Ali & Silverman/Subjugated Voices, 10. Bodies of Evidence and Why Thanxgrieving?

The late Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé’s was a guerilla scholar; he viewed social media as a forum for subaltern voices to use to express themselves. His chapter is composed of two pieces: “Bodies of Evidence,” an address for the 1998 AIDS and Religion in America Conference held in Atlanta, and an essay written for social media entitled “Why Thanxgrieving?” In the first, Farajajé introduces the terms HIV the@logies, innovative theologies derived from experiences and movements that seek to address and serve those with HIV in ways that traditional theology has fallen short, and HIV-in-intersection, which encourages people to acknowledge the intersecting issues and oppressions that are part of the HIV/AIDS crisis in an effort to liberate the self. The second piece, “Why Thanxgrieving?,” dedicated to the late Jon Paul Hammond, shares the origin story of a yearly celebration within Farajajé’s circle meant to take the place of traditional Thanksgiving and the historical baggage that accompanies that holiday. These writings continue Farajajé’s legacy of love, solidarity, and resistance.