Hammer & Hope
A great magazine could use some financial support
As most of you know, it’s tough to run a publication, now more than ever. People want to be well-informed but they don’t necessarily want to pay for it and good writing does cost money as does editing, design, and all the other tasks that go into assembling a publication. Or, as is often the case, people are willing to pay for good writing and journalism but there are so many outlets that keep so much of their work behind paywalls that we have to make budget-minded decisions about where we spend money on newspapers and magazines. I get it. You get it.
That said, I want to make a pitch for supporting Hammer & Hope, a magazine rooted in black politics and culture that is in its early(ish) days and needs our help. As we look at the world burning around us, feeling helpless, publications like Hammer & Hope matter more than ever. It’s not that excellent, rigorously conceived and edited writing will save the world (though it might). The pen is not always mightier than the sword (though sometimes it is). BUT. The kind of writing Hammer & Hope publishes does offer us insight into how we got here, what might lie ahead, and how we can fight the rapidly encroaching fascism, segregation, and white christian supremacy a great many of our elected leaders are welcoming with open arms.
In their most recent issue, there is an entreaty about how we need to do much more than vote to create change. Lorga Garcia Peña complicates the idea of the “Latino Vote.” There’s also a great essay about the work organizers are doing in North Carolina to support immigrant communities as they move forward from Hurricane Helene. Braxton Brewington argues that Black men need abolition, not vaguely defined agendas that won’t really serve Black men’s interests. And, of course, there is much more.
Each issue is full of nuanced, elegant writing and thought leadership that is well-edited. The work is unapologetically activist-oriented and committed to liberation for Black people, Latino people, for other POCs, for women, for the trans community, for immigrant communities, for all of us. Hammer & Hope is a real gem and it is also a necessity. The coming months and years are precarious, particularly for publications like Hammer & Hope as philanthropic funders tread the new lines being drawn by the Trump regime. These funders don’t really take risks and anything that challenges the status quo, which is Hammer & Hope’s bread and butter, is seen as a risk.
So. If you can contribute to their efforts, please do so. Any amount helps. The future of Hammer & Hope is in our (broadly speaking) hands. Let’s do what we can to support their bold risk-taking.
P.S. Anytime I mention something to which you may want to contribute, do know that I am contributing too. I support Hammer & Hope with a monthly contribution.
Done. I really learn a lot from this publication.
Done, thank you for asking Agree small things and actions matter.