'm angela, a U.S. based community organizer, lifelong student, Aquarius, and gentle dreamin' and schemin' sojourner from Tennessee. I am brand new to this world but grateful that I can dedicate these next six months fully to the Fab Academy program. Ready to learn and make stuff with y'all!
I only found out about the world of digital fabrication last year, after listening to some panel discussions and podcasts from organizers in the cooperative development movement who encouraged more everyday people to develop fabrication and engineering skills (shoutout to Cooperation Jackson and Incite Focus!). After researching and falling down rabbit holes I found myself convinced that in an ever-changing, increasingly dystopian world, our capacity for community-controlled production is key to our survival. Everyday people having greater access to make, create, and own the things we need can change our lives for the better.
Here I am visiting the street my grandmother grew up on in Mobile, Alabama. Her sharp humor, passion for education and love of mathematics and vocabulary have been a great influence on my life ❤
For about eight years, I've been a part of various movements for social change, namely developing leaders through political education and training, supporting direct aid and advocacy for incarcerated people in Tennessee, waging campaigns like cutting contracts with private prisons, and uplifting internationalist solidarity. My days in recent years have looked like long road trips all across the South, porch sits with movement elders, singing freedom songs with others, canvassing neighborhoods and events, facilitating study groups, managing databases, spending far too many hours on zoom, and SO many flip chart papers.
One of the most frustrating things about this work is that all too often we are pulled into reactionary fights when we really need to also be building the future we want. I believe learning skills in digital fabrication and making community-based production more possible especially where I live can play a part in building that future we deserve. Plus there is a special joy in creating things with your own hands when we are treated (at least here in the U.S.) so often as mere consumers! With that said, I am invested in making sure machines and technology are tools--not for extraction and mere profits, but for our collective well-being and the well-being of the planet.
When I'm not doing Fab Academy work, you can likely find me learning to play the harp or relearning my saxophone, reading articles/books about history, culture, and propaganda, watching The Traitors reality TV murder mystery game show, or exploring a nice walking trail by the water.
On one of my many trips, this time in New Orleans!
Image of one of my favorite rivers Harpeth River Narrows from a TN State park brochure