Honoring Our Friend and Beloved Comrade Dani/Velvet
Dani, aka Mistress Velvet, remains a cherished comrade, friend, co-struggler and fierce lover of Black people even after their sunset. Dani worked alongside many of us on, and was an original founder of , the grassroots campaign of Decrim IL—when we spoke, they passionately articulated how important a shared analysis of uplifting sex working experiences for criminalized survivors was to them, and to our intersecting freedom movements. They were passionate about supporting survivors of violence and everyone in the sex trades. In their labor, they complicated and expanded what anti-domestic violence work could be, they exploded and added a vibrancy to sex worker non-profits, they demanded what they saw as reparations from their white men clients.
They cultivated care, community, and compassion wherever they went. The work of this campaign to decriminalize sex work in Illinois, and more broadly to decriminalize all survival, is offered to our many communities and co-strugglers in honor of Dani. It is our sincerest hope that we do their memory justice by continuing this work, by loving Black people, by fighting for liberation for all, and abolishing prisons and policing in all their violent incarnations. Please think of Dani as you engage in this work, say or sign their name, and hold their life, memory, and legacy close to you as we do now.
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