Virginia Eubanks – författare

Someone you love, maybe the person you love most in the world, is drowning. Should you jump in the water? Will you be able to bring both of you back to shore? One night, Virginia Eubanks received the kind of news we all fear. Her beloved partner had been brutally beaten, just steps from their home. She jumped in the water. Eubanks dove into the responsibilities of caregiving. In the weeks, months, and years that followed, she and her partner, J., struggled to stay afloat as they faced wave upon wave of setbacks: police disinterest, suspended health insurance, inadequate medical care, lost income, lost friends, endless paperwork, and, for J., a serious case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Then, a second case. Eubanks herself developed what is known as collateral PTSD, a condition common among caregivers but rarely discussed. She scanned the horizon for help. A reporter and an activist, Eubanks turned to reliable sources for guidance: scientists, therapists, trauma theorists, social movements. But it wasn't until she happened on an old lifesaving manual that she found advice that actually helped. Inspired by its lessons, she signed up for instruction in wilderness first aid, kayak self-rescue, Winter Survival 101, map and compass navigation, bushwhacking, and lifeguarding. She went out in search of other people's stories and interviewed experts-everyone from neuroscientists to forest rangers. She gathered skills and knowledge that made her feel strong, competent, better prepared for the challenges ahead. Disarmingly funny and quietly wise, A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving is the story-heart-wrenching and all too relatable-of how one woman tried to rescue her beloved and learned that she would also have to rescue herself. Built from both loss and connection, it is a moving, hopeful love story about two people caught in their own kind of wilderness, trying not just to survive but to truly care for each other. It asks that we reconsider the ways in which we tend to our loved ones and ourselves, and remember the communities of care that sustain us. It reminds us: no one survives the wilderness alone.

Reveals a remarkable woman's life and her contributions to social justice movements related to Civil Rights, feminism, lesbian and gay liberation, anti-racism, and Black feminism.Silver Winner, 2014 ForeWord IndieFab Book of the Year Award in the Women's Studies Category 2015 Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Memoir/Biography presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation 2015 Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction presented by the Publishing Triangle As an organizer, writer, publisher, scholar-activist, and elected official, Barbara Smith has played key roles in multiple social justice movements, including Civil Rights, feminism, lesbian and gay liberation, anti-racism, and Black feminism. Her four decades of grassroots activism forged collaborations that introduced the idea that oppression must be fought on a variety of fronts simultaneously, including gender, race, class, and sexuality. By combining hard-to-find historical documents with new unpublished interviews with fellow activists, this book uncovers the deep roots of today's "identity politics" and "intersectionality" and serves as an essential primer for practicing solidarity and resistance.

Una poderosa investigación sobre la discriminación basada en datos y cómo la tecnología afecta a los derechos civiles y a la equidad económica.Desde los albores de la era digital, la toma de decisiones en finanzas, empleo, política, salud y servicios ha experimentado un cambio revolucionario: sistemas automatizados, en lugar de humanos, controlan qué vecindarios se vigilan, qué familias obtienen los recursos necesarios o quién es investigado por fraude. Si bien todos vivimos bajo este nuevo régimen de datos, los sistemas más invasivos y punitivos están dirigidos a los pobres.Eubanks investiga el impacto de la minería de datos, las políticas del algoritmo y los modelos de riesgo predictivo aplicados a las personas pobres y de clase trabajadora en Estados Unidos. El país siempre ha utilizado su ciencia y tecnología de vanguardia para contener, investigar, disciplinar y castigar a los sintecho.El seguimiento digital y la toma de decisiones automatizadas ocultan la pobreza al público de clase media y le dan al Estado la distancia ética que necesita para tomar decisiones inhumanas: qué familias obtienen alimentos y cuáles mueren de hambre, quién tiene vivienda y quién permanece sin hogar y a qué familias divide el Estado. En el proceso, debilitan la democracia y traicionan los valores nacionales más preciados.

Urgent stories from the intersection of automation and social welfare, told by people around the world fighting for access and resources to care for themselves and loved onesWelfare systems across the globe have long been set up to punish those who need them to access support. But we’re entering a new era where automation and punitive policy make social provision even worse—systems are increasingly computerized, impersonal, and difficult to navigate.Offering an intimate look at what it means to rely on public services in an ever more alienating world, Not a Number shares sixteen first-person narratives from around the world, as people struggle for access to basic needs with dignity. Read about Sara Peavey, a young woman in Albuquerque who spent years battling what she calls the “Department of Decisions” in order to receive mental health care; Lucy, a mother in the UK forced to attend child protective hearings and bond with her toddler over Zoom during the COVID-19 lockdowns; John Otajar, an elder in rural Uganda denied social benefits because administrators assigned him an incorrect birth date; and María Medina in Colombia, who was suddenly removed from the category of “poor” by a change to a classification algorithm, losing access to health care and income support. Together, these stories call us to build systems grounded in dignity, care, and real human connection—so that no one is reduced to a number or data point.

Urgent stories from the intersection of automation and social welfare, told by people around the world fighting for access and resources to care for themselves and loved onesWelfare systems across the globe have long been set up to punish those who need them to access support. But we’re entering a new era where automation and punitive policy make social provision even worse—systems are increasingly computerized, impersonal, and difficult to navigate.Offering an intimate look at what it means to rely on public services in an ever more alienating world, Not a Number shares sixteen first-person narratives from around the world, as people struggle for access to basic needs with dignity. Read about Sara Peavey, a young woman in Albuquerque who spent years battling what she calls the “Department of Decisions” in order to receive mental health care; Lucy, a mother in the UK forced to attend child protective hearings and bond with her toddler over Zoom during the COVID-19 lockdowns; John Otajar, an elder in rural Uganda denied social benefits because administrators assigned him an incorrect birth date; and María Medina in Colombia, who was suddenly removed from the category of “poor” by a change to a classification algorithm, losing access to health care and income support. Together, these stories call us to build systems grounded in dignity, care, and real human connection—so that no one is reduced to a number or data point.