In her introduction, Lara frames Black decolonization, queer freedom, and Black sovereignty as the same meaning. I thought this was interesting because, although these three terms are similar, they exist separately and are used differently among many narratives of abolition and reform. I found it even more interesting that she umbrellas these three terms under “queer” which was a word that I did not necessarily associate with this topic. Lara intertwines spirituality amongst these themes which makes me think of her anthropology background and how she calls for an in-depth understanding of relationships beyond person to person. With land, memory, and even war, Lara challenges us to grasp the entirety of relational branching beyond ourselves in order to tackle the complex task of decolonization. I thought this was very effective in setting up her ethnography because it emphasized the importance of observing and examining relationships as well as the historical context.
Another comment I had was that she had many references even in her introduction! Her references were almost half the page which helped me to take her credibility. I never realized how important it was to provide these resources until I was reading the introduction.