Mutual aid: How we care for each other

The term “mutual aid” is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a collaboration between community members, and a voluntary exchange of resources between them. We generally may think of mutual aid as existing most often in communities that have been economically (and in other ways) marginalized, but mutual aid also exists in faith communities of any income level, and even your local “Buy Nothing” group on social media is a type of mutual aid.

I definitely remember learning about Charles Darwin and his concepts of “survival of the fittest” in junior high/high school biology, and learned about “social Darwinism” concepts at some point in college, probably Intro to Sociology. I do not ever remember hearing a junior high or high school teacher talk about Kropotkin and his arguments and examples that, whether biologically or socially, cooperation and not competition is the key to healthy evolution. Then again, I was a teen in the thick of the Cold War, and probably there was limited discussion anywhere in the US of Russian revolutionaries.

Anyway, back to mutual aid: Probably one of the coolest examples of mutual aid I learned about a few years ago was the free breakfast program for school children started by the Black Panther Party in the 1960’s. Here’s a quick listen on it from NPR and here is a scholarly journal article (open access) that goes into more detail on the BPP Breakfast Program and how it evolved from using donations from people external to the community to being grounded in mutual aid and community empowerment. And here is a really cool piece published just last week on “Food as Power: Lessons in Mutual Aid from Black Led Food Justice Movements” (As an added bonus, read more about 412 Food Rescue, the group that authored the previous link, and see the great work they are doing in Pittsburgh, and read what you can do to start or support food justice work in your community!)

Finally, in terms of sharing resources, here is some great information, including links to other readings and videos, on mutual aid from Big Door Brigade. It is a really in-depth resource from people who are doing the work.

If you use social media, look on your platform for local mutual aid groups near you. Think about how your faith community or other groups you are already a part of could provide mutual aid. Think about how you “show up” in spaces. If you desire to get involved in a mutual aid effort where there are people who are marginalized because of their ethnicity, race, or other aspects of their identity, be very aware of how you take up space. Practice cultural humility. Practice humility in general. Be there for each other.