Orientation

Last weekend was our long awaited orientation weekend. It was interesting to gather first impressions of people who I know that I'll get to know in much greater depth over the next few months. The ABP leadership team and staff introduced themselves, and it was inspiring to hear about how they came to political consciousness and to anti-racist work, and to hear about the varied and important work they are doing now. A couple of parts of the weekend stand out to me:

On the second day of orientation, Clare Bayard and Amie Fishman talked about the importance of articulating a vision of the world we are working for, not just critiquing existing oppression (just like you were exhorting, Dad.) They led us in an excercise in visioning. I include below the questions that were used for the excercise, with permission from Amie.

"What is the vision of the world you are working toward? What is your vision of social justice? We all see a lot of violence and harm institutionally and interpersonally. If we could imagine all of that shifting, what would it look like in your home or family... you neighborhood, your town?

"How would people relate to each other?
How would people relate to the work they’re doing?
How would people relate to resources, the planet?
What is valued, who is valued and how?

"What kind of institutions would or wouldn't be in your neighborhood?
What kind of services and what would they look like?
What would the values would the economy be based on?
How would decisions get made about things affecting your neighborhood or town?
How would conflict be dealt with?
What kind of activities might be going on?
Think about other countries or communities. Are there ways they are organized or values that they share that inspire you?
What about things that exist in your life today that you'd want to be part of that vision? What structures, practices, or other things that work well do you want to hold on to? Are there things that you draw from your community or family that inspire parts of your vision?"

The second part of the orientation that will stick with me for a long time was a talk by movement elders Phil Hutchings and Sharon Martinas. It's stressing me out to try to distill their bios into one paragraph, because they both have over four decades of organizing experience. Phil Hutchings worked with both SNCC and SDS in the 60s, has been a part of a bevy of social change organizations in the Bay Area, and co-founded and is currently senior oganizer for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. Sharon Martinas became an anti-racist solidarity organizer in 1966, was integral in organizing white students and staff to support the strike for Third World/Ethnic studies at SF State University, led by the Black Student Union and the Third World Liberation Front, and co-created the Challenging White Supremacy workshops in San Fracisco with Mickie Ellinger.

They dropped many pearls of wisdom, and I'd be hard-pressed to capture them all. Phil talked about how he moved beyond fear and middle class aspirations to act for liberation, meeting incredible people and learning more from their lived experience than he could have ever imagined. Sharon talked about how she worked to unite bitterly divided white student groups, and was successful because of their shared and absolute committment to the leadership of students of color.

Someone asked about sustaining involvement over the long-term, practicing self-care and avoiding burnout. Sharon responded by challenging both the terms "self-care" and "burnout." She said she doesn't like the term "self-care" because it creates a division within one's self, pitting one side of yourself against another. She said [paraphrased]:

"We absolutely need joy, and to make plans for the short, medium, and long term. When you incude excercise, sleep, eating, and looking at the sunset it's not that you're taking away from your current work: you are sustaining yourself for the long haul marathon of revolutionaries work. The work we are doing is building the power of the people, and last time I checked, I am one."

About burnout, she referenced Ron Chisolm of the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond:

"He said burnout is not about too much work; that's exhaustion. Burnout is a temporary or long term lack of vision. Reflect on why you believe in what you do, otherwise you will be getting coser to burnout. If you keep in mind that vision, it can pull you out of exhaustion."


The session ended with a beautiful statement. I think it was Phil who said this but I'm not positive:


"Once you enter this work, and get involved, you're not the same person as when you started. You never know what you're capable of until you do it. We need to transform what we think we are capable of, and then our politics can become more radical, more embodied, and more instinctual."


Who feels inspired?