migration is natural

As I'm sure many of you have heard by now, ICE killed a man in Biddeford last week in front of his child. It wasn't even the person they were targeting. Nothing about this makes sense. Johan Sebastián should still be here with his family. I am heartbroken. Again. There's no single right response to something like this. But I do know that fascism is the wrong response to life. It only moves us toward death.

Migration is natural. We see it throughout the animal world, and humans have been migrating for as long as we have recorded history. Whether your family has been here since before we were called the United States, since this country's founding 250 years ago or you arrived just 24 hours ago, you belong. Migration is part of the human story, not an exception to it. 

I can’t stop thinking about how I get to live in this beautiful place with a relative sense of safety because of where I was born and the color of my skin. I keep catching myself feeling guilty for continuing to enjoy small pleasures: playing outside, sharing meals with loved ones, dancing, and making art at ECC. Then I remember: this is part of the antidote to fascism.

Yes, we resist by organizing, protesting, speaking out, and protecting one another. But we also resist by remembering why we fight in the first place: so that people can play outside, share meals with the people they love, make art, dance, and live full lives. So we keep doing those things. And we get creative about making sure all of us—not just some of us—have the opportunity to do them.

That creative force is not only a form of resistance. It’s also a reminder of what we’re fighting for.

Join us in supporting our beloved immigrant communities in multiple ways. Here’s what we’re doing at ECC:

❤️ Send us a screenshot of a donation of any amount to Project Relief Maine, the Maine Solidarity Fund, or the GoFundMe for Johan Sebastián’s family, and we’ll send you a free screen-printed patch that says migration is beautiful. Pick it up at Electric Cottage Collective, or we’ll mail it to you at no cost.

🖤 Next week we’ll also have more handmade merch available at our etsy shop featuring this and other designs, with proceeds shared with one of the organizations above.

📅 On July 27, we’re hosting two back-to-back fundraiser classes:

💃 5:45 PM — Reggaetón Body Language: Fundraiser for Project Relief with Anne Esguerra

🌱 7:00 PM — Cheap Art Club: Fundraiser for Project Relief with Sam Hallowell (and me! Liz Kovarsky)

Let’s keep making art and dancing—not as a distraction from what’s happening, but as a way to remember why we resist, and as a way to resist.

As always: fuck 🧊 and love our neighbors. 💔