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Dear Readers,

Pulse is a beat that runs through our bodies, through our communities, and through the land. We chose this theme because it encapsulates tenacity. Our pulses are the perseverance that keep us fighting for freedom and through pain when the lives of our loved ones and comrades are stolen by state-sanctioned violence.

Compiling this publication, we were deeply humbled by the submissions. Your art and your voices remind us to stay open, stay soft, stay vulnerable, and to turn to love. At the same time, we can hold on to our pain and embrace our anger. This publication is a testament to and celebration of ourselves on this campus, and a demand that we, and our experiences, be recognized. We are here and our pulses beat strong.

In Solidarity is a zine curated by and for people of color each semester at Oberlin College. It opposes and exists outside of mainstream media past and present, where the narratives of people of color are often erased or essentialized. We welcome any artist of color to submit work of any medium that can be shared on paper. Art is integral to our liberation. It can be a source of heal-ing and it re-imagines the futures that we fight for. As new artists enter this institution, the format and tone of In Solidarity is ever-evolving. We hope that each is-sue serves as a time capsule of our collective triumphs and frustrations.

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We dedicate Pulse to trans people whose lives have been taken in 2015. Their murders were not isolated incidents, but instead, manifestations of racialized and gendered violence. Out of the 23 documented murders of trans people in 2015, 20 were women of color. We call on our readers to wake up, stay woke, and chal-lenge one another to actively deconstruct the unjust systems that dominate our institution, the US, and our planet. We recognize and oppose capitalism as the root of amerikkkan injustice and call on readers to uplift our communities with passion and persistence. As con-tributors and editors, we have labored over this zine because we believe in the beauty, perseverance, and strength that is born out of coalition and creativity.

With love and power,

Alexandra Nicome ‘17Anders Villalta ‘16Cameron Campbell ‘18Elka Lee-Shapiro ‘18Gaby Hurtado-Ramos ‘16Lisa-Qiao MacDonald ‘16Olivia Evans ‘18

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To the 23 Trans Women Murdered in 2015(20 of whom were trans women of color):

We honor you. Rest in power.

Papi EdwardsLamia Beard

Ty UnderwoodMichelle (Yazmin) Vash Payne

Taja Gabrielle DeJesusPenny Proud

Bri GolecKristina Grant Infiniti (aka Kristina Gomez Reinwald)

Keyshia BligeLondon Chanel

Mercedes WilliamsonJasmine CollinsAshton O’Hara

India ClarkeK.C. HaggardShade SchulerAmber MonroeKandis CapriElisha Walker

Tamara DominguezKeisha Jenkins

Zella ZionaMya Hall

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Inside back cover: Anders VillaltaOutside back cover: Lisa-Qiao MacDonald

Member of BBC 6-9Dana Fang 10-13Allegra Sussman 14-15karsten jurkiewicz 16Lydia Smith 17Anthony Moaton 18-22Melissa Harris 23-25Fernando Borges 26-28Kyle Tribble 29Jasmine Lomax 30Gaby Hurtado-Ramos 31-33Mo Bey 34-35ジョウシトモヨ 36-38Elka Lee-Shapiro 39Skyler 40-41Anders Villalta 42Miles Ginoza 43Mayowa A. 44

Table of Contents

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Yai Yai, 2015

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Kong Kong, 2015

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Liberation

Migration24

Asylum

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CoffinsGaby Hurtado-Ramos

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right now my heart is healingMayowa A.

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