ABOUT TO RESIST IS TO LOVE


To Resist is to Love What Could Be began as a small fundraiser by a group of students at Columbia University to support local mutual aid organizations in New York City by connecting the politics of fashion with the values of mutual aid. However, given the growing animosity towards themes of resistance at Columbia University, To Resist is to Love began organizing local events and fundraisers to provide alternative spaces of resistance at the university. For us, resistance isn't just a metaphor; it's the ultimate expression of love for the future, love for what could be: love for fruits that you may never reap, but that you fight for the hope of another mouth's satisfaction.

Our work is deeply rooted in collaboration and experimentation. We are all about providing various forms/forums to meet our community where they are. Therefore, we believe it is time that we bring our values of aid, activism, and education beyond the (locked) gates of Columbia and work with people across the nation doing the everyday work to actualize their “what could be's.”

Though our values have remained consistent since the start, our work has significantly transformed since our initial public launch in mid-October of 2023. Since then, we have partnered with student and public organizations to host events, fundraise, and connect communities in attempt to inspire and motivate people to form stronger, more dependable networks of care and support. 

As a community-driven project, To Resist is to Love’s work is built on the three values underlying mutual aid: reciprocity, shared humanity, and community-driven care and redistribution of resources. We are an anti-imperialist, anti-settler, anti-capitalist group that strives to imagine a world divorced from artificial scarcity and disenfrachisement through aid, activism, and education. 

Our work is informed by the work of activists and everyday people who fought for the conditions we take relief in; however, the work is far from over. Drawing from disability, feminist, Queer, Indigenous, and Black traditions, To Resist is to Love exists to offer an alternative space/imagination/world of possibiltiy to engage people in reimagining the potentials of the beautiful, absurd world that we all take part in. 

A better world is possible, but only with your help.