Hi!

BICAS is dealing with this internally right now as we are having to have discussions about Cultural Appropriation in the art and imagery we make/use. Furthermore, we are also discussing how we should help (or not) address violence in the communities we serve and live.

Internally, there isn't complete unity around every aspect of "what makes a space safe?" In fact, the challenge of "safe space" drives home the point that collective organizing is definitely hard (worthwhile no less)!

My reaction to the challenge of creating "safe space" is based off of my belief that if someone doesn't feel safe or if we are doing something that could make someone feel unwelcome at BICAS, let's not do it! This restricts the kind of imagery/art we can use/make and it also means we've 86'ed some community members (with a way for them to appeal), but we haven't yet come across circumstances where people feel unreasonably unsafe/unwelcome.

I realize there's a lot of grey area there in "unreasonably unsafe", but I think it's up to the situationally privileged to educate themselves about the roles they play in making others feel situationally unsafe, so don't get hung up on the details before developing your analysis of privilege and safe space. For example, at BICAS right now we are reading articles on Cultural Appropriation and not expecting community members or people of color to have to prove that Cultural Appropriation is a big deal, and we will definitely be taking resulting action toward making BICAS safe. Be proactive about making safe space! It's not a burden! It's a really important gift!