Z! Haukeness

Z! is a long-time racial justice organizer working at the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality and ability on various campaigns and projects with a homebase at SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice). They are trans, gender non-conforming and have worked in various local, statewide and national organizations rooted in racial justice with a focus on other interconnecting systems of oppression and liberation. They have been interviewed and published in a few books and other publications. Over the past 10 years they have been deeply involved in various movement moments including SB1070, Take Back the Land to do housing liberations, Wisconsin Uprising, Occupy, Black Lives Matter affiliate, Young Gifted and Black Coalition, to stop the building of a new jail in Dane County WI, and being part of the legal team at Standing Rock. They come from the small town of Strum in midwest WI, lived in Madison for the past 15 years doing social justice work, and now live in Louisville KY. They are a poet, auntie of many friends and family members kids, and a cat lover. They are all about creative expression and cultural organizing and love to see the grind of direct action intersect with collective healing and beautiful cultural work that leads to concrete systemic change. Their work is very spiritually based, with an eye towards the magical, and rooted in love for new possibilities of getting free.