Grief Is the Healing: Malkia Devich-Cyril on Organizing Through Loss
Episode Description
In this episode of The Fascism Barometer, host Ejeris Dixon is joined by renowned activist, narrative strategist, and speaker Malkia Devich-Cyril for a wide-ranging conversation that connects the rise of fascism to collective grief, Black liberation, and the emotional landscape of organizing within repressive times.
About Malkia
Malkia “Mac” Devich-Cyril co-directs the Healing, Sustainability and Culture Strategy at the Movement Innovation Collaborative. Mac is a movement strategist and facilitator, award winning activist and prolific writer and public speaker on issues of collective grief, Black liberation, narrative change and power building. As the founding and former director of Media Justice, Malkia spearheaded two decades of national grassroots efforts for abolition and access in a digital age, galvanizing BIPOC communities for an open Internet, media access, and platform accountability. In an era of rising authoritarianism and devastating mass loss, Devich-Cyril has launched the Radical Loss Project – a Black-led change lab transforming how modern freedom movements face loss and build collective power through collective grief. After decades driving power building local and national strategies on diverse racial and economic justice issues, Malkia now focuses on building more effective, holistic, and high-impact Left movements.
About Ejeris
Ejeris is a political strategist passionate about strengthening liberation movements and building community safety. Ejeris serves as the Fascism Barometer's "movement meteorologist," exploring the impact of fascist movements on communities of color, queer and trans communities, and all marginalized people. Having worked for the past twenty-five years at the intersections of racial justice, LGBTQ liberation, anti-violence, transformative justice, and economic justice movements, Ejeris focuses on creating political and strategic experiments to strengthen social justice movements through the organization Ejerie Labs.
Resources
Reading
Season 2, Episode 4 Listening Guide (pdf download)
Grief Belongs in Social Movements. Can We Embrace it? Malkia Devich- Cyril
Check out the Radical Loss Project’s Resource Bank!
Learn more about collective care, healing justice, and movement building: Healing Justice Lineages: Dreaming at the Crossroads of Liberation, Collective Care, and Safety by Erica Woodland and Cara Page
Watching
Book bans, grief, and love: what do these have to do with social movements? Malkia Devich-Cyril, Refuge in Grief
“Fascism Isn’t Coming, It’s Here”: Mehdi Hasan on Trump, Gaza & Leaving MSNBC to Start Zeteo, Democracy Now
Action
Call your congressperson – Gaza is being starved. Take Action with the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin?ms=shortlink
Donate to Mohsan Mahdawi’s immigrant legal defense fund! Support the Vermont Immigrant Legal Defense Fund
Check out the Radical Loss Project
On Monday, May 12th, join the Working Families’s Party: National Solidarity Call with Ras Baraka
Donate to the Fascism Barometer and support us in continuing to create episodes and resources for you!
Attend Feminists Resisting Fascism: CODEPINK Summer School 2025
Sign the petition to free Mahmoud Khalil!
Join the Mass Call to Protect Medicaid with People’s Action
Attend Siembra NC’s trainings and download the toolkit!
Check out the mutual aid network through the All of US Directory, a sortable database that seeks to make it possible for newly activated people to easily connect with organizing and mutual aid efforts.
Join a boycott through Choose Democracy’s Boycott Central!
Attend Media Justice’s political education series WTF: The Rise of the Tech Broligarchy, a biweekly show examining the actions of the Tech Broligarchy, the implications of their agenda, and how to resist it.
Check out the resource hub!