Grief as a weapon of Liberation
Grief as a Weapon of Liberation
Collapse doesn’t come all at once. It’s felt first by those closest to the edges: the ones whose water runs dry, whose forests are burned for profit, whose ancestors were ripped from the land and whose descendants are denied the right to grieve them. Grief, in these times, is not a symptom of collapse, it’s a warning, a pulse of life through systems designed to kill it.
Grief threatens these systems because it reveals what they try to hide: that this world wasn’t built to last. The scaffolding of capitalism, colonialism, and white supremacy shakes, and we feel it in our bones. Grief isn’t just the weight we carry in collapse, it’s the tool we wield to dismantle it. Grief is a weapon.
The Power of Grief to Dismantle and Transform
When grief is collective, it’s unstoppable. It brings us to the truth that systems of power try to sever: we are deeply, irrevocably connected. Your grief and mine are not separate, they are part of the same web of life, pulled taut by injustice. The extinction of a species, the razing of a forest, the drowning of a city, the genocide of a people, these are not isolated events. They are evidence of the collapse we’ve been living in for generations.
To grieve together is to remember this. It is to reclaim what was stolen, not just land or labor, but the right to feel, mourn, and transform. Grief, when shared, becomes not just a response but a resistance.
“Grief becomes Solidarity, and Solidarity becomes Action”
The Unseen Systems That Numb Us
Modern systems do not simply ignore grief, they actively suppress it. Corporations and governments rely on spectacle, consumerism, and propaganda to keep us numb. We are sold distractions in the form of endless scrolling, new gadgets, and feel-good slogans that never address the root of the pain.
Ask yourself: Why is grief so often medicalized, treated as a pathology instead of a natural response to injustice and loss? Why are bereavement leaves so rare? Or so short? These systems turn grief into a private, isolated burden, stripping it of its collective and transformative potential.
When we face this grief fully, we see the ways these systems manipulate us. Grieving openly, with others, is a radical act of refusal to comply with the world as it is.
Grief as the Catalyst for Transformation: Lessons from History
Grief has always been a driving force in the cycles of collapse and transformation throughout history. Societies have grieved not only personal losses but the loss of ways of life, of justice, of dignity. This grief, when expressed collectively, has birthed some of the most powerful movements for change, even in the face of insurmountable odds.
Take the abolitionist movement in the United States. It was born not just from outrage at the violence of slavery but from deep, ancestral grief, grief for stolen lives, severed families, and the forced disconnection from culture and homeland. The enslaved and their descendants mourned not only what was taken but also what could never be fully restored. Yet, this grief was not paralyzing. It became the wellspring of resistance, courage, and vision. From this place of mourning arose spirituals, coded messages of defiance and escape, and ultimately, the liberation efforts that dismantled the institution of slavery.
Similarly, consider the labor movement at the turn of the 20th century. Workers across industries grieved the toll of industrial capitalism, lives lost in unsafe factories, childhoods sacrificed to labor, and communities fractured by economic exploitation. Their grief was a collective mourning for a system that dehumanized them and their children. Strikes, union organizing, and the fight for labor protections emerged as acts of collective reclamation. Grief became solidarity, and solidarity became action.
Even the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. can be understood as a response to profound, generational grief. It was grief that galvanized communities in the wake of Emmett Till’s murder and the four little girls killed in the Birmingham church bombing. These were not isolated tragedies; they were part of a long history of systemic racial violence that entire communities carried in their bodies and spirits. The movement’s leaders and participants allowed that grief to fuel their resolve, transforming mourning into marches, legislation, and enduring cultural change.
In each of these examples, grief was not simply a reaction to loss; it was the fire that burned away illusions and cleared the ground for new ways of being. These movements show us that collective grief, when recognized and nurtured, has always been the foundation of transformation.
Grief as a Tool for Liberation
Here are a few ways to let grief guide you:
Mourn Together: Build or join spaces for collective grieving. Whether it’s a vigil, a mutual aid group, or simply gathering to cry and rage together, these acts reclaim connection in a world built on disconnection.
See Grief as an Act of Defiance: Refuse to numb yourself to the losses around you. Let your grief be a refusal to accept the destruction of the planet, the dehumanization of people, and the hollow promises of the systems causing the harm.
Channel Grief Into Vision: Grieve not to “move on” but to imagine what could be different. Use grief as a way to interrogate what you’ve been told to value and what you truly want to fight for.
Resist Isolation: Systems of oppression thrive on isolation. Grief is a reminder that you are not alone, that your pain is shared and that shared pain can lead to collective action.
Liberation Lives in the Ashes of Collapse
We often think of collapse as the end, but it’s only ever the end of one story. What comes next is ours to write. Grief helps us let go of the myths that no longer serve us and make room for what could grow in their place. Grief is a portal.
If you feel the weight of the world crumbling, you’re not failing. You’re witnessing. And that grief you feel isn’t just yours, it belongs to the collective you’re a part of. Let it guide you, not away from the pain but deeper into the work of transforming it. Because on the other side of collapse, something new is waiting to be born.
Michelle Carrera is a death doula, grief educator, and writer dedicated to helping individuals and communities navigate the profound intersections of grief, death, and liberation. Through her work, she brings a radical lens to mourning, drawing on ancestral wisdom, systemic critique, and transformative practices to guide others toward connection, purpose, and action. Visit www.griefandliberation.com to learn more and schedule a free Grief Compass consultation.