ARCPDX Book Club - "We Do This 'til We Free Us" (February 2026)

📚 In honor of Black History Month, we will be discussing "We Do This 'til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice," by Mariame Kaba with Tamara K. Nopper and Naomi Murakawa (Contributor). This is a short book (~206 pages), so we'll be discussing the entire thing at our February meeting 🌟Reminder that we have moved our monthly meeting to the last Monday of the month and start a little later at 6:30pm. We also shortened our meeting time to 90 minutes. 💚As always, arrive when you can and leave when you need to. We'll also be sticking with virtual/Zoom meetings for now! It's hard to balance a day and time that works for everyone, so we'll see how this goes for a few months to start. 📖 ABOUT "We Do This 'til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice" Organizing is both a science and an art. It is thinking through a vision, a strategy, and then figuring out who your targets are, always being concerned about power, always being concerned about how you're going to actually build power in order to be able to push your issues, in order to be able to get the target to actually move in the way that you want to." What if social transformation and liberation aren't about waiting for someone else to come along and save us? What if ordinary people have the power to collectively free ourselves? In this timely collection of essays and interviews, Mariame Kaba reflects on the deep work of abolition and transformative political struggle. With chapters on seeking justice beyond the punishment system, transforming how we deal with harm and accountability, and finding hope in collective struggle for abolition, Kaba's work is deeply rooted in the relentless belief that we can fundamentally change the world. As Kaba writes, "Nothing that we do that is worthwhile is done alone. 🧐 For more information, including content warnings, visit: https://app.thestorygraph.com/browse?search_term=The%20Serviceberry:%20Abundance%20and%20Reciprocity%20in%20the%20Natural%20World 📕 Whether you're a seasoned activist or a curious newcomer, all are welcome to join the Animal Rights Collective Portland (ARCPDX) Book Club! 🙏 Thank you to Takara for leading, and Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN), Veggies Do It Better Events, and Northwest VEG for co-hosting. 🗓 Monday, February 23rd **Discussing the entire book** ⏰ 6:30-8pm 💻 Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7654622343 📕 Books are suggested and voted on by the group. Our goal is to read books that challenge norms, inspire empathy, reflect the diverse voices and perspectives within the vegan and social justice movements, and ignite conversations about animal rights, environmental sustainability, social equity, and more. 📲 In between meetings, we encourage you to chat about the books via Slack! Join the ARCPDX Slack workspace: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFIcsJ79mLHyRD8t1ogNv9X66Ct3-kvQX3KSxnE6kJ_Lnq4A/viewform?usp=sf_link 📚 If you are already on our Slack, join the #book-club channel How to join a channel: https://slack.com/help/articles/205239967-Join-a-channel We are also now a book club on StoryGraph! Join us here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/book_clubs/af026324-251f-4f68-8f6e-c6ecc46d4b8c ❓Reach out to Takara Rahalski with any questions. 🤝 By attending this event, you are agreeing to the Animal Rights Collective Portland Meeting/Event Community Guidelines: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10gu2vfndaJW58nt4LJeGx6qsZJcEXTYEqcn8wPGDBCI/edit