OM DENNE EPISODE
Born Donald Weems, Kuwasi Balagoon forged himself in the crucible of rebellion. A member of the Black Panther Party and later the Black Liberation Army, Balagoon’s life traced the fault lines of 1970s America—state violence, political imprisonment, and the unfinished work of Black liberation. He survived the Attica prison uprising, endured years in solitary confinement, and wrote fiercely about autonomy, queerness, and revolutionary love.
Balagoon rejected binaries: nationalist and anarchist, soldier and poet, a gay man within movements that often erased queerness. His essays and letters reveal a thinker wrestling with revolutionary strategy and selfhood, insisting that freedom must include the fullness of identity.
Today, as debates over protest, policing, and political prisoners continue, Balagoon’s voice asks what solidarity truly demands, and who it must protect.
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Binary Bashers is part of Embracing All of Me, a storytelling and advocacy platform uplifting the voices of Bi+ people of color, as well as our communities, kin, and allies. Visit our FAQs and Sources page to learn more about how this episode was developed.
