Community Movement Builders Core Values
In alignment with our Core Values, Community Movement Builders stands against cis-hetero-capitalist-patriarchy and is committed to ousting the ways it shows up in our communities and in our movement.
In just the past few weeks, we have witnessed numerous acts of violence against Black women and children/youth. In particular, we uplift the names and experiences of:
- Nancy Metayer, Vice Mayor of Coral Springs, Florida who was murdered April 1, 2026 by her husband;
- Davonta Curtis, who was killed by her boyfriend April 5, 2026 in an act of anti-trans violence;
- Ashanti Allen, who was eight months pregnant, murdered by her boyfriend and the father of her unborn child April 10, 2026,
- Dr. Cerina Fairfax, murdered April 16, 2026 by her husband, the former Virginia Lieutenant Governor, who then died by suicide in their home while their children were present,
- Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5, shot and killed by their father/uncle April 19, 2026, who traveled to three different locations in Shreveport, Louisiana to do so, shooting and wounding his wife and former partner in the process as well;
- Zion Terry, 18 who was murdered April 21, 2026, while his younger sibling and his mother, Tiffany Terry, were wounded in a case of domestic violence in Henrico County, Virginia.
These instances come in the wake of a year which began with a breaking story which exposed an online “rape academy” that provides tips to men “on how to drug, abuse, and exploit women, often their own partners, while avoiding detection,” which received 62 million views/visits this past February; the ongoing development of the Epstein files; and continuing discourse surrounding the abuses of Diddy and R. Kelly.
Domestic violence is a major concern of which most victims are women. According to the Violence Policy Center’s 2023 Domestic Violence Study, while Black women accounted for 14% of the female population in the United States, they made up a disproportionate 31.4% of those killed by men in single victim incidents. As is common with a majority of gender-based homicides, 90.2% of these victims knew their killers. In these particular instances, Black women, trans folks, and youth were the unfortunate victims of the violence of the Black men in their lives.
CMB recognizes these instances of femicide and filicide as symptoms of the patriarchy which upholds structures of power, domination, control and entitlement with men at the center while actively oppressing those from marginalized gender classes. By definition, it refers to the authoritative control of the male-figure over the family and kin groups, as well as the nation-state, military, organized religion, and other societal groupings of people.
Patriarchy is a social structure or system of community, society and government in which (usually straight) men’s and boys’ power is upheld as superior to and often exclusive of the power of women and girls and queer persons.
It is inseparable from capitalism in that through the delegation of gender roles paired with the material maintenance of male supremacy, capitalism ensures that society is regulated and controlled. Under capitalist-patriarchy, a woman’s role (and labor) is characterized by the reproduction of a working class alongside other uncompensated culture/moral/housekeeping tasks often placing them in service to men/"the family" with no materially/economically realized benefit.
Additionally, patriarchy is characterized by a version of masculinity which encourages competition, control, domination, aggression, power, decision-making and a limited display/capacity for emotions. Traditionally, it pushes men and boys towards toughness and away from vulnerability, materially rewarding them for the former while simultaneously punishing them for the latter.
These instances all highlight serious issues within our communities ranging from abuse to the silencing of victims and their stories to transphobia, mental health, the presence of entitlement and assumed control of women’s bodies/labor and everything in between. The women and children who lost their lives were stripped, not only of their lives, but of their sovereignty, bodily autonomy and access to safety and security within their own chosen communities. As an organization committed to supporting Black-led collectives to build self-determined communities and liberated zones, we remain disheartened by the realities that too often, gender and sexual minorities and youth find themselves at an impasse where their safety and sovereignty is concerned.
Much of the discussion surrounding these horrific acts has centered on the mental health of Black men. While Black mental health is important to discuss and address within our communities, we would be remiss to not explicitly name that it is patriarchy which contributes to the exploitation of and violence against women and children as property/possessions at the hands of men in power. A system of power, domination, control and entitlement solely by men because they are men, over women, children, other men and those who do not conform to the gender binary - that is the true cause of these horrific acts.
As a Pan-African organization, we affirm that patriarchy is not unique to whiteness, nor is our fight to combat it a "western construct" invented to distract us from our movement. Despite not having the economic power of billionaire chief executives or multinational corporations; despite not being owners of the means of production; and with deep understanding of the level of state violence that they are subject to – being murdered and imprisoned without impunity by law enforcement – the moments in which Black men exert emotional, psychological, and physical power and control in our homes and communities should not be overlooked as they are overt representations of the same violent capitalist-patriarchal principles we oppose.
Patriarchy is a violent system which maintains its grip through violence.
In addition to violence, patriarchy uses beliefs as a crucial pillar: it must be supported psychologically by both its perpetrators and its victims. The belief that men are entitled to the bodies, labor and obedience of another and the willingness to exert violence as an acceptable means of control within interpersonal relationships has and continues to cause tremendous damage within our communities. We understand the same system that perpetuated the conditions for chattel slavery as that which similarly engenders misogynoir, sexism and misopedia.
In this society, men are not socialized to regulate their emotions. They are not socialized to be vulnerable, show "weakness" or seek out help. They are socialized towards anger and aggression and to ultimately believe that violence is a normal part of manhood and an acceptable response when rejected, challenged or otherwise held accountable.
Yet challenge, we must. We must be accountable to one another.
Like capitalism and imperialism, patriarchy is a system that violates our human rights on a daily basis. It must be eradicated. To do this, Black men, as well as the rest of us, will have to wrestle and sit with uncomfortable truths. We will have to be vulnerable with one another.
We are heartbroken over these recent acts - as well as all the others - of such horrific violence in our communities. CMB pledges to continue to build and work toward the freedom of all of our people. We pledge to continue to make Black Love and Humanity a tangible reality in our communities.
Community Movement Builders (CMB) is a member-based collective of black people creating sustainable, self-determining communities through cooperative economic advancement and collective community organizing.
