Getting to Know AK: Macio
Greetings. Within my community of activists, dreamers, leaders, and lovers I go by Macio. However, if you were to ask my mother, she would tell you a different story.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, with roots stretching into the southeast parts of North America. In 2004, I left Los Angeles to attend school in Oakland, California. Leaving Los Angeles was bittersweet. On one hand it was my home, a place that had nurtured me, taught me hard lessons and given me opportunities to sneak into unbelievable concerts. I learned to navigate those streets first, before any others. On the other hand, it was time to go. Once I graduated from Mills College, I chose to live and work in Oakland. I experienced living in various different parts of Oakland, each of which I grew to love. I have worked in restaurants, bookstores, fund raising, copy stores, records shops, and the list goes on. Soon the streets became familiar and the faces like those of family. After six years, I can now call this city home. Oakland has provided me with a view I had previously never encountered before: one of hope, change, and acceptance. Since my residency in Oakland, I have been shown a thirst for a better world, the dedication to keep a dream alive, the recognition of one’s duties to the larger society, and the connection be between those duties and one’s own well being. I have the utmost intentions of giving back to my communities that continue to aid my growth and development.
Now, as a collective member of AK Press, I have access to an abundance of educational tools. One of the most prevalent lessons you are always learning here at AK is how to navigate working structures that do not adhere to hierarchical systems of power. This skill comes highly valued within communities that struggle to free themselves from the oppressive powers of state control, police tyranny, and the disadvantages inherent in many institutions. I am absorbing an array of information from the inner-workings of the book trade, self-management, business accounting, networking, and sales. Not to mention that my interest is peaked on a day-to-day basis by thousands of titles we stock in our warehouse; each projecting a unique aspect of radicalism and anti-authoritarian thoughts onto otherwise conventional mediums. I do not take this privilege lightly. My intentions are to share these skills with my communities in ways that will improve and empower our lives.
Aside from paid work, my days are occupied with many other forms of work. I have many comrades within my community and together we try to solidify our organizing efforts to have a stronger and more effective impact on our communities and others at large. While you may think this sounds strenuous and exhausting, you are right. However, some work can be done while playing. For instance, our efforts have manifested themselves in the form of a dance party called Ships in the Night. This queer dance groove takes place once a month and always benefits an organization, individual, newspaper, or cause in need of funds. While sweating it out we also help sources of alternative and radical thought stay on their feet in this money-grubbing world. I otherwise enjoy doing performance art, street theater, compiling resource guides, and making mixes for the hommies.
When I am not working on various community projects, art projects, or just plainly at work, I love spending time with my family, live music, and long walks on the beach at night. As for my future, I aspire to play with a big band, drumlime, industrial band, all girl string quartet nine inch nails cover band, and The Damned.
See You in the Streets!
Macio