We exist in a lineage of Maroons, rebels, and revolutionaries, people who decided to live free or die, as the motto goes, since the first enslaved Africans were brought to the Americas. While our struggle is not new, the dynamics we face are the products of ever-evolving global economic and political systems set up to exploit those living on the margins. Despite centuries of Black freedom struggle in the Americas we continue to fall short of getting free. Our people’s history of resistance is not fully known or valued—despite serving as a model for liberation struggles throughout the world. Knowledge must be democratized. Principled debate and struggle distributes knowledge and generates ideas. And in doing so, people can have radical visions of their very own. Political discomfort is necessary for growth.

— Unapologetic by Charlene A. Carruthers (Page 41)