I Have Been to the Future — We Won

Simi Kang

“This piece was collectively conceived of by the members of the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Group, whose tireless work to support one another and our larger community as academics of color is unparalleled. The banner slogan “I have been to the future – we won,” was designed by Florida-based, worker-owned and run t-shirt company Rebel Threads, whose work “represents the revolutionary agenda of young people of color.” In August 2015, the University of Minnesota lost one of its fiercest scholars and activists, Jesús Estrada-Pérez. Jesús was one of fifteen students who conducted a sit-in in the university president’s office, and one of thirteen who were subsequently arrested. These students demanded representation for students and faculty of color at the University of Minnesota, insisting that the president engage in substantive, and not cosmetic diversity, including the recruitment and retention of students from historically marginalized backgrounds, and reforming curriculum to include comprehensive education for all. This piece is a testament to his and his peers’ brave protests, and honors the resistance that undergirded his person and his work as a scholar-activist.”

~ Simi Kang, 2017

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Suggested citation:

Kang, S. 2024. “I Have Been to the Future—We Won.” In eds. José Manuel Santillana Blanco, Kidiocus King-Carroll, Naimah Zulmadelle Pétigny, and Kong Pheng Pha in collaboration with AGITATE! Editorial Collective. Seditious Acts: AGITATE! Special Volume with CRES: https://agitatejournal.org/article/i-have-been-to-the-future-we-won/