'The Dream' Revisited
Brandi Collins-Dexter speaks at the Frank Gathering in February 2023. (Credit: Ryan Isaiah)
“We hold in us the freedom to be time travelers, shapeshifters, and border-hoppers, building on the dreams of those who came before us.”
— Brandi Collins-Dexter
Last month, the movement for justice lost a monumental voice and leader, Brandi Collins-Dexter. I am honored, humbled and grateful to have shared stages, podcasts, laughs and a deep (and not-at-all-guilty-pleasure) love of professional wrestling with her over the years. We crossed paths in our work time and again, and sat on the Disinfo Defense League’s Narrative Council together. I was routinely mesmerized by her keen insight, stiletto-like snark and limitless capacity for relating minute, obscure and always painfully relevant tidbits of historical and pop culture trivia to our current moment.
A couple of years ago, Brandi and I had the pleasure of delivering bookending remarks about — what else? — wrestling, identity, narrative and power at a public interest communications conference. Brandi’s talk closed the gathering in remarkable fashion. She spoke about the need for release and joy, for fantasy, frivolity and flights of fancy amid our hard work for justice and liberation. She spoke about the power and purpose of finding peace in even the most problematic forms of entertainment.
In the post below I share the closing words of Brandi's speech, which, in the wake of losing her far too soon, hit even harder now than they did then. In this excerpt, she asks us — those who write, march, organize, disobey and rise up for justice and for each other – to imagine ourselves as heroes in the fight for freedom. She asks us to imagine ourselves as glittering superstars in a galaxy of interconnected constellations stretching beyond time and space, the past and future, of family and friends, allies and ancestors, of generations who resisted and survived before us and what we owe to and will bestow upon generations to come. She invited us to dream about what it means to win and what it means to keep going even when you don’t know what winning would even look like.
This is the Brandi we knew. Realistic and radical, visionary and visceral, caring and cosmic. Brandi is absolutely the best of us, her brilliance both a beacon and benchmark. I am grateful for the gift of knowing her, laughing with her, and learning from her. May she rest easy, and may we all do our damnedest to live up to what she laid down.
So check out her words below. Close your eyes. Imagine. Dream. And feel the glow.
Excerpt from "The Dream"
By Brandi Collins-Dexter
We began our journey together with closing our eyes and imagining the children or other loved ones that shape our lives. And now, I invite you to close your eyes and imagine yourself. See yourself in the most supersonic costumes you can imagine.
Maybe you're wearing an ornate robe that has the word "Glorious" bedazzled on the back. (You're my people if you get that reference.) Or jewelry passed down to you from your ancestors or a macaroni necklace your kid made you. Maybe you're in all black everything, or pleather, wearing a mask or face paint or a hijab that is straight-up serving. Or jeans and dirty Converse or six-inch platform boots. (Mad respect.) Maybe you're wearing Randy Orton-style panties. (No judgment, it's your superhero costume. Do you, friends.)
Whatever it is, imagine yourself as your most heroic, inspired self, drawing on the power of community, in and outside of this space we've created on and offline. In this moment, I want us to remember the knowledge that was shared and built in this container that we now hold within us. We hold in us the will to purge every system in this country of harm and violence, so that something new and better can have the fertile soil it needs to grow. We hold in us the people who sought to build an oasis for their families on contaminated lands, through it all creating space for food, laughter and music that tastes, sounds and feels like home. We hold in us the freedom to be time travelers, shapeshifters, and border-hoppers, building on the dreams of those who came before us.
We know revolution takes time and also abundant freedom is here for us right now, as long as we commit to it as a practice everyday, today. The long view can be seen from here, even if the shadow of exclusion looms large. Because, when you're on this journey with someone else you love and you love yourself, that's when you find yourself. And that's when you find us. So, now is the time to go back out into the world and resume rewriting the script. And you need to be a little braver than you feel, imagine putting on that costume and being your own hero.
You can watch Brandi's entire speech here:
Originally published by Disinfo Defense League on July 25, 2025.