‘Creating the community I want to be part of’: Affinity-based organising in a small, progressive rustbelt city
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2021
Department/School
Women's and Gender Studies
Publication Title
Urban Studies
Abstract
This article explores a small city’s response to the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2017. Love, Resilience, Action Ypsilanti (LRAY) focused on community-building and the social justice history of Ypsilanti, Michigan to create a queer-affirming feminist event that intentionally referenced and diverged from national Women’s Marches. In exploring intersectional social justice organising by a queer-dominated feminist group, I argue that organisers’ emphasis on communal care in combination with direct action reflected an affinity-based understanding of community characteristic of this particular small progressive rustbelt city. This example demonstrates the importance of including small cities in urban LGBTQ research.
Link to Published Version
Recommended Citation
Currans, E. (2021). ‘Creating the community I want to be part of’: Affinity-based organising in a small, progressive rustbelt city. Urban Studies, 58(7), 1484–1499. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098020966258