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December News - Occupy Everywhere

 Hello Good People!

 
Welcome December! This month's newsletter is packed full of incredible and inspiring announcements - workshops on the trauma of discrimination, going to the doctor on your own terms, and somatic tools for working with trauma; music inspired by the Occupy Movement; Occupy holiday shopping to support local economies; new worker cooperatives; and a new collection of essays and articles by fan-favorite and instigator-intellectual David Graeber. Whew. Just pulling this list together gave me a hemorrhoid. Seriously, I am pretty sure there is something useful for you here, no matter where you live in the country (except for folks in Hawaii and Alaska...always a bridesmaid, never a bride). 
 
So I won't take too much space writing a header...
 
But in the spirit of the season, I would like to share with you my wish list for this holiday!
  • Montessori school for adults. Self-directed learning with a focus on the sensorial experience? 'Nuff. Said.
  • That all of the people I know read this blog: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/. I don't know the last time I took this much pleasure in online reading. Certainly PowerLine was not doing the job. As a mixed person who strongly claims my white identity and my black identity, I find the list of stuff white people like to be just delightful and completely accurate!
  • That my attempt to start a momma's childcare cooperative in my local area be fruitful and successful, please god please.
  • That I am able to begin reading, continue reading, and complete reading at least one intellectually challenging book before New Year's Day.
  • Occupy everywhere. Just do it.
Happy unwrapping!
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • The Trauma of Discrimination: Politics are Getting Personal (Minneapolis)
  • The Role of Ritual and Ceremony in the Healing Process (Minneapolis)
  • "OCCUPY HOLIDAY SHOPPING" ~ A PEOPLE'S CRAFT MARKET (New York City)
  • Going to the "Doctor" On Your Own Terms: Mixing Allopathic and Holistic Healing (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Ryan Harvey (Riot-Folk) in Minneapolis!
  • generationFIVE 3-Day Introductory Training - December 9-11 (Bay Area)
  • New Hope Catholic Worker Farm & Agronomic University Craft Gathering - January 13--17th, 2012 (La Motte, Iowa)
  • Third Root Community Health Center - Winter Specials! (Brooklyn, NY)
  • NEW COOPERATIVE: Workers Without Bosses (New York City)
  • NEW BOOK! Revolutions in Reverse: Essays on Politics, Violence, Art, and Imagination (Everywhere)

-----

The Trauma of Discrimination: Politics are Getting Personal

A workshop for LGBTQA mental health professionals

This workshop:
-will address the psychological and somatic impact of trauma discrimination on our LGBT clients, LGBT therapists and allies
-will identify therapeutic strategies and interventions to navigate the effects of social trauma
Friday, December 2, 2011
Registration: 8:30 a.m.
Presentation: 9 a.m. - Noon
Networking Lunch: 12- 1

Location:
St. Mary's University
Mother Theresa Hall
2440 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404  map 

Presenters:
Margaret Charmoli, PhD, LP
Thea Lee, MA, LMFT (CA), SEP
For complete biographies go online to pride-institute.com and click on events.
 
Cost:
$35 Base Registration 
$25 LGBT Network Member
$15 Student, Elder, Retired
$10 Lunch (optional; post-program)
Scholarship options may be available, call 612-267-9371      
 
Registration:
For information on registration, contact nsimon@pride-institute.com or call 612-267-9371      .
 
Sponsored by: 
-LGBT Therapists network, www.lgbttherapists.org
-PRIDE Institute  
-St. Mary's University Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

Credits applied for: PhD, LPC, LADC, LMFT, LICSW

-----
The Role of Ritual and Ceremony in the Healing Process
 
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
8:00am-11:00am
Hope Community
611 Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404
 
Breakfast is served at 8:00am
 
Join us as we engage in discussion, sharing, and self-study to surface our rituals and ceremonies of healing and resiliency.
 
Agenda will include:
* Rituals and Ceremonies of Dakota Cultural Elders. 
*Dialogue: How do cultural groups ritualize their ways of healing?
Are there rituals and ceremonies currently at play that we do not name? How does surfacing our rituals and ceremonies continue the work of the community’s healing and realizing the community’s vision of the definition of health?
 
There are cultural practices—ceremonies and rituals—which have lasted through time and have kept many people in many communities from being destroyed by the destructive forces which their people have suffered.
 
Generally speaking rituals and the ceremony speak to the healing philosophies of cultural groups. In many instances these same rituals have gone underground. Resurfacing these activities—rituals and ceremonies—is a way to engage each of our cultural groups in authentic ways to exchange knowledge about healing.
 
We want to engage the healing of all who live in the Backyard and engage the knowledge of their people which has held them in tact over time.
 
***Please RSVP to the Cultural Wellness Center at (612) 721-5745***
 


-----

"OCCUPY HOLIDAY SHOPPING" ~ A PEOPLE'S CRAFT MARKET
Saturday, December 3rd, 2011
2:00 - 6:00pm
The Brecht Forum
451 West Street (12th Ave / West Side Highway) between Bank Street and Bethune Street 
New York, NY

A or L trains to 14th Street / 8th Avenue
14A or 14D bus to 12th Avenue
West Side Highway to Meat Packing District or 14th Street exit
East Side Highway to 14th Street

*** Sick of walking by expensive holiday markets every December? Want to get your holiday shopping done, support local artists and keep your money in your community? Come to the People's Holiday Market and occupy holiday shopping! ***

~ Jewelry
~ Knit and Crochet hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, and more
~ Woodwork
~ Bath Items
~ Self-published books
~ CDs and mp3s from local, independent artists
~ Tee shirts and other sillkscreened clothing
~ Paintings
~ Ceramics
~ Herbal soaps, salves, lip balms, bath salts, tinctures, teas
~ Jams and Preserves
~ Pastries
~ Children's area
~ Food, refreshments and chair massages for purchase while you shop. Oh yes, *massages*.


-----

Going to the "Doctor" On Your Own Terms: Mixing Allopathic and Holistic Healing
With Emmet Phipps, RN and Geleni Fontaine, LAc, RN

Sunday, December 4th, 2 – 4 PM

Allopathic Medicine:  The practice of conventional Western medicine that uses pharmacological drugs and physical interventions to treat or suppress disease and its symptoms.

Holistic Medicine:  Diverse global systems of health care addressing and treating the whole person in the larger context of their community.

Join us in a lively exploration of how we as clients and patients can best navigate the world of allopathic medicine:

·       What are allopathic providers good for, and when is it necessary to see them rather than (or along with) a holistic healer?

·       How can we create bridges between our holistic self-care and the allopathic experience?

·       How can we advocate for ourselves with allopathic practitioners?

For clients, patients, the public, and anyone utilizing health care.

Resource and referral list will be provided.

Free to the public, but donations toward Third Root accepted.

Emmet Phipps has worked as a primary care/public health Registered Nurse for almost three years, mostly with gay, lesbian, queer, transgender and gender non-conforming folks living with diabetes and HIV/AIDS. They have been trained in North American Herbalism, and are in school to become a Nurse Practitioner at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn. Emmet lives with type 1 diabetes and has done recent community work with the Audre Lorde Project and the Allied Media Conference.

Geleni Fontaine is a queer, Latina/o transperson acupuncturist and registered nurse with a background in anti-violence activism.  Centering on LGBT and people of color communities, Geleni’s knowledge of Western allopathic medicine supports a holistic East-Asian practice, helping individuals navigate both healthcare systems.  Geleni is a cooperative member and practitioner at Third Root as well as a member of the Rock Dove Collective.

Third Root Community Health Center
380 Marlborough Road (between Cortelyou and Dorchester Roads in Flatbush, Brooklyn)
Q train to Cortelyou Road station

-----
Ryan Harvey (Riot-Folk) in Minneapolis!
Monday, December 5, 2011
7:00pm - 11:00pm

Description
"Ryan has been writing and performing hard-hitting political folk songs for over ten years. A part of the Riot-Folk Collective, his music is aimed to support those working for positive change and to educate people about issues of peace and social & economic justice."

Fresh from two and a half months in the U.S. and Europe, Ryan will be hitting up the Midwest in early December with his new album Ordinary Heroes and his latest songs, many inspired by the recent Occupy protests!

VIDEOS/SONGS
Can't Turn Back (for OWS): http://youtu.be/_jOhebGM-KA
Fulfill It: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1ni-ZFQYxo
My Country: http://youtu.be/E1Dx2FjNlUk

The new album is a collaborative album with violinist/journalist/documentarian Michael Fox and is dedicated to historian and activist Howard Zinn. Ordinary Heroes emphasizes and celebrates social movements as a means of overcoming injustice.

http://www.ryanharveymusic.com/
http://www.riotfolk.org/
-----
generationFIVE 3-Day Introductory Training December 9-11

generationFIVE <http://www.generationfive.org> is a national organization
whose mission  is to end child sexual abuse within five generations.
Through survivor leadership, bystander involvement, community organizing,
and public action, generationFIVE works to interrupt and mend the
intergenerational impact of child sexual abuse on individuals, families,
and communities. Rather than perpetuate the isolation of this issue, we
integrate child sexual abuse prevention and response into social justice
movements and community organizing targeting family violence, economic and
racial oppression, and gender and age-based discrimination.  It is our
belief that meaningful community response is the key to effective
prevention.

generationFIVE (gen5) invites you to participate in our next 3-Day
Introductory Training on December 9 – 11, 2011 in the Bay Area.

During the gen5 3-Day we will:

- Explore the intersections between child sexual abuse, other forms of
violence, and social justice organizing.
- Introduce the impact of trauma on individuals, communities and movements
and relevant ways to integrate our understanding of trauma into organizing
and activism.
- Introduce participants to Somatic tools for working with and around trauma.
- Intersect child sexual abuse respond and prevention organizing and other
community work and social justice movements.
- Introduce and develop organizing and agency practices that integrate
personal, community and political transformation.
- Support individual and community resiliency-based work as key to social
change.
- Introduce participants to the principles of Transformative Justice and
responses to incidences of child sexual abuse and other forms of intimate
violence that prevent future abuse and intimate, community and state
violence.
- Introduce and invite specific ways to integrate child sexual abuse and
prevention and response and the work of gen5 and our collaborative
partners.

This training will be lead by Micah Frazier and Mia Mingus.

To Apply to the 3-Day Training:
To express interest in and apply to the 3-Day Introductory Training,
download an application/interest form from our
website<http://www.generationfive.org/progs.php>.

Applications are due Wednesday, November 9th. We will follow up with
confirmation and specific information about location, and times. Please
note that due to the large number of interested participants, filling out
this form does not automatically guarantee space in the training.

Please contact mmingus@generationfive.org or             (510) 251-8552       with any
questions.
-----

New Hope Catholic Worker Farm & Agronomic University Craft Gathering -- January 13--17th (MLK weekend), 2012

Join us for a weekend of craft sharing, prayer, music, food, fun, and fellowship! (sledding, star gazing, dancing?!)

Possible crafts include: Soap Making, Candle Dipping, Fiber Arts, Cheesemaking/Dairy Processing, Bicycle Maintenance, Sewing Machine Primer, Wool Spinning, Block Printing, Wooden Glasses Demo.

Space is limited--no charge to participate (free-will offering accepted, of course)

Contact Mary Kay by phone @ 563.556.0987 to RSVP.

New Hope CW Farm & Agronomic University
6697 Mitchell Mill Rd.
La Motte, IOWA 52054

-----

Third Root Community Health Center - Winter Specials! 

Ease Tea with Gift Certificate purchase
Community Acupuncture: Buy 5, Get 1 Free
Yoga 5 Class Card for $45


These specials are only available for purchase in-person at Third Root.  Our hours are limited during the Thanksgiving weekend - be sure to check out the schedule below.
 
Free Ease Tea blend with Gift Certificate Purchase
With every gift certificate you buy between now and the end of the year, you'll get a package of our Ease Tea blend meant to soothe and calm your winter stress.  Keep it for yourself or combine it with the gift certificate for a lovely present for someone you love.  Give and get the gift of health and wellness this winter! Our gift certificates for services are priced at set rates:
  • Private Acupuncture Treatment:  $60
  • Massage Treatment:  $75
  • Private Yoga Session:  $50
  • Community Acupuncture:  $25
  • Yoga Class: $12
  • Yoga 10/20 Class Card:  $100/$180

*Gift Cards expire 3 months from the date issued.  A package of Ease Tea will be offered with any gift certificate towards treatments valued at $24 or above, until supplies last, through December 31, 2011. 
 

Buy 5 Sessions of Community Acupuncture, Get 1 Free!
Regular Community Acupuncture treatments are a wonderful way to support your immune system, address stress or anxiety, or just provide yourself with the space and time to relax and be quiet. Between now and December 31, you can buy a 5 session Community Acupuncture card for $100 and get a 6th treatment for free. All sessions must be used within 2 months of the date of purchase.

5 Yoga Classes for $45
Give the gift of Third Root yoga to yourself or someone you love this holiday season. Buy a 5 class card for just $45! A regular yoga practice can help us stay graceful on the inside, even as the weather outside gets frightful.  With a staff of skilled and compassionate teachers, Third Root is a wonderful place to come home to your body and find emotional strength, mental flexibility, and physical freedom.
 
Purchase now through December 31st.  One month expiration date -- no extensions
-----

Announcing: Workers Without Bosses

 

An Unemployed Workers Cooperative providing All Types of Interior Renovations-Floors-Walls-Tiles-Painting-Kitchen-Bathroom

 

Why you would want to employ a group like ours?

 

  • No one is paid wages; every one of us has a personal interest in the speed and quality of the work
  • You will be funding social change. Workers Without Bosses is committed to remaining active in social struggles and dedicating a part of our earnings to organizing and solidarity.
  • In a difficult economy, you will be helping us create jobs.   The larger we grow, the more currently unemployed workers we can offer a place in our organization.

 

Your business can help us build a worker-owned, democratic organization. Contact us at: workerswithoutbosses@gmail.com or (646) 225-8308      

 

We are currently looking for unemployed workers and day laborers who have experience in indoor renovation and construction—we can’t take on too many people at once but please get in touch because we will be growing.

 

Why would you want to work with us?

 

  • No one else will make a profit off of your work—all earnings are divided equally among us.
  • We are the bosses.  All decisions are made by vote or consensus in group meetings.
  • There are no buy ins.  The day you start, you will be earning the same money as those of us who have been there since the beginning.
  • Because we don’t have a boss making profits off of us, we can work shorter hours and have time for our families and our communities.
  • Part of our work is standing by other working people and helping more unemployed workers become Workers Without Bosses.

 

-----

NEW BOOK! Revolutions in Reverse: Essays on Politics, Violence, Art, and Imagination

Here is the blurb, straight from the publisher:

Revolutions in Reverse: Essays on Politics, Violence, Art, and Imagination
David Graeber


Capitalism as we know it appears to be coming apart. But as financial institutions stagger and crumble, there is no obvious alternative. There is good reason to believe that, in a generation or so, capitalism will no longer exist: for the simple reason that it’s impossible to maintain an engine of perpetual growth forever on a finite planet. Yet faced with this prospect, the knee-jerk reaction is often to cling to what exists because they simply can’t imagine an alternative that wouldn’t be even more oppressive and destructive. The political imagination seems to have reached an impasse. Or has it?

In this collection of essays David Graeber explores a wide-ranging set of topics including political strategy, global trade, debt, imagination, violence, aesthetics, alienation, and creativity. Written in the wake of the anti-globalization movement and the rise of the war on terror, these essays survey the political landscape for signs of hope in unexpected places.

At a moment when the old assumption about politics and power have been irrefutably broken the only real choice is to begin again: to create a new language, a new common sense, about what people basically are and what it is reasonable for them to expect from the world, and from each other. In this volume Graeber draws from the realms of politics, art, and the imagination to start this conversation and to suggest that that the task might not be nearly so daunting as we’d be given to imagine.

“TINA, they say, there is no alternative. The essence of neoliberalism, David Graeber suggests, is its systematization of depression, its exclusion of all alternatives to an obviously catastrophic system. These stimulating essays rupture the wall of enclosure, push forward, and open paths that lead in hopeful directions. So important.” – John Holloway, author of Change The World Without Taking Power

“I find the practical politics tendentious, but the theoretical elements provocative and intriguing” – Kanellos the Greek Riot Dog

The contents (as summarized by David):

1) INTRO
why these belong together. Good question since I didn't assemble them. They are all about hope in a time when movements seemed floundering

2) THE SHOCK OF VICTORY
in US history, grass roots social movements based on direct democracy and civil disobedience (e.g., the Civil Rights movement, Anti-Nuclear movement, Global Justice movement...) often do surprisingly well - in fact, if they seem to falter, it's usually because they do so well elites panic, start making mad concessions, but also, start some kind of war. Movements not prepared for victory then fall into divisive strategic arguments disguised as something else and the resulting chaos makes them feel they actually lost

3) HOPE IN COMMON
Neoliberalism is based not so much an economic imperative as a political one, to make anything but capitalism seem unimaginable; the result is colossal top-heavy "machinery of hopelessness" whose dead weight is ironically itself destroying capitalism

4) REVOLUTION IN REVERSE
A longer and more theoretical reflection on violence, imagination, bureaucracy. One effect of feminism and the return of the philosophy of direct action is that our old paradigm of what's supposed to happen in a revolution has been set on its head. In a good way.

5) ARMY OF ALTRUISTS
Why working class voters vote for the Right.

6) THE SADNESS OF POSTWORKERISM
Ostensibly about an "art and immaterial labor" conference in London in 2008 with Negri, Lazzarato,. Really, about all sorts of things: the very notion of immaterial labor, the relation of art and finance capital, the concept of "flame-out", prophecy, why the Future has now become mode like an alternate dimension....

7) AGAINST KAMIKAZE CAPITALISM
Sort of like chapter 3 except now it's gotten even worse - will capitalism destroy the world rather than admit it's not the only game in town? The ecological crisis is also partly a result of our unwillingness to accept that we're all working too much, not too little. 
how to get it? Well might you ask!
As a matter of fact Autonomedia has adopted an interesting new marketing approach. The ebook version is available from Scribd, or on the Autonomedia web page for the low-low price of NOTHING:
 
 
you can also buy a paper copy, using money, from
 
 
for some reason US Amazon is taking their time but British Amazon has it and you can get it there too
 
Autonomedia provides a bulk-order discount for reading groups, occupation libraries, etc

 Hello Good People!

 
Welcome December! This month's newsletter is packed full of incredible and inspiring announcements - workshops on the trauma of discrimination, going to the doctor on your own terms, and somatic tools for working with trauma; music inspired by the Occupy Movement; Occupy holiday shopping to support local economies; new worker cooperatives; and a new collection of essays and articles by fan-favorite and instigator-intellectual David Graeber. Whew. Just pulling this list together gave me a hemorrhoid. Seriously, I am pretty sure there is something useful for you here, no matter where you live in the country (except for folks in Hawaii and Alaska...always a bridesmaid, never a bride). 
 
So I won't take too much space writing a header...
 
But in the spirit of the season, I would like to share with you my wish list for this holiday!
  • Montessori school for adults. Self-directed learning with a focus on the sensorial experience? 'Nuff. Said.
  • That all of the people I know read this blog: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/. I don't know the last time I took this much pleasure in online reading. Certainly PowerLine was not doing the job. As a mixed person who strongly claims my white identity and my black identity, I find the list of stuff white people like to be just delightful and completely accurate!
  • That my attempt to start a momma's childcare cooperative in my local area be fruitful and successful, please god please.
  • That I am able to begin reading, continue reading, and complete reading at least one intellectually challenging book before New Year's Day.
  • Occupy everywhere. Just do it.
Happy unwrapping!
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • The Trauma of Discrimination: Politics are Getting Personal (Minneapolis)
  • The Role of Ritual and Ceremony in the Healing Process (Minneapolis)
  • "OCCUPY HOLIDAY SHOPPING" ~ A PEOPLE'S CRAFT MARKET (New York City)
  • Going to the "Doctor" On Your Own Terms: Mixing Allopathic and Holistic Healing (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Ryan Harvey (Riot-Folk) in Minneapolis!
  • generationFIVE 3-Day Introductory Training - December 9-11 (Bay Area)
  • New Hope Catholic Worker Farm & Agronomic University Craft Gathering - January 13--17th, 2012 (La Motte, Iowa)
  • Third Root Community Health Center - Winter Specials! (Brooklyn, NY)
  • NEW COOPERATIVE: Workers Without Bosses (New York City)
  • NEW BOOK! Revolutions in Reverse: Essays on Politics, Violence, Art, and Imagination (Everywhere)

-----

The Trauma of Discrimination: Politics are Getting Personal

A workshop for LGBTQA mental health professionals

This workshop:
-will address the psychological and somatic impact of trauma discrimination on our LGBT clients, LGBT therapists and allies
-will identify therapeutic strategies and interventions to navigate the effects of social trauma
Friday, December 2, 2011
Registration: 8:30 a.m.
Presentation: 9 a.m. - Noon
Networking Lunch: 12- 1

Location:
St. Mary's University
Mother Theresa Hall
2440 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404  map 

Presenters:
Margaret Charmoli, PhD, LP
Thea Lee, MA, LMFT (CA), SEP
For complete biographies go online to pride-institute.com and click on events.
 
Cost:
$35 Base Registration 
$25 LGBT Network Member
$15 Student, Elder, Retired
$10 Lunch (optional; post-program)
Scholarship options may be available, call 612-267-9371      
 
Registration:
For information on registration, contact nsimon@pride-institute.com or call 612-267-9371      .
 
Sponsored by: 
-LGBT Therapists network, www.lgbttherapists.org
-PRIDE Institute  
-St. Mary's University Program in Marriage and Family Therapy

Credits applied for: PhD, LPC, LADC, LMFT, LICSW

-----
The Role of Ritual and Ceremony in the Healing Process
 
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
8:00am-11:00am
Hope Community
611 Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404
 
Breakfast is served at 8:00am
 
Join us as we engage in discussion, sharing, and self-study to surface our rituals and ceremonies of healing and resiliency.
 
Agenda will include:
* Rituals and Ceremonies of Dakota Cultural Elders. 
*Dialogue: How do cultural groups ritualize their ways of healing?
Are there rituals and ceremonies currently at play that we do not name? How does surfacing our rituals and ceremonies continue the work of the community’s healing and realizing the community’s vision of the definition of health?
 
There are cultural practices—ceremonies and rituals—which have lasted through time and have kept many people in many communities from being destroyed by the destructive forces which their people have suffered.
 
Generally speaking rituals and the ceremony speak to the healing philosophies of cultural groups. In many instances these same rituals have gone underground. Resurfacing these activities—rituals and ceremonies—is a way to engage each of our cultural groups in authentic ways to exchange knowledge about healing.
 
We want to engage the healing of all who live in the Backyard and engage the knowledge of their people which has held them in tact over time.
 
***Please RSVP to the Cultural Wellness Center at (612) 721-5745***
 


-----

"OCCUPY HOLIDAY SHOPPING" ~ A PEOPLE'S CRAFT MARKET
Saturday, December 3rd, 2011
2:00 - 6:00pm
The Brecht Forum
451 West Street (12th Ave / West Side Highway) between Bank Street and Bethune Street 
New York, NY

A or L trains to 14th Street / 8th Avenue
14A or 14D bus to 12th Avenue
West Side Highway to Meat Packing District or 14th Street exit
East Side Highway to 14th Street

*** Sick of walking by expensive holiday markets every December? Want to get your holiday shopping done, support local artists and keep your money in your community? Come to the People's Holiday Market and occupy holiday shopping! ***

~ Jewelry
~ Knit and Crochet hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, and more
~ Woodwork
~ Bath Items
~ Self-published books
~ CDs and mp3s from local, independent artists
~ Tee shirts and other sillkscreened clothing
~ Paintings
~ Ceramics
~ Herbal soaps, salves, lip balms, bath salts, tinctures, teas
~ Jams and Preserves
~ Pastries
~ Children's area
~ Food, refreshments and chair massages for purchase while you shop. Oh yes, *massages*.


-----

Going to the "Doctor" On Your Own Terms: Mixing Allopathic and Holistic Healing
With Emmet Phipps, RN and Geleni Fontaine, LAc, RN

Sunday, December 4th, 2 – 4 PM

Allopathic Medicine:  The practice of conventional Western medicine that uses pharmacological drugs and physical interventions to treat or suppress disease and its symptoms.

Holistic Medicine:  Diverse global systems of health care addressing and treating the whole person in the larger context of their community.

Join us in a lively exploration of how we as clients and patients can best navigate the world of allopathic medicine:

·       What are allopathic providers good for, and when is it necessary to see them rather than (or along with) a holistic healer?

·       How can we create bridges between our holistic self-care and the allopathic experience?

·       How can we advocate for ourselves with allopathic practitioners?

For clients, patients, the public, and anyone utilizing health care.

Resource and referral list will be provided.

Free to the public, but donations toward Third Root accepted.

Emmet Phipps has worked as a primary care/public health Registered Nurse for almost three years, mostly with gay, lesbian, queer, transgender and gender non-conforming folks living with diabetes and HIV/AIDS. They have been trained in North American Herbalism, and are in school to become a Nurse Practitioner at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn. Emmet lives with type 1 diabetes and has done recent community work with the Audre Lorde Project and the Allied Media Conference.

Geleni Fontaine is a queer, Latina/o transperson acupuncturist and registered nurse with a background in anti-violence activism.  Centering on LGBT and people of color communities, Geleni’s knowledge of Western allopathic medicine supports a holistic East-Asian practice, helping individuals navigate both healthcare systems.  Geleni is a cooperative member and practitioner at Third Root as well as a member of the Rock Dove Collective.

Third Root Community Health Center
380 Marlborough Road (between Cortelyou and Dorchester Roads in Flatbush, Brooklyn)
Q train to Cortelyou Road station

-----
Ryan Harvey (Riot-Folk) in Minneapolis!
Monday, December 5, 2011
7:00pm - 11:00pm

Description
"Ryan has been writing and performing hard-hitting political folk songs for over ten years. A part of the Riot-Folk Collective, his music is aimed to support those working for positive change and to educate people about issues of peace and social & economic justice."

Fresh from two and a half months in the U.S. and Europe, Ryan will be hitting up the Midwest in early December with his new album Ordinary Heroes and his latest songs, many inspired by the recent Occupy protests!

VIDEOS/SONGS
Can't Turn Back (for OWS): http://youtu.be/_jOhebGM-KA
Fulfill It: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1ni-ZFQYxo
My Country: http://youtu.be/E1Dx2FjNlUk

The new album is a collaborative album with violinist/journalist/documentarian Michael Fox and is dedicated to historian and activist Howard Zinn. Ordinary Heroes emphasizes and celebrates social movements as a means of overcoming injustice.

http://www.ryanharveymusic.com/
http://www.riotfolk.org/
-----
generationFIVE 3-Day Introductory Training December 9-11

generationFIVE <http://www.generationfive.org> is a national organization
whose mission  is to end child sexual abuse within five generations.
Through survivor leadership, bystander involvement, community organizing,
and public action, generationFIVE works to interrupt and mend the
intergenerational impact of child sexual abuse on individuals, families,
and communities. Rather than perpetuate the isolation of this issue, we
integrate child sexual abuse prevention and response into social justice
movements and community organizing targeting family violence, economic and
racial oppression, and gender and age-based discrimination.  It is our
belief that meaningful community response is the key to effective
prevention.

generationFIVE (gen5) invites you to participate in our next 3-Day
Introductory Training on December 9 – 11, 2011 in the Bay Area.

During the gen5 3-Day we will:

- Explore the intersections between child sexual abuse, other forms of
violence, and social justice organizing.
- Introduce the impact of trauma on individuals, communities and movements
and relevant ways to integrate our understanding of trauma into organizing
and activism.
- Introduce participants to Somatic tools for working with and around trauma.
- Intersect child sexual abuse respond and prevention organizing and other
community work and social justice movements.
- Introduce and develop organizing and agency practices that integrate
personal, community and political transformation.
- Support individual and community resiliency-based work as key to social
change.
- Introduce participants to the principles of Transformative Justice and
responses to incidences of child sexual abuse and other forms of intimate
violence that prevent future abuse and intimate, community and state
violence.
- Introduce and invite specific ways to integrate child sexual abuse and
prevention and response and the work of gen5 and our collaborative
partners.

This training will be lead by Micah Frazier and Mia Mingus.

To Apply to the 3-Day Training:
To express interest in and apply to the 3-Day Introductory Training,
download an application/interest form from our
website<http://www.generationfive.org/progs.php>.

Applications are due Wednesday, November 9th. We will follow up with
confirmation and specific information about location, and times. Please
note that due to the large number of interested participants, filling out
this form does not automatically guarantee space in the training.

Please contact mmingus@generationfive.org or             (510) 251-8552       with any
questions.
-----

New Hope Catholic Worker Farm & Agronomic University Craft Gathering -- January 13--17th (MLK weekend), 2012

Join us for a weekend of craft sharing, prayer, music, food, fun, and fellowship! (sledding, star gazing, dancing?!)

Possible crafts include: Soap Making, Candle Dipping, Fiber Arts, Cheesemaking/Dairy Processing, Bicycle Maintenance, Sewing Machine Primer, Wool Spinning, Block Printing, Wooden Glasses Demo.

Space is limited--no charge to participate (free-will offering accepted, of course)

Contact Mary Kay by phone @ 563.556.0987 to RSVP.

New Hope CW Farm & Agronomic University
6697 Mitchell Mill Rd.
La Motte, IOWA 52054

-----

Third Root Community Health Center - Winter Specials! 

Ease Tea with Gift Certificate purchase
Community Acupuncture: Buy 5, Get 1 Free
Yoga 5 Class Card for $45


These specials are only available for purchase in-person at Third Root.  Our hours are limited during the Thanksgiving weekend - be sure to check out the schedule below.
 
Free Ease Tea blend with Gift Certificate Purchase
With every gift certificate you buy between now and the end of the year, you'll get a package of our Ease Tea blend meant to soothe and calm your winter stress.  Keep it for yourself or combine it with the gift certificate for a lovely present for someone you love.  Give and get the gift of health and wellness this winter! Our gift certificates for services are priced at set rates:
  • Private Acupuncture Treatment:  $60
  • Massage Treatment:  $75
  • Private Yoga Session:  $50
  • Community Acupuncture:  $25
  • Yoga Class: $12
  • Yoga 10/20 Class Card:  $100/$180

*Gift Cards expire 3 months from the date issued.  A package of Ease Tea will be offered with any gift certificate towards treatments valued at $24 or above, until supplies last, through December 31, 2011. 
 

Buy 5 Sessions of Community Acupuncture, Get 1 Free!
Regular Community Acupuncture treatments are a wonderful way to support your immune system, address stress or anxiety, or just provide yourself with the space and time to relax and be quiet. Between now and December 31, you can buy a 5 session Community Acupuncture card for $100 and get a 6th treatment for free. All sessions must be used within 2 months of the date of purchase.

5 Yoga Classes for $45
Give the gift of Third Root yoga to yourself or someone you love this holiday season. Buy a 5 class card for just $45! A regular yoga practice can help us stay graceful on the inside, even as the weather outside gets frightful.  With a staff of skilled and compassionate teachers, Third Root is a wonderful place to come home to your body and find emotional strength, mental flexibility, and physical freedom.
 
Purchase now through December 31st.  One month expiration date -- no extensions
-----

Announcing: Workers Without Bosses

 

An Unemployed Workers Cooperative providing All Types of Interior Renovations-Floors-Walls-Tiles-Painting-Kitchen-Bathroom

 

Why you would want to employ a group like ours?

 

  • No one is paid wages; every one of us has a personal interest in the speed and quality of the work
  • You will be funding social change. Workers Without Bosses is committed to remaining active in social struggles and dedicating a part of our earnings to organizing and solidarity.
  • In a difficult economy, you will be helping us create jobs.   The larger we grow, the more currently unemployed workers we can offer a place in our organization.

 

Your business can help us build a worker-owned, democratic organization. Contact us at: workerswithoutbosses@gmail.com or (646) 225-8308      

 

We are currently looking for unemployed workers and day laborers who have experience in indoor renovation and construction—we can’t take on too many people at once but please get in touch because we will be growing.

 

Why would you want to work with us?

 

  • No one else will make a profit off of your work—all earnings are divided equally among us.
  • We are the bosses.  All decisions are made by vote or consensus in group meetings.
  • There are no buy ins.  The day you start, you will be earning the same money as those of us who have been there since the beginning.
  • Because we don’t have a boss making profits off of us, we can work shorter hours and have time for our families and our communities.
  • Part of our work is standing by other working people and helping more unemployed workers become Workers Without Bosses.

 

-----

NEW BOOK! Revolutions in Reverse: Essays on Politics, Violence, Art, and Imagination

Here is the blurb, straight from the publisher:

Revolutions in Reverse: Essays on Politics, Violence, Art, and Imagination
David Graeber


Capitalism as we know it appears to be coming apart. But as financial institutions stagger and crumble, there is no obvious alternative. There is good reason to believe that, in a generation or so, capitalism will no longer exist: for the simple reason that it’s impossible to maintain an engine of perpetual growth forever on a finite planet. Yet faced with this prospect, the knee-jerk reaction is often to cling to what exists because they simply can’t imagine an alternative that wouldn’t be even more oppressive and destructive. The political imagination seems to have reached an impasse. Or has it?

In this collection of essays David Graeber explores a wide-ranging set of topics including political strategy, global trade, debt, imagination, violence, aesthetics, alienation, and creativity. Written in the wake of the anti-globalization movement and the rise of the war on terror, these essays survey the political landscape for signs of hope in unexpected places.

At a moment when the old assumption about politics and power have been irrefutably broken the only real choice is to begin again: to create a new language, a new common sense, about what people basically are and what it is reasonable for them to expect from the world, and from each other. In this volume Graeber draws from the realms of politics, art, and the imagination to start this conversation and to suggest that that the task might not be nearly so daunting as we’d be given to imagine.

“TINA, they say, there is no alternative. The essence of neoliberalism, David Graeber suggests, is its systematization of depression, its exclusion of all alternatives to an obviously catastrophic system. These stimulating essays rupture the wall of enclosure, push forward, and open paths that lead in hopeful directions. So important.” – John Holloway, author of Change The World Without Taking Power

“I find the practical politics tendentious, but the theoretical elements provocative and intriguing” – Kanellos the Greek Riot Dog

The contents (as summarized by David):

1) INTRO
why these belong together. Good question since I didn't assemble them. They are all about hope in a time when movements seemed floundering

2) THE SHOCK OF VICTORY
in US history, grass roots social movements based on direct democracy and civil disobedience (e.g., the Civil Rights movement, Anti-Nuclear movement, Global Justice movement...) often do surprisingly well - in fact, if they seem to falter, it's usually because they do so well elites panic, start making mad concessions, but also, start some kind of war. Movements not prepared for victory then fall into divisive strategic arguments disguised as something else and the resulting chaos makes them feel they actually lost

3) HOPE IN COMMON
Neoliberalism is based not so much an economic imperative as a political one, to make anything but capitalism seem unimaginable; the result is colossal top-heavy "machinery of hopelessness" whose dead weight is ironically itself destroying capitalism

4) REVOLUTION IN REVERSE
A longer and more theoretical reflection on violence, imagination, bureaucracy. One effect of feminism and the return of the philosophy of direct action is that our old paradigm of what's supposed to happen in a revolution has been set on its head. In a good way.

5) ARMY OF ALTRUISTS
Why working class voters vote for the Right.

6) THE SADNESS OF POSTWORKERISM
Ostensibly about an "art and immaterial labor" conference in London in 2008 with Negri, Lazzarato,. Really, about all sorts of things: the very notion of immaterial labor, the relation of art and finance capital, the concept of "flame-out", prophecy, why the Future has now become mode like an alternate dimension....

7) AGAINST KAMIKAZE CAPITALISM
Sort of like chapter 3 except now it's gotten even worse - will capitalism destroy the world rather than admit it's not the only game in town? The ecological crisis is also partly a result of our unwillingness to accept that we're all working too much, not too little. 
how to get it? Well might you ask!
As a matter of fact Autonomedia has adopted an interesting new marketing approach. The ebook version is available from Scribd, or on the Autonomedia web page for the low-low price of NOTHING:
 
 
you can also buy a paper copy, using money, from
 
 
for some reason US Amazon is taking their time but British Amazon has it and you can get it there too
 
Autonomedia provides a bulk-order discount for reading groups, occupation libraries, etc
Read More
Uncategorized Uncategorized

November 2011 News: Building Our Common Fire

 Hello Good People!


So many changes! In the last two months I have moved from the country to the city (I now live one block from the Mississippi River, and run by the riverfront every other day), traveled to five different cities on the east coast in a period of 4 weeks, took my daughter to the ER twice, transitioned off of the board of an amazing organization (smartMeme, I love you!) that I served on for two years, and started my 3 year old son in Montessori school! Monday showed me that Halloween is indeed awesome for children. Finn went as Buzz Lightyear, Siobhan went as Yoda, and we celebrated with fresh homemade apple cider and a fire in our front yard! 

Speaking of fire, I want to take space to tell you about some work I am doing that really means a lot to me. And given the incredible transformation happening in our country because of the Occupy movement, and all of the timely questions this movement raises around how we can practice economics that align with our values, telling you about this work feels especially relevant.

About six months ago, I joined the board of the Common Fire Foundation. If the name sounds familiar to you, it might be because Common Fire gained national recognition in 2006 for building the Tivoli Housing Co-op in Tivoli, NY, which is STILL to this day rated as the greenest building in the Eastern United States. Wow! The name might also sound familiar because you know someone who is a part of a Common Fire Community, or our extensive network of supporters. But what the heck is Common Fire, anyhow?

The Common Fire Foundation helps create intentional communities that manifest in the here and now the more just and sustainable world we all deserve. We start small, with diverse groups of committed individuals, and our vision is to build neighborhood/village-scale communities and learning centers with affordable green housing, retreat centers, multi-use office spaces, gardens, and more. Common Fire has been working from this vision for many years, and right now it could not be more relevant. In the last month we have seen hundreds of thousands of people mobilized across the country, giving voice to the mainstream dissent and disgust with the status quo of our toxic and failing political and economic system. The Occupy Movement may not have a list of demands, but the people out in the streets are posing a clear question: "What do we do to reverse this trend of greed, exclusion, and destruction, and take back our political power?" We believe that Common Fire's work holds the space of a visionary answer to that question, one that addresses both the concrete, physical need for viable alternative economic practices, as well as our deep need for cultural transformation and healing. 

Currently, there are four Common Fire communities in formation and/or existence in the United States, and one in formation in Spain. All of these groups are committed to creating community in line with Common Fire's Four Essential Characteristics:
  • Created by and Accessible to a True Diversity of People
  • Ongoing Personal Growth and Interpersonal Dialogue
  • Aligning Our Actions with Our Values, Our Lives with Our Beliefs
  • Bridging Transformation in the Community to Transformation in the World.
While all of these characteristics are powerful, I believe it is the commitments to true diversity and to internal and interpersonal work, that set Common Fire's vision apart from other intentional community models. And it is the means-to-ends-consistency called for in the other characteristics that hold the answer to questions of the Occupation. I believe so deeply in this work that I have started to think of all of my racial justice facilitation, consensus workshop, and healing justice organizing work as being a part of how I manifest "common fire" in my life. I am a member of Minnesota's community-in-formation, which includes folks from Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Saint Cloud.

In the coming year, we at Common Fire are scaling up our work in the form of a National Education Program. This includes starting a 2 year Certificate in Community Living Program, hosted at the Tivoli Housing Co-op, as well as scholarships for Common Fire community members to attend Be Present Trainings. The Be Present Empowerment model is the foundational model we use for creating community across lines of difference and modeling a different way to be in relationship with each other.

As a part of the national program, we are also launching a really special project that I will be directly involved in developing, called the Communities CurriculumAs interest in creating Common Fire communities grows across the country, we have identified a need for a more robust program of support for holistic community formation and communities in progress. Beginning in 2012, Common Fire will develop a multi-day training called "The Communities Curriculum," with the intention of bringing the workshop to new communities in formation across the country and internationally. The Communities Curriculum will support groups in deepening their understanding of the Common Fire vision, and deepening their commitment to racial and economic healing through intentional community building. We will offer all workshop participants an exploratory and educational space in which to dream and build their own versions of this vision within their local community.

We are thrilled to have received a $10,000 Challenge Matching Grant from the Regeneration Fund to help us jump-start this national program. That means if we can raise $10k by the end of this year, we'll bring in $20k to help our work! As we near the holiday season and you begin considering how to give the kind of gift with lasting impact, I hope you will consider making a gift to the Common Fire Foundation to support this ground-shaking, world-awakening work we are attempting in the coming year. Because let's be honest: that person you don't actually like in your office doesn't actually need that kitschy gift you were going to drop $20 on because you felt guilty and obligated. But Common Fire will use any amount, major or minor, that you can give to manifest the change we are seeking. 

Thanks for reading this far, and for supporting my personal and collective visions all these years!

In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Autumn presents at Overcoming Racism: Listen, Connect, Commit on November 19th (St. Paul, MN)
  • Meerkat Media Presents a new movie about Consensus 
  • 2012 Allied Media Conference - Submit a Proposal for a Track/Network Gathering/Practice Space
  • Uproot: Queer Voices on Migration, Immigration, Displacement, & Diaspora 
  • Training for Change: Upcoming Workshops
  • Call for Submissions: Zine Compilation on Healing, Culture, and Capitalism
 
 

------
Overcoming Racism: Listen, Connect, Commit - November 18-19, 2011

I am presenting at an amazing conference in St. Paul, Minnesota called Overcoming Racism: Listen, Connect, Commit on November 18-19. I am piloting a new workshop called Re-Railing the Conversation on Race, developed in collaboration with Danielle Sered, Director of Common Justice. I am so excited about this work, and if you are in Minnesota and you can make it to this conference, I strongly encourage it. Check it out.

------
Meerkat Media Presents a new movie about Consensus 
 
My amazing friends at Meerkat Media just produced an inspiring short film about Consensus, against the backdrop of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Truly worth the watch!
 
PLUS, Angela Davis speaks at Zucotti Park. For your viewing pleasure!

video of Zuccotti Park 
-----
2012 Allied Media Conference - Submit a Proposal for a Track/Network Gathering/Practice Space

VIDEO CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Proposals for Tracks, Network Gatherings and Practice Spaces at the 2012 Allied Media Conference are due Monday, November 14 at Midnight EST.  Learn more and submit a proposal. 

La fecha límite para proponer Ejes Temáticos, Asambleas de Redes o Espacios para prácticas es el 14 de Noviembre a la Medianoche EST.  ¡Envia tu idea ahora! (En Español).  Leer más.  

Watch our public service announcement explaining AMC Tracks, Network Gatherings and Practice Spaces.

Save the date: 14th AMC June 28 - July 31, 2012

-----
Uproot: Queer Voices on Migration, Immigration, Displacement, & Diaspora 

Vision: A fierce & gorgeous queer 'zine about people in motion. That is, in this case, a collection of art in any medium translatable to the printed/electronic page: i.e. essays, stories, poems, drawings/paintings, or photographs, about migration, immigration, displacement, diaspora, or any other movement of (your) people. 

Whether by force or by choice, by land or by sea, by foot or by vehicle, ethnic, religious, and cultural groupings of people have always moved across the earth. We have had our lands occupied and colonized, pushing us to the fringes. We have been enslaved, and we have been displaced by war and economic disparities. We have chosen to move, in the hope for better lives for ourselves and our families. These movements have shaped, shifted, and blended our cultures, our religions, our food, our music, our identities - our very selves. They may have created great hope in us, traumatized us, provided us with opportunities otherwise unavailable to us, or resulted in loss of language or family or more. Our stories about the ways the migration(s) of our ancestors, our families, and ourselves have affected and informed our current identities deserve to be told, and deserve to be heard, read, and seen. 

The stories of peoples' migrations and the subsequent effects on our cultures and identities are often told from the point of view of those who have historically held positions of power. This is no mainstream public school history book, y'all. Uproot aims to fill in and flesh out existing narratives, highlighting the perspectives and voices of LGBTQQI folks through our words, visual art, and other expression. 

Who should submit: Queer folks (LGBTQQI, same-sex loving, two-spirit, or otherwise queer/non-hetero-ID'd folks) 
What you should submit: Any writing or art translatable to the printed/electronic page. (Can't believe I have to say this, but I probably do. Content/theme/subject should be about you or your people.) Please keep written submissions to 1,500 words or less. Contact me if you have a longer piece you would like to contribute. Limit one submission per person. 
Where you should send your stuff: uprootedqueers@gmail.com
When you should send it: By December 19, 2011. Please contact me if you would like to submit a piece but will need more time. 
Why?: Because your stories and the stories of your people deserve to be told, and the world needs to hear them. 

ALSO: If you are juiced to be a part of this and might have some time, skills, or resources to donate to the formatting/layout/printing and eventual distribution processes, please do be in touch! I'm doing this for nothing but love, and though I could probably pull together a passable yet somewhat bootsy 'zine all on my own, and use my tips from two consecutive Sunday brunch shifts to print it out in black and white (and then use two consecutive Sunday evenings stapling it together) I would love to have a li'l help making it pretty. If you want to help me format or edit or start a kickstarter to fundraise for costs, etc., please holler at uprootedqueers@gmail.com, and put HELP in the subject line. 

-----
Training for Change: Upcoming Workshops

Click here to register for any of these workshops

Training for Social Action Trainers
November 4-6, Oakland, CA

Whites Confronting Racism
Dec 9-11, Philadelphia, PA

Training for Social Action Trainers
Dec 9-11, 2011, Philadelphia, PA

Organizing Skills Institute
(for Philadelphia residents only)
Feb 10-12, March 23-25, May 4-6, 2012 
Philadelphia, PA

Super-T: Training of Trainers
Learn more about the Super T here

June 8-24, 2012
Philadelphia, PA

-----

Call for Submissions: Zine Compilation on Healing, Culture, and Capitalism

Please Forward!

This is a CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for a zine compilation on issues surrounding healing, culture, and capitalism.

We are looking for people to submit writing and art that offers perspectives on how Yoga, Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Spiritual Healing, and many other modes
 of healing interact with modern global economies and cultures. We are looking for submissions from healers, practitioners, organizers, public health workers,
and "lay" people, and we are looking for writing based in personal experience.

WE ARE ESPECIALLY LOOKING FOR DISCUSSION FROM YOGA TEACHERS AND YOGA PRACTITIONERS.

Deadline for Submissions: January 30, 2012
Please Email Submissions and Bio to:  batty@riseup.net

We are seeking a multiplicity of perspectives, questions, and investigations, and below are some of the questions we are seeking to address in this zine:
  • How does cultural appropriation interact with "alternative" or "holistic" medicine in the west? In the united states?
  • How do we as herbalists, yoga teachers, acupuncturists, and other practitioners involve ourselves in the continuation of colonialism and cultural theft?
  • How are our lives ameliorated or saved by these healing practices? How and why do we feel "called" to these practices? How might we as healers use tools and practices that make intuitive, spiritual, and a certain kind of political sense to us, while still being accountable for our privileges and complicities? 
  • How do we as rad folks interact with the larger culture of the "green capitalist" healing industry?
  • Specifically, what are the complexities of being a yoga teacher or practitioner in the west? 
  • What happens to the people of a culture whose practices we are using, borrowing, transforming, or stealing? What happens to the culture or the practice itself? What is gained and what is lost? Who benefits and who loses or pays?

THANK YOU!!

 

 Hello Good People!


So many changes! In the last two months I have moved from the country to the city (I now live one block from the Mississippi River, and run by the riverfront every other day), traveled to five different cities on the east coast in a period of 4 weeks, took my daughter to the ER twice, transitioned off of the board of an amazing organization (smartMeme, I love you!) that I served on for two years, and started my 3 year old son in Montessori school! Monday showed me that Halloween is indeed awesome for children. Finn went as Buzz Lightyear, Siobhan went as Yoda, and we celebrated with fresh homemade apple cider and a fire in our front yard! 

Speaking of fire, I want to take space to tell you about some work I am doing that really means a lot to me. And given the incredible transformation happening in our country because of the Occupy movement, and all of the timely questions this movement raises around how we can practice economics that align with our values, telling you about this work feels especially relevant.

About six months ago, I joined the board of the Common Fire Foundation. If the name sounds familiar to you, it might be because Common Fire gained national recognition in 2006 for building the Tivoli Housing Co-op in Tivoli, NY, which is STILL to this day rated as the greenest building in the Eastern United States. Wow! The name might also sound familiar because you know someone who is a part of a Common Fire Community, or our extensive network of supporters. But what the heck is Common Fire, anyhow?

The Common Fire Foundation helps create intentional communities that manifest in the here and now the more just and sustainable world we all deserve. We start small, with diverse groups of committed individuals, and our vision is to build neighborhood/village-scale communities and learning centers with affordable green housing, retreat centers, multi-use office spaces, gardens, and more. Common Fire has been working from this vision for many years, and right now it could not be more relevant. In the last month we have seen hundreds of thousands of people mobilized across the country, giving voice to the mainstream dissent and disgust with the status quo of our toxic and failing political and economic system. The Occupy Movement may not have a list of demands, but the people out in the streets are posing a clear question: "What do we do to reverse this trend of greed, exclusion, and destruction, and take back our political power?" We believe that Common Fire's work holds the space of a visionary answer to that question, one that addresses both the concrete, physical need for viable alternative economic practices, as well as our deep need for cultural transformation and healing. 

Currently, there are four Common Fire communities in formation and/or existence in the United States, and one in formation in Spain. All of these groups are committed to creating community in line with Common Fire's Four Essential Characteristics:
  • Created by and Accessible to a True Diversity of People
  • Ongoing Personal Growth and Interpersonal Dialogue
  • Aligning Our Actions with Our Values, Our Lives with Our Beliefs
  • Bridging Transformation in the Community to Transformation in the World.
While all of these characteristics are powerful, I believe it is the commitments to true diversity and to internal and interpersonal work, that set Common Fire's vision apart from other intentional community models. And it is the means-to-ends-consistency called for in the other characteristics that hold the answer to questions of the Occupation. I believe so deeply in this work that I have started to think of all of my racial justice facilitation, consensus workshop, and healing justice organizing work as being a part of how I manifest "common fire" in my life. I am a member of Minnesota's community-in-formation, which includes folks from Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Saint Cloud.

In the coming year, we at Common Fire are scaling up our work in the form of a National Education Program. This includes starting a 2 year Certificate in Community Living Program, hosted at the Tivoli Housing Co-op, as well as scholarships for Common Fire community members to attend Be Present Trainings. The Be Present Empowerment model is the foundational model we use for creating community across lines of difference and modeling a different way to be in relationship with each other.

As a part of the national program, we are also launching a really special project that I will be directly involved in developing, called the Communities CurriculumAs interest in creating Common Fire communities grows across the country, we have identified a need for a more robust program of support for holistic community formation and communities in progress. Beginning in 2012, Common Fire will develop a multi-day training called "The Communities Curriculum," with the intention of bringing the workshop to new communities in formation across the country and internationally. The Communities Curriculum will support groups in deepening their understanding of the Common Fire vision, and deepening their commitment to racial and economic healing through intentional community building. We will offer all workshop participants an exploratory and educational space in which to dream and build their own versions of this vision within their local community.

We are thrilled to have received a $10,000 Challenge Matching Grant from the Regeneration Fund to help us jump-start this national program. That means if we can raise $10k by the end of this year, we'll bring in $20k to help our work! As we near the holiday season and you begin considering how to give the kind of gift with lasting impact, I hope you will consider making a gift to the Common Fire Foundation to support this ground-shaking, world-awakening work we are attempting in the coming year. Because let's be honest: that person you don't actually like in your office doesn't actually need that kitschy gift you were going to drop $20 on because you felt guilty and obligated. But Common Fire will use any amount, major or minor, that you can give to manifest the change we are seeking. 

Thanks for reading this far, and for supporting my personal and collective visions all these years!

In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Autumn presents at Overcoming Racism: Listen, Connect, Commit on November 19th (St. Paul, MN)
  • Meerkat Media Presents a new movie about Consensus 
  • 2012 Allied Media Conference - Submit a Proposal for a Track/Network Gathering/Practice Space
  • Uproot: Queer Voices on Migration, Immigration, Displacement, & Diaspora 
  • Training for Change: Upcoming Workshops
  • Call for Submissions: Zine Compilation on Healing, Culture, and Capitalism
 
 

------
Overcoming Racism: Listen, Connect, Commit - November 18-19, 2011

I am presenting at an amazing conference in St. Paul, Minnesota called Overcoming Racism: Listen, Connect, Commit on November 18-19. I am piloting a new workshop called Re-Railing the Conversation on Race, developed in collaboration with Danielle Sered, Director of Common Justice. I am so excited about this work, and if you are in Minnesota and you can make it to this conference, I strongly encourage it. Check it out.

------
Meerkat Media Presents a new movie about Consensus 
 
My amazing friends at Meerkat Media just produced an inspiring short film about Consensus, against the backdrop of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Truly worth the watch!
 
PLUS, Angela Davis speaks at Zucotti Park. For your viewing pleasure!

video of Zuccotti Park 
-----
2012 Allied Media Conference - Submit a Proposal for a Track/Network Gathering/Practice Space

VIDEO CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Proposals for Tracks, Network Gatherings and Practice Spaces at the 2012 Allied Media Conference are due Monday, November 14 at Midnight EST.  Learn more and submit a proposal. 

La fecha límite para proponer Ejes Temáticos, Asambleas de Redes o Espacios para prácticas es el 14 de Noviembre a la Medianoche EST.  ¡Envia tu idea ahora! (En Español).  Leer más.  

Watch our public service announcement explaining AMC Tracks, Network Gatherings and Practice Spaces.

Save the date: 14th AMC June 28 - July 31, 2012

-----
Uproot: Queer Voices on Migration, Immigration, Displacement, & Diaspora 

Vision: A fierce & gorgeous queer 'zine about people in motion. That is, in this case, a collection of art in any medium translatable to the printed/electronic page: i.e. essays, stories, poems, drawings/paintings, or photographs, about migration, immigration, displacement, diaspora, or any other movement of (your) people. 

Whether by force or by choice, by land or by sea, by foot or by vehicle, ethnic, religious, and cultural groupings of people have always moved across the earth. We have had our lands occupied and colonized, pushing us to the fringes. We have been enslaved, and we have been displaced by war and economic disparities. We have chosen to move, in the hope for better lives for ourselves and our families. These movements have shaped, shifted, and blended our cultures, our religions, our food, our music, our identities - our very selves. They may have created great hope in us, traumatized us, provided us with opportunities otherwise unavailable to us, or resulted in loss of language or family or more. Our stories about the ways the migration(s) of our ancestors, our families, and ourselves have affected and informed our current identities deserve to be told, and deserve to be heard, read, and seen. 

The stories of peoples' migrations and the subsequent effects on our cultures and identities are often told from the point of view of those who have historically held positions of power. This is no mainstream public school history book, y'all. Uproot aims to fill in and flesh out existing narratives, highlighting the perspectives and voices of LGBTQQI folks through our words, visual art, and other expression. 

Who should submit: Queer folks (LGBTQQI, same-sex loving, two-spirit, or otherwise queer/non-hetero-ID'd folks) 
What you should submit: Any writing or art translatable to the printed/electronic page. (Can't believe I have to say this, but I probably do. Content/theme/subject should be about you or your people.) Please keep written submissions to 1,500 words or less. Contact me if you have a longer piece you would like to contribute. Limit one submission per person. 
Where you should send your stuff: uprootedqueers@gmail.com
When you should send it: By December 19, 2011. Please contact me if you would like to submit a piece but will need more time. 
Why?: Because your stories and the stories of your people deserve to be told, and the world needs to hear them. 

ALSO: If you are juiced to be a part of this and might have some time, skills, or resources to donate to the formatting/layout/printing and eventual distribution processes, please do be in touch! I'm doing this for nothing but love, and though I could probably pull together a passable yet somewhat bootsy 'zine all on my own, and use my tips from two consecutive Sunday brunch shifts to print it out in black and white (and then use two consecutive Sunday evenings stapling it together) I would love to have a li'l help making it pretty. If you want to help me format or edit or start a kickstarter to fundraise for costs, etc., please holler at uprootedqueers@gmail.com, and put HELP in the subject line. 

-----
Training for Change: Upcoming Workshops

Click here to register for any of these workshops

Training for Social Action Trainers
November 4-6, Oakland, CA

Whites Confronting Racism
Dec 9-11, Philadelphia, PA

Training for Social Action Trainers
Dec 9-11, 2011, Philadelphia, PA

Organizing Skills Institute
(for Philadelphia residents only)
Feb 10-12, March 23-25, May 4-6, 2012 
Philadelphia, PA

Super-T: Training of Trainers
Learn more about the Super T here

June 8-24, 2012
Philadelphia, PA

-----

Call for Submissions: Zine Compilation on Healing, Culture, and Capitalism

Please Forward!

This is a CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for a zine compilation on issues surrounding healing, culture, and capitalism.

We are looking for people to submit writing and art that offers perspectives on how Yoga, Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Spiritual Healing, and many other modes
 of healing interact with modern global economies and cultures. We are looking for submissions from healers, practitioners, organizers, public health workers,
and "lay" people, and we are looking for writing based in personal experience.

WE ARE ESPECIALLY LOOKING FOR DISCUSSION FROM YOGA TEACHERS AND YOGA PRACTITIONERS.

Deadline for Submissions: January 30, 2012
Please Email Submissions and Bio to:  batty@riseup.net

We are seeking a multiplicity of perspectives, questions, and investigations, and below are some of the questions we are seeking to address in this zine:
  • How does cultural appropriation interact with "alternative" or "holistic" medicine in the west? In the united states?
  • How do we as herbalists, yoga teachers, acupuncturists, and other practitioners involve ourselves in the continuation of colonialism and cultural theft?
  • How are our lives ameliorated or saved by these healing practices? How and why do we feel "called" to these practices? How might we as healers use tools and practices that make intuitive, spiritual, and a certain kind of political sense to us, while still being accountable for our privileges and complicities? 
  • How do we as rad folks interact with the larger culture of the "green capitalist" healing industry?
  • Specifically, what are the complexities of being a yoga teacher or practitioner in the west? 
  • What happens to the people of a culture whose practices we are using, borrowing, transforming, or stealing? What happens to the culture or the practice itself? What is gained and what is lost? Who benefits and who loses or pays?

THANK YOU!!

 
Read More
Uncategorized Uncategorized

October News: The Guidelines

Hello Good People!

I've been traveling in the northeast for the last three weeks, from the fecund and flooded Hudson valley, to the grimy warmth of New York City's second summer, and north again to the autumnal rains of New Hampshire. What brought me to the east coast last month was an ambitious project I was asked to lead at Bard College. I developed a curriculum on Identity and Difference, and coordinated a team of 10 gifted facilitators to guide Bard's entire First-Year class through the workshop. It was hard and deep and beautiful work, helping these 18- and 19-year olds to talk about race and class, power and privilege, many of them for the first time. And in the midst of it there were those golden moments, where all of us in the room are laughing in spite of and because of and through the pain of the experience.

But only days before I left Minnesota to begin this work, I received an email from a good friend and reader critiquing my September newsletter. In particular, this reader was scandalized by my use of a race joke, which he felt was a base treatment of a very serious subject. I promised him that I would find some way to address this in my next newsletter in case other readers had a similar reaction. I went into the weekend at Bard with the question very much alive in the back of my mind. After my work at Bard, a college with a majority-white population and few international students and American students of color, it occurred to me that at the heart of this matter is the question of when, and if, it's OK to laugh about race and racism. This gave me the idea to write some guidelines on the subject.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Don't the guidelines need to be different for whites and non-whites? On the surface, I tend to agree, but in reality I think the question of when it's OK to laugh is much more complex and often has more to do with circumstance and self-awareness. Because racism is systemic, all of us carry racism with us wherever we go. It is the sum of the stories we have been told all our lives, consciously and unconsciously. How our racism comes out depends on how much power we are afforded in a society based on structural racism. For whites, racism often comes in the form of social and economic privileges that feel earned but in reality are not, and a set of internalized beliefs about the superiority of white culture (for more on this, see Peggy McIntosh's groundbreaking article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"). For non-whites, racism comes in the form of lacking those same privileges, and because of this disparity, holding internalized beliefs about what we can and cannot do, as well as what we do and do not deserve, based on a system we did not create.

And all of it comes out in our humor, the place where the intricacies of identity and difference are splayed out like a deck of cards. Whether it's OK to laugh depends on what the joke is, who it's on, and who you are with. Read on for more detail.

Guidelines for Laughing about Race and/or Racism

It's Usually OK to Laugh About Race and/or Racism...

  1. When it's funny. Sometimes a person's racism is so flagrant or even stereotypical that it is truly funny. For instance, a white man that I am very close to recently referred to an African American man that he met as being "so articulate." An easy-to-understand example of how racism plays out is the belief or expectation on the part of whites that non-whites are inferior on multiple levels, including the sophistication of speech. On the one hand this is an extremely complex stereotype that has a great deal to do with how we have been socialized to value certain cultures over others. On the other hand, it is SO well known as a stereotype of white racism that when I hear it, I always have a good chuckle.
  2. When it's true. By 'it' I mean the accusation of racism, and by 'true' I mean it's actually happening. It may sound unbelievable, but sometimes joking at the expense of the person whose racism is 'coming out' is an effective way to both draw attention to their mistake while simultaneously staying on course for the good time everyone is trying to have. You can always pull them aside later for a more serious talking-to.
  3. When it's not true. This one is hard for white folks to understand, because they are often on guard for the accusation of racism. But some people of color (I say 'some' so as to avoid an accusation of generalizing) find the idea of playing the race card in inappropriate situations to be hilarious. It might be because we know how much it puts white folks on edge (and let's be honest, white folks: you deserve it). It might also be because people of color are always expected to be serious about racism, just like women are supposed to be serious about sexism, and queers are supposed to be serious about homophobia and transphobia. The cold hard truth is that laughing is what gets us through.

This does not mean, under any circumstances, that it is

always

OK to laugh. Here are some helpful guidelines for when you shouldn't be laughing.



You probably shouldn't laugh...


  1. When its racist. If you are with a group of white people and people are making racist jokes, ask yourself this: would Autumn laugh? If I'm not laughing, you'd best not be laughing either. If you are in a multicultural setting and a white person makes a joke you suspect is racist, you can always look at the people of color nearest to you to gauge their reactions. Because to be realistic, I am not always available.
  2. When it's not funny. There are many situations where racism manifests in a violent or violating way. These awful situations present a great opportunity to be an ally and aid the victim of systemic racism. You can do this by simply saying. "That's not funny. It's racist." Remember, silence is often interpreted as a form of assent.
  3. When it's disturbing. This is an easy rule. If you don't feel comfortable, don't laugh. Ask questions before making the assumption that all is well, or that something is amiss. One question I have often appreciated from others who are concerned for my physical and emotional safety in situations where I could potentially be the victim of someone's racism is, "Do you feel safe?" Another brave and helpful response is to physically stand by the side of the person who is (possibly) being mistreated.

I hope these helpful tips serve you well in the fight to end racism by laughing at it's idiocy, or not laughing when that would be the more powerful choice.



In this Edition of Iambrown:


  • Growing and Nurturing Sustainable Communities of Beauty, Balance and Delight (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
  • Grassroots Healers International hosts "Healing and Social Change Activism" (Worldwide)
  • TakeTwo Services is Open for Business (New York City)
  • Whole Measures: Transforming Community by Measuring what Matters Most (Boston)
  • Audre Lorde Project Launches 3rd Space Healing (New York City)

If you have trouble viewing my newsletter in email format, please view it on my website, www.iambrown.org.

-----


Growing and Nurturing Sustainable Communities of Beauty, Balance and Delight

A Workshop Open to Folks from all Traditions and Communities



October 14, 15 & 16, 2011



For many years the Reclaiming Witch Tradition has recognized that community is core to living a sustainable life of joy and plenty. We have been committed to actively exploring the ways that best grow and nurture sustainable communities of beauty, balance and delight. We would like to invite you to join us as we continue to investigate old and new ways of living in healthy community.



This get together will be hostessed by four local Reclaiming Witches; Grady Shapiro, Teri Parsley Starnes, Alex Iantaffi and Donald Engstrom-Reese. We are each actively fascinated with and committed to the growing and nurturance of sustainable communities of joy and plenty.



A few questions to ponder before we gather:


What comes to mind when you think about being an integral part of a thriving community?


What are the key elements to growing any healthy community?


What would such a community feel like, smell like, sound like, taste like, look like?


Is there a group size that is best suited for different types of communities?


What are a few types of basic communities and what are their purposes?


How important is the sharing of meals in the bonding between members of any community?


Are you a member of a community choosing to grow into beauty, balance and delight?



We will be gathering in:


(The Community Room in the basement)


The Walker Community Church United Methodist Church


3104 16th Avenue South


Minneapolis, MN 55407-1817



Oct. 14, Friday - 6:30 - 9:00 PM, a pot-luck feast to get to know each other (all are welcomed, even if this is the only night you can be a part of the weekend, please join us for this meal).


Oct. 15, Saturday - 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM, a day filled with discussion, experimentation and fun (bring a jar of local honey to do a bit of spell work with).


October 16, Sunday - a closing ritual to set the three days of community magic



We are asking for a donation of between $30 - $80 to pay for our costs. All extra funds will go to benefit


Winter Witch Camp (

http://winterwitchcamp.com/wwc2012/Joomla_1.5.18/

).



To register, please contact Paul at:

elvisian13@yahoo.com

or

612-722-5444

.


----- 


Grassroots Healers International hosts "Healing and Social Change Activism"

How do we create change? The power of healing in this time cannot be underestimated.



We are writing to invite you to be part of the teleconference, "Healing and Social Change Activism" on October 15 and 16, 2011. This conference call will feature healers from all over the world, offering their insights on the role of healing in a variety of topic areas from healing poverty to cultivating happiness.



The teleconference is hosted by Grassroots Healers International (GHI), a network of healers committed to social change. GHI was launched in April 2011 and this is our first gathering of healers. This conference is a grassroots to grassroots initiative where people will bridge their personal healing processes with their larger commitments to effecting change in the world.



Why a teleconference on healing and social change? The world needs healing now more than ever! The traditional ways of social change- constant changing of the external without linking internal growth and healing creates disconnects and we cannot change the world through disconnection.



Our intention is to link internal healing with social change through creation of a dialogue that supports personal sustainability as part of our large calling to create a sustainable world where everyone counts and matters.



Please find the dial in information and an outline of the topics below. Please forward widely to your contacts!



Healing and Social Change Activism


Teleconference Agenda - October 15 and 16, 2011


October 15, 2011


GROUP A: 8:45 to 12:45 on 10/15/11



To attend, visit:

http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=23089152

Phone Number:

(415) 671-4335

Pin Code: 674412#



9:00 a.m Welcome and Invocation Free Woman USA


10:00 a.m. Om Prakash 'Healing from Linked Oppression and Discrimination' USA


11:00 a.m. Diana Lee 'From Sharecropper to Shareholder: A Healer's Journey in Reclaiming the Sweetness of Daily Living and Social Justice Work' LATIN AMERICA


12:00 p.m. Megan Dowdell 'Healing White Privilege' USA



GROUP B: 12:55 to 4:55 on 10/15/11



To attend, visit:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=23089719

Phone Number:

(415) 671-4335

Pin Code: 674412#



1:00 p.m. Stephen Leeper 'Organizing: The Art of Healing' USA


2:00 p.m. Rosa Asana 'Healing Addiction through Faith' USA


3:00 p.m. Free Woman 'Energy Activism: Spiritual Healing as Social Change Activism' USA


4:00 p.m. Nazar Nicholas 'The role of Inspiration and Positive Mental Attitude in the Fight Against Poverty' AFRICA



October 16, 2011


GROUP C: 10:55 to 3:45 on 10/16/11



To attend, visit:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=23089971

Phone Number:

(415) 671-4335

Pin Code: 674412#



11:00 a.m. Welcome and Meditation on Healing Poverty- Free Woman USA


12:00 Stephanie Yuen 'Grief Counseling using Holistic Approaches' USA


1:00 Stanley Chagala 'Healing Poverty' U.S. via AFRICA


2:00 Barbara Avant 'Healing From Religious Oppression: The Importance of Your Spiritual Journey' USA


3:00 p.m. Thea Sittler 'Self-Learning and Teaching' AFRICA



GROUP D: 3:55 to 5:55 on 10/16/11



To attend, visit:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=23090349

Phone Number:

(415) 671-4335

Pin Code: 674412#



4:00 p.m. Patrick David Henry ' Healing Incarceration' USA


5:00 p.m. Abdu Mohammed, 'Healing Poverty and Gender Oppression' AFRICA


-----


TakeTwo Services is Open for Business

A message from Stephanie Arcella and Bix Gabriel:



After more than a decade each of working at nonprofit organizations, we are now combining the best of both our worlds – communications and development – to help nonprofits do what they do best: make the world a better place.



TAKETWO helps nonprofit organizations tell their stories powerfully and persuasively and generate the support they need to sustain and expand their work.

Check out what we offer at

www.take2services.com

.



-----


Whole Measures: Transforming Community by Measuring what Matters Most

 


This November CWC is partnering again with the Interaction Institute for Social Change to bring you this incredible offering.



Time: November 8, 2011 to November 10, 2011


Location: IISC, Boston, MA



The Center for Whole Communities and the Interaction Institute for Social Change collaborated and created a workshop that explores the ten values-based practices detailed in Whole Measures. The workshop provides the practical and transformational skills needed to collaboratively implement these practices in your organization or community. This experience is particularly well suited to those charged with engaging diverse stakeholders in a community or organizational change initiative.


-----


Audre Lorde Project Launches 3rd Space Healing!!

(

http://alp.org/www.alp.org/healing

)



3rd Space Healing strives to introduce accessible and sliding-scale holistic healthcare access to ALP’s members, staff, and larger community of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color. Please refer yourselves, your clients, your family and friends who identify as LGBTQTSTGNC people of color seeking access to holistic health care to 3rd Space Healing.



The collective members of 3rd Space Healing, a member-led group of the Audre Lorde Project, are professional healers-queer and trans people of color and allies- who specialize in a wide array of modalities including Reiki, acupuncture, and HIV + diabetes nursing. We believe that access to holistic care that supports health and well-being is a human right, but is often out of reach for many LGBTSTGNC people of color who also identify as HIV+, low income, (im)migrant, or living with a disability.  We also acknowledge that many existing structures of healthcare are not LGBTSTGNC-friendly, nor do they specifically focus on the needs of LGBTSTGNC people of color.  In this light, we aim to create a space that is sorely needed, and humbly offer our skills in service to our communities.



3rd Space Healing is not primarily a direct service project, but a way to make different healing modalities accessible to ALP’s members, staff and larger communities by facilitating linkages to practitioners in those same communities.  Certainly, those interested in accessing services every month are welcome to do so, but our vision is to have those coming to 3rd Space Healing access care in the private or community practices of the healer/provider-members of the 3rd Space Healing Collective.


If you have any questions, contact Becca Wisotsky

212-463-0342 ext. 16

Hello Good People!

I've been traveling in the northeast for the last three weeks, from the fecund and flooded Hudson valley, to the grimy warmth of New York City's second summer, and north again to the autumnal rains of New Hampshire. What brought me to the east coast last month was an ambitious project I was asked to lead at Bard College. I developed a curriculum on Identity and Difference, and coordinated a team of 10 gifted facilitators to guide Bard's entire First-Year class through the workshop. It was hard and deep and beautiful work, helping these 18- and 19-year olds to talk about race and class, power and privilege, many of them for the first time. And in the midst of it there were those golden moments, where all of us in the room are laughing in spite of and because of and through the pain of the experience.

But only days before I left Minnesota to begin this work, I received an email from a good friend and reader critiquing my September newsletter. In particular, this reader was scandalized by my use of a race joke, which he felt was a base treatment of a very serious subject. I promised him that I would find some way to address this in my next newsletter in case other readers had a similar reaction. I went into the weekend at Bard with the question very much alive in the back of my mind. After my work at Bard, a college with a majority-white population and few international students and American students of color, it occurred to me that at the heart of this matter is the question of when, and if, it's OK to laugh about race and racism. This gave me the idea to write some guidelines on the subject.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Don't the guidelines need to be different for whites and non-whites? On the surface, I tend to agree, but in reality I think the question of when it's OK to laugh is much more complex and often has more to do with circumstance and self-awareness. Because racism is systemic, all of us carry racism with us wherever we go. It is the sum of the stories we have been told all our lives, consciously and unconsciously. How our racism comes out depends on how much power we are afforded in a society based on structural racism. For whites, racism often comes in the form of social and economic privileges that feel earned but in reality are not, and a set of internalized beliefs about the superiority of white culture (for more on this, see Peggy McIntosh's groundbreaking article, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"). For non-whites, racism comes in the form of lacking those same privileges, and because of this disparity, holding internalized beliefs about what we can and cannot do, as well as what we do and do not deserve, based on a system we did not create.

And all of it comes out in our humor, the place where the intricacies of identity and difference are splayed out like a deck of cards. Whether it's OK to laugh depends on what the joke is, who it's on, and who you are with. Read on for more detail.

Guidelines for Laughing about Race and/or Racism

It's Usually OK to Laugh About Race and/or Racism...

  1. When it's funny. Sometimes a person's racism is so flagrant or even stereotypical that it is truly funny. For instance, a white man that I am very close to recently referred to an African American man that he met as being "so articulate." An easy-to-understand example of how racism plays out is the belief or expectation on the part of whites that non-whites are inferior on multiple levels, including the sophistication of speech. On the one hand this is an extremely complex stereotype that has a great deal to do with how we have been socialized to value certain cultures over others. On the other hand, it is SO well known as a stereotype of white racism that when I hear it, I always have a good chuckle.
  2. When it's true. By 'it' I mean the accusation of racism, and by 'true' I mean it's actually happening. It may sound unbelievable, but sometimes joking at the expense of the person whose racism is 'coming out' is an effective way to both draw attention to their mistake while simultaneously staying on course for the good time everyone is trying to have. You can always pull them aside later for a more serious talking-to.
  3. When it's not true. This one is hard for white folks to understand, because they are often on guard for the accusation of racism. But some people of color (I say 'some' so as to avoid an accusation of generalizing) find the idea of playing the race card in inappropriate situations to be hilarious. It might be because we know how much it puts white folks on edge (and let's be honest, white folks: you deserve it). It might also be because people of color are always expected to be serious about racism, just like women are supposed to be serious about sexism, and queers are supposed to be serious about homophobia and transphobia. The cold hard truth is that laughing is what gets us through.

This does not mean, under any circumstances, that it is

always

OK to laugh. Here are some helpful guidelines for when you shouldn't be laughing.



You probably shouldn't laugh...


  1. When its racist. If you are with a group of white people and people are making racist jokes, ask yourself this: would Autumn laugh? If I'm not laughing, you'd best not be laughing either. If you are in a multicultural setting and a white person makes a joke you suspect is racist, you can always look at the people of color nearest to you to gauge their reactions. Because to be realistic, I am not always available.
  2. When it's not funny. There are many situations where racism manifests in a violent or violating way. These awful situations present a great opportunity to be an ally and aid the victim of systemic racism. You can do this by simply saying. "That's not funny. It's racist." Remember, silence is often interpreted as a form of assent.
  3. When it's disturbing. This is an easy rule. If you don't feel comfortable, don't laugh. Ask questions before making the assumption that all is well, or that something is amiss. One question I have often appreciated from others who are concerned for my physical and emotional safety in situations where I could potentially be the victim of someone's racism is, "Do you feel safe?" Another brave and helpful response is to physically stand by the side of the person who is (possibly) being mistreated.

I hope these helpful tips serve you well in the fight to end racism by laughing at it's idiocy, or not laughing when that would be the more powerful choice.



In this Edition of Iambrown:


  • Growing and Nurturing Sustainable Communities of Beauty, Balance and Delight (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
  • Grassroots Healers International hosts "Healing and Social Change Activism" (Worldwide)
  • TakeTwo Services is Open for Business (New York City)
  • Whole Measures: Transforming Community by Measuring what Matters Most (Boston)
  • Audre Lorde Project Launches 3rd Space Healing (New York City)

If you have trouble viewing my newsletter in email format, please view it on my website, www.iambrown.org.

-----


Growing and Nurturing Sustainable Communities of Beauty, Balance and Delight

A Workshop Open to Folks from all Traditions and Communities



October 14, 15 & 16, 2011



For many years the Reclaiming Witch Tradition has recognized that community is core to living a sustainable life of joy and plenty. We have been committed to actively exploring the ways that best grow and nurture sustainable communities of beauty, balance and delight. We would like to invite you to join us as we continue to investigate old and new ways of living in healthy community.



This get together will be hostessed by four local Reclaiming Witches; Grady Shapiro, Teri Parsley Starnes, Alex Iantaffi and Donald Engstrom-Reese. We are each actively fascinated with and committed to the growing and nurturance of sustainable communities of joy and plenty.



A few questions to ponder before we gather:


What comes to mind when you think about being an integral part of a thriving community?


What are the key elements to growing any healthy community?


What would such a community feel like, smell like, sound like, taste like, look like?


Is there a group size that is best suited for different types of communities?


What are a few types of basic communities and what are their purposes?


How important is the sharing of meals in the bonding between members of any community?


Are you a member of a community choosing to grow into beauty, balance and delight?



We will be gathering in:


(The Community Room in the basement)


The Walker Community Church United Methodist Church


3104 16th Avenue South


Minneapolis, MN 55407-1817



Oct. 14, Friday - 6:30 - 9:00 PM, a pot-luck feast to get to know each other (all are welcomed, even if this is the only night you can be a part of the weekend, please join us for this meal).


Oct. 15, Saturday - 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM, a day filled with discussion, experimentation and fun (bring a jar of local honey to do a bit of spell work with).


October 16, Sunday - a closing ritual to set the three days of community magic



We are asking for a donation of between $30 - $80 to pay for our costs. All extra funds will go to benefit


Winter Witch Camp (

http://winterwitchcamp.com/wwc2012/Joomla_1.5.18/

).



To register, please contact Paul at:

elvisian13@yahoo.com

or

612-722-5444

.


----- 


Grassroots Healers International hosts "Healing and Social Change Activism"

How do we create change? The power of healing in this time cannot be underestimated.



We are writing to invite you to be part of the teleconference, "Healing and Social Change Activism" on October 15 and 16, 2011. This conference call will feature healers from all over the world, offering their insights on the role of healing in a variety of topic areas from healing poverty to cultivating happiness.



The teleconference is hosted by Grassroots Healers International (GHI), a network of healers committed to social change. GHI was launched in April 2011 and this is our first gathering of healers. This conference is a grassroots to grassroots initiative where people will bridge their personal healing processes with their larger commitments to effecting change in the world.



Why a teleconference on healing and social change? The world needs healing now more than ever! The traditional ways of social change- constant changing of the external without linking internal growth and healing creates disconnects and we cannot change the world through disconnection.



Our intention is to link internal healing with social change through creation of a dialogue that supports personal sustainability as part of our large calling to create a sustainable world where everyone counts and matters.



Please find the dial in information and an outline of the topics below. Please forward widely to your contacts!



Healing and Social Change Activism


Teleconference Agenda - October 15 and 16, 2011


October 15, 2011


GROUP A: 8:45 to 12:45 on 10/15/11



To attend, visit:

http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=23089152

Phone Number:

(415) 671-4335

Pin Code: 674412#



9:00 a.m Welcome and Invocation Free Woman USA


10:00 a.m. Om Prakash 'Healing from Linked Oppression and Discrimination' USA


11:00 a.m. Diana Lee 'From Sharecropper to Shareholder: A Healer's Journey in Reclaiming the Sweetness of Daily Living and Social Justice Work' LATIN AMERICA


12:00 p.m. Megan Dowdell 'Healing White Privilege' USA



GROUP B: 12:55 to 4:55 on 10/15/11



To attend, visit:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=23089719

Phone Number:

(415) 671-4335

Pin Code: 674412#



1:00 p.m. Stephen Leeper 'Organizing: The Art of Healing' USA


2:00 p.m. Rosa Asana 'Healing Addiction through Faith' USA


3:00 p.m. Free Woman 'Energy Activism: Spiritual Healing as Social Change Activism' USA


4:00 p.m. Nazar Nicholas 'The role of Inspiration and Positive Mental Attitude in the Fight Against Poverty' AFRICA



October 16, 2011


GROUP C: 10:55 to 3:45 on 10/16/11



To attend, visit:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=23089971

Phone Number:

(415) 671-4335

Pin Code: 674412#



11:00 a.m. Welcome and Meditation on Healing Poverty- Free Woman USA


12:00 Stephanie Yuen 'Grief Counseling using Holistic Approaches' USA


1:00 Stanley Chagala 'Healing Poverty' U.S. via AFRICA


2:00 Barbara Avant 'Healing From Religious Oppression: The Importance of Your Spiritual Journey' USA


3:00 p.m. Thea Sittler 'Self-Learning and Teaching' AFRICA



GROUP D: 3:55 to 5:55 on 10/16/11



To attend, visit:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=23090349

Phone Number:

(415) 671-4335

Pin Code: 674412#



4:00 p.m. Patrick David Henry ' Healing Incarceration' USA


5:00 p.m. Abdu Mohammed, 'Healing Poverty and Gender Oppression' AFRICA


-----


TakeTwo Services is Open for Business

A message from Stephanie Arcella and Bix Gabriel:



After more than a decade each of working at nonprofit organizations, we are now combining the best of both our worlds – communications and development – to help nonprofits do what they do best: make the world a better place.



TAKETWO helps nonprofit organizations tell their stories powerfully and persuasively and generate the support they need to sustain and expand their work.

Check out what we offer at

www.take2services.com

.



-----


Whole Measures: Transforming Community by Measuring what Matters Most

 


This November CWC is partnering again with the Interaction Institute for Social Change to bring you this incredible offering.



Time: November 8, 2011 to November 10, 2011


Location: IISC, Boston, MA



The Center for Whole Communities and the Interaction Institute for Social Change collaborated and created a workshop that explores the ten values-based practices detailed in Whole Measures. The workshop provides the practical and transformational skills needed to collaboratively implement these practices in your organization or community. This experience is particularly well suited to those charged with engaging diverse stakeholders in a community or organizational change initiative.


-----


Audre Lorde Project Launches 3rd Space Healing!!

(

http://alp.org/www.alp.org/healing

)



3rd Space Healing strives to introduce accessible and sliding-scale holistic healthcare access to ALP’s members, staff, and larger community of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color. Please refer yourselves, your clients, your family and friends who identify as LGBTQTSTGNC people of color seeking access to holistic health care to 3rd Space Healing.



The collective members of 3rd Space Healing, a member-led group of the Audre Lorde Project, are professional healers-queer and trans people of color and allies- who specialize in a wide array of modalities including Reiki, acupuncture, and HIV + diabetes nursing. We believe that access to holistic care that supports health and well-being is a human right, but is often out of reach for many LGBTSTGNC people of color who also identify as HIV+, low income, (im)migrant, or living with a disability.  We also acknowledge that many existing structures of healthcare are not LGBTSTGNC-friendly, nor do they specifically focus on the needs of LGBTSTGNC people of color.  In this light, we aim to create a space that is sorely needed, and humbly offer our skills in service to our communities.



3rd Space Healing is not primarily a direct service project, but a way to make different healing modalities accessible to ALP’s members, staff and larger communities by facilitating linkages to practitioners in those same communities.  Certainly, those interested in accessing services every month are welcome to do so, but our vision is to have those coming to 3rd Space Healing access care in the private or community practices of the healer/provider-members of the 3rd Space Healing Collective.


If you have any questions, contact Becca Wisotsky

212-463-0342 ext. 16

Read More

September News - Between You and a Blog Post

Hello Good People!

Ever have an experience where what actually happened was painful, but you can picture exactly what you would have liked to happen and that just feels so delicious? I just had one. Telling this story is purely for fun, so skip ahead for the serious stuff like drought relief and conflict facilitation training!

What actually happened: My husband Sam and I took our kids out to eat at a family-style Japanese restaurant. Toward the end of the meal, a couple is seated in the booth behind us. The both sit on the same side, quietly sipping martinis. Our two kids, ages 3 and 1, are crawling all over the seat next to me, and making goofy faces at the new couple in an effort to elicit a smile or a laugh. To no avail. The couple sits quietly and glares at us. I hear something clatter behind me and turn, realizing Siobhan might have dropped something into their booth. I turn and ask the glaring woman if my daughter dropped a toy into their booth, and she says "I am pretty sure she did." She makes no move to help me find the item, but continues glaring as I check under their table for the toy (or chop stick, or whatever it is). Finally, she and her partner ask to be moved to another booth. Sam and I sit there, steaming.

What I wish had happened: Same as before, except as soon as I noticed the couple glaring at me and my children, I would have turned to them and said, "Oh my god, are you breaking up? You look so unhappy!" Undoubtedly this would have resulted in one of them making a cutting remark along the lines of, "No, in fact, our relationship is just fine and we are trying to enjoy a quiet date but your scrappy and freakishly loud kids are ruining it for us." At which point I would have stood up and proclaimed to the entire restaurant, "This woman called me a n**g*r."

Wow, I wish that is what had happened. Then the glaring couple would have been the ones to make a quick, humiliated exit. As it was, Sam and I were the ones who left as quickly as we could, with our children in tow. But that's not really fair, it it? I probably hold memories, somewhere deep down, of a time before I had children when I tried to eat a meal out with friends, or pre-father Sam, and was disturbed in my dining experience by someone else's child who clearly thought, or had been led to believe, that he was cuter than he was. There are two differences in my current experience: 1) My children actually ARE cuter than they realize, and even hateful, child-hating people can't deny that; 2) As a parent I have absolutely no sympathy for the distress of non-parent patrons who choose to have their weekly night out in a restaurant that plays the game on a large screen TV over the aquarium. In my humble opinion, if you don't have kids AND you can afford to eat out, you live with a type of luxury and access on par with cruises and shoe-shining. So, if a family comes in, be on your best behavior, offer assistance when necessary, and show friendly (if forced) smiles when their children act out to get your attention. It is these simple acts of kindness that stand between you and a blog-post.
 
In this Edition of Iambrown:
  • East Africa Relief (Everywhere)
  • Intuitive Spirituality Workshop (NYC)
  • Cross-Cultural Conflict Facilitation Training (Twin Cities)
  • Advanced Training of Trainers with Training for Change (Twin Cities)
  • Program Coordinator for Common Fire’s Tivoli Housing Co-op (Tivoli, NY)
  • Launching Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs (NYC)



-----

 

East Africa Relief
 
My friend Sophia Kizilbash forwarded this message about East Africa Relief Resources:

Nasra Giama and her colleaues compiled a list of recommended organizations to contribute to in response to the drought crisis in Somalia. Nasra is based in Rochester, Minnesota and pursuing her advanced degree in nursing in minneapolis.  She specializes in adolescent health and wants to begin community initiatives focusing on young refugee and immigrant women, obesity, self-esteem, health and wellness and civic engagement. She is well connected with somali youth nationally who are organizing around raising resources and awareness.  If you live and work in Minnesota, please feel free to introduce young people you work with to her as a mentor or as a connector to other active youth! Her email is nasra.gia@gmail.com.      

Below is a link with the information: 
http://eastafricarelief.tumblr.com/

We are a group of Minnesotans, most of us with East African roots, interested in navigating the famine and drought crisis. "What can we do?" we asked ourselves. This is the result: to encourage smart giving. As we look at short term aid to the famine-stricken regions it is imperative that we discuss the long term effects of climate change and its impact on global food security.
As you think about organizations to support financially toward humanitarian relief in the regions affected by famine and drought in East Africa, consider the following questions:
  • Is the organization grass-roots based; and are its administrators and staff local people?
  • Where is the organization based?
  • Does the organization have the operational capacity to distribute food and other resources in the impacted areas?
  • What percent of donations go to administrative and overhead costs?
  • What is the organization’s impact in the area? Is there a financial report available?
  • How long has the organization been working in the region, specific country? Who are its partners?
  • Does the organization’s aid model contribute or deter the growth of the local economy?
  • What are the organization’s long-term sustainable plans?

Donate nowMaking a financial contribution is the best way to help, as supplies can be purchased locally at a low cost. Food donations harm African businesses and the high shipping costs makes these contributions inefficient. After evaluating various relief agencies in East Africa based on services delivered, reach, administrative costs, and ability to fill critical gaps, we encourage people to donate to the following organizations. These organizations address a variety of needs efficiently and they each designate at least 89% of contributions to aid.

Volunteer
. Contact aid agencies working in East Africa to see how you can volunteer your time and skills.

  • Amoud Foundation | www.amoudfoundation.com
    Operating 12 feeding centers in the worse hit famine areas of Somalia, including: Bay, Bakol, Gedo and Afgoi areas.
  • ARAHA | www.araha.org
    Operating food distributions in the Horn of Africa, and delivering non-food items such as tarps for making shelters, cooking utensils, and other essentials to those displaced. Volunteers wanted
  • African Future | www.theafricanfuture.org
    Working with the Global Enrichment Foundation and Hope for Nations to distribute food to individuals and families that have been denied access across the Somali border. Volunteers wanted.
  • Doctors without Borders (MSF) | www.doctorswithoutborders.org
    Operating 3 medical-nutritional programs in Ethiopia and Kenya and 9 programs in south-central Somalia.
  • Mercy Corps http://www.mercycorps.org/hornofafricahungercrisis
    Mercy Corps teams in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are responding to the hunger crisis by distributing food and water and expanding critical relief efforts in a way that builds local markets. Mercy Corps is on the ground helping more than one million people in the region survive. 
  • Oxfam | www.oxfam.org/eastafrica
    Has a reputation for supporting sustainable projects that look at long term solutions. Working in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia
  • Save Somali Women and Children | http://bit.ly/SaveSomaliWomenChildren
    SSWC is a grantee of the Global Fund For Women, is distributing Nutrition Kits to help mothers fend against the malnutrition and Dignity Kits to provide essential women’s hygiene items, the lack of which poses serious health risks and compromises their dignity.

 

 
-----
Intuitive Spirituality Workshop with Victoria Libertore, a.k.a. Howlin' Vic!
 

Led by Lisa Karmen and Victoria Libertore

 

If you feel a yearning to open new dimensions within yourself, learn about your own intuitive abilities and deepen your spiritual knowledge, this six-week workshop is meant for you.  Lisa Karmen and Victoria Libertore are combining their years of experience as an astrologer and an intuitive to accompany you on this path.  Participants will learn about connecting with their guides, archetypal energy work, cycles of the planets and using astrology as a mirror of the self and a resource for self-knowledge.  This is an interactive workshop that will be delivered in a fun and safe environment.  Sessions will be tailored to the individual participants.  Developing your intuitive abilities encourages positive self awareness, health on all levels, and raises one's spiritual vibration, which benefits the collective and the planet at this time of great transition.  We intend for this workshop to be empowering and invite you to join us in this pioneering adventure.  Please see howlingvic.com and selketconsulting.com for more about  the teachers.

 

October 3rd - November 7th (Mondays), 7:00 - 10:00 P.M.

Studios 353, Studio 4

353 W. 48th Street (between 8th & 9th Ave.)

Fee:  $275 - $400 sliding scale

Workshop builds from week to week.  No drop-ins.

To sign up and for questions:  victorialibertore@gmail.com or lkarmen@yahoo.com

Register by 9/28

 

-----

Cross-Cultural Conflict Facilitation Training 


Based on Process-Work Arnold Mindell. Join us for a 3 module workshop, in which you will have the opportunity to develop and strengthen your skills in deep democracy as a way of being, and as an approach to transformative leadership for social change. You will learn the basics of process-oriented psychology, building skills for working through conflict at multiple levels and heats, the “meta-skills” fundamental for effective facilitation through conflict, and how to set the conditions for deeper and deeper democracy.

Our approach to process work incorporates a modality developed by members of our team and presented at the 2010 United States Social Forum - on social somatics – a modality that helps accelerate social change, using personal and group somatic tracking embodiment exercises and praxis. Cultural preservation and cross-cultural bridging is our complex frame that will be used to practice deep democracy skills within. The primary objective is to facilitate conflict forums on cross-cultural issues most pressing to the Midwest. 

Dates: Orientation / August 28, 2011. 
Module 1 Conflict in Communities / September 25, 2011. 
Module 2 Conflict in Organizations / October 30, 2011. 
Module 3 Conflict as an Organizing Tool / December 4, 2011.
Cost: The orientation is free of charge, and open to all community.

Workshop Registration: Cost: $400 for the series. Or $150 per module. The registration closes on September 19th. Space is limited. Contact: movetochange@gmail.com
www.ujimaconsulting.com
 
-----
Upcoming Advanced Training of Trainers from Training for Change

October 24-29, 2011
Minneapolis, MN

Deepen and broaden your facilitation skills in an advanced workshop open only to graduates of Training for Social Action Trainers. Together we'll tackle some of training's biggest challenges -- including doing cross-cultural work, handling conflict and strong emotions, and modifying workshop designs on the fly -- and experiment with new solutions.

AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU WILL...

Receive in-depth, personal coaching on your goals
Prepare for cross-cultural work, including international training
Use more practice time to experiment with new approaches in a supportive setting
Learn about more training tools and how to use them effectively
Meet trainers with a range of life experiences

FORMAT

The workshop begins with dinner and registration at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and ends at approximately 6 p.m. Sunday evening. Please be advised that this workshop is an experiential package and that partial attendance is not allowed. Except for the first day, when the workshop starts in the evening, the workshop begins at 9 a.m every day (8 a.m. if you would like to arrive early for breakfast) and runs into the evening. It usually closes between 9:00 or 10:00 pm, in some cases later. There are a number of breaks throughout the day. If you have any questions about the hours of the workshop, please contact us at info@trainingforchange.org.

PREREQUISITE

This workshop is open only to people who have taken our basic facilitators' workshop, Training for Social Action Trainers. You must take the TSAT before you take the advanced workshop.

FEE

This workshop costs $400-$1,150 US sliding scale based on income. The fee includes nearly 40 hours of training, all meals from dinner the first evening to lunch the last day, housing (available upon request -- please make sure to tell us at least two weeks ahead of time), and handouts and other training materials.
 

-----

Program Coordinator for Common Fire’s Tivoli Housing Co-op


Are you someone who… 
  • is committed to social justice and environmental sustainability? 
  • thrives on creative exchanges with similarly committed people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences?
  • feels motivated to ground your life and work in a peaceful setting and within a nurturing and inspirational community?

You may be interested in being the Program Coordinator for Common Fire’s Tivoli Housing Co-op and Certification Program in Sustainable Community Living.
 
The Tivoli Housing Co-op, a Common Fire intentional community, provides a powerful living education in some of the most critical areas of our time relating to sustainability, justice, and joy in our personal lives and the world.  The co-op has been certified as the highest scoring green building in the Eastern United States. The community is located on 37 beautiful acres 2 hours from NY City, 25 minutes from Kingston and Hudson and 5 minutes from Bard College.  (see photos and more information on the co-op atwww.commonfire.org/coop)
 
The co-op has been successfully operating for five years now and we are looking to revise the program based on what we’ve learned.  Simultaneously we are launching a Certification Program in Sustainable Community Living for future residents.  A cohort of 7-11 change makers living in the co-op will have the opportunity to engage in periodic trainings and to practice what they are learning in their day to day interactions. We are seeking a Program Coordinator to help us design and launch the certification program, recruit new residents/participants, and make the building and land available for workshops and trainings.
 
An ideal candidate would be interested in living in intentional community, have good communication and organizing skills, demonstrate initiative and creativity with growing our program, and resonate deeply with Common Fire’s philosophy and vision (read more:www.commonfire.org). 
 
The position is part-time, and in exchange for 15-20 hours/week of work, the coordinator will receive room and board in the beautiful Tivoli Housing Co-op.
 
Experience with three or more of the following is a plus:

  • Consensus or other egalitarian decision making
  • Conflict Resolution models
  • Organic Gardening and/or Permaculture
  • Event planning and organizing
  • Facilitation
  • Fundraising or Grant-writing
  • Intentional Communities
  • Nonprofits
  • Working with difference, identity, privilege
  • Networking/Outreach

If you are interested, please answer the following questions and send them, along with a resume to:  Kavitha Rao atkavitha@commonfire.org
 
1)      What most attracts you to this position?
2)      What are some of the issues in the world that you care most passionately about, and how is this reflected in your life?
3)      What experience do you have living with other people?  What have been some of the challenges and benefits of living with other people?
4)      What (if any) other employment, studies or other obligations or interests will you be spending time on?
5)      Please share with us some of the ways in which you believe you would bring a unique set of values, perspectives, skills and experiences to the co-op/program.
6)      Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you?  
-----

Launching Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs 
A  message from my friend Rafael Mutis:
 

I’m excited to announce to y’all that I am officially officially starting my herbal practice!  
This means that if you are interested in working together, I will be working with you person-to-person, whether it is a 1-on-1 consultation or in a group setting for herbal or nutritional workshops.  I think that collective person-to-person human contact is very important in connecting about these issues and doing this work together.


¡Hay vamos!
¡Estoy bien entusiasmado dejartes saber que estoy lanzando mi practica de hierbas!  
Eso significa que sí te interesa hacer este trabajo junt@s, trabajaré contigo persona a persona, entre los dos o con un grupo en por medio de talleres de nutrición o de hierbas.  Creo que el contacto humano colectivo persona a persona es clave en conectar con estos asuntos e en hacer este trabajo junt@s.

I am working out the final details, but here is what Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs entails so far/Todavia estoy finalizando los detalles, pero por el momento, Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs significa lo siguente -

1. Consulting with you on the use of herbs as nutrition and medicine to improve the health of your whole being: your body, spirit/heart and mind.  I’m not a chemical doctor and given the American Medical Association’s war on herbalism, I don’t want to be nor do I do diagnosis. I share my years of learning in community & school and our communities’ collective knowledge about herbs as a way to connect to our communities’ wisdom, to reclaim our wisdom of caring for each other & support our wholistic health, and to continue to support & develop self determination for ourselves through the use of plants and nature as we have all done throughout our evolution together across millions of years.
Consultas contigo sobre el uso de hierbas como nutrición y medicina para mejorar la salud de todo tu ser – de tu cuerpo, espiritu/corazon y mente.  No soy medico químico y dado la guerra desatada contra las hierbas/l@s herbolist@s por el American Medical Association, no lo voy a hacer ni hago trabajo diagnóstico.

2. I’m happy to work with you on nutrition and to cook some tasty meals for you!  I have a good knowledge of food addictions and how we can work together through the knowledge and enjoyment of nutritious food
to end capitalism’s drive to kill our communities.
¡Me gustaria trabajar contigo con respeto a la nutrición y en concinarte comida rica! Conozco bien información sobre adicciones de comida y como las podemos trabajar junt@s por medio del conocimiento y disfrutar la comida nutritiva para acabar con la mania capitalista para matar a nuestras comunidades.

3. I’m happy to share body work techniques with you.  I have learned many things in my years of dealing with and preventing pain for myself and in sharing with friends what works for me and for them.  I have been told I am a good sobador.
Me gustaria compartir technicas de trabajar al cuerpo contigo.  Tras los años, aprendí muchas cosas como manejar y prevenir el dolor en mi y en el proceso de compartir con amig@s lo que me sirve y lo que les sirve.  Me dicen que soy un sobador bueno.
I take this healing work very seriously, and I’m happy to share what I learned and know.  I commit myself to the highest standards of doing no harm, something the medical industrial complex has forgotten about in its iatrogenic mania and tragic results through its ever increasing complex use of interventions which treat only disease symptoms.
Tomo este trabajo de sanación de una manera muy seria, y me pone muy contento compartir lo que aprendi.  Te hago el compromiso de mantener los niveles más altos de no hacer daño, algo que el complejo industrial de medicina se les olvido mientras mantienen su mania dañina y sus resultados trajícos por medio de sus intervenciones más y más complejas que solo lidian con los síntomas de la enfermedad.

I’m interested in working with you around your life, and we can see together what we can do to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit to heal itself. There is so much wisdom to share and use!
Estoy interesado en trabajar contigo sobre tu vida, y podemos ver junt@s como podemos fortalecer a tu cuerpo, tu mente, tu espiritu para que se sane así mismo. Hay mucha sabiduría para compartir y para usar.

My rates are $60 a session (bartering is welcome, and discounts are available!), with the initial consultation of $30.  This will include herbal medicines which I make.  Other herbal medicines or other nutrients that might be helpful, you will need to buy if you want to.  I am open to bartering and working with you within your budget constraints.  My main purpose with this herbal practice is to help you improve your life, and to make our healing traditions – African, Asian, Native American/Indigenous, Latin@, Wimmin/Compañeras, European as accessible as possible and to help them live on through our lives & our community work in constructing a sustainable world.
Cobro $60 por consulta (el trueque esta bienvenido y ¡hay descuentos!), con la consulta inicial de $30.  Estoy incluirá las medicinas de hierbas que yo preparo.  Otras medicinas de hierbas o respaldo nutritivo que puede servirle, usted lo compra si quiere.  Estoy dispuesto a trocar y trabajar contigo entre lo posible de tu presupuesto.  Mi proposito con esta practica de hierbas es para mejorar tu vida, y hacer a las tradiciones de sanación – Africanas, Asiaticas, Indígenas, Latinas, Mujeres, Europeas tan acesibles que se pueda y para que vivan en nuestras vidas y en nuestro trabajo comunitario en construir un mundo sostenible.

Please let me know if you have any questions and how we can work together! I'm happy to work with you and your budget.  ¡Por fa, dejame saber si tienen preguntas y como podemos trabajar junt@s.  ¡Estoy muy dispuesto trabajar contigo y su presupuesto!  
 

A tu salud/to your health,


Rafael A. Mutis Garcia
Herbalist, Popular Educator, Facilitator
Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs
http://fincadelpueblo.wordpress.com/
 

 

Hello Good People!

Ever have an experience where what actually happened was painful, but you can picture exactly what you would have liked to happen and that just feels so delicious? I just had one. Telling this story is purely for fun, so skip ahead for the serious stuff like drought relief and conflict facilitation training!

What actually happened: My husband Sam and I took our kids out to eat at a family-style Japanese restaurant. Toward the end of the meal, a couple is seated in the booth behind us. The both sit on the same side, quietly sipping martinis. Our two kids, ages 3 and 1, are crawling all over the seat next to me, and making goofy faces at the new couple in an effort to elicit a smile or a laugh. To no avail. The couple sits quietly and glares at us. I hear something clatter behind me and turn, realizing Siobhan might have dropped something into their booth. I turn and ask the glaring woman if my daughter dropped a toy into their booth, and she says "I am pretty sure she did." She makes no move to help me find the item, but continues glaring as I check under their table for the toy (or chop stick, or whatever it is). Finally, she and her partner ask to be moved to another booth. Sam and I sit there, steaming.

What I wish had happened: Same as before, except as soon as I noticed the couple glaring at me and my children, I would have turned to them and said, "Oh my god, are you breaking up? You look so unhappy!" Undoubtedly this would have resulted in one of them making a cutting remark along the lines of, "No, in fact, our relationship is just fine and we are trying to enjoy a quiet date but your scrappy and freakishly loud kids are ruining it for us." At which point I would have stood up and proclaimed to the entire restaurant, "This woman called me a n**g*r."

Wow, I wish that is what had happened. Then the glaring couple would have been the ones to make a quick, humiliated exit. As it was, Sam and I were the ones who left as quickly as we could, with our children in tow. But that's not really fair, it it? I probably hold memories, somewhere deep down, of a time before I had children when I tried to eat a meal out with friends, or pre-father Sam, and was disturbed in my dining experience by someone else's child who clearly thought, or had been led to believe, that he was cuter than he was. There are two differences in my current experience: 1) My children actually ARE cuter than they realize, and even hateful, child-hating people can't deny that; 2) As a parent I have absolutely no sympathy for the distress of non-parent patrons who choose to have their weekly night out in a restaurant that plays the game on a large screen TV over the aquarium. In my humble opinion, if you don't have kids AND you can afford to eat out, you live with a type of luxury and access on par with cruises and shoe-shining. So, if a family comes in, be on your best behavior, offer assistance when necessary, and show friendly (if forced) smiles when their children act out to get your attention. It is these simple acts of kindness that stand between you and a blog-post.
 
In this Edition of Iambrown:
  • East Africa Relief (Everywhere)
  • Intuitive Spirituality Workshop (NYC)
  • Cross-Cultural Conflict Facilitation Training (Twin Cities)
  • Advanced Training of Trainers with Training for Change (Twin Cities)
  • Program Coordinator for Common Fire’s Tivoli Housing Co-op (Tivoli, NY)
  • Launching Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs (NYC)



-----

 

East Africa Relief
 
My friend Sophia Kizilbash forwarded this message about East Africa Relief Resources:

Nasra Giama and her colleaues compiled a list of recommended organizations to contribute to in response to the drought crisis in Somalia. Nasra is based in Rochester, Minnesota and pursuing her advanced degree in nursing in minneapolis.  She specializes in adolescent health and wants to begin community initiatives focusing on young refugee and immigrant women, obesity, self-esteem, health and wellness and civic engagement. She is well connected with somali youth nationally who are organizing around raising resources and awareness.  If you live and work in Minnesota, please feel free to introduce young people you work with to her as a mentor or as a connector to other active youth! Her email is nasra.gia@gmail.com.      

Below is a link with the information: 
http://eastafricarelief.tumblr.com/

We are a group of Minnesotans, most of us with East African roots, interested in navigating the famine and drought crisis. "What can we do?" we asked ourselves. This is the result: to encourage smart giving. As we look at short term aid to the famine-stricken regions it is imperative that we discuss the long term effects of climate change and its impact on global food security.
As you think about organizations to support financially toward humanitarian relief in the regions affected by famine and drought in East Africa, consider the following questions:
  • Is the organization grass-roots based; and are its administrators and staff local people?
  • Where is the organization based?
  • Does the organization have the operational capacity to distribute food and other resources in the impacted areas?
  • What percent of donations go to administrative and overhead costs?
  • What is the organization’s impact in the area? Is there a financial report available?
  • How long has the organization been working in the region, specific country? Who are its partners?
  • Does the organization’s aid model contribute or deter the growth of the local economy?
  • What are the organization’s long-term sustainable plans?

Donate nowMaking a financial contribution is the best way to help, as supplies can be purchased locally at a low cost. Food donations harm African businesses and the high shipping costs makes these contributions inefficient. After evaluating various relief agencies in East Africa based on services delivered, reach, administrative costs, and ability to fill critical gaps, we encourage people to donate to the following organizations. These organizations address a variety of needs efficiently and they each designate at least 89% of contributions to aid.

Volunteer
. Contact aid agencies working in East Africa to see how you can volunteer your time and skills.

  • Amoud Foundation | www.amoudfoundation.com
    Operating 12 feeding centers in the worse hit famine areas of Somalia, including: Bay, Bakol, Gedo and Afgoi areas.
  • ARAHA | www.araha.org
    Operating food distributions in the Horn of Africa, and delivering non-food items such as tarps for making shelters, cooking utensils, and other essentials to those displaced. Volunteers wanted
  • African Future | www.theafricanfuture.org
    Working with the Global Enrichment Foundation and Hope for Nations to distribute food to individuals and families that have been denied access across the Somali border. Volunteers wanted.
  • Doctors without Borders (MSF) | www.doctorswithoutborders.org
    Operating 3 medical-nutritional programs in Ethiopia and Kenya and 9 programs in south-central Somalia.
  • Mercy Corps http://www.mercycorps.org/hornofafricahungercrisis
    Mercy Corps teams in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are responding to the hunger crisis by distributing food and water and expanding critical relief efforts in a way that builds local markets. Mercy Corps is on the ground helping more than one million people in the region survive. 
  • Oxfam | www.oxfam.org/eastafrica
    Has a reputation for supporting sustainable projects that look at long term solutions. Working in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia
  • Save Somali Women and Children | http://bit.ly/SaveSomaliWomenChildren
    SSWC is a grantee of the Global Fund For Women, is distributing Nutrition Kits to help mothers fend against the malnutrition and Dignity Kits to provide essential women’s hygiene items, the lack of which poses serious health risks and compromises their dignity.

 

 
-----
Intuitive Spirituality Workshop with Victoria Libertore, a.k.a. Howlin' Vic!
 

Led by Lisa Karmen and Victoria Libertore

 

If you feel a yearning to open new dimensions within yourself, learn about your own intuitive abilities and deepen your spiritual knowledge, this six-week workshop is meant for you.  Lisa Karmen and Victoria Libertore are combining their years of experience as an astrologer and an intuitive to accompany you on this path.  Participants will learn about connecting with their guides, archetypal energy work, cycles of the planets and using astrology as a mirror of the self and a resource for self-knowledge.  This is an interactive workshop that will be delivered in a fun and safe environment.  Sessions will be tailored to the individual participants.  Developing your intuitive abilities encourages positive self awareness, health on all levels, and raises one's spiritual vibration, which benefits the collective and the planet at this time of great transition.  We intend for this workshop to be empowering and invite you to join us in this pioneering adventure.  Please see howlingvic.com and selketconsulting.com for more about  the teachers.

 

October 3rd - November 7th (Mondays), 7:00 - 10:00 P.M.

Studios 353, Studio 4

353 W. 48th Street (between 8th & 9th Ave.)

Fee:  $275 - $400 sliding scale

Workshop builds from week to week.  No drop-ins.

To sign up and for questions:  victorialibertore@gmail.com or lkarmen@yahoo.com

Register by 9/28

 

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Cross-Cultural Conflict Facilitation Training 


Based on Process-Work Arnold Mindell. Join us for a 3 module workshop, in which you will have the opportunity to develop and strengthen your skills in deep democracy as a way of being, and as an approach to transformative leadership for social change. You will learn the basics of process-oriented psychology, building skills for working through conflict at multiple levels and heats, the “meta-skills” fundamental for effective facilitation through conflict, and how to set the conditions for deeper and deeper democracy.

Our approach to process work incorporates a modality developed by members of our team and presented at the 2010 United States Social Forum - on social somatics – a modality that helps accelerate social change, using personal and group somatic tracking embodiment exercises and praxis. Cultural preservation and cross-cultural bridging is our complex frame that will be used to practice deep democracy skills within. The primary objective is to facilitate conflict forums on cross-cultural issues most pressing to the Midwest. 

Dates: Orientation / August 28, 2011. 
Module 1 Conflict in Communities / September 25, 2011. 
Module 2 Conflict in Organizations / October 30, 2011. 
Module 3 Conflict as an Organizing Tool / December 4, 2011.
Cost: The orientation is free of charge, and open to all community.

Workshop Registration: Cost: $400 for the series. Or $150 per module. The registration closes on September 19th. Space is limited. Contact: movetochange@gmail.com
www.ujimaconsulting.com
 
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Upcoming Advanced Training of Trainers from Training for Change

October 24-29, 2011
Minneapolis, MN

Deepen and broaden your facilitation skills in an advanced workshop open only to graduates of Training for Social Action Trainers. Together we'll tackle some of training's biggest challenges -- including doing cross-cultural work, handling conflict and strong emotions, and modifying workshop designs on the fly -- and experiment with new solutions.

AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU WILL...

Receive in-depth, personal coaching on your goals
Prepare for cross-cultural work, including international training
Use more practice time to experiment with new approaches in a supportive setting
Learn about more training tools and how to use them effectively
Meet trainers with a range of life experiences

FORMAT

The workshop begins with dinner and registration at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and ends at approximately 6 p.m. Sunday evening. Please be advised that this workshop is an experiential package and that partial attendance is not allowed. Except for the first day, when the workshop starts in the evening, the workshop begins at 9 a.m every day (8 a.m. if you would like to arrive early for breakfast) and runs into the evening. It usually closes between 9:00 or 10:00 pm, in some cases later. There are a number of breaks throughout the day. If you have any questions about the hours of the workshop, please contact us at info@trainingforchange.org.

PREREQUISITE

This workshop is open only to people who have taken our basic facilitators' workshop, Training for Social Action Trainers. You must take the TSAT before you take the advanced workshop.

FEE

This workshop costs $400-$1,150 US sliding scale based on income. The fee includes nearly 40 hours of training, all meals from dinner the first evening to lunch the last day, housing (available upon request -- please make sure to tell us at least two weeks ahead of time), and handouts and other training materials.
 

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Program Coordinator for Common Fire’s Tivoli Housing Co-op


Are you someone who… 
  • is committed to social justice and environmental sustainability? 
  • thrives on creative exchanges with similarly committed people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences?
  • feels motivated to ground your life and work in a peaceful setting and within a nurturing and inspirational community?

You may be interested in being the Program Coordinator for Common Fire’s Tivoli Housing Co-op and Certification Program in Sustainable Community Living.
 
The Tivoli Housing Co-op, a Common Fire intentional community, provides a powerful living education in some of the most critical areas of our time relating to sustainability, justice, and joy in our personal lives and the world.  The co-op has been certified as the highest scoring green building in the Eastern United States. The community is located on 37 beautiful acres 2 hours from NY City, 25 minutes from Kingston and Hudson and 5 minutes from Bard College.  (see photos and more information on the co-op atwww.commonfire.org/coop)
 
The co-op has been successfully operating for five years now and we are looking to revise the program based on what we’ve learned.  Simultaneously we are launching a Certification Program in Sustainable Community Living for future residents.  A cohort of 7-11 change makers living in the co-op will have the opportunity to engage in periodic trainings and to practice what they are learning in their day to day interactions. We are seeking a Program Coordinator to help us design and launch the certification program, recruit new residents/participants, and make the building and land available for workshops and trainings.
 
An ideal candidate would be interested in living in intentional community, have good communication and organizing skills, demonstrate initiative and creativity with growing our program, and resonate deeply with Common Fire’s philosophy and vision (read more:www.commonfire.org). 
 
The position is part-time, and in exchange for 15-20 hours/week of work, the coordinator will receive room and board in the beautiful Tivoli Housing Co-op.
 
Experience with three or more of the following is a plus:

  • Consensus or other egalitarian decision making
  • Conflict Resolution models
  • Organic Gardening and/or Permaculture
  • Event planning and organizing
  • Facilitation
  • Fundraising or Grant-writing
  • Intentional Communities
  • Nonprofits
  • Working with difference, identity, privilege
  • Networking/Outreach

If you are interested, please answer the following questions and send them, along with a resume to:  Kavitha Rao atkavitha@commonfire.org
 
1)      What most attracts you to this position?
2)      What are some of the issues in the world that you care most passionately about, and how is this reflected in your life?
3)      What experience do you have living with other people?  What have been some of the challenges and benefits of living with other people?
4)      What (if any) other employment, studies or other obligations or interests will you be spending time on?
5)      Please share with us some of the ways in which you believe you would bring a unique set of values, perspectives, skills and experiences to the co-op/program.
6)      Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you?  
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Launching Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs 
A  message from my friend Rafael Mutis:
 

I’m excited to announce to y’all that I am officially officially starting my herbal practice!  
This means that if you are interested in working together, I will be working with you person-to-person, whether it is a 1-on-1 consultation or in a group setting for herbal or nutritional workshops.  I think that collective person-to-person human contact is very important in connecting about these issues and doing this work together.


¡Hay vamos!
¡Estoy bien entusiasmado dejartes saber que estoy lanzando mi practica de hierbas!  
Eso significa que sí te interesa hacer este trabajo junt@s, trabajaré contigo persona a persona, entre los dos o con un grupo en por medio de talleres de nutrición o de hierbas.  Creo que el contacto humano colectivo persona a persona es clave en conectar con estos asuntos e en hacer este trabajo junt@s.

I am working out the final details, but here is what Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs entails so far/Todavia estoy finalizando los detalles, pero por el momento, Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs significa lo siguente -

1. Consulting with you on the use of herbs as nutrition and medicine to improve the health of your whole being: your body, spirit/heart and mind.  I’m not a chemical doctor and given the American Medical Association’s war on herbalism, I don’t want to be nor do I do diagnosis. I share my years of learning in community & school and our communities’ collective knowledge about herbs as a way to connect to our communities’ wisdom, to reclaim our wisdom of caring for each other & support our wholistic health, and to continue to support & develop self determination for ourselves through the use of plants and nature as we have all done throughout our evolution together across millions of years.
Consultas contigo sobre el uso de hierbas como nutrición y medicina para mejorar la salud de todo tu ser – de tu cuerpo, espiritu/corazon y mente.  No soy medico químico y dado la guerra desatada contra las hierbas/l@s herbolist@s por el American Medical Association, no lo voy a hacer ni hago trabajo diagnóstico.

2. I’m happy to work with you on nutrition and to cook some tasty meals for you!  I have a good knowledge of food addictions and how we can work together through the knowledge and enjoyment of nutritious food
to end capitalism’s drive to kill our communities.
¡Me gustaria trabajar contigo con respeto a la nutrición y en concinarte comida rica! Conozco bien información sobre adicciones de comida y como las podemos trabajar junt@s por medio del conocimiento y disfrutar la comida nutritiva para acabar con la mania capitalista para matar a nuestras comunidades.

3. I’m happy to share body work techniques with you.  I have learned many things in my years of dealing with and preventing pain for myself and in sharing with friends what works for me and for them.  I have been told I am a good sobador.
Me gustaria compartir technicas de trabajar al cuerpo contigo.  Tras los años, aprendí muchas cosas como manejar y prevenir el dolor en mi y en el proceso de compartir con amig@s lo que me sirve y lo que les sirve.  Me dicen que soy un sobador bueno.
I take this healing work very seriously, and I’m happy to share what I learned and know.  I commit myself to the highest standards of doing no harm, something the medical industrial complex has forgotten about in its iatrogenic mania and tragic results through its ever increasing complex use of interventions which treat only disease symptoms.
Tomo este trabajo de sanación de una manera muy seria, y me pone muy contento compartir lo que aprendi.  Te hago el compromiso de mantener los niveles más altos de no hacer daño, algo que el complejo industrial de medicina se les olvido mientras mantienen su mania dañina y sus resultados trajícos por medio de sus intervenciones más y más complejas que solo lidian con los síntomas de la enfermedad.

I’m interested in working with you around your life, and we can see together what we can do to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit to heal itself. There is so much wisdom to share and use!
Estoy interesado en trabajar contigo sobre tu vida, y podemos ver junt@s como podemos fortalecer a tu cuerpo, tu mente, tu espiritu para que se sane así mismo. Hay mucha sabiduría para compartir y para usar.

My rates are $60 a session (bartering is welcome, and discounts are available!), with the initial consultation of $30.  This will include herbal medicines which I make.  Other herbal medicines or other nutrients that might be helpful, you will need to buy if you want to.  I am open to bartering and working with you within your budget constraints.  My main purpose with this herbal practice is to help you improve your life, and to make our healing traditions – African, Asian, Native American/Indigenous, Latin@, Wimmin/Compañeras, European as accessible as possible and to help them live on through our lives & our community work in constructing a sustainable world.
Cobro $60 por consulta (el trueque esta bienvenido y ¡hay descuentos!), con la consulta inicial de $30.  Estoy incluirá las medicinas de hierbas que yo preparo.  Otras medicinas de hierbas o respaldo nutritivo que puede servirle, usted lo compra si quiere.  Estoy dispuesto a trocar y trabajar contigo entre lo posible de tu presupuesto.  Mi proposito con esta practica de hierbas es para mejorar tu vida, y hacer a las tradiciones de sanación – Africanas, Asiaticas, Indígenas, Latinas, Mujeres, Europeas tan acesibles que se pueda y para que vivan en nuestras vidas y en nuestro trabajo comunitario en construir un mundo sostenible.

Please let me know if you have any questions and how we can work together! I'm happy to work with you and your budget.  ¡Por fa, dejame saber si tienen preguntas y como podemos trabajar junt@s.  ¡Estoy muy dispuesto trabajar contigo y su presupuesto!  
 

A tu salud/to your health,


Rafael A. Mutis Garcia
Herbalist, Popular Educator, Facilitator
Hierbas Madre Tierra Herbs
http://fincadelpueblo.wordpress.com/
 

 

Read More

August News - All of Us, Children

 Hello Good People!

 
And welcome to summer's end. It hardly feels fair, but there it is. August, in your face! I have hardly had a bit of downtime since the Allied Media Conference - for the past month I have been writing, developing new curricula, chasing my children, and sitting in awe of my son Finn who is about to turn three and already learning to read. Witnessing Finn in his growing and learning process - which includes a fair amount of kicking and screaming - I am reminded that we are all of us, children. We are still learning how to survive in the world. I am learning how to survive parenthood.
 
I have some incredibly exciting work on the horizon for the fall, including presenting a session on Race, Land, and Story at the upcoming Growing Food and Justice Initiative gathering in Milwaukee, WI; facilitating workshops on Identity and Difference with the first-year class of Bard College; and continuing to chip away at my science fiction novel in progress.
 
You can support my work this fall in two ways!
 
1) Donate to support my work at the Growing Food and Justice Initiative Gathering, September 9th-11th. My goal is to raise $300 to cover the cost of transportation and food. You can donate through Paypal, or email me directly to find out how to send a check. Visit my website to learn more about this project.
 
2) Help me find a week-long sublet in NYC for October 6th - 13th. I will be traveling in NYC and Upstate New York for most of the month of October, with both of my children, so for at least one full week in NYC I would love to have my own space to spread out. Let me know if you know anyone who is planning on leaving NYC in the Fall.

In the meantime, bend your ear for a bit to hear me and Lauren Giambrone (Good Fight Herb Co.) give a report back from the Allied Media Conference on the radio show Roots, Runners, and Rhizomes: Health and Healing from the Underground.

http://archive.free103point9.org/2011/07/RRR%2020110718.MP3

In this Edition of Iambrown:
  • Working Class(y): A Benefit for Service workers (Minneapolis)
  • Support the Food & Freedom Ride! (Everywhere)
  • I Am A Link (Minneapolis)
  • Writing from the Chakras (Chicago)
  • Two Workshops from Training for Change (Birmingham, MI and Philadelphia, PA)
  • Minnesota Trans Health and Wellness Conference (Minneapolis)
  • Enough: The Personal Politics of Resisting Capitalism (Everywhere)
  • The Randolph School is Hiring (Wappingers Falls, NY)

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Working Class(y): A Benefit for Service workers
Saturday, August 6 · 1:00pm - 11:00pm
3924 Elliot Ave S. Minneapolis, MN
So hey, 

The Industrial Workers of the World in Minneapolis is starting a new branch specifically for workers in the food and retail industry and IWW folks in Portland, OR. are doing the same thing! Come to this super rad event, get your food/drink on, meet some hardcore service workers, watch a short film, hang out!

And when we're done planning the revolution we can learn how to screen print t-shirts. That's right, all in the same day.

Schedule:

1pm - Lunch is served

1:45pm - Speaking panel/Q&A hosted by real life service workers. 
Topic: Organizing the seemingly unorganizable service industry.

2:45pm - Some type of radical spoken word or music experience

(This is where things get mind blowing)

At 3pm, 4pm, and 5pm you will have the luxury of being able to choose to participate in 1 of 4 activities; 

1. Watch a short documentary on what service workers in the United States have to put up with and what they're going to do about it. 

2. Take a short class/training on our rights as workers, and how we can fight back against our bosses.

3. Take a workshop on screen printing where you will learn how to make a t-shirt from start to finish. Specifically the "yet to be released" official t-shirt of the Food and Retail Worker's Branch of the IWW. (Bring a t-shirt from home or throw us a few bones if you wanna take this awesome piece of apparel home with you.

4. Hanging out, eating great food and shootin the breeze. 

6pm - dinner will be served along with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments. At this point, anything goes. If you weren't feeling loose before get ready and stick around because at 8pm folks can migrate to the basement where the event will come to its end with some sweet beats and live hip hop performances.

This Event Is Donation Based! 

We are asking $5-15 dollars sliding scale donation.

No one will be turned away for lack of funds, unless you're a boss.

ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF PARENTS WHO BRING CHILDREN!!!!
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Support the Food & Freedom Ride!
 
A message from Live Real: 
 

In 1961, twenty-four young Blacks and Whites put their lives on the line for what they knew was right.  They rode together on buses through the segregated South and exposed racial injustice in a way that rocked the nation.

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides, Live Real--a new national initiative working to make real food the norm, not the exception--has organized two Food & Freedom Rides.

This summer's two Rides will bring together youth and adult allies from diverse backgrounds to investigate how people on the frontlines of the food system are surviving in its dark side, and thriving in the light of their own alternatives. 

The first ride, from August 7-18, will begin at the pivotal point of the original Freedom Rides: Birmingham, Alabama. It will end at a beacon for the future of America's food: Detroit, Michigan.

The second ride, from August 26-September 2, will travel through the nation's salad bowl: the agricultural giant that is California. 
We set our fundraising goal at a bare minimum because we knew if we didn't reach it, we couldn't receive any of the donations. Now that we feel the strength and excitement of our supporters, we know we can up the ante.

Help us double down our fundraising, and double our impact! 


If we reach our new goal of $2,000, we will create a curriculum to complement our documentary that can be used by educators in schools and communities across the country.

We're gearing up our campaigns that will connect federal food and farming policy to our everyday lives--especially the lives of young people. 

Your support multiples the impact of our film by enabling us to create an educational toolkit that will bring the Food & Freedom Rides and the food justice movement to many many more youth.

Even if you can't give much at this time, you can follow our journey online. A dollar lets us know that you want to stay up to date!

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I Am A Link
An Exhibition of Pictorial Rugs by Dorothy Sauber (1947-2008)
Textile Center Joan Mondale Gallery
July 29- September 3, 2011
 
"I think of myself and my art as a link. I am a link to the women of old...I am a link in the history of women...I have finally found, through my art, a connection with my own past." Dorothy Sauber
 
Textile Center
A National Center for Fiber Art
3000 University Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
www.TextileCenterMN.org
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Writing from the Chakras
A Sage Community Health Collective workshop
with Rachael Hudak and Minal Hajratwala

This fun, relaxed 2.5 hour workshop is designed to open up your chakras through asanas (yoga postures) and breath awareness, which will lead you to unleash your creativity onto paper. No experience in yoga or writing is necessary, and the workshop is accessible for all bodies, regardless of age, experience, or physical ability. We will be exploring asanas as tools for developing a body-based approach to writing and using writing exercises for personal and reflective expression. We will explore and look into the specific energies of each chakra and discover what kind of writing comes from each one. Creative writing doesn’t have to be any more complicated than breathing. So if you can breathe from your core, then you can also write from your core, revealing your truth and creativity.

Where: 

Sage Community Health Collective
2514 W. Armitage Avenue #205
Chicago, IL, 60647. 
This space is elevator accessible.

When: 
Sunday, August 14th, 2011, 5:00-7:30 p.m.

Cost: $20-80 sliding scale. Limited work study options available.

To register for this exciting and unique workshop, please call or email Tanuja Jagernauth:773.749.9101tjagernauth@gmail.com

Please RSVP to Tanuja by August 12th, 2011

Rachael Hudak is a hatha yoga instructor and has been practicing yoga and meditation since 2002 when she stumbled upon an intensive yoga course at Agama Yoga in Koh Phangan, Thailand. She has since fallen in love with yoga because of its path towards deep peace, self acceptance, and inner awareness. Her classes are informed by her love of poetry, anatomy, and the belief that self care is necessary and essential for all bodies. Rachael received her 200 hour teaching certification from the Shambhava School of Yoga at Chi-Town Shakti and she has a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. Rachael is the Program Director at the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, and has over seven years of experience facilitating creative arts workshops.

Minal Hajratwala is the author of Leaving India: My Family’s Journey From Five Villages to Five Continents(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), which has been called “incomparable” by Alice Walker and “searingly honest” by the Washington Post. The book won a Pen USA Award, an Asian American Writers Workshop Award, a Lambda Literary Award, a California Book Award (Silver, Nonfiction), and was shortlisted for the Saroyan International Writing Prize. Ms. Hajratwala is a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar spending the 2010-2011 academic year in India researching a novel, while also writing poems about the unicorns of the 5,000-year-old Indus Valley civilization. She is the editor of TheQueer Ink Anthology: Contemporary LGBT Stories of India, forthcoming in 2012 from Queer Ink Publishing. For more information about Ms. Hajratwala's work, check out http://www.minalhajratwala.com/
Sage Community Health Collective is a worker-owned collective of four individuals who have dedicated their lives to social justice, community building, and healing: Liz Appel, L.Ac., MSTOM; Stacy Erenberg, ABT; Tanuja Jagernauth, L.Ac, MSTOM; and Jennifer Wade, L.Ac, MSTOM. With years of collective experience as activists, they bore witness to fatigue and burnout amongst their colleagues and themselves. This inspired them to learn to heal themselves and facilitate healing in others. In Fall 2010, they came together to create a sustainable wellness center dedicated to the holistic well being of their community. They are united by their belief in accessible, affordable, people-centered health care which honors people's stories and experiences and promotes liberation. They are dedicated to providing trauma-informed, body positive and harm reductionist healing services. The collective is built around the tenets of mutual respect, actual capacity, deep compassion, and love for each other and their community. For more information about Sage, please check out www.sagecommunityhealth.org. Follow Sage on Twitter! @sagecommhealth
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Two Workshops from Training for Change...
Training for Social Action Trainers - Coming to Michigan soon!
August 12-14, 2011
Birmingham, MI

To register, contact Dan at dbuttry@comcast.net.

Join us for an intensive training designed for experienced facilitators wanting to revitalize their work, new trainers wanting to inspire, teachers, community leaders, activists -- anyone wanting to take their skills to a new level and learn how training can be used more effectively.

AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU WILL...

* Gain greater awareness about yourself and your strengths as a facilitator;
* Get a chance to take risks, experiment and refine skills in a safe and supportive environment;
* Get the stimulation of fresh approaches and increased options;
* Receive personal guidance from experienced trainers in a small group setting ;
* Learn new tools that are easily adapted, principles of workshop design, skills for working with diversity and a better understanding of how to use experiential education methods effectively.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS WORKSHOP?
Experienced and less-experienced facilitators, consultants and trainers...Activists and organizers wanting to use training more effectively in their work... Teachers, community leaders, pastors, consultants and others who want more experiential tools.

The TSAT is a great way to learn the core approach to Training for Change's elicitive style of activist training, or if you are considering bringing TFC trainers to work more closely with your organization. Anyone who takes the TSAT is then qualified to be a participant at TFC’s Advanced Training of Trainers, an extended 5-day intensive the delves more thoroughly into group dynamics, conflict in groups, and working cross-culturally.

GOALS

* To enhance workshop facilitation and design skills
* To increase the training tools you can use effectively
* To gain greater awareness of yourself as facilitator
* To meet and receive support from other trainers and learn about new developments in the field

WORKSHOP FORMAT
The workshop begins with dinner and registration at 6 p.m. Friday and runs until 6 p.m. Sunday. On Friday and Saturday evenings the workshop includes an evening session after dinner, the workshop typically ends between 9:00-10:00 pm on those evenings.

The workshop is designed as an experiential package with each session building on the previous session. We want to create the best learning environment possible for participants to absorb the combined learning of each session and therefore WE DO NOT ALLOW PARTIAL ATTENDANCE, you must commit to taking the entire workshop.

FEE
If taken separately, this workshop costs $150 US-$375 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 23 hours of training, meals during workshop hours, and simple lodging for people who request it. To determine your fee, use the chart below.

If your income is... You pay...
under $15,000 $150
$15,001-$25,000 $180
$25,001-$35,000 $210
$35,001-$45,000 $250
$45,001-$55,000 $300
over $55,000 $375

STAFF RATES
Are you being sent to the training by your employer? If so, don't use your income to determine the fee -- use the annual budget of the organization.

REGISTER OR QUESTIONS
To register or get more information about the fee or the workshop, please contact the organizer, Dan Buttry at dbuttry@comcast.net.
 
The Ethos of the Times: A Facilitated WorldWork Process
Sept 2-3, 2011
Philadelphia, PA

You can register online at www.TrainingForChange.org or contact Kaytee Riek: kaytee@trainingforchange.org.
 
Training for Change is proud to host, for a second time, Lane Arye to lead a WorldWork process.  

WorldWork is an interactive, highly personal and emotional modality -- come prepared to be deeply challenged and expand your own heart as we dive into controversial topics of our time.  Our goals are to explore the intersection of emotionality and politics, rational discourse with the irrational spirits around our nation swirling at this time.

This workshop will combine group process, inner work, and some theory. We will directly address and work with issues that are present among our group of participants, as well as issues arising in the world around us, in order to learn how to work with conflicts in general. 

Anyone is welcome to attend this workshop.  Please let us know if you have physical needs.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

This workshop will be held in West Philadelphia, starting Friday night at 6:00pm with a light dinner, through Saturday at 6pm.  Lunch and a continental breakfast is included.  Friday session is expected to end between 9:00-10:00 pm.

Cost for this workshop is $90-$350, sliding scale based on income.

If your income is...You pay...

under $10,000      $90
$10,001-$25,000  $110
$25,001-$35,000  $160
$35,001-$45,000  $220
$45,001-$55,000  $260
over $55,001        $350

Local housing is available if you register two weeks ahead of time.  

WHAT IS WORLDWORK?

WorldWork is an experiential experiment in deep democracy, conflict work and community building.  It creates a powerful forum for focusing on and working with social, environmental, and political issues using group process skills. To resolve problems and enrich community experience, Worldwork methods focus on finding and employing the power of a community's marginalized and mainstream voices.  That means learning from all that is around us, including projections, gossip, roles, and creative fantasy. Worldwork facilitators listen to the land, do innerwork, practice outer communication skills involving role consciousness, signal and rank awareness to enrich organizational life.

More about WorldWork at: http://worldwork.org/

WHO IS LANE ARYE?

Lane Arye, Ph.D. facilitates individuals, couples, organizations and communities locally and around the world. He co-led a UN funded project working with Serbs, Croats, and Muslims after the war in the Balkans. He has also worked with conflicts between high-caste and low-caste Hindus from India, anti-Semitism in Germany and Poland, as well as racism, sexism, nationalism, homophobia, and class issues in the US and Europe. In Oakland, California, he facilitated a conflict between then mayor (now governor) Jerry Brown and an African American cultural arts center. 

More about Lane at: http://processworklane.com/

"The results Lane gets in working with people in conflict may sometimes seem magical, but he's not interested in mystifying the process; instead, he works with a group to assist people to see what is really happening. Lane is truly about empowerment."

- George Lakey, Director Emeritus, Training for Change

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Minnesota Trans Health and Wellness Conference
"Diverse Families: Health Through Community"

Saturday Sept. 10, 8:00am – 5:30pm
Saturday 7:00 – 9:30pm, Show and entertainment
Sunday Sept. 11, 9:30 – 5:30pm

South High School
3131 19th Avenue S
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55407
Register now at http://www.mntranshealth.org/

Two full days of programming for trans and gender non-conforming individuals and community, including partners, family, friends and allies. There will be free health screenings, workshops, films, entertainment, individual mini surgery and voice consultations, a resource fair, and more!

There will also be workshops throughout both days for health professionals, social workers, and students. Certificates of Attendance will be available for professionals to self submit for continuing education credits.

New this year! There will be workshops and activities for children and teens on both days. We'll have content on, and for, trans and gender non-conforming kids, their parents, siblings, and family. A licensed child care person, supported by qualified volunteers, will be staffing both days so that parents are free to attend workshops. Bring your whole family! 

Cost: Attendance is free with light breakfast and lunch provided. Certificates of Attendance for professionals: $100 with pre-registration (or $125 on-site)

For more details or to register: http://www.mntranshealth.org/

Please consider making a donation at our website to help support the event. Thanks!

 
 
-----
Enough: The Personal Politics of Resisting Capitalism (the book!)
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
 
We created the website Enough in 2008 in response to a yearning for discussion about radical approaches to day-to-day decisions about money and resource sharing. Enough has been a space where people have shared their stories, questions, and strategies about what it means to practice a politics of wealth redistribution in their day to day lives while being immersed in capitalism. We are now compiling additional essays to be published in book form. 

We are seeking essays about how we conceive of and live a politics of interdependence, resource sharing, and wealth redistribution beyond and in resistance to capitalism.

Deadline: Feb 15, 2012

More details: Please visit www.enoughenough.org/about

Enough asks questions such as:

  • What are the various ways we are sharing resources to support community and movement-building?


What does a politics of wealth redistribution look like in the day-to-day, and what are the obstacles to developing conversations about this in political communities we belong to?

How can we build new models of collective support based in interdependence, care, and sustainability?

Topics could include (but are definitely not limited to):

Strategies for collective income sharing within communities, community emergency funds, sharing of resources beyond money, etc.
Local currencies.
Collective, equitable approaches to land and real estate.
Reparations.
Fundraising strategies that directly challenge capitalist power dynamics.
Community-based strategies for supporting mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
How people who have inherited wealth are redistributing it equitably, and what challenges and opportunities they’ve encountered.
How people who work together are creating methods and cultures of supporting each other as whole people.
Exciting models of people dealing with money ethically in activist spaces and organizations.
Anti-capitalist/anti-racist/anti-imperialist analysis of choices about saving for retirement, buying real estate, taking certain jobs, supporting our communities, etc.

Questions? Email info@enoughenough.org

Thanks!

Tyrone Boucher and Dean Spade
http://www.enoughenough.org/
-----
The Randolph School is Hiring

Do you know a Pre-K or Afterschool or Spanish teacher who wants to be part of a small progressive school? Must be creative, compassionate, dedicated. Full-time and part-time opportunities in a collaborative environment.

Experience in early childhood education required for the Pre-K position. Experience teaching elementary school Spanish required for the Spanish position.

Please visit www.randolphschool.org/jobs for more information. Email a resume and cover letter to learn@randolphschool.org and we'll get back to you.

Randolph School has been a collaborative community of colleagues, families, and, most importantly, children since 1963. We are a Pre-K through 5th grade independent school located on five beautiful acres in Wappingers Falls, New York.

www.randolphschool.org

 Hello Good People!

 
And welcome to summer's end. It hardly feels fair, but there it is. August, in your face! I have hardly had a bit of downtime since the Allied Media Conference - for the past month I have been writing, developing new curricula, chasing my children, and sitting in awe of my son Finn who is about to turn three and already learning to read. Witnessing Finn in his growing and learning process - which includes a fair amount of kicking and screaming - I am reminded that we are all of us, children. We are still learning how to survive in the world. I am learning how to survive parenthood.
 
I have some incredibly exciting work on the horizon for the fall, including presenting a session on Race, Land, and Story at the upcoming Growing Food and Justice Initiative gathering in Milwaukee, WI; facilitating workshops on Identity and Difference with the first-year class of Bard College; and continuing to chip away at my science fiction novel in progress.
 
You can support my work this fall in two ways!
 
1) Donate to support my work at the Growing Food and Justice Initiative Gathering, September 9th-11th. My goal is to raise $300 to cover the cost of transportation and food. You can donate through Paypal, or email me directly to find out how to send a check. Visit my website to learn more about this project.
 
2) Help me find a week-long sublet in NYC for October 6th - 13th. I will be traveling in NYC and Upstate New York for most of the month of October, with both of my children, so for at least one full week in NYC I would love to have my own space to spread out. Let me know if you know anyone who is planning on leaving NYC in the Fall.

In the meantime, bend your ear for a bit to hear me and Lauren Giambrone (Good Fight Herb Co.) give a report back from the Allied Media Conference on the radio show Roots, Runners, and Rhizomes: Health and Healing from the Underground.

http://archive.free103point9.org/2011/07/RRR%2020110718.MP3

In this Edition of Iambrown:
  • Working Class(y): A Benefit for Service workers (Minneapolis)
  • Support the Food & Freedom Ride! (Everywhere)
  • I Am A Link (Minneapolis)
  • Writing from the Chakras (Chicago)
  • Two Workshops from Training for Change (Birmingham, MI and Philadelphia, PA)
  • Minnesota Trans Health and Wellness Conference (Minneapolis)
  • Enough: The Personal Politics of Resisting Capitalism (Everywhere)
  • The Randolph School is Hiring (Wappingers Falls, NY)

-----

Working Class(y): A Benefit for Service workers
Saturday, August 6 · 1:00pm - 11:00pm
3924 Elliot Ave S. Minneapolis, MN
So hey, 

The Industrial Workers of the World in Minneapolis is starting a new branch specifically for workers in the food and retail industry and IWW folks in Portland, OR. are doing the same thing! Come to this super rad event, get your food/drink on, meet some hardcore service workers, watch a short film, hang out!

And when we're done planning the revolution we can learn how to screen print t-shirts. That's right, all in the same day.

Schedule:

1pm - Lunch is served

1:45pm - Speaking panel/Q&A hosted by real life service workers. 
Topic: Organizing the seemingly unorganizable service industry.

2:45pm - Some type of radical spoken word or music experience

(This is where things get mind blowing)

At 3pm, 4pm, and 5pm you will have the luxury of being able to choose to participate in 1 of 4 activities; 

1. Watch a short documentary on what service workers in the United States have to put up with and what they're going to do about it. 

2. Take a short class/training on our rights as workers, and how we can fight back against our bosses.

3. Take a workshop on screen printing where you will learn how to make a t-shirt from start to finish. Specifically the "yet to be released" official t-shirt of the Food and Retail Worker's Branch of the IWW. (Bring a t-shirt from home or throw us a few bones if you wanna take this awesome piece of apparel home with you.

4. Hanging out, eating great food and shootin the breeze. 

6pm - dinner will be served along with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments. At this point, anything goes. If you weren't feeling loose before get ready and stick around because at 8pm folks can migrate to the basement where the event will come to its end with some sweet beats and live hip hop performances.

This Event Is Donation Based! 

We are asking $5-15 dollars sliding scale donation.

No one will be turned away for lack of funds, unless you're a boss.

ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF PARENTS WHO BRING CHILDREN!!!!
-----
Support the Food & Freedom Ride!
 
A message from Live Real: 
 

In 1961, twenty-four young Blacks and Whites put their lives on the line for what they knew was right.  They rode together on buses through the segregated South and exposed racial injustice in a way that rocked the nation.

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Rides, Live Real--a new national initiative working to make real food the norm, not the exception--has organized two Food & Freedom Rides.

This summer's two Rides will bring together youth and adult allies from diverse backgrounds to investigate how people on the frontlines of the food system are surviving in its dark side, and thriving in the light of their own alternatives. 

The first ride, from August 7-18, will begin at the pivotal point of the original Freedom Rides: Birmingham, Alabama. It will end at a beacon for the future of America's food: Detroit, Michigan.

The second ride, from August 26-September 2, will travel through the nation's salad bowl: the agricultural giant that is California. 
We set our fundraising goal at a bare minimum because we knew if we didn't reach it, we couldn't receive any of the donations. Now that we feel the strength and excitement of our supporters, we know we can up the ante.

Help us double down our fundraising, and double our impact! 


If we reach our new goal of $2,000, we will create a curriculum to complement our documentary that can be used by educators in schools and communities across the country.

We're gearing up our campaigns that will connect federal food and farming policy to our everyday lives--especially the lives of young people. 

Your support multiples the impact of our film by enabling us to create an educational toolkit that will bring the Food & Freedom Rides and the food justice movement to many many more youth.

Even if you can't give much at this time, you can follow our journey online. A dollar lets us know that you want to stay up to date!

-----
I Am A Link
An Exhibition of Pictorial Rugs by Dorothy Sauber (1947-2008)
Textile Center Joan Mondale Gallery
July 29- September 3, 2011
 
"I think of myself and my art as a link. I am a link to the women of old...I am a link in the history of women...I have finally found, through my art, a connection with my own past." Dorothy Sauber
 
Textile Center
A National Center for Fiber Art
3000 University Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
www.TextileCenterMN.org
-----

Writing from the Chakras
A Sage Community Health Collective workshop
with Rachael Hudak and Minal Hajratwala

This fun, relaxed 2.5 hour workshop is designed to open up your chakras through asanas (yoga postures) and breath awareness, which will lead you to unleash your creativity onto paper. No experience in yoga or writing is necessary, and the workshop is accessible for all bodies, regardless of age, experience, or physical ability. We will be exploring asanas as tools for developing a body-based approach to writing and using writing exercises for personal and reflective expression. We will explore and look into the specific energies of each chakra and discover what kind of writing comes from each one. Creative writing doesn’t have to be any more complicated than breathing. So if you can breathe from your core, then you can also write from your core, revealing your truth and creativity.

Where: 

Sage Community Health Collective
2514 W. Armitage Avenue #205
Chicago, IL, 60647. 
This space is elevator accessible.

When: 
Sunday, August 14th, 2011, 5:00-7:30 p.m.

Cost: $20-80 sliding scale. Limited work study options available.

To register for this exciting and unique workshop, please call or email Tanuja Jagernauth:773.749.9101tjagernauth@gmail.com

Please RSVP to Tanuja by August 12th, 2011

Rachael Hudak is a hatha yoga instructor and has been practicing yoga and meditation since 2002 when she stumbled upon an intensive yoga course at Agama Yoga in Koh Phangan, Thailand. She has since fallen in love with yoga because of its path towards deep peace, self acceptance, and inner awareness. Her classes are informed by her love of poetry, anatomy, and the belief that self care is necessary and essential for all bodies. Rachael received her 200 hour teaching certification from the Shambhava School of Yoga at Chi-Town Shakti and she has a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. Rachael is the Program Director at the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, and has over seven years of experience facilitating creative arts workshops.

Minal Hajratwala is the author of Leaving India: My Family’s Journey From Five Villages to Five Continents(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), which has been called “incomparable” by Alice Walker and “searingly honest” by the Washington Post. The book won a Pen USA Award, an Asian American Writers Workshop Award, a Lambda Literary Award, a California Book Award (Silver, Nonfiction), and was shortlisted for the Saroyan International Writing Prize. Ms. Hajratwala is a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar spending the 2010-2011 academic year in India researching a novel, while also writing poems about the unicorns of the 5,000-year-old Indus Valley civilization. She is the editor of TheQueer Ink Anthology: Contemporary LGBT Stories of India, forthcoming in 2012 from Queer Ink Publishing. For more information about Ms. Hajratwala's work, check out http://www.minalhajratwala.com/
Sage Community Health Collective is a worker-owned collective of four individuals who have dedicated their lives to social justice, community building, and healing: Liz Appel, L.Ac., MSTOM; Stacy Erenberg, ABT; Tanuja Jagernauth, L.Ac, MSTOM; and Jennifer Wade, L.Ac, MSTOM. With years of collective experience as activists, they bore witness to fatigue and burnout amongst their colleagues and themselves. This inspired them to learn to heal themselves and facilitate healing in others. In Fall 2010, they came together to create a sustainable wellness center dedicated to the holistic well being of their community. They are united by their belief in accessible, affordable, people-centered health care which honors people's stories and experiences and promotes liberation. They are dedicated to providing trauma-informed, body positive and harm reductionist healing services. The collective is built around the tenets of mutual respect, actual capacity, deep compassion, and love for each other and their community. For more information about Sage, please check out www.sagecommunityhealth.org. Follow Sage on Twitter! @sagecommhealth
-----
Two Workshops from Training for Change...
Training for Social Action Trainers - Coming to Michigan soon!
August 12-14, 2011
Birmingham, MI

To register, contact Dan at dbuttry@comcast.net.

Join us for an intensive training designed for experienced facilitators wanting to revitalize their work, new trainers wanting to inspire, teachers, community leaders, activists -- anyone wanting to take their skills to a new level and learn how training can be used more effectively.

AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU WILL...

* Gain greater awareness about yourself and your strengths as a facilitator;
* Get a chance to take risks, experiment and refine skills in a safe and supportive environment;
* Get the stimulation of fresh approaches and increased options;
* Receive personal guidance from experienced trainers in a small group setting ;
* Learn new tools that are easily adapted, principles of workshop design, skills for working with diversity and a better understanding of how to use experiential education methods effectively.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS WORKSHOP?
Experienced and less-experienced facilitators, consultants and trainers...Activists and organizers wanting to use training more effectively in their work... Teachers, community leaders, pastors, consultants and others who want more experiential tools.

The TSAT is a great way to learn the core approach to Training for Change's elicitive style of activist training, or if you are considering bringing TFC trainers to work more closely with your organization. Anyone who takes the TSAT is then qualified to be a participant at TFC’s Advanced Training of Trainers, an extended 5-day intensive the delves more thoroughly into group dynamics, conflict in groups, and working cross-culturally.

GOALS

* To enhance workshop facilitation and design skills
* To increase the training tools you can use effectively
* To gain greater awareness of yourself as facilitator
* To meet and receive support from other trainers and learn about new developments in the field

WORKSHOP FORMAT
The workshop begins with dinner and registration at 6 p.m. Friday and runs until 6 p.m. Sunday. On Friday and Saturday evenings the workshop includes an evening session after dinner, the workshop typically ends between 9:00-10:00 pm on those evenings.

The workshop is designed as an experiential package with each session building on the previous session. We want to create the best learning environment possible for participants to absorb the combined learning of each session and therefore WE DO NOT ALLOW PARTIAL ATTENDANCE, you must commit to taking the entire workshop.

FEE
If taken separately, this workshop costs $150 US-$375 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 23 hours of training, meals during workshop hours, and simple lodging for people who request it. To determine your fee, use the chart below.

If your income is... You pay...
under $15,000 $150
$15,001-$25,000 $180
$25,001-$35,000 $210
$35,001-$45,000 $250
$45,001-$55,000 $300
over $55,000 $375

STAFF RATES
Are you being sent to the training by your employer? If so, don't use your income to determine the fee -- use the annual budget of the organization.

REGISTER OR QUESTIONS
To register or get more information about the fee or the workshop, please contact the organizer, Dan Buttry at dbuttry@comcast.net.
 
The Ethos of the Times: A Facilitated WorldWork Process
Sept 2-3, 2011
Philadelphia, PA

You can register online at www.TrainingForChange.org or contact Kaytee Riek: kaytee@trainingforchange.org.
 
Training for Change is proud to host, for a second time, Lane Arye to lead a WorldWork process.  

WorldWork is an interactive, highly personal and emotional modality -- come prepared to be deeply challenged and expand your own heart as we dive into controversial topics of our time.  Our goals are to explore the intersection of emotionality and politics, rational discourse with the irrational spirits around our nation swirling at this time.

This workshop will combine group process, inner work, and some theory. We will directly address and work with issues that are present among our group of participants, as well as issues arising in the world around us, in order to learn how to work with conflicts in general. 

Anyone is welcome to attend this workshop.  Please let us know if you have physical needs.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

This workshop will be held in West Philadelphia, starting Friday night at 6:00pm with a light dinner, through Saturday at 6pm.  Lunch and a continental breakfast is included.  Friday session is expected to end between 9:00-10:00 pm.

Cost for this workshop is $90-$350, sliding scale based on income.

If your income is...You pay...

under $10,000      $90
$10,001-$25,000  $110
$25,001-$35,000  $160
$35,001-$45,000  $220
$45,001-$55,000  $260
over $55,001        $350

Local housing is available if you register two weeks ahead of time.  

WHAT IS WORLDWORK?

WorldWork is an experiential experiment in deep democracy, conflict work and community building.  It creates a powerful forum for focusing on and working with social, environmental, and political issues using group process skills. To resolve problems and enrich community experience, Worldwork methods focus on finding and employing the power of a community's marginalized and mainstream voices.  That means learning from all that is around us, including projections, gossip, roles, and creative fantasy. Worldwork facilitators listen to the land, do innerwork, practice outer communication skills involving role consciousness, signal and rank awareness to enrich organizational life.

More about WorldWork at: http://worldwork.org/

WHO IS LANE ARYE?

Lane Arye, Ph.D. facilitates individuals, couples, organizations and communities locally and around the world. He co-led a UN funded project working with Serbs, Croats, and Muslims after the war in the Balkans. He has also worked with conflicts between high-caste and low-caste Hindus from India, anti-Semitism in Germany and Poland, as well as racism, sexism, nationalism, homophobia, and class issues in the US and Europe. In Oakland, California, he facilitated a conflict between then mayor (now governor) Jerry Brown and an African American cultural arts center. 

More about Lane at: http://processworklane.com/

"The results Lane gets in working with people in conflict may sometimes seem magical, but he's not interested in mystifying the process; instead, he works with a group to assist people to see what is really happening. Lane is truly about empowerment."

- George Lakey, Director Emeritus, Training for Change

-----

Minnesota Trans Health and Wellness Conference
"Diverse Families: Health Through Community"

Saturday Sept. 10, 8:00am – 5:30pm
Saturday 7:00 – 9:30pm, Show and entertainment
Sunday Sept. 11, 9:30 – 5:30pm

South High School
3131 19th Avenue S
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55407
Register now at http://www.mntranshealth.org/

Two full days of programming for trans and gender non-conforming individuals and community, including partners, family, friends and allies. There will be free health screenings, workshops, films, entertainment, individual mini surgery and voice consultations, a resource fair, and more!

There will also be workshops throughout both days for health professionals, social workers, and students. Certificates of Attendance will be available for professionals to self submit for continuing education credits.

New this year! There will be workshops and activities for children and teens on both days. We'll have content on, and for, trans and gender non-conforming kids, their parents, siblings, and family. A licensed child care person, supported by qualified volunteers, will be staffing both days so that parents are free to attend workshops. Bring your whole family! 

Cost: Attendance is free with light breakfast and lunch provided. Certificates of Attendance for professionals: $100 with pre-registration (or $125 on-site)

For more details or to register: http://www.mntranshealth.org/

Please consider making a donation at our website to help support the event. Thanks!

 
 
-----
Enough: The Personal Politics of Resisting Capitalism (the book!)
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
 
We created the website Enough in 2008 in response to a yearning for discussion about radical approaches to day-to-day decisions about money and resource sharing. Enough has been a space where people have shared their stories, questions, and strategies about what it means to practice a politics of wealth redistribution in their day to day lives while being immersed in capitalism. We are now compiling additional essays to be published in book form. 

We are seeking essays about how we conceive of and live a politics of interdependence, resource sharing, and wealth redistribution beyond and in resistance to capitalism.

Deadline: Feb 15, 2012

More details: Please visit www.enoughenough.org/about

Enough asks questions such as:

  • What are the various ways we are sharing resources to support community and movement-building?


What does a politics of wealth redistribution look like in the day-to-day, and what are the obstacles to developing conversations about this in political communities we belong to?

How can we build new models of collective support based in interdependence, care, and sustainability?

Topics could include (but are definitely not limited to):

Strategies for collective income sharing within communities, community emergency funds, sharing of resources beyond money, etc.
Local currencies.
Collective, equitable approaches to land and real estate.
Reparations.
Fundraising strategies that directly challenge capitalist power dynamics.
Community-based strategies for supporting mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
How people who have inherited wealth are redistributing it equitably, and what challenges and opportunities they’ve encountered.
How people who work together are creating methods and cultures of supporting each other as whole people.
Exciting models of people dealing with money ethically in activist spaces and organizations.
Anti-capitalist/anti-racist/anti-imperialist analysis of choices about saving for retirement, buying real estate, taking certain jobs, supporting our communities, etc.

Questions? Email info@enoughenough.org

Thanks!

Tyrone Boucher and Dean Spade
http://www.enoughenough.org/
-----
The Randolph School is Hiring

Do you know a Pre-K or Afterschool or Spanish teacher who wants to be part of a small progressive school? Must be creative, compassionate, dedicated. Full-time and part-time opportunities in a collaborative environment.

Experience in early childhood education required for the Pre-K position. Experience teaching elementary school Spanish required for the Spanish position.

Please visit www.randolphschool.org/jobs for more information. Email a resume and cover letter to learn@randolphschool.org and we'll get back to you.

Randolph School has been a collaborative community of colleagues, families, and, most importantly, children since 1963. We are a Pre-K through 5th grade independent school located on five beautiful acres in Wappingers Falls, New York.

www.randolphschool.org
Read More
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July News - The Mind of the Body

 Hello Good People!

 
Lately I have been sitting with some awe for the intelligence of the body. My grandfather passed away at the beginning June, and I continue to feel moved by the stories of what his body did when it began to die, and how vulnerable it made him, and how important that was for him and for all of his children to experience.
 
A month later, I came home from Detroit after completing a six month organizing process that culminated in the Allied Media Conference (www.alliedmedia.org). I had been working since January to co-curate the Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance track, which was a total of 13 sessions over the course of the conference linking health and healing with social justice, oppression, technology, and education. I had also been organizing during that time to co-create a Healing Practice Space at the conference, a space where over 30 health care practitioners and support volunteers offered healing and care to conference participants throughout the duration of the conference. We had acupuncture, massage therapy, herbalism, nutritional counseling, crisis counseling, bio/medical practitioners on call, and much more! It was an overwhelming success, and, as you can imagine, a lot of work.
 
I came home on a total high from the transformative work we did, and how completely inspiring the Allied Media Conference is as a whole. I was so happy that I was convinced I was not tired. Two days later I woke up sick to my stomach, and was so ill all day that I could not get out of bed until the evening. My body, in its everlasting intelligence, forced me to sleep all day so that I would actually have some recovery from the previous six months of work, and the last month of travel, grief, and consistent care-taking of others.
 
As the awareness of this unique intelligence has grown in me, I have applied the lesson to an aspect of the body that I know many female-bodied people struggle with - the drastic changes that take place in the body when a woman becomes a mother, and how this relates to cultural perceptions of beauty. I will speak from personal experience. Before I became pregnant the first time, I was a "thin" person. And when I was a "thin" person, people told me I was beautiful and sexy all the time. Now, in retrospect I can see how unhealthy this dynamic was. Not only because I can relate the forwardness of others' speaking to me about my sexiness to the exotification of women of color in our culture, but also because the constant messaging to me about my beauty set me up to place too much of my value and self-worth in other people's perception of and acknowledging of my beauty. I remember how self-conscious I was as a young woman, how jealous and insecure I was in the early years of my relationship with my partner.
 
Now, as a breastfeeding mother, I am perceived as being an "overweight" person. In my new body, the only person who tells me I am beautiful and sexy on a regular basis is my husband (as well he should!). This shift was incredibly distressing for me after I had my son. After being noticed for my beauty every day of my entire life, suddenly no one was saying anything at all aside from "You look great for having just had a baby." A year out from having my daughter, it is still the case that the chief inquiry I receive about my body is whether or not I am pregnant again.
 
My level of maturity in dealing with this question has shifted hugely over time. My response at first was disbelief (How could you think that? My daughter is 2 months old!), then it shifted to fury (Yes, actually, it IS rude to ask me if I am pregnant!). I went through a phase of resignation (I guess its better that I look pregnant than out of shape), but now I am entering into a new phase of understanding.
 
I have come to realize that my body's intelligence matters a heck of a lot more than how my body is perceived by strangers, acquaintances, friends and family. Sure, I am more luscious now. That's because my body is feeding someone. When my body is no longer feeding someone, it will change again and I will have a new body. I have no idea what that body will look or feel like. It is one of the great joys and mysteries of being alive that we get to live in different bodies as we grow older and the circumstances of how we live changes. 
 
I do find it sad that our culture does not perceive beauty in a body that is more luscious, UNLESS that body is pregnant. But I can also recognize, and encourage other mothers to recognize, that the fact that my body is not culturally perceived as beautiful has nothing to do with MY body - because my body IS beautiful. In fact, my body is brilliant - it knows how to build life, it knows how to give birth, it knows how to make food, and it knows that in order to do this, it needs to save resources instead of expend them. The fact that my body knows how to do all of these things means that breastfeeding is not taxing on my body. It means that I have the energy to live my life. That is my body being stunning, being gorgeous. That is my body being exactly what it needs to be.
 
In health and healing work, we often talk about the "mind-body connection." What I am starting to think about more and more is the "mind of the body." I am so grateful that there are aspects of life my body is in charge of, and not my brain. Thank god the body is in charge of birth, death, digestion, and breastfeeding. Can you imagine how much we would mess it up if our brains were in charge?
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • What's Disability Got to Do With It? A Workshop with Sebastian Margaret - July 17th
  • Whittier Cooperative: Healing and Transformation - thru July 23rd
     
  • Autumn Brown on the Radio: A Reportback from the Allied Media Conference - July 18th
  • Donate to Support The Hurricane Season Curriculum
  • New Book! Debt: The First Five Thousand Years
  • Support New Dairy Cooperative - Milk Not Jails!

-----

What's Disability Got to Do With It? A Workshop with Sebastian Margaret

Sunday, July 17
12:00pm - 5:00pm
REGISTRATION REQUIRED (see below)

Lindquist Apartments
1931 West Broadway Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota

What's disability got to do with it? Disability justice and its significance for social justice movements: a day long workshop with Sebastian Margaret

Sliding fee $25 to $50 for the workshop. 
Snacks will be provided. 
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Registration is required before attendance. Please contact Susan Raffo at raffo95@gmail.com to register.
 
Training Description
As disabled people continue to remain isolated and marginalized within many communities and disability justice analysis and activists still absent from the majority of grassroots organizations, it's time to include an anti-ableism frame, history and perspective into a Left agenda.

Within this training we will explore what disability means across lines of race, class, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and citizenship. Grounded in an understanding of the necessity for racial and economic justice, this anti- oppression training seeks to embed disability justice into the politics that frames our movements.

Examining attitudinal, physical and institutional barriers, we will consider who gets in the door of our analysis, movements and organizing, both literally and metaphorically, and who does not. What creates a welcoming climate for disability community activists and what alienates us further.

Ramps, racial profiling, sterilizations, eugenically targeted abortions, sovereignty, sexual/domestic violence, immigration, hate crimes, anti-poor city ordinances, gentrification, restroom policing, and incarceration--whether it be in prisons, nursing homes or psychiatric facilities--are all where ableism and supremacy based oppressions intersect and intertwine.

Exploring a history steeped with the entanglement of ableism in scientific racism, white supremacy, colonialism and the development of capitalism; this training moves towards developing the analysis, tools and capacity to address the complexities of creating accessible, collaborative-based movements.

This training seeks to build a working understanding of how as an inherently multi-issue intersection, disability access and disability justice politics broadens the mission and strengthens the work: increasing our capacity to create accessible, integrated, liberatory social justice movements that embed disability justice in their core.

About Sebastian
Sebastian Margaret is a disability rights community educator, disability justice activist and movement capacity builder. Born and raised in Yorkshire, England, Sebastian currently lives in ‘New’ Mexico and is kept deliciously exhausted parenting a couple of gorgeous kids and pays the bills working as a personal attendant and doing menial work.

He provides trainings on disability justice for movements, service providers, progressive organizations and community organizing efforts; while also working to build capacity, vitality and leadership within disability community. Sebastian seeks to insert disability justice into the progressive left and progressive multi –issue politics into the disability rights community.

Not formally educated and informed by a working /welfare class perspective. Sebastian roots his work in racial, class, gender, sexuality and immigration justice; working to be in solidarity with indigenous and sovereignty struggles. Sebastian is particularly invested in ‘the price o’ bread’ politics; where change is driven by the voices and agendas of folks most affected by the conditions that need to go.

Sebastian has co-facilitated disability justice, challenging white supremacy trainings and economic justice programming at the NGLTF annual conference over the last five years. He has brought anti ablism and disability justice work to Southerners On New Ground, the Audre Lorde Project, FIERCE, Silva Rivera Law project and recently facilitated at statewide conferences including: MN Out campus conference, Michigan Coalition Against Sexual Violence, Civil Liberties Public Policy and the ACE Summit.

Sebastian is a co-founder of the Disability Justice Collective, a disability justice representative in the ROOTs coalition and is currently working on the development and delivery of anti-racism/challenging white supremacy workshops specifically for white disability community members and activists. While in the Twin Cities, Sebastian will also be presenting a workshop on challenging white supremacy in disability communities and movements for members of the disability community. For more information on that, email raffo95@gmail.com.
 
-----
Whittier Cooperative: Healing and Transformation
A Photographic Work in Progress by Michele Spaise 
Exhibition Run: July 1-23, 2011  

"Constructed of beige bricks and holding 45 apartments, Whittier Co-op sits on the corner of Blaisdell Ave. and 26th St. in South Minneapolis. Our first members moved in in 1980, and many of them still live there today. An artist, photographer, mother, and resident, I have been a part of the Whittier community for more than twenty years, documenting our community through photography and sound. This is a work in progress. Our story continues." --Michele Spaise

Gallery Hours:  
10AM-6PM Monday-Friday; 12-5PM Saturdays | $3 suggested donation 
Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave South, Minneapolis, MN 55408
 
-----
Autumn Brown on the Radio: A Reportback from the Allied Media Conference - July 18th
 
Listen to Roots, Runners, and Rhizomes at 3pm EST on July 18th!
Featuring Autumn Brown and Lauren Giambrone of the Rock Dove Collective, reporting back on the Allied Media Conference.
 
I would love to invite you to listen while I do an on-air reportback about the Allied Media Conference on the radio show Roots, Runners, and Rhizomes: Health and Healing from the Underground on Monday July 18th at 3pm EST / 2pm Central. In order to hear the show, go to http://www.wgxc.org/ and live stream the show! I will also post the link to the archive after the show is over.

-----
Support The Hurricane Season Curriculum!

The Hurricane Season Curriculum is the expansion of Climbing PoeTree's groundbreaking multi-media show that draws vital connections between shared struggles and common solutions in a critical moment in human history. Given the enthusiastic response the performance has received in diverse communities across the nation, Alixa and Naima have assembled a dynamic team of innovative educators to develop a multi-media curriculum based off of Hurricane Season to expand the breadth and impact of this work.

The curriculum employs art and culture to help learners analyze systems of oppression and resistance, and uses a popular education model to build new leadership essential for fundamental social change. Comprised of interactive lesson plans that engage rigorous dialog, research, theatre of the oppressed exercises, hip hop poetry, video collages, visual art, and project based learning, theHurricane Season curriculum aims to empower learners with the knowledge, creativity and passion to be effective leaders in movements for social justice.

The curriculum is being piloted for high school age youth through Flip the Table in NYC and college students at Susquehanna University this year!  

Please consider making a donation to support this all-volunteer curriculum development team in advancing this incredible project!! Our goal is to have all of the lessons plans, media and supportive materials completed and ready for general distribution for 2012!

-----
New Book! DEBT: THE FIRST FIVE THOUSAND YEARS

A new book by my dear friend and colleague David Graeber. Here's a note from David about the work:
 
"This is a work of scholarship, and politically engaged, but it's also an attempt to break out of the usual academic and activist ghettoes, and I wrote it that way because I think that there's a conversation we need to be having, not just nationally but also globally, that we began to have for a few months after the financial crash of 2008, and which has, since, been indefinitely postponed. We seem to hanging in this bizarre state of suspension, where most people understand that everything we thought we knew about money, markets, debts, and the role of government is no longer true and probably never was, yet there is a kind of taboo over discussing any better ways to think about them.

What better moment, it seems to me, than to start reexamining the historical record and to put our situation in a larger - much, much larger - context. So that's what I did. A few examples of what I turned up (much of which, I must admit, surprised even me):

       * that virtual money is nothing new - in fact it is the original form of money

       * that the first word for "freedom" recorded in any human language is a Sumerian word for debt relief

       * that our current core conceptions of freedom and rights trace back to Roman slave law

       * that most rebellions, insurrections, and revolutions in world history have been over issues of debt

       * that rather than markets and states being in some way opposed principles, markets - particularly ones that operated on cash instead of credit - largely emerged as the side-effect of military operations, and through most of history were maintained through government policy

       * that contemporary free market ideology (and in fact many of Adam Smith's specific phrases and examples, such as the pin factory) is derived from Medieval Islam

       * we have every reason to believe that, as we now enter a new phase of virtual money, there will be major structural changes in the very idea of what an economy is and what it's for that determine what global society will be like for at least the next five hundred years."
 
You can find the book on Amazon, and in major bookstores!

-----
Support the Milk Not Jails Project!
 
This is a pilot business project designed to address the racism of the New York State prison system by linking rural dairy farmers with milk and ice cream consuming urban dwellers! It's genius, check it out and support (I already made a pledge of $55)! 
 

MILK NOT JAILS is now raising money on Kickstarter.  Check out the video and make a financial pledge here today!


The Big Idea:
Rural New York is home to 90% of the state’s prisons, which provide jobs in a depressed rural economy.  Meanwhile the majority of people in prison come from New York City’s communities of color and their families are forced to make long trips to visit them. The guards union and their elected officials oppose major reforms to the prison system because they fear it will destroy jobs in their community.  As a result, New York’s prison system is racist, ineffective, and too expensive. This is not going to change unless we can develop a new economic relationship between urban and rural areas.  MILK NOT JAILS looks to the state’s dairy industry – which comprises 80% of New York’s agricultural sales – for a delicious solution to this conundrum.  Join us in saying, “If rural New York’s economic survival depends on us, we’d rather drink their milk than go to their prison.” 

What we are doing:
Over the past year, MILK NOT JAILS has been touring New York State educating people about prison industry economics and asking farmers to join our cooperative.  We host ice cream socials in urban areas to reach out to communities impacted by incarceration, to conduct market research,, and to dialogue about our project.  We have elicited feedback from over 250 dairy farmers and identified a niche market that we can develop.  Over 35 criminal justice organizations endorse MILK NOT JAILS.

Our dairy cooperative has quickly grown from a conversation to a pilot business.  We recently started a milk share program in Brooklyn, where people purchase a milk subscription from one of our partner farms.   We are undertaking a massive outreach campaign to coffee shops, daycares and CSAs to sell milk contracts to these local establishments. We are analyzing over a year’s worth of market research to identify neighborhoods and retailers to sell to. Our farmers have cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream ready to sell once we have our distribution system established!
 
 

 Hello Good People!

 
Lately I have been sitting with some awe for the intelligence of the body. My grandfather passed away at the beginning June, and I continue to feel moved by the stories of what his body did when it began to die, and how vulnerable it made him, and how important that was for him and for all of his children to experience.
 
A month later, I came home from Detroit after completing a six month organizing process that culminated in the Allied Media Conference (www.alliedmedia.org). I had been working since January to co-curate the Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance track, which was a total of 13 sessions over the course of the conference linking health and healing with social justice, oppression, technology, and education. I had also been organizing during that time to co-create a Healing Practice Space at the conference, a space where over 30 health care practitioners and support volunteers offered healing and care to conference participants throughout the duration of the conference. We had acupuncture, massage therapy, herbalism, nutritional counseling, crisis counseling, bio/medical practitioners on call, and much more! It was an overwhelming success, and, as you can imagine, a lot of work.
 
I came home on a total high from the transformative work we did, and how completely inspiring the Allied Media Conference is as a whole. I was so happy that I was convinced I was not tired. Two days later I woke up sick to my stomach, and was so ill all day that I could not get out of bed until the evening. My body, in its everlasting intelligence, forced me to sleep all day so that I would actually have some recovery from the previous six months of work, and the last month of travel, grief, and consistent care-taking of others.
 
As the awareness of this unique intelligence has grown in me, I have applied the lesson to an aspect of the body that I know many female-bodied people struggle with - the drastic changes that take place in the body when a woman becomes a mother, and how this relates to cultural perceptions of beauty. I will speak from personal experience. Before I became pregnant the first time, I was a "thin" person. And when I was a "thin" person, people told me I was beautiful and sexy all the time. Now, in retrospect I can see how unhealthy this dynamic was. Not only because I can relate the forwardness of others' speaking to me about my sexiness to the exotification of women of color in our culture, but also because the constant messaging to me about my beauty set me up to place too much of my value and self-worth in other people's perception of and acknowledging of my beauty. I remember how self-conscious I was as a young woman, how jealous and insecure I was in the early years of my relationship with my partner.
 
Now, as a breastfeeding mother, I am perceived as being an "overweight" person. In my new body, the only person who tells me I am beautiful and sexy on a regular basis is my husband (as well he should!). This shift was incredibly distressing for me after I had my son. After being noticed for my beauty every day of my entire life, suddenly no one was saying anything at all aside from "You look great for having just had a baby." A year out from having my daughter, it is still the case that the chief inquiry I receive about my body is whether or not I am pregnant again.
 
My level of maturity in dealing with this question has shifted hugely over time. My response at first was disbelief (How could you think that? My daughter is 2 months old!), then it shifted to fury (Yes, actually, it IS rude to ask me if I am pregnant!). I went through a phase of resignation (I guess its better that I look pregnant than out of shape), but now I am entering into a new phase of understanding.
 
I have come to realize that my body's intelligence matters a heck of a lot more than how my body is perceived by strangers, acquaintances, friends and family. Sure, I am more luscious now. That's because my body is feeding someone. When my body is no longer feeding someone, it will change again and I will have a new body. I have no idea what that body will look or feel like. It is one of the great joys and mysteries of being alive that we get to live in different bodies as we grow older and the circumstances of how we live changes. 
 
I do find it sad that our culture does not perceive beauty in a body that is more luscious, UNLESS that body is pregnant. But I can also recognize, and encourage other mothers to recognize, that the fact that my body is not culturally perceived as beautiful has nothing to do with MY body - because my body IS beautiful. In fact, my body is brilliant - it knows how to build life, it knows how to give birth, it knows how to make food, and it knows that in order to do this, it needs to save resources instead of expend them. The fact that my body knows how to do all of these things means that breastfeeding is not taxing on my body. It means that I have the energy to live my life. That is my body being stunning, being gorgeous. That is my body being exactly what it needs to be.
 
In health and healing work, we often talk about the "mind-body connection." What I am starting to think about more and more is the "mind of the body." I am so grateful that there are aspects of life my body is in charge of, and not my brain. Thank god the body is in charge of birth, death, digestion, and breastfeeding. Can you imagine how much we would mess it up if our brains were in charge?
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • What's Disability Got to Do With It? A Workshop with Sebastian Margaret - July 17th
  • Whittier Cooperative: Healing and Transformation - thru July 23rd
     
  • Autumn Brown on the Radio: A Reportback from the Allied Media Conference - July 18th
  • Donate to Support The Hurricane Season Curriculum
  • New Book! Debt: The First Five Thousand Years
  • Support New Dairy Cooperative - Milk Not Jails!

-----

What's Disability Got to Do With It? A Workshop with Sebastian Margaret

Sunday, July 17
12:00pm - 5:00pm
REGISTRATION REQUIRED (see below)

Lindquist Apartments
1931 West Broadway Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota

What's disability got to do with it? Disability justice and its significance for social justice movements: a day long workshop with Sebastian Margaret

Sliding fee $25 to $50 for the workshop. 
Snacks will be provided. 
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Registration is required before attendance. Please contact Susan Raffo at raffo95@gmail.com to register.
 
Training Description
As disabled people continue to remain isolated and marginalized within many communities and disability justice analysis and activists still absent from the majority of grassroots organizations, it's time to include an anti-ableism frame, history and perspective into a Left agenda.

Within this training we will explore what disability means across lines of race, class, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and citizenship. Grounded in an understanding of the necessity for racial and economic justice, this anti- oppression training seeks to embed disability justice into the politics that frames our movements.

Examining attitudinal, physical and institutional barriers, we will consider who gets in the door of our analysis, movements and organizing, both literally and metaphorically, and who does not. What creates a welcoming climate for disability community activists and what alienates us further.

Ramps, racial profiling, sterilizations, eugenically targeted abortions, sovereignty, sexual/domestic violence, immigration, hate crimes, anti-poor city ordinances, gentrification, restroom policing, and incarceration--whether it be in prisons, nursing homes or psychiatric facilities--are all where ableism and supremacy based oppressions intersect and intertwine.

Exploring a history steeped with the entanglement of ableism in scientific racism, white supremacy, colonialism and the development of capitalism; this training moves towards developing the analysis, tools and capacity to address the complexities of creating accessible, collaborative-based movements.

This training seeks to build a working understanding of how as an inherently multi-issue intersection, disability access and disability justice politics broadens the mission and strengthens the work: increasing our capacity to create accessible, integrated, liberatory social justice movements that embed disability justice in their core.

About Sebastian
Sebastian Margaret is a disability rights community educator, disability justice activist and movement capacity builder. Born and raised in Yorkshire, England, Sebastian currently lives in ‘New’ Mexico and is kept deliciously exhausted parenting a couple of gorgeous kids and pays the bills working as a personal attendant and doing menial work.

He provides trainings on disability justice for movements, service providers, progressive organizations and community organizing efforts; while also working to build capacity, vitality and leadership within disability community. Sebastian seeks to insert disability justice into the progressive left and progressive multi –issue politics into the disability rights community.

Not formally educated and informed by a working /welfare class perspective. Sebastian roots his work in racial, class, gender, sexuality and immigration justice; working to be in solidarity with indigenous and sovereignty struggles. Sebastian is particularly invested in ‘the price o’ bread’ politics; where change is driven by the voices and agendas of folks most affected by the conditions that need to go.

Sebastian has co-facilitated disability justice, challenging white supremacy trainings and economic justice programming at the NGLTF annual conference over the last five years. He has brought anti ablism and disability justice work to Southerners On New Ground, the Audre Lorde Project, FIERCE, Silva Rivera Law project and recently facilitated at statewide conferences including: MN Out campus conference, Michigan Coalition Against Sexual Violence, Civil Liberties Public Policy and the ACE Summit.

Sebastian is a co-founder of the Disability Justice Collective, a disability justice representative in the ROOTs coalition and is currently working on the development and delivery of anti-racism/challenging white supremacy workshops specifically for white disability community members and activists. While in the Twin Cities, Sebastian will also be presenting a workshop on challenging white supremacy in disability communities and movements for members of the disability community. For more information on that, email raffo95@gmail.com.
 
-----
Whittier Cooperative: Healing and Transformation
A Photographic Work in Progress by Michele Spaise 
Exhibition Run: July 1-23, 2011  

"Constructed of beige bricks and holding 45 apartments, Whittier Co-op sits on the corner of Blaisdell Ave. and 26th St. in South Minneapolis. Our first members moved in in 1980, and many of them still live there today. An artist, photographer, mother, and resident, I have been a part of the Whittier community for more than twenty years, documenting our community through photography and sound. This is a work in progress. Our story continues." --Michele Spaise

Gallery Hours:  
10AM-6PM Monday-Friday; 12-5PM Saturdays | $3 suggested donation 
Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave South, Minneapolis, MN 55408
 
-----
Autumn Brown on the Radio: A Reportback from the Allied Media Conference - July 18th
 
Listen to Roots, Runners, and Rhizomes at 3pm EST on July 18th!
Featuring Autumn Brown and Lauren Giambrone of the Rock Dove Collective, reporting back on the Allied Media Conference.
 
I would love to invite you to listen while I do an on-air reportback about the Allied Media Conference on the radio show Roots, Runners, and Rhizomes: Health and Healing from the Underground on Monday July 18th at 3pm EST / 2pm Central. In order to hear the show, go to http://www.wgxc.org/ and live stream the show! I will also post the link to the archive after the show is over.

-----
Support The Hurricane Season Curriculum!

The Hurricane Season Curriculum is the expansion of Climbing PoeTree's groundbreaking multi-media show that draws vital connections between shared struggles and common solutions in a critical moment in human history. Given the enthusiastic response the performance has received in diverse communities across the nation, Alixa and Naima have assembled a dynamic team of innovative educators to develop a multi-media curriculum based off of Hurricane Season to expand the breadth and impact of this work.

The curriculum employs art and culture to help learners analyze systems of oppression and resistance, and uses a popular education model to build new leadership essential for fundamental social change. Comprised of interactive lesson plans that engage rigorous dialog, research, theatre of the oppressed exercises, hip hop poetry, video collages, visual art, and project based learning, theHurricane Season curriculum aims to empower learners with the knowledge, creativity and passion to be effective leaders in movements for social justice.

The curriculum is being piloted for high school age youth through Flip the Table in NYC and college students at Susquehanna University this year!  

Please consider making a donation to support this all-volunteer curriculum development team in advancing this incredible project!! Our goal is to have all of the lessons plans, media and supportive materials completed and ready for general distribution for 2012!

-----
New Book! DEBT: THE FIRST FIVE THOUSAND YEARS

A new book by my dear friend and colleague David Graeber. Here's a note from David about the work:
 
"This is a work of scholarship, and politically engaged, but it's also an attempt to break out of the usual academic and activist ghettoes, and I wrote it that way because I think that there's a conversation we need to be having, not just nationally but also globally, that we began to have for a few months after the financial crash of 2008, and which has, since, been indefinitely postponed. We seem to hanging in this bizarre state of suspension, where most people understand that everything we thought we knew about money, markets, debts, and the role of government is no longer true and probably never was, yet there is a kind of taboo over discussing any better ways to think about them.

What better moment, it seems to me, than to start reexamining the historical record and to put our situation in a larger - much, much larger - context. So that's what I did. A few examples of what I turned up (much of which, I must admit, surprised even me):

       * that virtual money is nothing new - in fact it is the original form of money

       * that the first word for "freedom" recorded in any human language is a Sumerian word for debt relief

       * that our current core conceptions of freedom and rights trace back to Roman slave law

       * that most rebellions, insurrections, and revolutions in world history have been over issues of debt

       * that rather than markets and states being in some way opposed principles, markets - particularly ones that operated on cash instead of credit - largely emerged as the side-effect of military operations, and through most of history were maintained through government policy

       * that contemporary free market ideology (and in fact many of Adam Smith's specific phrases and examples, such as the pin factory) is derived from Medieval Islam

       * we have every reason to believe that, as we now enter a new phase of virtual money, there will be major structural changes in the very idea of what an economy is and what it's for that determine what global society will be like for at least the next five hundred years."
 
You can find the book on Amazon, and in major bookstores!

-----
Support the Milk Not Jails Project!
 
This is a pilot business project designed to address the racism of the New York State prison system by linking rural dairy farmers with milk and ice cream consuming urban dwellers! It's genius, check it out and support (I already made a pledge of $55)! 
 

MILK NOT JAILS is now raising money on Kickstarter.  Check out the video and make a financial pledge here today!


The Big Idea:
Rural New York is home to 90% of the state’s prisons, which provide jobs in a depressed rural economy.  Meanwhile the majority of people in prison come from New York City’s communities of color and their families are forced to make long trips to visit them. The guards union and their elected officials oppose major reforms to the prison system because they fear it will destroy jobs in their community.  As a result, New York’s prison system is racist, ineffective, and too expensive. This is not going to change unless we can develop a new economic relationship between urban and rural areas.  MILK NOT JAILS looks to the state’s dairy industry – which comprises 80% of New York’s agricultural sales – for a delicious solution to this conundrum.  Join us in saying, “If rural New York’s economic survival depends on us, we’d rather drink their milk than go to their prison.” 

What we are doing:
Over the past year, MILK NOT JAILS has been touring New York State educating people about prison industry economics and asking farmers to join our cooperative.  We host ice cream socials in urban areas to reach out to communities impacted by incarceration, to conduct market research,, and to dialogue about our project.  We have elicited feedback from over 250 dairy farmers and identified a niche market that we can develop.  Over 35 criminal justice organizations endorse MILK NOT JAILS.

Our dairy cooperative has quickly grown from a conversation to a pilot business.  We recently started a milk share program in Brooklyn, where people purchase a milk subscription from one of our partner farms.   We are undertaking a massive outreach campaign to coffee shops, daycares and CSAs to sell milk contracts to these local establishments. We are analyzing over a year’s worth of market research to identify neighborhoods and retailers to sell to. Our farmers have cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream ready to sell once we have our distribution system established!
 
 
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June News - Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance

 Hello Good People!


The Allied Media Conference 2011 is only 12 days away, and we are still trying to raise money to cover scholarships for some of our amazing health care practitioners and presenters. These folks are coming from all over the country - from reservations in the Southwest and from farms in New York State, from mid-sized cities in Pennsylvania, and from major urban centers in California.

Please consider supporting their ability to come by donating $50 as a part of our Medicine is Media! fundraiser. In return you receive a gorgeous hand-made herbal gift pack, but there are only 9 herbal packs left, so DONATE NOW: http://alliedmedia.org/amc2011/news/2011/05/05/medicine-media-make-donation-support-amc2011-healing-justice-track

You can also check out the lineup of workshops and panels that will be a part of the Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance track (coordinated by yours truly!), as well as the official program for the other 18 learning tracks that will take place at the conference, at the final program-browsing page on the website: http://alliedmedia.org/amc2011/program/browse 

In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Celebration of the Word - Brooklyn, NY
  • Happy Hour Hangout & Re:Imagining Change Reading - Minneapolis, MN
  • Brown Sisters on the Radio!
  • Two Training for Social Action Trainers coming up! - Birmingham and Philadelphia
  • Access Intimacy
-----
Celebration of the Word - Brooklyn

Eleven storytellers, novelists, poets & spoken word artists from seven countries in an evening of letters, lyrics and ol' talk.

Where:
St. Francis College
182 Remsen Street
(between Clinton & Court Sts)
Brooklyn, NY 11217

When:
Sunday June 12, 2011 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
 
Featuring:
Robert Antoni  (Bahamas)
Cheryl Boyce Taylor  (Trinidad & Tobago)
Merle Collins (Grenada)
Jacinth Henry-Martin  (St. Kitts-Nevis)
Marlon James  (Jamaica)
Anton Nimblett  (Trinidad & Tobago)
Elizabeth Nunez  (Trinidad & Tobago)
Ras Oosagefo  (Jamaica)
Yolaine St. Fort  (Haiti)
Everton Sylvester  (Jamaica)
Tiphanie Yanique  (Virgin Islands)

-----
Happy Hour Hangout & Re:Imagining Change Reading - Minneapolis
~ a fundraiser with Doyle Canning, smartMeme Co-Director 

Wednesday, June 15th from 5-7pm
Common Roots Cafe, 2558 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis

Whether you live in Minneapolis or are in town for the Netroots Conference, please join us June 15th at Common Roots for a happy hour book reading from Re:Imagining Change!

The book Re:Imagining Change -- How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements and Change the World is an interactive and accessible resource guide to smartMeme’s story-based strategy tools and methodology. The book outlines how to apply narrative power analysis to effectively frame issues and offers plenty of juicy case
studies and analysis including a call for our movements to innovate our storytelling techniques in the face of the looming ecological crisis.

Join co-author and smartMeme co-director Doyle Canning and local smartMeme friends to celebrate and support smartMeme's work and connect about strategies for social change. Common Roots serves delicious local, organic food as well as beer and wine. 

We hope to see you there! 

Sincerely,

Scott Elkins, Madeline Gardner, Erick Boustead, Isaac Martin, Ashley Satorius, Autumn Brown & Maryrose Dolezal 

P.S. You can learn more about smartMeme and order copies of the book at smartmeme.org/books.
-----
Brown Sisters on the Radio!

My amazing sister Adrienne Maree Brown was interviewed by Cornell West and Tavis Smiley! 

http://smileyandwest.ning.com/forum/topics/the-conversation-adrienne?xg_source=facebookshare

 

And, a few weeks ago I was interviewed on the NY-based radio show Roots, Runners, Rhizomes! Hear the full interview: 
 
 
-----
Two Training for Social Action Trainers coming up!

 

August 12-14, 2011
Birmingham, MI
To register for the MI TSAT, contact Dan Buttry at dbuttry@comcast.net

September 9-11, 2011
Philadelphia, PA
To register for the Philadelphia TSAT, click here

Join us for an intensive training designed for experienced facilitators wanting to revitalize their work, new trainers wanting to inspire, teachers, community leaders, activists -- anyone wanting to take their skills to a new level and learn how training can be used more effectively.

AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU WILL...

Gain greater awareness about yourself and your strengths as a facilitator;
Get a chance to take risks, experiment and refine skills in a safe and supportive environment;
Get the stimulation of fresh approaches and increased options;
Receive personal guidance from experienced trainers in a small group setting ;
Learn new tools that are easily adapted, principles of workshop design, skills for working with diversity and a better understanding of how to use experiential education methods effectively.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS WORKSHOP?
Experienced and less-experienced facilitators, consultants and trainers...Activists and organizers wanting to use training more effectively in their work... Teachers, community leaders, pastors, consultants and others who want more experiential tools.

The TSAT is a great way to learn the core approach to Training for Change's elicitive style of activist training, or if you are considering bringing TFC trainers to work more closely with your organization. Anyone who takes the TSAT is then qualified to be a participant at TFC’s Advanced Training of Trainers, an extended 5-day intensive the delves more thoroughly into group dynamics, conflict in groups, and working cross-culturally.

GOALS

To enhance workshop facilitation and design skills
To increase the training tools you can use effectively
To gain greater awareness of yourself as facilitator
To meet and receive support from other trainers and learn about new developments in the field

WORKSHOP FORMAT
The workshop begins with dinner and registration at 6 p.m. Friday and runs until 6 p.m. Sunday. On Friday and Saturday evenings the workshop will include an evening session after dinner, the session typically ends between 9:00-10:00 pm.

The workshop is designed as an experiential package with each session building on the previous session. We want to create the best learning environment possible for participants to absorb the combined learning of each session and therefore WE DO NOT ALLOW PARTIAL ATTENDANCE, you must commit to taking the entire workshop.

FEE
If taken separately, this workshop costs $150 US-$375 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 23 hours of training, meals during workshop hours, and simple lodging for people who request it. To determine your fee, use the chart below. 

If your income is...You pay...
________________________________
under $15,000, $150
$15,001-$25,000, $180
$25,001-$35,000, $210
$35,001-$45,000$, 250
$45,001-$55,000$, 300
over $55,000, $375

STAFF RATES
Are you being sent to the training by your employer? If so, don't use your income to determine the fee -- use the annual budget of the organization.

REGISTER OR QUESTIONS
To register or get more information about the fee or the workshop, please contact the organizer, Ken Preston atken@globalexchange.org.
 
-----
Access Intimacy
 
Please read this incredible blog about accessibility as a form of intimacy. It is inspiring and thought-provoking.

 Hello Good People!


The Allied Media Conference 2011 is only 12 days away, and we are still trying to raise money to cover scholarships for some of our amazing health care practitioners and presenters. These folks are coming from all over the country - from reservations in the Southwest and from farms in New York State, from mid-sized cities in Pennsylvania, and from major urban centers in California.

Please consider supporting their ability to come by donating $50 as a part of our Medicine is Media! fundraiser. In return you receive a gorgeous hand-made herbal gift pack, but there are only 9 herbal packs left, so DONATE NOW: http://alliedmedia.org/amc2011/news/2011/05/05/medicine-media-make-donation-support-amc2011-healing-justice-track

You can also check out the lineup of workshops and panels that will be a part of the Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance track (coordinated by yours truly!), as well as the official program for the other 18 learning tracks that will take place at the conference, at the final program-browsing page on the website: http://alliedmedia.org/amc2011/program/browse 

In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Celebration of the Word - Brooklyn, NY
  • Happy Hour Hangout & Re:Imagining Change Reading - Minneapolis, MN
  • Brown Sisters on the Radio!
  • Two Training for Social Action Trainers coming up! - Birmingham and Philadelphia
  • Access Intimacy
-----
Celebration of the Word - Brooklyn

Eleven storytellers, novelists, poets & spoken word artists from seven countries in an evening of letters, lyrics and ol' talk.

Where:
St. Francis College
182 Remsen Street
(between Clinton & Court Sts)
Brooklyn, NY 11217

When:
Sunday June 12, 2011 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
 
Featuring:
Robert Antoni  (Bahamas)
Cheryl Boyce Taylor  (Trinidad & Tobago)
Merle Collins (Grenada)
Jacinth Henry-Martin  (St. Kitts-Nevis)
Marlon James  (Jamaica)
Anton Nimblett  (Trinidad & Tobago)
Elizabeth Nunez  (Trinidad & Tobago)
Ras Oosagefo  (Jamaica)
Yolaine St. Fort  (Haiti)
Everton Sylvester  (Jamaica)
Tiphanie Yanique  (Virgin Islands)

-----
Happy Hour Hangout & Re:Imagining Change Reading - Minneapolis
~ a fundraiser with Doyle Canning, smartMeme Co-Director 

Wednesday, June 15th from 5-7pm
Common Roots Cafe, 2558 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis

Whether you live in Minneapolis or are in town for the Netroots Conference, please join us June 15th at Common Roots for a happy hour book reading from Re:Imagining Change!

The book Re:Imagining Change -- How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements and Change the World is an interactive and accessible resource guide to smartMeme’s story-based strategy tools and methodology. The book outlines how to apply narrative power analysis to effectively frame issues and offers plenty of juicy case
studies and analysis including a call for our movements to innovate our storytelling techniques in the face of the looming ecological crisis.

Join co-author and smartMeme co-director Doyle Canning and local smartMeme friends to celebrate and support smartMeme's work and connect about strategies for social change. Common Roots serves delicious local, organic food as well as beer and wine. 

We hope to see you there! 

Sincerely,

Scott Elkins, Madeline Gardner, Erick Boustead, Isaac Martin, Ashley Satorius, Autumn Brown & Maryrose Dolezal 

P.S. You can learn more about smartMeme and order copies of the book at smartmeme.org/books.
-----
Brown Sisters on the Radio!

My amazing sister Adrienne Maree Brown was interviewed by Cornell West and Tavis Smiley! 

http://smileyandwest.ning.com/forum/topics/the-conversation-adrienne?xg_source=facebookshare

 

And, a few weeks ago I was interviewed on the NY-based radio show Roots, Runners, Rhizomes! Hear the full interview: 
 
 
-----
Two Training for Social Action Trainers coming up!

 

August 12-14, 2011
Birmingham, MI
To register for the MI TSAT, contact Dan Buttry at dbuttry@comcast.net

September 9-11, 2011
Philadelphia, PA
To register for the Philadelphia TSAT, click here

Join us for an intensive training designed for experienced facilitators wanting to revitalize their work, new trainers wanting to inspire, teachers, community leaders, activists -- anyone wanting to take their skills to a new level and learn how training can be used more effectively.

AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU WILL...

Gain greater awareness about yourself and your strengths as a facilitator;
Get a chance to take risks, experiment and refine skills in a safe and supportive environment;
Get the stimulation of fresh approaches and increased options;
Receive personal guidance from experienced trainers in a small group setting ;
Learn new tools that are easily adapted, principles of workshop design, skills for working with diversity and a better understanding of how to use experiential education methods effectively.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS WORKSHOP?
Experienced and less-experienced facilitators, consultants and trainers...Activists and organizers wanting to use training more effectively in their work... Teachers, community leaders, pastors, consultants and others who want more experiential tools.

The TSAT is a great way to learn the core approach to Training for Change's elicitive style of activist training, or if you are considering bringing TFC trainers to work more closely with your organization. Anyone who takes the TSAT is then qualified to be a participant at TFC’s Advanced Training of Trainers, an extended 5-day intensive the delves more thoroughly into group dynamics, conflict in groups, and working cross-culturally.

GOALS

To enhance workshop facilitation and design skills
To increase the training tools you can use effectively
To gain greater awareness of yourself as facilitator
To meet and receive support from other trainers and learn about new developments in the field

WORKSHOP FORMAT
The workshop begins with dinner and registration at 6 p.m. Friday and runs until 6 p.m. Sunday. On Friday and Saturday evenings the workshop will include an evening session after dinner, the session typically ends between 9:00-10:00 pm.

The workshop is designed as an experiential package with each session building on the previous session. We want to create the best learning environment possible for participants to absorb the combined learning of each session and therefore WE DO NOT ALLOW PARTIAL ATTENDANCE, you must commit to taking the entire workshop.

FEE
If taken separately, this workshop costs $150 US-$375 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 23 hours of training, meals during workshop hours, and simple lodging for people who request it. To determine your fee, use the chart below. 

If your income is...You pay...
________________________________
under $15,000, $150
$15,001-$25,000, $180
$25,001-$35,000, $210
$35,001-$45,000$, 250
$45,001-$55,000$, 300
over $55,000, $375

STAFF RATES
Are you being sent to the training by your employer? If so, don't use your income to determine the fee -- use the annual budget of the organization.

REGISTER OR QUESTIONS
To register or get more information about the fee or the workshop, please contact the organizer, Ken Preston atken@globalexchange.org.
 
-----
Access Intimacy
 
Please read this incredible blog about accessibility as a form of intimacy. It is inspiring and thought-provoking.
Read More

Attached to Vengeance

 Hello Good People,

 
Like many Americans, I sat with my eyes glued to the television on Sunday night waiting for the mysterious news relating the national security, for which the president had called an unprecedented press conference. My stomach was tied in knots: are we going to war (again)? My mother is traveling abroad, will she be safe? My family is spread across the country, will we be prevented from seeing each other? Did we finally make first contact with alien life?
 
And then each news channel in turn began reporting that Osama bin Laden had been killed by our government. I felt deflated, and then a growing sense of disgust. I worked for two years at a disaster relief non-profit whose offices overlooked the site of the towers. I remember avoiding Church Street on my lunch breaks so that I wouldn't have to see the tourists with their Century 21 shopping bags posing for pictures with their children in front of the fence that hid what I could clearly see from the window of my 20th floor office: a gaping wound in the earth that still holds the bones of the dead. And I knew what was coming in the morning.
 
There would be celebrating. Hooting and hollering. Flag-waving and cheering. Everyone so full of joy at the death of a man. But when I look at the pictures and the footage of Mr. bin Laden and try to raise my anger, I find that I cannot. Yes, he masterminded a terrorist attack that almost killed my father, and succeeded in killing thousands of people. Yes, his actions and international persona gave the most powerful country in the world a face for its wars. Yes, he inspired and continues to inspire others to do violence. But I look at those pictures, and I see that footage, and I see a man. Just a man. A weak mouth, a long face, and lovely, sad eyes.
 
My friend said of the celebrations, "We are so attached to vengeance." And when I look at Mr. bin Laden, I see someone who was also attached to vengeance. And if that does not create room for me to see him as a frail, flawed human - now, a dead human - then what can?
 
Having experienced my own injustices and physical and emotional violences, I find that I can look around and see so many places in my life that I could seek vengeance. My sister asks me, "Autumn, is there room for a transformative moment in the midst of this?"
 
And that is the question that still stands.
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Medicine is Media! Support Scholarships for the Allied Media Conference and Buy Herbal Medicine!
  • The Great Republic of Rough and Ready is back! May 16th, 2011
  • Sharing and Sustainable Economies with Janelle Orsi
  • Climbing PoeTree Spring Tour Schedule
  • Growing Roots: Peter Maurin & Economics - July 17th--July 23rd, 2011
-----

Medicine is Media!: Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance “Herbal Care Package”
by Good Fight Herb Co.

For an exciting limited time only, donate $50 and receive a special handmade Herbal Care Package. There are only 25 gift packs available, so order yours now by donating $50 at alliedmedia.org and writing “Healing Justice Track” in the Memo. Follow this link to go directly to the page. Your donation will help support workshop presenters and health practitioners participate in the health and healing justice track at the Allied Media Conference 2011.

The package includes:
Sleep Tight
A blend to help unwind and get to sleep easily. (Tincture includes valerian, hops, lavender & organic grain alcohol; 15-30 drops 30 minutes before bed; repeat as needed).

Milky Oats
To nourish and restore the nervous system when feeling burned out physically & emotionally. (Tincture includes fresh milky oat tops & organic grain alcohol; 30 drops 3x day or, 30-60 drops as needed).

Say it Loud! Throat spray
(Spray includes: echinacea, goldenseal, propolis, licorice, vegetable glycerin & organic grain alcohol; 3-5 sprays on the back of the throat as needed, or 3-5x day).

Love Your Lips Balm
Protects lips from harsh weather conditions and nourishes dry, cracked and/or chapped areas. (Balm includes: calendula flowers, violet leaves & flowers, coconut oil, almond oil, vitamin E oil, extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, peppermint essential oil. Use freely!)

Donation details:
Shipping is included in the price of the package. Please allow two weeks for shipping. Donations can be made at http://alliedmedia.org/news/2011/05/05/medicine-media-make-donation-support-healing-justice-track. Follow directions to make a secure donation through Paypal. Please be sure to put “Healing Justice Track" in the memo section. Additional donations are welcome and appreciated.

For more information about the fundraiser, contact Autumn Brown: autumnmeghan@gmail.com

Information about the medicine maker: http://goodfightherbco.com/?page_id=2
Good Fight Herb Co: http://www.goodfightherbco.com/ 

Cheers to healing ourselves!

-----
The Great Republic of Rough and Ready at Cakeshop
 
Great Republic of Rough and Ready is back, and marking their return to musical society with an exciting show at one of their favorite Lower East Side dives: CAKESHOP. 

The Great Republic of Rough and Ready
Performing at Cakeshop
152 Ludlow Street
May 16
9:00 pm

-----
Sharing and Sustainable Economies with Janelle Orsi
 
This event and news listing comes from "the sharing lawyer," Janelle Orsi:
 
Please enjoy the following events and news, and pass this on to friends and colleagues, as well. Everything is just exploding in the realm of sharing and sustainable economies!  It's enough to make me THRILLED to live in the future we are creating.  
In other news:
Watch SELC's new movie: If you haven't seen SELC's 9-minute cartoon, Economy Sandwich, I encourage you to watch it and share it widely. It is, so far, the most concise way I have found to describe the sharing economy and its related legal riddles. And stay tuned, because SELC has other legal cartoons in the works, including "Local Investing in a Nutshell," staring entrepreneurial squirrels.  
 
"The Sharing Lawyer" featured by ABA: The ABA Journal chose me last year to be one of the 10 "Legal Rebels" profiled in the magazine. Here's the story: 'Sharing Lawyer' Carves Out a Niche Leveraging Community and a 2-minute video: Sharing Her Vision: Janelle Orsi.

The Sharing Solution: It has been wonderful to hear of many groups that are using Emily Doskow's and my book, The Sharing Solution (Nolo Press 2009), as a study guide or conversation-starter for building community in their neighborhoods or among friends. Apologies that our blog has been a little inactive lately, but we'd love it if you would join The Sharing Solution community on Facebook, and share your sharing experiences, thoughts, and ideas!
 
Forthcoming Sharing Law Book: I'm pleased to announce that Jenny Kassan and I just signed a contract to write a book for the American Bar Association, called Sharing Law: Understanding the Legal Landscape of the Sharing Economy.
 
Shareable, best website ever: I just have to say that Shareable.net is mind-candy for anyone wanting to feel excited about the future.  I encourage everyone to check it regularly, follow them on Facebook, and sign up to receive their inspiring weekly round-up emails. I contribute periodically, and here are articles I recently wrote on CA's New Carsharing Law and How to Start Your Own Carsharing Program. Here are a couple other pieces: The Birth of Sharing Law and How to Barter, Give, and Get Stuff
 
SELC's new website: The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) has launched its new website: www.TheSELC.org
 

Also join SELC on May 18th for: A free screening of Fixing the Future: Rescuing the Economy in Communities Across America, May 18, 5:30pm, Humanist Hall, Oakland, CA
 

-----
Climbing PoeTree Spring Tour Schedule

Employing art as their weapon, medicine, voice, and vision, Alixa and Naima are the soul-sister performance duo Climbing PoeTree. With roots in Haiti and Colombia, Alixa and Naima reside in Brooklyn and track footprints across the country and globe on a mission to overcome destruction with creativity. Having blazed over 600 stages from Oakland to Atlanta, South Africa to Cuba with artists such as Erykah Badu, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Angela Davis, Alicia Keys, Danny Glover, The Last Poets, and Dead Prez, Climbing PoeTree's soul-stirring perfomance interweaves spoken word poetry and award-winning multi-media theater to expose injustice, heal from violence, and make a better future visible, immediate, and irresistible.
 

Spring Tour Schedule & Forecast of Upcoming Shows
(full details at www.climbingpoetree.com click "SHOWS") 

04.23.11, Madison, WI 
UW- Madison Climbing PoeTree performance presented by MeCHA (Chican@ Student Movement of Aztlan) and QPOC (Queer People of Color)

04.27.11, Westchester County, NY
PACE University 
Climbing PoeTree performance 

04.28.11, Wellesley, MA 
Wellesley College 
Climbing PoeTree performs in celebration of Earth Day

04.29.11, Newton, MA 
Boston College  
Climbing PoeTree performance presented by the GLBTQ Leadership Council, United Front, Women's Caucus, SNAP (Society of Native American Peoples), Asian Caucus, Art Club, and African Student Organization 

05.01.11, Bar Harbor, ME  
College of the Atlantic  
Climbing PoeTree performance

05.03.11, Machias, ME 
Grange Community Center 
The Beehive Collective presents Climbing PoeTree

05.14.11, Nyack, NY 
Rockland Gay Pride 
A Night of Performance Art at Nyack Center featuring excerpts of "Hurricane Season"  

06.03.11, Brooklyn, NY  
18th Annual Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival  
Climbing PoeTree performs Hurricane Season excerpts at Dance Theater Etcetera's annual celebration of community and culture At Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park    

06.11.11, Northampton, MA 
Smith School for Social Work 
Studens of Color Symposium 

07.01.11. to 07.03.11, Big Sur, CA 
ESALEN- Creative Uprising Writing and Arts Workshop  
Combining storytelling, creative writing, and poetic outbursts, Climbing PoeTree will facilitate activities and shared strategies on how art and cultural work can be used at the service of a more just and sustainable world.  This will be a 3 day poetry and visual art intensive.

08.03.1, Oceana County, MI  
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival  
Climbing PoeTree will be performing as part of the 31st annual Michigan Womyn's Music Festival: a music and performing arts festival with thousands of womyn in a village inspired by feminist values and built through a unique collective ingenuity

-----
Growing Roots: Peter Maurin & Economics
 
July 17th--July 23rd, 2011
New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Agronomic University
 
Our second annual, week-long Growing Roots session will focus on the life and thought of Catholic Worker co-founder Peter Maurin and how it pertains to our economic context in the 21st century. Starting on the afternoon of Sunday the 17th and ending on the morning of Saturday the 23rd, our learning will be integrated.  Four hours of intellectual labor each day--via lecture, discussion and reading--will be balanced with four hours of manual labor on our 28-acre farm, home to 13 community members (by then, we hope!), a half acre of vegetables and fruits, dairy cows, chickens, bees, springs and streams.  There will also be time for prayer, lively meals, rest, bonfires and music.
 
Guiding our study will be questions of the Life and Thought of Peter Maurin; The Development of Usury; The Spirituality of Peter Maurin; Understanding Capitalism and Globalization; Strategies of Resistance; and more. All participants should plan to bring one of Peter Maurin's Easy Essays to read aloud and discuss. Carolyn Griffeth and Colleen Kelly of the Catholic Worker village in St. Louis will present, along with New Hope Farmers Brenna Cussen Anglada and Eric Anglada. Each participant, however, will be both teacher and learner. A reading list will be sent out in the coming weeks.
 
All are welcome to attend--whether you live in a Catholic Worker or not.
 
Housing: Lots of tenting available. Let us know if you are not able to tent and we should be able to work something out.
 
Cost: Barter, or 50 dollars.
 
Space is limited. Registration is by phone or in person only: 563.556.0987. No emails.
  
New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Agronomic University
6697 Mitchell Mill Rd.
La Motte, IOWA 52054
563.556.0987

 Hello Good People,

 
Like many Americans, I sat with my eyes glued to the television on Sunday night waiting for the mysterious news relating the national security, for which the president had called an unprecedented press conference. My stomach was tied in knots: are we going to war (again)? My mother is traveling abroad, will she be safe? My family is spread across the country, will we be prevented from seeing each other? Did we finally make first contact with alien life?
 
And then each news channel in turn began reporting that Osama bin Laden had been killed by our government. I felt deflated, and then a growing sense of disgust. I worked for two years at a disaster relief non-profit whose offices overlooked the site of the towers. I remember avoiding Church Street on my lunch breaks so that I wouldn't have to see the tourists with their Century 21 shopping bags posing for pictures with their children in front of the fence that hid what I could clearly see from the window of my 20th floor office: a gaping wound in the earth that still holds the bones of the dead. And I knew what was coming in the morning.
 
There would be celebrating. Hooting and hollering. Flag-waving and cheering. Everyone so full of joy at the death of a man. But when I look at the pictures and the footage of Mr. bin Laden and try to raise my anger, I find that I cannot. Yes, he masterminded a terrorist attack that almost killed my father, and succeeded in killing thousands of people. Yes, his actions and international persona gave the most powerful country in the world a face for its wars. Yes, he inspired and continues to inspire others to do violence. But I look at those pictures, and I see that footage, and I see a man. Just a man. A weak mouth, a long face, and lovely, sad eyes.
 
My friend said of the celebrations, "We are so attached to vengeance." And when I look at Mr. bin Laden, I see someone who was also attached to vengeance. And if that does not create room for me to see him as a frail, flawed human - now, a dead human - then what can?
 
Having experienced my own injustices and physical and emotional violences, I find that I can look around and see so many places in my life that I could seek vengeance. My sister asks me, "Autumn, is there room for a transformative moment in the midst of this?"
 
And that is the question that still stands.
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Medicine is Media! Support Scholarships for the Allied Media Conference and Buy Herbal Medicine!
  • The Great Republic of Rough and Ready is back! May 16th, 2011
  • Sharing and Sustainable Economies with Janelle Orsi
  • Climbing PoeTree Spring Tour Schedule
  • Growing Roots: Peter Maurin & Economics - July 17th--July 23rd, 2011
-----

Medicine is Media!: Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance “Herbal Care Package”
by Good Fight Herb Co.

For an exciting limited time only, donate $50 and receive a special handmade Herbal Care Package. There are only 25 gift packs available, so order yours now by donating $50 at alliedmedia.org and writing “Healing Justice Track” in the Memo. Follow this link to go directly to the page. Your donation will help support workshop presenters and health practitioners participate in the health and healing justice track at the Allied Media Conference 2011.

The package includes:
Sleep Tight
A blend to help unwind and get to sleep easily. (Tincture includes valerian, hops, lavender & organic grain alcohol; 15-30 drops 30 minutes before bed; repeat as needed).

Milky Oats
To nourish and restore the nervous system when feeling burned out physically & emotionally. (Tincture includes fresh milky oat tops & organic grain alcohol; 30 drops 3x day or, 30-60 drops as needed).

Say it Loud! Throat spray
(Spray includes: echinacea, goldenseal, propolis, licorice, vegetable glycerin & organic grain alcohol; 3-5 sprays on the back of the throat as needed, or 3-5x day).

Love Your Lips Balm
Protects lips from harsh weather conditions and nourishes dry, cracked and/or chapped areas. (Balm includes: calendula flowers, violet leaves & flowers, coconut oil, almond oil, vitamin E oil, extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, peppermint essential oil. Use freely!)

Donation details:
Shipping is included in the price of the package. Please allow two weeks for shipping. Donations can be made at http://alliedmedia.org/news/2011/05/05/medicine-media-make-donation-support-healing-justice-track. Follow directions to make a secure donation through Paypal. Please be sure to put “Healing Justice Track" in the memo section. Additional donations are welcome and appreciated.

For more information about the fundraiser, contact Autumn Brown: autumnmeghan@gmail.com

Information about the medicine maker: http://goodfightherbco.com/?page_id=2
Good Fight Herb Co: http://www.goodfightherbco.com/ 

Cheers to healing ourselves!

-----
The Great Republic of Rough and Ready at Cakeshop
 
Great Republic of Rough and Ready is back, and marking their return to musical society with an exciting show at one of their favorite Lower East Side dives: CAKESHOP. 

The Great Republic of Rough and Ready
Performing at Cakeshop
152 Ludlow Street
May 16
9:00 pm

-----
Sharing and Sustainable Economies with Janelle Orsi
 
This event and news listing comes from "the sharing lawyer," Janelle Orsi:
 
Please enjoy the following events and news, and pass this on to friends and colleagues, as well. Everything is just exploding in the realm of sharing and sustainable economies!  It's enough to make me THRILLED to live in the future we are creating.  
In other news:
Watch SELC's new movie: If you haven't seen SELC's 9-minute cartoon, Economy Sandwich, I encourage you to watch it and share it widely. It is, so far, the most concise way I have found to describe the sharing economy and its related legal riddles. And stay tuned, because SELC has other legal cartoons in the works, including "Local Investing in a Nutshell," staring entrepreneurial squirrels.  
 
"The Sharing Lawyer" featured by ABA: The ABA Journal chose me last year to be one of the 10 "Legal Rebels" profiled in the magazine. Here's the story: 'Sharing Lawyer' Carves Out a Niche Leveraging Community and a 2-minute video: Sharing Her Vision: Janelle Orsi.

The Sharing Solution: It has been wonderful to hear of many groups that are using Emily Doskow's and my book, The Sharing Solution (Nolo Press 2009), as a study guide or conversation-starter for building community in their neighborhoods or among friends. Apologies that our blog has been a little inactive lately, but we'd love it if you would join The Sharing Solution community on Facebook, and share your sharing experiences, thoughts, and ideas!
 
Forthcoming Sharing Law Book: I'm pleased to announce that Jenny Kassan and I just signed a contract to write a book for the American Bar Association, called Sharing Law: Understanding the Legal Landscape of the Sharing Economy.
 
Shareable, best website ever: I just have to say that Shareable.net is mind-candy for anyone wanting to feel excited about the future.  I encourage everyone to check it regularly, follow them on Facebook, and sign up to receive their inspiring weekly round-up emails. I contribute periodically, and here are articles I recently wrote on CA's New Carsharing Law and How to Start Your Own Carsharing Program. Here are a couple other pieces: The Birth of Sharing Law and How to Barter, Give, and Get Stuff
 
SELC's new website: The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) has launched its new website: www.TheSELC.org
 

Also join SELC on May 18th for: A free screening of Fixing the Future: Rescuing the Economy in Communities Across America, May 18, 5:30pm, Humanist Hall, Oakland, CA
 

-----
Climbing PoeTree Spring Tour Schedule

Employing art as their weapon, medicine, voice, and vision, Alixa and Naima are the soul-sister performance duo Climbing PoeTree. With roots in Haiti and Colombia, Alixa and Naima reside in Brooklyn and track footprints across the country and globe on a mission to overcome destruction with creativity. Having blazed over 600 stages from Oakland to Atlanta, South Africa to Cuba with artists such as Erykah Badu, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Angela Davis, Alicia Keys, Danny Glover, The Last Poets, and Dead Prez, Climbing PoeTree's soul-stirring perfomance interweaves spoken word poetry and award-winning multi-media theater to expose injustice, heal from violence, and make a better future visible, immediate, and irresistible.
 

Spring Tour Schedule & Forecast of Upcoming Shows
(full details at www.climbingpoetree.com click "SHOWS") 

04.23.11, Madison, WI 
UW- Madison Climbing PoeTree performance presented by MeCHA (Chican@ Student Movement of Aztlan) and QPOC (Queer People of Color)

04.27.11, Westchester County, NY
PACE University 
Climbing PoeTree performance 

04.28.11, Wellesley, MA 
Wellesley College 
Climbing PoeTree performs in celebration of Earth Day

04.29.11, Newton, MA 
Boston College  
Climbing PoeTree performance presented by the GLBTQ Leadership Council, United Front, Women's Caucus, SNAP (Society of Native American Peoples), Asian Caucus, Art Club, and African Student Organization 

05.01.11, Bar Harbor, ME  
College of the Atlantic  
Climbing PoeTree performance

05.03.11, Machias, ME 
Grange Community Center 
The Beehive Collective presents Climbing PoeTree

05.14.11, Nyack, NY 
Rockland Gay Pride 
A Night of Performance Art at Nyack Center featuring excerpts of "Hurricane Season"  

06.03.11, Brooklyn, NY  
18th Annual Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival  
Climbing PoeTree performs Hurricane Season excerpts at Dance Theater Etcetera's annual celebration of community and culture At Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park    

06.11.11, Northampton, MA 
Smith School for Social Work 
Studens of Color Symposium 

07.01.11. to 07.03.11, Big Sur, CA 
ESALEN- Creative Uprising Writing and Arts Workshop  
Combining storytelling, creative writing, and poetic outbursts, Climbing PoeTree will facilitate activities and shared strategies on how art and cultural work can be used at the service of a more just and sustainable world.  This will be a 3 day poetry and visual art intensive.

08.03.1, Oceana County, MI  
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival  
Climbing PoeTree will be performing as part of the 31st annual Michigan Womyn's Music Festival: a music and performing arts festival with thousands of womyn in a village inspired by feminist values and built through a unique collective ingenuity

-----
Growing Roots: Peter Maurin & Economics
 
July 17th--July 23rd, 2011
New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Agronomic University
 
Our second annual, week-long Growing Roots session will focus on the life and thought of Catholic Worker co-founder Peter Maurin and how it pertains to our economic context in the 21st century. Starting on the afternoon of Sunday the 17th and ending on the morning of Saturday the 23rd, our learning will be integrated.  Four hours of intellectual labor each day--via lecture, discussion and reading--will be balanced with four hours of manual labor on our 28-acre farm, home to 13 community members (by then, we hope!), a half acre of vegetables and fruits, dairy cows, chickens, bees, springs and streams.  There will also be time for prayer, lively meals, rest, bonfires and music.
 
Guiding our study will be questions of the Life and Thought of Peter Maurin; The Development of Usury; The Spirituality of Peter Maurin; Understanding Capitalism and Globalization; Strategies of Resistance; and more. All participants should plan to bring one of Peter Maurin's Easy Essays to read aloud and discuss. Carolyn Griffeth and Colleen Kelly of the Catholic Worker village in St. Louis will present, along with New Hope Farmers Brenna Cussen Anglada and Eric Anglada. Each participant, however, will be both teacher and learner. A reading list will be sent out in the coming weeks.
 
All are welcome to attend--whether you live in a Catholic Worker or not.
 
Housing: Lots of tenting available. Let us know if you are not able to tent and we should be able to work something out.
 
Cost: Barter, or 50 dollars.
 
Space is limited. Registration is by phone or in person only: 563.556.0987. No emails.
  
New Hope Catholic Worker Farm and Agronomic University
6697 Mitchell Mill Rd.
La Motte, IOWA 52054
563.556.0987

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April News - Our Only Weapon Our Spirit

 Hello Good People!

 
The delay in my newsletter comes from a wonderful new role I have stepped up to in my life - I am now a member of the board of directors of the Common Fire Foundation, a visionary organization that supports the development of intentional communities grounded in sustainability, social justice, and interpersonal transformation. If the name sounds familiar to you, it may be because you have heard of the first community they developed, the Tivoli Housing Co-op, which is LEED certified as the greenest building in the Eastern United States. I am so honored to be a part of the Common Fire community! www.commonfire.org
 
I am also honored, proud, and giddily excited to announce the publication of a new book edited by my husband, Samuel Conway. Our Only Weapon Our Spirit is a collection of the prison writings of Bobby Sands, an inspiring Irish political prisoner and poet who died on hunger strike in 1981. Here is an excerpt from the back of the book:
 
After sixty-six days on hunger strike, Bobby Sands was legally killed by British intransigence. He died resisting the claim that eight-hundred years of Irish rebel history had been purely illegitimate and criminal. He had been a volunteer of the Irish Republican Army, an Irish speaker, elected Member of Parliament and writer. Thirty years later, his legacy as a cultural figure, freedom fighter and writer continues to resonate with people struggling for freedom throughout the world.

This new selection of his prison writing commemorates his life and his legacy. We hope this book contributes to his vision of a just, united and free Ireland, and helps to sustain the liberation struggles of people world-wide.

All proceeds from the sale of this book go to the benefit of the wives, families and dependents of prisoners through the Bobby Sands Trust.
 
Samuel Conway and his co-editor Patrick Stanley (Yellow Bike Press) will be celebrating the publication with two major events in New York City at the beginning of May, on the 30th anniversary of Bobby Sands death on hunger strike. The book launch will take place on Thursday, May 5th at The Commons in Brooklyn. A reading will take place at Bluestockings Book Store in Manhattan on Saturday, May 7th. Details are below, and I do hope you can make it out if you are in the New York Area.
 
In this Edition of Iambrown:
  • Book Launch for Our Only Weapon Our Spirit
  • New Website of Performer, Artist and Extraordinary Doula, Samara Gaev

  • Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Announces Call for Letters of Intent for 2011 Grants

  • Twin Cities Take Back the Night 2011
  • The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship
  • Intermedia Arts Announces ... 2011 VERVE GRANTS FOR SPOKEN WORD POETS 
  • Real Food Fellowship - Applications Due May 6th

  • George Lakey's Book Launch May 15th

  • The Super-T: 17 days of Training for Social Action Trainers

  • The Center for Whole Communities is Hiring a Senior Program Manager


-----
Book Launch for Our Only Weapon Our Spirit
 
Book Launch Event!!

Thursday, May 5 · 7:00pm - 9:30pm

The Commons, Brooklyn
388 Atlantic Avenue
 
Readings from Our Only Weapon Our Spirit
Saturday, May 7th - 7:00pm
Bluestockings Bookstore, Manhattan
172 Allen Street

-----
New Website of Performer, Artist and Extraordinary Doula, Samara Gaev
 
Samara Gaev is an inspiring artist, social justice worker, and she was my doula in the birth of my daughter Siobhan. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to include the announcement of her gorgeous new website in this newsletter: http://www.truthworker.com/#!


-----

NATIVE ARTS AND CULTURES FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES CALL FOR LETTERS OF INTENT FOR 2011 GRANTS

Vancouver, Wash., March 17 – The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) today announced a call for letters of intent for the Foundation’s 2011 grants. The three categories include: Artist Project Grants; Mobilizing the Community; and the Regional Collaboration Pilot Program. NACF’s grants support the artistic creativity of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian individual artists, programs and organizations.

This year, grants will be awarded in three categories: Support for Individual Artists (2011 Artistic Innovation Initiative); Support for Communities (2011 Mobilizing the Community Initiative); and Support for the Field (2011 Strengthening the Arts and Cultures Infrastructure Initiative).

“NACF’s funding initiatives provide support for arts and cultural activities across the broad diversity of Native cultures, from rural landscapes to urban centers, from contemporary arts practices to grassroots community arts activities,” says NACF Program Director Reuben Roqueñi. “In 2011, NACF will offer $500,000 in grants and fellowships.” 

The Artistic Innovation Initiative will support individual artist projects that engage community members in new ways. Grants up to $10,000 per artist will be awarded.

The Mobilizing the Community Initiative will support networks of artists, with particular consideration given to organizations presenting arts conferences, convening artist gatherings, or supporting master artist-to-artist residencies. Awards will be up to $15,000 per project.

The Strengthening the Arts and Cultures Infrastructure Initiative will focus on organizations providing support for arts and cultural activities. Particular consideration will be given to organizations that do at least one of the following: re-grant; offer professional development opportunities; focus support in a particular field or practice; and/or provide unique opportunities to artists in national arenas. Awards will be up to $40,000 per organization.

Letters of intent are due to the NACF on April 29, 2011. Visit www.nativeartsandcultures.org for criteria and guidelines.

Incorporated in 2007, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, located in Vancouver, Washington, is a permanently endowed national organization dedicated exclusively to the revitalization, appreciation and perpetuation of Native arts and cultures. In late 2010, the Foundation awarded its first grants totalling $394,319 to 26 American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists and organizations in 12 states.

To learn more about the NACF, visit www.nativeartsandcultures.org. Receive the free e-newsletter by sending an email toinfo@nativeartsandcultures.org and become a fan of the organization on Facebook.

-----
Twin Cities Take Back the Night 2011

Friday, April 29 · 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Minneapolis Community and Technical College

We are going to have an amazing lineup! 
  • Remy Corso, Ross Neely, Coya Artichoker, Susan Raffo, and Jude Foster will be speaking. 
  • Heidi Barton Stink, Linda Hawj, and Ashley Gold will be performing!

follow us on twitter for updates!!!

http://twitter.com/#!/TwinCitiesTBTN

Take Back the Night is an annual march and rally to combat sexual violence. Attending means you will not only take a stand against abuse, rape, and sexual assault, but will also show your pride and commitment in/to the Twin Cities community, the atmosphere, and safety. We're taking back the streets. We're taking back the night. We're shattering silence to stop the violence.

The event, as always, will include a rally complete with free dinner, entertainment, powerful speakers, and socializing. We will be marching in protest of sexual violence and standing up for our rights, as humans, to feel safe in our communities. The event also includes a candlelight vigil where we will be able to share our experiences in a safe environment, show our support for survivors, and empower each other to continue taking a stand.

This year's event is being planned by representatives from several groups around the cities! These groups include:

-the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG)
-the University Pro-Choice Coalition
-the Women's Student Activist Collective (WSAC)
-the Aurora Center
-Outfront Minnesota
-the Trans Youth Support Network (TYSN)
-Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA)
-the Alexandra House
- National Organization for Women (NOW, MN chapter)
-Cornerstone Advocacy Services
-the Family Partnership
-the Sexual Violence Center
-St. Kate's PRIDE
-Old Lesbians Organizing for Change
-the Queer Student Cultural Center

...and with help from many others!

If you're part of a group that's interested in joining our planning coalition, there's still plenty of time! E-mail twincitiestbtn@gmail.com!
 

Details for this event are still in the works, but we wanted to makes sure you saved the date! Look back at this page for event updates!


-----

The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship
Application Deadline: May 02, 2011 
How to Apply » http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/how-to-apply
Who Can Apply:
 
This Fellowship is open to professional journalists from print, broadcast, and online media around the country, including freelancers. Applicants need not be full-time health reporters, but they need to have a passion for health news (broadly defined). Applications from ethnic media journalists are strongly encouraged, as are applications proposing collaborative projects between mainstream and ethnic news outlets. Applicants must be based in the United States, and Fellowship projects must be published in or broadcast by bona fide journalistic outlets, not outlets whose operations are funded exclusively by a corporation, foundation, university, or advocacy organization. Journalism students are ineligible. Please contact us at CAHealth@usc.edu if you have questions about your eligibility.
 
Event Schedule:
 July 24 - July 29, 2011. The National Health Journalism Fellowships offer journalists from around the country an opportunity to explore the intersection between community health, health policy and the nation's growing diversity. Reporting projects are supported with a $2,000 grant to each Fellowship recipient. 
 
At a time when one-third of the 300 million residents in the United States are ethnic minorities, this program explores the cultural dynamics at play in the debate over health policy. Based in Los Angeles, an international city that has been called a "proving ground" for a multicultural society, program participants learn about health trends, policy innovations and political conflicts involving health and health care. California has the largest numbers of Asians and Latinos in the nation, and many of the health challenges and opportunities that accompany changing demographics have been debated and legislated here for decades.
  
During field trips and seminars, fellows hear from prize-winning journalists and leaders in community health, health policy, and medicine. They go home with a deeper understanding of current health care reform initiatives and gain insight into the larger picture of colliding interests and political battles over health policy. Participants also explore ways to document -- through data, online maps and stories -- the health inequities in their local communities. Hands-on workshops also provide felllows with new sources, practical reporting tips and multimedia strategies to reach a broader digital audience.
  
Program Description:
The National Health Journalism Fellowships are offered over a six-day period, beginning with an evening keynote address on Sunday night and ending with a midday wrap-up session the following Friday. Partipants are expected to attend all sessions. To encourage journalists and their newsrooms to aim high in reporting on health at a time of scarce resources, we offer a $2,000 stipend to fellows in this track upon completion of what are expected to be ambitious, major fellowship projects. To stimulate collaboration between mainstream and ethnic media, we encourage applicants to propose a joint project for use by both media outlets. Up to two collaborators for each project may receive a stipend. 
 
-----
Intermedia Arts Announces ... 2011 VERVE GRANTS FOR SPOKEN WORD POETS   

DEADLINE TO APPLY: 6PM Friday, May 6, 2011 
   
Intermedia Arts' VERVE Grants for Spoken Word Poets awards grants of up to $4,000 to four to six emerging Minnesota spoken word poets each year.  

In addition to their grant award, recipients also participate in a 12-month cohort program that provides community, mentorship, guidance, workshops, and resources throughout the program year.

Application and complete program information available here...http://www.intermediaarts.org/verve1

This program is made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of the Jerome Foundation.   
-----
Real Food Fellowship - Applications Due May 6th

Have food or farming impacted your life?

Are you active in your community?

Are you between the ages of 18-29?

Do you want to be part of a national movement of young people working to transform our food system?


If you answered yes to the above, Live Real’s Real Food Fellowship is for you! We seek candidates with the creativity, charisma, and courage to change the world!

Live Real is a new initiative uniting youth and communities across the country. Our mission is to build community around food cultures and policies that are based in respect for ourselves, each other, and the earth. 

The Real Food Fellowship is a nine-month program beginning June 2011 that supports 8-10 emerging leaders (ages 18-29) around the county to become powerful voices for food justice in their communities and on the national scene. We welcome organizers, artists, and generally awesome people who are newer to the food movement as well as food justice advocates looking to deepen their work.

The program will connect fellows with peers and mentors, and it will develop their communications and leadership skills. Fellows will serve as connectors and spokespeople in a growing movement for an equitable and ecological food system. They will identify new leaders in their communities, represent Live Real at conferences and other events, and influence the national debate about food through media/art projects.

More information about fellowship goals, timeline, benefits, and expectations are available at http://realfoodfellowship.weebly.com/.

Who We’re Looking For

The following are considered in the selection process for Year 1:

  • 18 to 29 years in age
  • People with experience living and/or working in communities struggling with an unjust food system, and with some experience addressing related to social justice issues, including immigration, education, criminalization, affordable housing, and environmental justice.
  • People with the passion and commitment to create a food system that works for people and the planet.
  • Commitment to Live Real's core values, including movement-building.
  • Strengths and skills in creative expression (cooking, art, music, dance, poetry, facilitation, graphics, film, social media, etc) and willingness to apply them in local work and in national campaigns.


Applicants are sought throughout the United States. We especially encourage applicants from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Applications are due Friday, May 6, 5pm PST. Finalists may be contacted for an interview the following week. All fellows will be informed of their selection by the end of May. The first event will be an in-person orientation scheduled for June 24-26. Travel, lodging, and food will be provided.

Applicants may submit materials in three ways:

Online, E-mail (fellowship@liverealnow.org), or Mail to: Live Real’s Real Food Fellowship 24 Croxton Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611

Applicants will be notified within 24 hours that their application has been received.

Inquiries can be directed to Hai Vo, at fellowship@liverealnow.org.


-----
George Lakey Book Launch May 15th

George Lakey, the founder of Training for Change, co-author of A Manual for Direct Action as well as numerous other books will be in the Twin Cities promoting his latest publication, Facilitating Group Learning: Strategies for Success with Diverse Adult Learners from 2-4PM on Sunday, May 15th at the Minneapolis Friends Meeting House. 

A message about the event from Training for Change Associate, Celia Kutz: "This is really a excellent opportunity to learn about direct education, a methodology that cuts through the pretense and needless complications that can distance learners from subject matter. Direct Ed removes false expectations (for example, that kinesthetic learners will strongly benefit from slide presentations) and false assumptions (for example, that a group is simply the sum of the individuals). The approach focuses on encounters between teacher and group; it replaces scattered attention - of a teacher preoccupied with curriculum and participants preoccupied with 'getting it' - with gathered attention, using experiential exercises and theories that support whole group learning. Direct Education directly confronts and challenges the current system of injustice -- which includes how people are taught. I hope you will join me and please forward on."
 

-----

The Super-T: 17 days of Training for Social Action Trainers

June 10-26th, 2011 (with a special orientation for participants outside North America June 8-9)
Philadelphia, PA
Register online at www.trainingforchange.org or contact Nico Amador for more information atnico@trainingforchange.org.

Take your facilitation to a new level of creativity, range and effectiveness in this intensive 17-day super-training: 4 state-of-the-art workshops, with a day's rest between each, sequenced for maximum growth for participants.

We highly encourage participants to take all 4 workshops in the series to have the time to get maximum value, form meaningful connections with the participants and trainers, and to experience a real advancement in your training skills.  However, you can register for part of the series if you're not able to take the whole thing.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Super-T

The Super-T is for experienced and less-experienced trainers and facilitators who want to take their work to a new level of creativity and effectiveness, as well as new trainers who want to learn the major principles of this rapidly-developing field. The Super-T is ideal for a trainer's sabbatical, for facilitators looking for inspiration and fresh approaches, and for international trainers wanting to make a study trip to North America.

WHAT MAKES THIS PROGRAM UNIQUE?
The Super-T has four parts, carefully sequenced to provide balanced learning by the participants, with rest in between for digestion of the new skills and knowledge. The program leaders are not only expert in empowerment teaching but also have deep experience in nonviolent social change work, internationally and locally. The Super-T goes beyond skills and information to the transformational level, with trainers growing in self-awareness and communicative power. The program includes an adventure-based learning course which will expand your toolkit for strengthening people's leadership, teamwork, and conflict resolution skills.

AT THE END OF THE SUPER-T, YOU'LL HAVE...
More training tools you can use successfully
Increased skill in challenging situations, including tools for working with strong emotions and difficult participants
Greater awareness of yourself as a facilitator and new ways to use your strengths more effectively
More clarity in how to arrange activities in a powerful sequence
More confidence in facilitating with emergent design
A certificate of achievement as a graduate of the Super-T

ADD THESE TO YOUR FACILITATOR'S TOOLKIT
Want to add variety and greater range to the exercises you use in workshops? The Super-T will offer you...

Expanded tools for working with people who learn primarily through visual, auditory, or kinesthetic channels
Strategies for how to increase a resistant group's flexibility and openness to learning
Increased creativity in inventing tools and activities for your kind of teaching

GAIN FLEXIBILITY
We'll show you how to increase your flexibility as a trainer. By the end of the Super-T, you'll have...

New approaches to design which enable you to work with hundreds of participants in a workshop if necessary
More understanding of how to use the dynamics in the workshop itself to teach nonviolence, team-building, democratic leadership, and conflict resolution
Increased skill in cross-cultural communication and support for diversity

COME FOR...
Coaching from experienced, internationally known trainers... Stimulation and support from working closely with other trainers for an extended time... A deeper appreciation for yourself and what you have to offer as a facilitator... More self-confidence

A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING
Of central importance is the learning community formed by the Super-T participants, which gives support to individuals' learning goals. This international learning community, by living and learning together for more than two weeks, extends the learning opportunities far past the hours of actual workshops.

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS
The Super-T is very popular with trainers from overseas. In the past few years, we've welcomed trainers from Russia, Thailand, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Romania, and many other countries. We have so many international participants that we've included a special orientation session for overseas visitors.

About visas: In order to travel to the United States, you will need to get a visa from the US embassy in your country. It's your responsibility to get your visa, but we'll help you as best we can. We will write an invitation letter and send it to you and to the embassy. But the letter is not a guarantee of a visa, and even if your visa is approved, the process can be very slow. You should contact us at least 3 months before the workshop you plan to take.

Funding: Are you looking for help paying for your trip to the US Here's an idea: many participants get funding from social-change groups in their home countries. In return, the participant agrees to do trainings for the group after returning home.

FEE
The fee for the whole Super-T is $750-$2,250 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 110 hours of training, meals on workshop days, and simple lodging in neighborhood homes for people who request it. Payment is by check or money order payable to Training for Change. To determine your workshop fee, use the chart below.


-----
The Center for Whole Communities is Hiring a Senior Program Manager
 

Center for Whole Communities is expanding its staff. With their retreats, workshops and other programs growing each year, they are poised to greatly expand our capacity to serve our alumni, new fellows, and our larger mission by bringing on a Senior Program Manager.This position will be full-time, and based at Knoll Farm in central Vermont.

CWCs Senior Program Manager will oversee our educational workshops and retreats, and manage our rapidly growing advanced leadership program of custom-designed, fee-based programs for organizations and alumni around the country. The senior program manager will work closely with the other program staff, co-directors, board, and alumni to provide the leadership, planning and implementation necessary to deliver the highest quality educational programs in service of our mission. This position is hands-on, creative and highly gratifying. The staff is dedicated and fast-moving so ideal candidates will be entrepreneurial, highly relational, organized and personally committed to our mission.

For a full description, or to post or pass along this announcement, please to the homepage of the website,www.wholecommunities.org, or link here.

To apply, send a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Molly Bagnato: molly@wholecommunities.org.
 

and...
 
Attend the Whole Measures Workshop at Knoll Farm 
 
Time: July 5, 2011 at 3pm to July 8, 2011 at 11pm
Location: Center for Whole Communities, Knoll Farm
Organized By: Ginny McGinn

Event Description:
Come to this interactive, innovative workshop to learn more about the ten values-based practices detailed in Whole Measures and how to use them in your work. The workshop provides the practical and transformational skills needed to collaboratively implement these practices in your organization or community. To read more about this workshop, go to http://www.wholecommunities.org/whole_measures/

See more details and RSVP on Center for Whole Communities Alumni Network:
http://cwcalumni.ning.com/events/event/show?id=2015834%3AEvent%3A11439&xgi=4O1ZHMyYugBfzr&xg_source=msg_invite_event
 

 Hello Good People!

 
The delay in my newsletter comes from a wonderful new role I have stepped up to in my life - I am now a member of the board of directors of the Common Fire Foundation, a visionary organization that supports the development of intentional communities grounded in sustainability, social justice, and interpersonal transformation. If the name sounds familiar to you, it may be because you have heard of the first community they developed, the Tivoli Housing Co-op, which is LEED certified as the greenest building in the Eastern United States. I am so honored to be a part of the Common Fire community! www.commonfire.org
 
I am also honored, proud, and giddily excited to announce the publication of a new book edited by my husband, Samuel Conway. Our Only Weapon Our Spirit is a collection of the prison writings of Bobby Sands, an inspiring Irish political prisoner and poet who died on hunger strike in 1981. Here is an excerpt from the back of the book:
 
After sixty-six days on hunger strike, Bobby Sands was legally killed by British intransigence. He died resisting the claim that eight-hundred years of Irish rebel history had been purely illegitimate and criminal. He had been a volunteer of the Irish Republican Army, an Irish speaker, elected Member of Parliament and writer. Thirty years later, his legacy as a cultural figure, freedom fighter and writer continues to resonate with people struggling for freedom throughout the world.

This new selection of his prison writing commemorates his life and his legacy. We hope this book contributes to his vision of a just, united and free Ireland, and helps to sustain the liberation struggles of people world-wide.

All proceeds from the sale of this book go to the benefit of the wives, families and dependents of prisoners through the Bobby Sands Trust.
 
Samuel Conway and his co-editor Patrick Stanley (Yellow Bike Press) will be celebrating the publication with two major events in New York City at the beginning of May, on the 30th anniversary of Bobby Sands death on hunger strike. The book launch will take place on Thursday, May 5th at The Commons in Brooklyn. A reading will take place at Bluestockings Book Store in Manhattan on Saturday, May 7th. Details are below, and I do hope you can make it out if you are in the New York Area.
 
In this Edition of Iambrown:
  • Book Launch for Our Only Weapon Our Spirit
  • New Website of Performer, Artist and Extraordinary Doula, Samara Gaev

  • Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Announces Call for Letters of Intent for 2011 Grants

  • Twin Cities Take Back the Night 2011
  • The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship
  • Intermedia Arts Announces ... 2011 VERVE GRANTS FOR SPOKEN WORD POETS 
  • Real Food Fellowship - Applications Due May 6th

  • George Lakey's Book Launch May 15th

  • The Super-T: 17 days of Training for Social Action Trainers

  • The Center for Whole Communities is Hiring a Senior Program Manager


-----
Book Launch for Our Only Weapon Our Spirit
 
Book Launch Event!!

Thursday, May 5 · 7:00pm - 9:30pm

The Commons, Brooklyn
388 Atlantic Avenue
 
Readings from Our Only Weapon Our Spirit
Saturday, May 7th - 7:00pm
Bluestockings Bookstore, Manhattan
172 Allen Street

-----
New Website of Performer, Artist and Extraordinary Doula, Samara Gaev
 
Samara Gaev is an inspiring artist, social justice worker, and she was my doula in the birth of my daughter Siobhan. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to include the announcement of her gorgeous new website in this newsletter: http://www.truthworker.com/#!


-----

NATIVE ARTS AND CULTURES FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES CALL FOR LETTERS OF INTENT FOR 2011 GRANTS

Vancouver, Wash., March 17 – The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) today announced a call for letters of intent for the Foundation’s 2011 grants. The three categories include: Artist Project Grants; Mobilizing the Community; and the Regional Collaboration Pilot Program. NACF’s grants support the artistic creativity of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian individual artists, programs and organizations.

This year, grants will be awarded in three categories: Support for Individual Artists (2011 Artistic Innovation Initiative); Support for Communities (2011 Mobilizing the Community Initiative); and Support for the Field (2011 Strengthening the Arts and Cultures Infrastructure Initiative).

“NACF’s funding initiatives provide support for arts and cultural activities across the broad diversity of Native cultures, from rural landscapes to urban centers, from contemporary arts practices to grassroots community arts activities,” says NACF Program Director Reuben Roqueñi. “In 2011, NACF will offer $500,000 in grants and fellowships.” 

The Artistic Innovation Initiative will support individual artist projects that engage community members in new ways. Grants up to $10,000 per artist will be awarded.

The Mobilizing the Community Initiative will support networks of artists, with particular consideration given to organizations presenting arts conferences, convening artist gatherings, or supporting master artist-to-artist residencies. Awards will be up to $15,000 per project.

The Strengthening the Arts and Cultures Infrastructure Initiative will focus on organizations providing support for arts and cultural activities. Particular consideration will be given to organizations that do at least one of the following: re-grant; offer professional development opportunities; focus support in a particular field or practice; and/or provide unique opportunities to artists in national arenas. Awards will be up to $40,000 per organization.

Letters of intent are due to the NACF on April 29, 2011. Visit www.nativeartsandcultures.org for criteria and guidelines.

Incorporated in 2007, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, located in Vancouver, Washington, is a permanently endowed national organization dedicated exclusively to the revitalization, appreciation and perpetuation of Native arts and cultures. In late 2010, the Foundation awarded its first grants totalling $394,319 to 26 American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists and organizations in 12 states.

To learn more about the NACF, visit www.nativeartsandcultures.org. Receive the free e-newsletter by sending an email toinfo@nativeartsandcultures.org and become a fan of the organization on Facebook.

-----
Twin Cities Take Back the Night 2011

Friday, April 29 · 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Minneapolis Community and Technical College

We are going to have an amazing lineup! 
  • Remy Corso, Ross Neely, Coya Artichoker, Susan Raffo, and Jude Foster will be speaking. 
  • Heidi Barton Stink, Linda Hawj, and Ashley Gold will be performing!

follow us on twitter for updates!!!

http://twitter.com/#!/TwinCitiesTBTN

Take Back the Night is an annual march and rally to combat sexual violence. Attending means you will not only take a stand against abuse, rape, and sexual assault, but will also show your pride and commitment in/to the Twin Cities community, the atmosphere, and safety. We're taking back the streets. We're taking back the night. We're shattering silence to stop the violence.

The event, as always, will include a rally complete with free dinner, entertainment, powerful speakers, and socializing. We will be marching in protest of sexual violence and standing up for our rights, as humans, to feel safe in our communities. The event also includes a candlelight vigil where we will be able to share our experiences in a safe environment, show our support for survivors, and empower each other to continue taking a stand.

This year's event is being planned by representatives from several groups around the cities! These groups include:

-the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG)
-the University Pro-Choice Coalition
-the Women's Student Activist Collective (WSAC)
-the Aurora Center
-Outfront Minnesota
-the Trans Youth Support Network (TYSN)
-Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA)
-the Alexandra House
- National Organization for Women (NOW, MN chapter)
-Cornerstone Advocacy Services
-the Family Partnership
-the Sexual Violence Center
-St. Kate's PRIDE
-Old Lesbians Organizing for Change
-the Queer Student Cultural Center

...and with help from many others!

If you're part of a group that's interested in joining our planning coalition, there's still plenty of time! E-mail twincitiestbtn@gmail.com!
 

Details for this event are still in the works, but we wanted to makes sure you saved the date! Look back at this page for event updates!


-----

The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship
Application Deadline: May 02, 2011 
How to Apply » http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/how-to-apply
Who Can Apply:
 
This Fellowship is open to professional journalists from print, broadcast, and online media around the country, including freelancers. Applicants need not be full-time health reporters, but they need to have a passion for health news (broadly defined). Applications from ethnic media journalists are strongly encouraged, as are applications proposing collaborative projects between mainstream and ethnic news outlets. Applicants must be based in the United States, and Fellowship projects must be published in or broadcast by bona fide journalistic outlets, not outlets whose operations are funded exclusively by a corporation, foundation, university, or advocacy organization. Journalism students are ineligible. Please contact us at CAHealth@usc.edu if you have questions about your eligibility.
 
Event Schedule:
 July 24 - July 29, 2011. The National Health Journalism Fellowships offer journalists from around the country an opportunity to explore the intersection between community health, health policy and the nation's growing diversity. Reporting projects are supported with a $2,000 grant to each Fellowship recipient. 
 
At a time when one-third of the 300 million residents in the United States are ethnic minorities, this program explores the cultural dynamics at play in the debate over health policy. Based in Los Angeles, an international city that has been called a "proving ground" for a multicultural society, program participants learn about health trends, policy innovations and political conflicts involving health and health care. California has the largest numbers of Asians and Latinos in the nation, and many of the health challenges and opportunities that accompany changing demographics have been debated and legislated here for decades.
  
During field trips and seminars, fellows hear from prize-winning journalists and leaders in community health, health policy, and medicine. They go home with a deeper understanding of current health care reform initiatives and gain insight into the larger picture of colliding interests and political battles over health policy. Participants also explore ways to document -- through data, online maps and stories -- the health inequities in their local communities. Hands-on workshops also provide felllows with new sources, practical reporting tips and multimedia strategies to reach a broader digital audience.
  
Program Description:
The National Health Journalism Fellowships are offered over a six-day period, beginning with an evening keynote address on Sunday night and ending with a midday wrap-up session the following Friday. Partipants are expected to attend all sessions. To encourage journalists and their newsrooms to aim high in reporting on health at a time of scarce resources, we offer a $2,000 stipend to fellows in this track upon completion of what are expected to be ambitious, major fellowship projects. To stimulate collaboration between mainstream and ethnic media, we encourage applicants to propose a joint project for use by both media outlets. Up to two collaborators for each project may receive a stipend. 
 
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Intermedia Arts Announces ... 2011 VERVE GRANTS FOR SPOKEN WORD POETS   

DEADLINE TO APPLY: 6PM Friday, May 6, 2011 
   
Intermedia Arts' VERVE Grants for Spoken Word Poets awards grants of up to $4,000 to four to six emerging Minnesota spoken word poets each year.  

In addition to their grant award, recipients also participate in a 12-month cohort program that provides community, mentorship, guidance, workshops, and resources throughout the program year.

Application and complete program information available here...http://www.intermediaarts.org/verve1

This program is made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of the Jerome Foundation.   
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Real Food Fellowship - Applications Due May 6th

Have food or farming impacted your life?

Are you active in your community?

Are you between the ages of 18-29?

Do you want to be part of a national movement of young people working to transform our food system?


If you answered yes to the above, Live Real’s Real Food Fellowship is for you! We seek candidates with the creativity, charisma, and courage to change the world!

Live Real is a new initiative uniting youth and communities across the country. Our mission is to build community around food cultures and policies that are based in respect for ourselves, each other, and the earth. 

The Real Food Fellowship is a nine-month program beginning June 2011 that supports 8-10 emerging leaders (ages 18-29) around the county to become powerful voices for food justice in their communities and on the national scene. We welcome organizers, artists, and generally awesome people who are newer to the food movement as well as food justice advocates looking to deepen their work.

The program will connect fellows with peers and mentors, and it will develop their communications and leadership skills. Fellows will serve as connectors and spokespeople in a growing movement for an equitable and ecological food system. They will identify new leaders in their communities, represent Live Real at conferences and other events, and influence the national debate about food through media/art projects.

More information about fellowship goals, timeline, benefits, and expectations are available at http://realfoodfellowship.weebly.com/.

Who We’re Looking For

The following are considered in the selection process for Year 1:

  • 18 to 29 years in age
  • People with experience living and/or working in communities struggling with an unjust food system, and with some experience addressing related to social justice issues, including immigration, education, criminalization, affordable housing, and environmental justice.
  • People with the passion and commitment to create a food system that works for people and the planet.
  • Commitment to Live Real's core values, including movement-building.
  • Strengths and skills in creative expression (cooking, art, music, dance, poetry, facilitation, graphics, film, social media, etc) and willingness to apply them in local work and in national campaigns.


Applicants are sought throughout the United States. We especially encourage applicants from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Applications are due Friday, May 6, 5pm PST. Finalists may be contacted for an interview the following week. All fellows will be informed of their selection by the end of May. The first event will be an in-person orientation scheduled for June 24-26. Travel, lodging, and food will be provided.

Applicants may submit materials in three ways:

Online, E-mail (fellowship@liverealnow.org), or Mail to: Live Real’s Real Food Fellowship 24 Croxton Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611

Applicants will be notified within 24 hours that their application has been received.

Inquiries can be directed to Hai Vo, at fellowship@liverealnow.org.


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George Lakey Book Launch May 15th

George Lakey, the founder of Training for Change, co-author of A Manual for Direct Action as well as numerous other books will be in the Twin Cities promoting his latest publication, Facilitating Group Learning: Strategies for Success with Diverse Adult Learners from 2-4PM on Sunday, May 15th at the Minneapolis Friends Meeting House. 

A message about the event from Training for Change Associate, Celia Kutz: "This is really a excellent opportunity to learn about direct education, a methodology that cuts through the pretense and needless complications that can distance learners from subject matter. Direct Ed removes false expectations (for example, that kinesthetic learners will strongly benefit from slide presentations) and false assumptions (for example, that a group is simply the sum of the individuals). The approach focuses on encounters between teacher and group; it replaces scattered attention - of a teacher preoccupied with curriculum and participants preoccupied with 'getting it' - with gathered attention, using experiential exercises and theories that support whole group learning. Direct Education directly confronts and challenges the current system of injustice -- which includes how people are taught. I hope you will join me and please forward on."
 

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The Super-T: 17 days of Training for Social Action Trainers

June 10-26th, 2011 (with a special orientation for participants outside North America June 8-9)
Philadelphia, PA
Register online at www.trainingforchange.org or contact Nico Amador for more information atnico@trainingforchange.org.

Take your facilitation to a new level of creativity, range and effectiveness in this intensive 17-day super-training: 4 state-of-the-art workshops, with a day's rest between each, sequenced for maximum growth for participants.

We highly encourage participants to take all 4 workshops in the series to have the time to get maximum value, form meaningful connections with the participants and trainers, and to experience a real advancement in your training skills.  However, you can register for part of the series if you're not able to take the whole thing.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Super-T

The Super-T is for experienced and less-experienced trainers and facilitators who want to take their work to a new level of creativity and effectiveness, as well as new trainers who want to learn the major principles of this rapidly-developing field. The Super-T is ideal for a trainer's sabbatical, for facilitators looking for inspiration and fresh approaches, and for international trainers wanting to make a study trip to North America.

WHAT MAKES THIS PROGRAM UNIQUE?
The Super-T has four parts, carefully sequenced to provide balanced learning by the participants, with rest in between for digestion of the new skills and knowledge. The program leaders are not only expert in empowerment teaching but also have deep experience in nonviolent social change work, internationally and locally. The Super-T goes beyond skills and information to the transformational level, with trainers growing in self-awareness and communicative power. The program includes an adventure-based learning course which will expand your toolkit for strengthening people's leadership, teamwork, and conflict resolution skills.

AT THE END OF THE SUPER-T, YOU'LL HAVE...
More training tools you can use successfully
Increased skill in challenging situations, including tools for working with strong emotions and difficult participants
Greater awareness of yourself as a facilitator and new ways to use your strengths more effectively
More clarity in how to arrange activities in a powerful sequence
More confidence in facilitating with emergent design
A certificate of achievement as a graduate of the Super-T

ADD THESE TO YOUR FACILITATOR'S TOOLKIT
Want to add variety and greater range to the exercises you use in workshops? The Super-T will offer you...

Expanded tools for working with people who learn primarily through visual, auditory, or kinesthetic channels
Strategies for how to increase a resistant group's flexibility and openness to learning
Increased creativity in inventing tools and activities for your kind of teaching

GAIN FLEXIBILITY
We'll show you how to increase your flexibility as a trainer. By the end of the Super-T, you'll have...

New approaches to design which enable you to work with hundreds of participants in a workshop if necessary
More understanding of how to use the dynamics in the workshop itself to teach nonviolence, team-building, democratic leadership, and conflict resolution
Increased skill in cross-cultural communication and support for diversity

COME FOR...
Coaching from experienced, internationally known trainers... Stimulation and support from working closely with other trainers for an extended time... A deeper appreciation for yourself and what you have to offer as a facilitator... More self-confidence

A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING
Of central importance is the learning community formed by the Super-T participants, which gives support to individuals' learning goals. This international learning community, by living and learning together for more than two weeks, extends the learning opportunities far past the hours of actual workshops.

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS
The Super-T is very popular with trainers from overseas. In the past few years, we've welcomed trainers from Russia, Thailand, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Romania, and many other countries. We have so many international participants that we've included a special orientation session for overseas visitors.

About visas: In order to travel to the United States, you will need to get a visa from the US embassy in your country. It's your responsibility to get your visa, but we'll help you as best we can. We will write an invitation letter and send it to you and to the embassy. But the letter is not a guarantee of a visa, and even if your visa is approved, the process can be very slow. You should contact us at least 3 months before the workshop you plan to take.

Funding: Are you looking for help paying for your trip to the US Here's an idea: many participants get funding from social-change groups in their home countries. In return, the participant agrees to do trainings for the group after returning home.

FEE
The fee for the whole Super-T is $750-$2,250 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 110 hours of training, meals on workshop days, and simple lodging in neighborhood homes for people who request it. Payment is by check or money order payable to Training for Change. To determine your workshop fee, use the chart below.


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The Center for Whole Communities is Hiring a Senior Program Manager
 

Center for Whole Communities is expanding its staff. With their retreats, workshops and other programs growing each year, they are poised to greatly expand our capacity to serve our alumni, new fellows, and our larger mission by bringing on a Senior Program Manager.This position will be full-time, and based at Knoll Farm in central Vermont.

CWCs Senior Program Manager will oversee our educational workshops and retreats, and manage our rapidly growing advanced leadership program of custom-designed, fee-based programs for organizations and alumni around the country. The senior program manager will work closely with the other program staff, co-directors, board, and alumni to provide the leadership, planning and implementation necessary to deliver the highest quality educational programs in service of our mission. This position is hands-on, creative and highly gratifying. The staff is dedicated and fast-moving so ideal candidates will be entrepreneurial, highly relational, organized and personally committed to our mission.

For a full description, or to post or pass along this announcement, please to the homepage of the website,www.wholecommunities.org, or link here.

To apply, send a resume, cover letter and writing sample to Molly Bagnato: molly@wholecommunities.org.
 

and...
 
Attend the Whole Measures Workshop at Knoll Farm 
 
Time: July 5, 2011 at 3pm to July 8, 2011 at 11pm
Location: Center for Whole Communities, Knoll Farm
Organized By: Ginny McGinn

Event Description:
Come to this interactive, innovative workshop to learn more about the ten values-based practices detailed in Whole Measures and how to use them in your work. The workshop provides the practical and transformational skills needed to collaboratively implement these practices in your organization or community. To read more about this workshop, go to http://www.wholecommunities.org/whole_measures/

See more details and RSVP on Center for Whole Communities Alumni Network:
http://cwcalumni.ning.com/events/event/show?id=2015834%3AEvent%3A11439&xgi=4O1ZHMyYugBfzr&xg_source=msg_invite_event
 

Read More

March News: Bi-Winning

 Hello Good People!!


Spring is almost here and you can tell because folks are ramping up the action all over the country. My newsletter this month is PACKED with cool stuff: innovative theater, life-changing workshops, opportunities to be visionary from the page to the stage!! So I am not going to be long-winded, but I wanted to share two pieces of exciting news.

The first being that through the CSA I set up to support my work on the Allied Media Conference, I have raised $675 in one-time donations and sustainer commitments! That means that I am more than one-fifth of the way towards my fundraising goal, after only one month!! Thank you to the generous donors who have already joined as CSA members. If you are interested in joining, visit the Donate page of my website, and read about how, or go straight to Paypal and donate.

The second piece of news is that in February, I participated in the Training for Social Action Trainers, facilitated by Training for Change. It changed my life and has fundamentally shifted the way I do my work. I can HIGHLY recommend this training to anyone who is interested in training and facilitation. No matter where you are in your practice, you can and will benefit from the wisdom of this workshop. There is one taking place in the Bay Area at the end of April, details below.

Much of the content of this month's newsletter stretches into April. That is because a) it's awesome and you should know about it; and b) I will be in California during the first week of April and so may not get out my April newsletter until the middle of the month. 

Recently when Charlie Sheen was told that some people believe he is bi-polar, he responded, "Wow. What's that? I'm bi-winning. I win here, I win there. I'm bi-winning." I don't think Sheen is winning much of anything, unless there is a prize for the highest paid known abuser of women, but I have to say that I do like the idea of being "bi-winning."

In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Propose a Session at this year's Allied Media Conference, June 23-26
  • Phoenix Theatre Ensemble presents Iphigenia at Aulis
  • Intermedia Arts presents Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman
  • Third Root Community Health Clinic presents Yoga 4 Survivors
  • Yo Mama Institute at the Solutions Twin Cities
  • Street Medic Training in Montpelier, VT
  • Starhawk presents at the Rowe Center in Massachusetts
  • Sabbaticals for Activists of Color
  • Call for Submissions: Walking the Talk
  • Ways of Peace II: Traditions of Non-Violence in Islam
  • Training for Social Action Trainers April 29-May 1
  • smartMeme presents Story-based Strategy Advanced Training June 2-5
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Propose a Session at this year's Allied Media Conference, June 23-26
 
The Allied Media Conference will be taking place June 23-26th in Detroit, MI. This visionary gathering unites the worlds of media and communications, technology, education and social justice. From this unique intersection, some of the most innovative community organizing models emerge each year. The definition of media is extremely broad and includes pretty much any form you use to do your organizing work!
 
This year there will be 19 different learning tracks focusing on topics ranging from Participatory Design and Growing Safer Communities, to Disability Justice and Science Fiction. I am reaching out to you to encourage you to think about submitting a proposal for one of these tracks. Because we have limited space for sessions, we are encouraging folks to work collaboratively with other organizers (in your region or other folks you know around the country) to pull together session proposals so that we can include as many voices and experiences as  possible.
 

The session proposal form is ready! Please forward widely!  


 
Proposals are due by March 21st!
 

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Phoenix Theatre Ensemble Presents Iphigenia at Aulis
 

Translated by U.S. Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin & George E. Dimock, Jr.
Directed by Amy Wagner


With: Cheryl Cochran, Brian A. Costello*, Amy Fitts*, Kelli Holsopple, John Lenartz*, Joseph J. Menino*, Lawrence Merritt*,
Laura Piquado*, Elise Stone*, & Josh Tyson* 
(*denotes member of Actors' Equity Association)

10 Performances Only
March 3-13, 2011
Tues-Sat @ 8:00 pm & SUN @ 3:00 PM
At The Wild Project
195 East 3rd  St  (between Ave A & B) 
 
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN Tickets, TDF VOUCHERS & WALK-INS WELCOME!

Call 212.352.3101
Or visit www.PhoenixTheatreEnsemble.org

WWW.IPHIGENIAATAULIS.COM

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Intermedia Arts Presents Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman 

Written by May Lee-Yang
Performed by May Lee-Yang, Phasoua Vang, and Souvan Samuel Lee 

Directed by Robert Karimi   

A lazy Hmong woman is not supposed to exist. A lazy Hmong woman is like a vegan omelet, a virgin Long Island Iced Tea, or a poor Republican person of color. See how one woman didn't do the dishes and defied the odds. Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman charts one woman's journey as she discovers The Rules for Being Good Hmong Girl, how to balance being a feminist and having a relationship with a Hmong man, as well as lessons learned from the not-so-lazy women in her life.  

WHEN/WHERE:
Friday-Sunday, March 4-6, 2011    
Friday-Sunday, March 11-13, 2011  
All performances 8PM at Intermedia Arts   
2822 Lyndale Ave South, Minneapolis, MN 55408
Tickets $10 advance, student, seniors |$12 door
For tickets and info, call or email: 612.871.4444 or Info@IntermediaArts.org   

Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund project co-commissioned by OutNorth Theater in partnership with Kaotic Good Productions and NPN. 

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Third Root Community Health Clinic presents Yoga 4 Survivors
 
Third Root is presenting a class series for survivors of sexual violence. Third Root Community Health Center is a holistic center founded on social justice principles that offers yoga, acupuncture, massage, and herbal medicine. Since opening in 2008, Third Root has offered classes for specific communities that may not feel comfortable in a normal yoga studio or a general class. They have run Yoga for Abundant Bodies, Queer and Trans Yoga, and Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga. 

Yoga 4 Survivors is a class designed to help survivors of sexual violence tap into the body’s healing energy. The focus of the class will be on poses and pranayama (breathing techniques) that cultivate a deeper sense of connection within, create calm and restorative sacred space, build strength and foster a sense of well-being and community. Participants will learn more about the function of the nervous system, tools for self-soothing, and empowerment. Come and be inspired and awed by your own inner strength and knowledge.

The classes will be in 4-class series, and the first begins on Tuesday, March 15 from 5:30-6:30 p.m at Third Root Community Health Center in Flatbush/Ditmas Park. The cost for the series is $40. They are running the program as a series, and not a drop-in, to develop more familiarity and safety in the class.

The instructor for this programis Carly Sach,  the editor of the anthology the why and later, a collection of poems women have written about rape and sexual assault. She is a Kripalu Yoga Teacher with an additional certification in Trauma Informed Yoga. Carly has been teaching healing yoga at Safe Horizon in Brooklyn for over a year and also teaches yoga as a healing practice to veterans and special needs adolescents. She is grateful for her own journey and all the students and teachers who have inspired and graced her practice with their courage, humor, and wisdom.

Past class participants say that they have a healthier outlook on life, sleep better, eat better, feel more in control with decisions they have to make, and feel more secure and empowered. If you have any questions, contact:

Carly Sachs and Third Root Community Health Center
380 Marlborough Rd (Q to Cortelyou)
Brooklyn, NY 11226
www.thirdroot.org
718-940-9343
info@thirdroot.org
carly.sachs (at) gmail.com
 
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Amoke Kubat presents at Solutions Twin Cities
Author of Missing Mama and Founder of the Yo Mama Institute, Amoke Kubat is an early childhood and K-12 educator, artist, writer and organizer living and working in North Minneapolis. Through creative and community partnerships Amoke brings African/African American culture to women using art, storytelling and education. Her latest effort, the Yo Mama Institute, aims to support the emotional, physical, and spiritual health of mothers so that they can teach and raise healthy children.
Solutions Volume 4

Friday, March 18th
7 PM
@ the Capri Theater

Doors open at 6 PM
Event runs from 7 - 9 PM
Join us for a social hour from 9 - 10 PM

Tickets $8 - $16 sliding scale - pay what you can

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
More info - http://www.solutionstwincities.org/event.htm
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Street Medic Training in Montpelier, VT
 
Friday, April 1 at 5:00pm - April 3 at 5:00pm
Montpelier, VT

This community medical training is for folks interested in providing basic medical care to their friends, family, and their community, with a special focus on being prepared to apply those skills in times of natural disaster and civil unrest. The medical treatment skills covered are based on wilderness medicine protocols with an emphasis on herbal support. Topics include initial assessment, medical emergencies, stabilizing trauma injuries, treating burns and wounds, hypothermia and heat stroke, herbal treatments for common illnesses, treatments for tear gas and pepper spray, organizing clinics for disaster relief, assembling a medical kit, and much more. We will learn these skills in a supportive setting with lots of hands-on practice and role-play scenarios. These are skills that can help us all keep our communities healthy. 

The systems approach to herbs will cover a range of common maladies, specifically Colds & Flues, Tummy Trouble, Blisters & Cuts, Rashes, Tooth Aches, Yeast Infections/ Urinary Tract Infections, Aches & Pains, and a basic herbal kit. There will also be an Herbal First Aid Kit workshop later in April led by herbalists Sandra Lory and Dana L Woodruff. For more info on this, please contact Dana.

This 24-hour training will start on Friday evening at 5pm and run through Sunday at 5pm. The instructors will be Megan Coyote, an experienced protest medic and medic trainer, and Mary Murphy, a certified Wilderness EMT. The class is offered at a sliding scale of $25-100, with no one turned away for lack of funds. Participants will be responsible for their own food (a full kitchen is available) and lodging. Spots will be held on a first-come, first-served basis. The class will be held in a private residence near downtown Montpelier. 

Please pre-register by emailing Dana at dandelionessherbals@yahoo.com or calling 802-229-6812. This information is also posted at:http://dandelionessherbals.blogspot.com/2011/02/street-medic-training.html Please pass this information along, especially to those who don’t have email, Facebook, and/or internet access. Upon registration you will receive more details about the training, how to get there/rideshare, and what to bring. Thank you!

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Earthly Delights: True Abundance In a Time of Scarcity


Presented by Starhawk at the Rowe Center in Rowe, MA

Apr 1-3, 2011

Come join a magical experiment: how do we create true abundance when all around us systems are crumbling? The meltdowns we’ve been experiencing, from Wall Street to Greenland, are a result of faulty thinking, of basing our institutions on false ideas and flawed stories. What are the ideas, the new stories, that can become a basis for real abundance, justice, and ecological balance? We’ll use the tools of magic—story-telling, guided visualization, trance, drumming, chanting, dancing and altar-building to explore eight principles derived from the earth-based spirituality of the Goddess and the practical approach of permaculture to ecological design:
  • Abundance Springs from Relationships;
  • Take Root;
  • Feed What You Want to Grow;
  • Build from the Ground Up;
  • Waste Is Food;
  • Value Diversity;
  • Sink In; and
  • The Gift Multiplies.   

Through exercises, meditations, stories, and ritual, we’ll apply them to our lives, and see what happens. As we tell ourselves new stories, as we take delight in the true gifts of the earth, our lives and our work will flourish like a plant growing in healthy soil.

Starhawk is one of the most respected voices in modern Goddess religion and earth-based spirituality. The author or co-author of ten books, including the classics The Spiral Dance and The Fifth Sacred Thing, and her latest, The Earth Path, Starhawk is deeply committed to bringing the techniques and creative power of spirituality to political activism. She co-teaches Earth Activist Trainings that combine permaculture design, effective activism, and earth-based spirituality. Register Online: 
http://www.rowecenter.org/schedule/current/20110401_Starhawk.html

 

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Sabbaticals for Activists of Color: The Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program 

The Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program, an initiative of the Center for Social Inclusion, is committed to advancing progressive social change by helping to sustain long-time activists of color living and working in the U.S. or its territories. The program honors those who have devoted their lives to helping their communities organize for racial, social, economic, and environmental justice. Fellows receive an award of $25,000 to take sabbaticals of three months or more for reflection and renewal. The sabbaticals may be used to explore new interests, travel, relax, visit with other activists, or do whatever the Fellows think is necessary to prepare for their future work. Applicants must have more than ten years of community organizing experience and be committed to continuing to work for social change. Both paid staff and volunteer leaders are eligible for these fellowships. The application deadline is April 5, 2011. Application guidelines and forms are available on the Center for Social Inclusion website. http://www.centerforsocialinclusion.org/leadership/alston-bannerman-sabbatical-fellows/
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Call for Submissions: Walking the Talk (tentative title) 
A zine/book project exploring power and exploitation in nonprofit organizations, the alignment of our work with our vision, and what role nonprofits have in radical social transformation. 
www.walkthetalkzine.tumblr.com

Context:
Even in the most grassroots and progressive organizations, working on the most radical issues, we may find a deep dissonance between the world we want to create, and what it is like to be working in the organization day-by-day. We live in a hierarchically oppressive world – and though the organizations we work in may have mission statements that aim to change this, “talking the talk” doesn't necessarily mean “walking the walk” and social justice nonprofits can feel like a mirror of the world we're trying to change. An organization's power structure or ways of doing work can create deeply unhealthy and exploitative dynamics within the organization itself and between the nonprofit and the “clients,” “members” or “community” that it works with. 

What does it mean to align our vision with our process, our day-to-day work? Already, many people have been exploring the limitations and contradictions of foundation funding, and the deeper organizational accountability that comes with grassroots funding structures (described well in The Revolution Will Not Be Funded). Separately, from small nonprofit organizations all the way to multinational corporations, there's a growing mentality that healthy workers (e.g. ones with self-care plans, workplace yoga, lunch breaks) are “better workers.” Some nonprofits take this a little deeper and are working to become more transparent, accountable and/or participatory. However, many people continue to experience oppression and exploitation within, and at the hands of, nonprofits.

The contradictions in nonprofits can wear away at us slowly, break our hearts, make us feel too idealistic or too jaded (or both!). Some of us may be grateful that social justice work pays our bills, but if we work in nonprofits, we also struggle in them. If another world is possible, another way of working for social justice must also be possible.

Can we identify and dismantle the ways that structures of power (both social & workplace hierarchies) negatively play out in an organization? Is it possible for nonprofits to “walk the talk?”

Project Goals:

To name and give voice to the ways that oppression (such as racism and classism) and exploitation manifest in nonprofits, particularly in ones that self-identify as “grassroots,” “movement,” “community-based” or “social justice” organizations.

To present critical questions about nonprofit organizations for and from people who have a range of commitment to, and experience with, nonprofits.

To give voice to painful experiences directly linked to the structure and form of nonprofits. (These experiences frequently get tucked away under “personal conflicts” or labeled less important than the “real work.”)

To open a conversation about what appropriate roles are for nonprofits, and if—or how—it is possible to really work for social justice from within them.

To share the difficult questions that are usually talked about discreetly—the ones that, if spoken about more publicly, might change the ways we work to change the world. 

Guidelines:
Who: Anyone can submit. We are most interested in pieces that take an anti-oppressive and intersectional approach, and we will prioritize voices of people who experience structural oppression in the world at large.

What: A zine/self-published book that will be available online and on paper.

When: Submission deadline, April 8th, 2011

How: Send all submissions to walkthetalk.zine@gmail.com. Please feel free to email with questions, ideas, proposals, and possibilities!

Submissions: Essays, stories, art, poems, comics and interviews are welcome. Written pieces should be under 2,000 words. Get in touch if you have another idea or would like to submit a longer piece!

Please include your name and contact information with your submission. If you want your piece to remain anonymous, please include the pseudonym that you want used.

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Ways Of Peace II: Non-Violence in the Islamic Traditions
 
Saturday April 9, 2011 
9:30 am – 6:30 pm
University of St.Thomas, OEC Auditorium,
2115 Summit Avenue, 
St. Paul, Minnesota, 55105
 
$15/$10 students/$10 buffet lunch
 
Presented by Friends for a Non-Violent World, the University of St. Thomas Muslim Christian Dialogue Center, and its Justice and Peace Studies Department, is the second in a series exploring the roots, history and practice of non-violence in various faith and secular traditions. 
 
Ways of Peace II is made possible in part by the generosity of The Saint Paul Foundation, the Fredrikson and Byron Foundation, the Al-Rawiya Foundation, Tim Wulling and Marilyn Benson, and many co-sponsoring organizations and individuals. For more information on the conference and on co-sponsorship, please visit www.fnvw.org
 

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Training for Social Action Trainers - returning to the Bay Area in April!

April 29 - May 1, 2011
Oakland, CA

To register, contact Ken at ken@globalexchange.org 

Join us for an intensive training designed for experienced facilitators wanting to revitalize their work, new trainers wanting to inspire, teachers, community leaders, activists -- anyone wanting to take their skills to a new level and learn how training can be used more effectively.

AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU WILL...

Gain greater awareness about yourself and your strengths as a facilitator;
Get a chance to take risks, experiment and refine skills in a safe and supportive environment;
Get the stimulation of fresh approaches and increased options;
Receive personal guidance from experienced trainers in a small group setting ;
Learn new tools that are easily adapted, principles of workshop design, skills for working with diversity and a better understanding of how to use experiential education methods effectively.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS WORKSHOP?
Experienced and less-experienced facilitators, consultants and trainers...Activists and organizers wanting to use training more effectively in their work... Teachers, community leaders, pastors, consultants and others who want more experiential tools.

The TSAT is a great way to learn the core approach to Training for Change's elicitive style of activist training, or if you are considering bringing TFC trainers to work more closely with your organization. Anyone who takes the TSAT is then qualified to be a participant at TFC’s Advanced Training of Trainers, an extended 5-day intensive the delves more thoroughly into group dynamics, conflict in groups, and working cross-culturally.

If taken separately, this workshop costs $150 US-$375 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 23 hours of training, meals during workshop hours, and simple lodging for people who request it. Visit the Training for Change website for a chart that will help you determine your fee: http://www.trainingforchange.org/node/290 

-----                
smartMeme presents 
Advanced Story-based Strategy Training: 
Framing and Narrative Strategy for Social Change Strategists, Communicators and Organizers


Dates: Thursday June 2 (4 pm) to Sunday June 5 (4 pm)
Location: Center For Third World Organizing (CTWO), Oakland CA 
Cost: $1,500 
Tuition cost includes all meals plus handouts and materials. A limited number of partial scholarships may be available. Please see the application. 
Accommodation: Stay onsite at CTWO for an additional $33/night - or participants are welcome to arrange their own off-site accommodations.

STORY-BASED STRATEGY
Storytelling has always been a powerful tool for grassroots organizers, but now more than ever, narrative strategies are at the heart of successful social change campaigns. SmartMeme was founded in 2002 to help grassroots organizations harness the power of narrative to effectively frame issues, build stronger alliances and create more compelling messages. Our story-based strategy model links traditional organizing techniques with new strategy, training, and communications methods––like framing and branding-–to give social change advocates the tools to hone their story, challenge prevailing cultural narratives, and ultimately build stronger movements that can bring social change. Now more than ever, as the overlapping economic, social and ecological crises are escalating—while corporate propagandists and right wing ideologues push their narratives justifying further racism, fear and inequity––our movements need tools and strategies to win the Battle of the Story. 

WHY ADVANCED TRAINING? 
SmartMeme has trained over 3,000 activists since 2002 and collaborated and consulted with over 100 social change organizations to apply the story-based strategy framework to critical campaigns. Our new book Re:Imagining Change -- How to use story-based strategy to win campaigns, build movements, and change the world (PM Press, 2010) has sparked discussion and drawn attention to the methodology. The book is already in its second printing and  smartMeme’s inbox has filled up with requests for training and assistance to bring the ideas in the book to real campaigns. Its time to gather a circle of our alumni, partners and allies in a learning community to share the story-based strategy model in depth. This advanced training is designed to build participant’s skills to facilitate social change constituencies through the process of developing and implementing effective narrative strategies. We have a simple goal: to train and develop  more story-based strategists who can support progressive movements to change the story for social justice and an ecological future. 

APPLICATION PROCESS
Please fill out the application at http://smartmeme.org/advancedtrainingapp by March 23, 2011 (5 pm est). 
The Training Team will review all applications and select candidates according to:
1. EXPERIENCE: Applicants’ experience with story-based strategy and related communications and strategy methods
2. IMPACT: Applicant’s ability to spread the model amongst organized constituencies in key social and ecological justice alliances and sectors
3. DIVERSITY: SmartMeme is committed to convening spaces that reflect the diversity of our movements
4. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: SmartMeme's goals for this training include building capacity in specific movement sectors and developing leadership for our story-based strategy practitioners network.

The Training Team requests that applicants have been through a smartMeme training before or worked with smartMeme in a story-based strategy process. We will give folks with this experience priority when reviewing applications, but encourage all to apply and will accommodate as many people as possible.

Applicants will be notified by April 6. If accepted, applicants must make a deposit of $250 by April 22 to hold their place.

Space is limited and we do expect to fill this training and will create a waiting list for spots that may become available.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MARCH 23th 2011 (5 pm eastern)
http://smartmeme.org/advancedtrainingapp

TRAINING FOCUS
This training will include: 
•    Discussion of the theory and practice of framing and the story-based strategy model looking at case studies and examples from smartMeme’s fieldwork 
•    Opportunities to practice facilitating smartMeme’s story-based strategy curriculum and receive feedback 
•    Intensive team-based simulations to apply story-based strategy concepts to social change campaigning 
This training will NOT include:
•    Introductory workshop on story-based strategy. Participants are expected to have some experience with this model already, and at the very least to have read Re:Imagining Change. 
•    Traditional communications/media training, such as how to speak to the media, write press releases, or pitch news outlets

TRAINING TEAM
SmartMeme principals Doyle Canning & Patrick Reinsborough and other associates TBD

GRATITUDE GOES TO...
This advanced training is made possible by the generous support of smartMeme’s member donors (LIKE YOU - Donate now!)  and:
The Frances Fund
The UU Congregation at Shelter Rock
Ben & Jerry’s Foundation

 Hello Good People!!


Spring is almost here and you can tell because folks are ramping up the action all over the country. My newsletter this month is PACKED with cool stuff: innovative theater, life-changing workshops, opportunities to be visionary from the page to the stage!! So I am not going to be long-winded, but I wanted to share two pieces of exciting news.

The first being that through the CSA I set up to support my work on the Allied Media Conference, I have raised $675 in one-time donations and sustainer commitments! That means that I am more than one-fifth of the way towards my fundraising goal, after only one month!! Thank you to the generous donors who have already joined as CSA members. If you are interested in joining, visit the Donate page of my website, and read about how, or go straight to Paypal and donate.

The second piece of news is that in February, I participated in the Training for Social Action Trainers, facilitated by Training for Change. It changed my life and has fundamentally shifted the way I do my work. I can HIGHLY recommend this training to anyone who is interested in training and facilitation. No matter where you are in your practice, you can and will benefit from the wisdom of this workshop. There is one taking place in the Bay Area at the end of April, details below.

Much of the content of this month's newsletter stretches into April. That is because a) it's awesome and you should know about it; and b) I will be in California during the first week of April and so may not get out my April newsletter until the middle of the month. 

Recently when Charlie Sheen was told that some people believe he is bi-polar, he responded, "Wow. What's that? I'm bi-winning. I win here, I win there. I'm bi-winning." I don't think Sheen is winning much of anything, unless there is a prize for the highest paid known abuser of women, but I have to say that I do like the idea of being "bi-winning."

In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Propose a Session at this year's Allied Media Conference, June 23-26
  • Phoenix Theatre Ensemble presents Iphigenia at Aulis
  • Intermedia Arts presents Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman
  • Third Root Community Health Clinic presents Yoga 4 Survivors
  • Yo Mama Institute at the Solutions Twin Cities
  • Street Medic Training in Montpelier, VT
  • Starhawk presents at the Rowe Center in Massachusetts
  • Sabbaticals for Activists of Color
  • Call for Submissions: Walking the Talk
  • Ways of Peace II: Traditions of Non-Violence in Islam
  • Training for Social Action Trainers April 29-May 1
  • smartMeme presents Story-based Strategy Advanced Training June 2-5
-----
Propose a Session at this year's Allied Media Conference, June 23-26
 
The Allied Media Conference will be taking place June 23-26th in Detroit, MI. This visionary gathering unites the worlds of media and communications, technology, education and social justice. From this unique intersection, some of the most innovative community organizing models emerge each year. The definition of media is extremely broad and includes pretty much any form you use to do your organizing work!
 
This year there will be 19 different learning tracks focusing on topics ranging from Participatory Design and Growing Safer Communities, to Disability Justice and Science Fiction. I am reaching out to you to encourage you to think about submitting a proposal for one of these tracks. Because we have limited space for sessions, we are encouraging folks to work collaboratively with other organizers (in your region or other folks you know around the country) to pull together session proposals so that we can include as many voices and experiences as  possible.
 

The session proposal form is ready! Please forward widely!  


 
Proposals are due by March 21st!
 

-----
Phoenix Theatre Ensemble Presents Iphigenia at Aulis
 

Translated by U.S. Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin & George E. Dimock, Jr.
Directed by Amy Wagner


With: Cheryl Cochran, Brian A. Costello*, Amy Fitts*, Kelli Holsopple, John Lenartz*, Joseph J. Menino*, Lawrence Merritt*,
Laura Piquado*, Elise Stone*, & Josh Tyson* 
(*denotes member of Actors' Equity Association)

10 Performances Only
March 3-13, 2011
Tues-Sat @ 8:00 pm & SUN @ 3:00 PM
At The Wild Project
195 East 3rd  St  (between Ave A & B) 
 
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN Tickets, TDF VOUCHERS & WALK-INS WELCOME!

Call 212.352.3101
Or visit www.PhoenixTheatreEnsemble.org

WWW.IPHIGENIAATAULIS.COM

-----
Intermedia Arts Presents Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman 

Written by May Lee-Yang
Performed by May Lee-Yang, Phasoua Vang, and Souvan Samuel Lee 

Directed by Robert Karimi   

A lazy Hmong woman is not supposed to exist. A lazy Hmong woman is like a vegan omelet, a virgin Long Island Iced Tea, or a poor Republican person of color. See how one woman didn't do the dishes and defied the odds. Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman charts one woman's journey as she discovers The Rules for Being Good Hmong Girl, how to balance being a feminist and having a relationship with a Hmong man, as well as lessons learned from the not-so-lazy women in her life.  

WHEN/WHERE:
Friday-Sunday, March 4-6, 2011    
Friday-Sunday, March 11-13, 2011  
All performances 8PM at Intermedia Arts   
2822 Lyndale Ave South, Minneapolis, MN 55408
Tickets $10 advance, student, seniors |$12 door
For tickets and info, call or email: 612.871.4444 or Info@IntermediaArts.org   

Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund project co-commissioned by OutNorth Theater in partnership with Kaotic Good Productions and NPN. 

 -----
Third Root Community Health Clinic presents Yoga 4 Survivors
 
Third Root is presenting a class series for survivors of sexual violence. Third Root Community Health Center is a holistic center founded on social justice principles that offers yoga, acupuncture, massage, and herbal medicine. Since opening in 2008, Third Root has offered classes for specific communities that may not feel comfortable in a normal yoga studio or a general class. They have run Yoga for Abundant Bodies, Queer and Trans Yoga, and Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga. 

Yoga 4 Survivors is a class designed to help survivors of sexual violence tap into the body’s healing energy. The focus of the class will be on poses and pranayama (breathing techniques) that cultivate a deeper sense of connection within, create calm and restorative sacred space, build strength and foster a sense of well-being and community. Participants will learn more about the function of the nervous system, tools for self-soothing, and empowerment. Come and be inspired and awed by your own inner strength and knowledge.

The classes will be in 4-class series, and the first begins on Tuesday, March 15 from 5:30-6:30 p.m at Third Root Community Health Center in Flatbush/Ditmas Park. The cost for the series is $40. They are running the program as a series, and not a drop-in, to develop more familiarity and safety in the class.

The instructor for this programis Carly Sach,  the editor of the anthology the why and later, a collection of poems women have written about rape and sexual assault. She is a Kripalu Yoga Teacher with an additional certification in Trauma Informed Yoga. Carly has been teaching healing yoga at Safe Horizon in Brooklyn for over a year and also teaches yoga as a healing practice to veterans and special needs adolescents. She is grateful for her own journey and all the students and teachers who have inspired and graced her practice with their courage, humor, and wisdom.

Past class participants say that they have a healthier outlook on life, sleep better, eat better, feel more in control with decisions they have to make, and feel more secure and empowered. If you have any questions, contact:

Carly Sachs and Third Root Community Health Center
380 Marlborough Rd (Q to Cortelyou)
Brooklyn, NY 11226
www.thirdroot.org
718-940-9343
info@thirdroot.org
carly.sachs (at) gmail.com
 
-----
 
Amoke Kubat presents at Solutions Twin Cities
Author of Missing Mama and Founder of the Yo Mama Institute, Amoke Kubat is an early childhood and K-12 educator, artist, writer and organizer living and working in North Minneapolis. Through creative and community partnerships Amoke brings African/African American culture to women using art, storytelling and education. Her latest effort, the Yo Mama Institute, aims to support the emotional, physical, and spiritual health of mothers so that they can teach and raise healthy children.
Solutions Volume 4

Friday, March 18th
7 PM
@ the Capri Theater

Doors open at 6 PM
Event runs from 7 - 9 PM
Join us for a social hour from 9 - 10 PM

Tickets $8 - $16 sliding scale - pay what you can

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE
More info - http://www.solutionstwincities.org/event.htm
-----
Street Medic Training in Montpelier, VT
 
Friday, April 1 at 5:00pm - April 3 at 5:00pm
Montpelier, VT

This community medical training is for folks interested in providing basic medical care to their friends, family, and their community, with a special focus on being prepared to apply those skills in times of natural disaster and civil unrest. The medical treatment skills covered are based on wilderness medicine protocols with an emphasis on herbal support. Topics include initial assessment, medical emergencies, stabilizing trauma injuries, treating burns and wounds, hypothermia and heat stroke, herbal treatments for common illnesses, treatments for tear gas and pepper spray, organizing clinics for disaster relief, assembling a medical kit, and much more. We will learn these skills in a supportive setting with lots of hands-on practice and role-play scenarios. These are skills that can help us all keep our communities healthy. 

The systems approach to herbs will cover a range of common maladies, specifically Colds & Flues, Tummy Trouble, Blisters & Cuts, Rashes, Tooth Aches, Yeast Infections/ Urinary Tract Infections, Aches & Pains, and a basic herbal kit. There will also be an Herbal First Aid Kit workshop later in April led by herbalists Sandra Lory and Dana L Woodruff. For more info on this, please contact Dana.

This 24-hour training will start on Friday evening at 5pm and run through Sunday at 5pm. The instructors will be Megan Coyote, an experienced protest medic and medic trainer, and Mary Murphy, a certified Wilderness EMT. The class is offered at a sliding scale of $25-100, with no one turned away for lack of funds. Participants will be responsible for their own food (a full kitchen is available) and lodging. Spots will be held on a first-come, first-served basis. The class will be held in a private residence near downtown Montpelier. 

Please pre-register by emailing Dana at dandelionessherbals@yahoo.com or calling 802-229-6812. This information is also posted at:http://dandelionessherbals.blogspot.com/2011/02/street-medic-training.html Please pass this information along, especially to those who don’t have email, Facebook, and/or internet access. Upon registration you will receive more details about the training, how to get there/rideshare, and what to bring. Thank you!

-----
Earthly Delights: True Abundance In a Time of Scarcity


Presented by Starhawk at the Rowe Center in Rowe, MA

Apr 1-3, 2011

Come join a magical experiment: how do we create true abundance when all around us systems are crumbling? The meltdowns we’ve been experiencing, from Wall Street to Greenland, are a result of faulty thinking, of basing our institutions on false ideas and flawed stories. What are the ideas, the new stories, that can become a basis for real abundance, justice, and ecological balance? We’ll use the tools of magic—story-telling, guided visualization, trance, drumming, chanting, dancing and altar-building to explore eight principles derived from the earth-based spirituality of the Goddess and the practical approach of permaculture to ecological design:
  • Abundance Springs from Relationships;
  • Take Root;
  • Feed What You Want to Grow;
  • Build from the Ground Up;
  • Waste Is Food;
  • Value Diversity;
  • Sink In; and
  • The Gift Multiplies.   

Through exercises, meditations, stories, and ritual, we’ll apply them to our lives, and see what happens. As we tell ourselves new stories, as we take delight in the true gifts of the earth, our lives and our work will flourish like a plant growing in healthy soil.

Starhawk is one of the most respected voices in modern Goddess religion and earth-based spirituality. The author or co-author of ten books, including the classics The Spiral Dance and The Fifth Sacred Thing, and her latest, The Earth Path, Starhawk is deeply committed to bringing the techniques and creative power of spirituality to political activism. She co-teaches Earth Activist Trainings that combine permaculture design, effective activism, and earth-based spirituality. Register Online: 
http://www.rowecenter.org/schedule/current/20110401_Starhawk.html

 

-----

Sabbaticals for Activists of Color: The Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program 

The Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program, an initiative of the Center for Social Inclusion, is committed to advancing progressive social change by helping to sustain long-time activists of color living and working in the U.S. or its territories. The program honors those who have devoted their lives to helping their communities organize for racial, social, economic, and environmental justice. Fellows receive an award of $25,000 to take sabbaticals of three months or more for reflection and renewal. The sabbaticals may be used to explore new interests, travel, relax, visit with other activists, or do whatever the Fellows think is necessary to prepare for their future work. Applicants must have more than ten years of community organizing experience and be committed to continuing to work for social change. Both paid staff and volunteer leaders are eligible for these fellowships. The application deadline is April 5, 2011. Application guidelines and forms are available on the Center for Social Inclusion website. http://www.centerforsocialinclusion.org/leadership/alston-bannerman-sabbatical-fellows/
 -----
Call for Submissions: Walking the Talk (tentative title) 
A zine/book project exploring power and exploitation in nonprofit organizations, the alignment of our work with our vision, and what role nonprofits have in radical social transformation. 
www.walkthetalkzine.tumblr.com

Context:
Even in the most grassroots and progressive organizations, working on the most radical issues, we may find a deep dissonance between the world we want to create, and what it is like to be working in the organization day-by-day. We live in a hierarchically oppressive world – and though the organizations we work in may have mission statements that aim to change this, “talking the talk” doesn't necessarily mean “walking the walk” and social justice nonprofits can feel like a mirror of the world we're trying to change. An organization's power structure or ways of doing work can create deeply unhealthy and exploitative dynamics within the organization itself and between the nonprofit and the “clients,” “members” or “community” that it works with. 

What does it mean to align our vision with our process, our day-to-day work? Already, many people have been exploring the limitations and contradictions of foundation funding, and the deeper organizational accountability that comes with grassroots funding structures (described well in The Revolution Will Not Be Funded). Separately, from small nonprofit organizations all the way to multinational corporations, there's a growing mentality that healthy workers (e.g. ones with self-care plans, workplace yoga, lunch breaks) are “better workers.” Some nonprofits take this a little deeper and are working to become more transparent, accountable and/or participatory. However, many people continue to experience oppression and exploitation within, and at the hands of, nonprofits.

The contradictions in nonprofits can wear away at us slowly, break our hearts, make us feel too idealistic or too jaded (or both!). Some of us may be grateful that social justice work pays our bills, but if we work in nonprofits, we also struggle in them. If another world is possible, another way of working for social justice must also be possible.

Can we identify and dismantle the ways that structures of power (both social & workplace hierarchies) negatively play out in an organization? Is it possible for nonprofits to “walk the talk?”

Project Goals:

To name and give voice to the ways that oppression (such as racism and classism) and exploitation manifest in nonprofits, particularly in ones that self-identify as “grassroots,” “movement,” “community-based” or “social justice” organizations.

To present critical questions about nonprofit organizations for and from people who have a range of commitment to, and experience with, nonprofits.

To give voice to painful experiences directly linked to the structure and form of nonprofits. (These experiences frequently get tucked away under “personal conflicts” or labeled less important than the “real work.”)

To open a conversation about what appropriate roles are for nonprofits, and if—or how—it is possible to really work for social justice from within them.

To share the difficult questions that are usually talked about discreetly—the ones that, if spoken about more publicly, might change the ways we work to change the world. 

Guidelines:
Who: Anyone can submit. We are most interested in pieces that take an anti-oppressive and intersectional approach, and we will prioritize voices of people who experience structural oppression in the world at large.

What: A zine/self-published book that will be available online and on paper.

When: Submission deadline, April 8th, 2011

How: Send all submissions to walkthetalk.zine@gmail.com. Please feel free to email with questions, ideas, proposals, and possibilities!

Submissions: Essays, stories, art, poems, comics and interviews are welcome. Written pieces should be under 2,000 words. Get in touch if you have another idea or would like to submit a longer piece!

Please include your name and contact information with your submission. If you want your piece to remain anonymous, please include the pseudonym that you want used.

-----
Ways Of Peace II: Non-Violence in the Islamic Traditions
 
Saturday April 9, 2011 
9:30 am – 6:30 pm
University of St.Thomas, OEC Auditorium,
2115 Summit Avenue, 
St. Paul, Minnesota, 55105
 
$15/$10 students/$10 buffet lunch
 
Presented by Friends for a Non-Violent World, the University of St. Thomas Muslim Christian Dialogue Center, and its Justice and Peace Studies Department, is the second in a series exploring the roots, history and practice of non-violence in various faith and secular traditions. 
 
Ways of Peace II is made possible in part by the generosity of The Saint Paul Foundation, the Fredrikson and Byron Foundation, the Al-Rawiya Foundation, Tim Wulling and Marilyn Benson, and many co-sponsoring organizations and individuals. For more information on the conference and on co-sponsorship, please visit www.fnvw.org
 

-----
Training for Social Action Trainers - returning to the Bay Area in April!

April 29 - May 1, 2011
Oakland, CA

To register, contact Ken at ken@globalexchange.org 

Join us for an intensive training designed for experienced facilitators wanting to revitalize their work, new trainers wanting to inspire, teachers, community leaders, activists -- anyone wanting to take their skills to a new level and learn how training can be used more effectively.

AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU WILL...

Gain greater awareness about yourself and your strengths as a facilitator;
Get a chance to take risks, experiment and refine skills in a safe and supportive environment;
Get the stimulation of fresh approaches and increased options;
Receive personal guidance from experienced trainers in a small group setting ;
Learn new tools that are easily adapted, principles of workshop design, skills for working with diversity and a better understanding of how to use experiential education methods effectively.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS WORKSHOP?
Experienced and less-experienced facilitators, consultants and trainers...Activists and organizers wanting to use training more effectively in their work... Teachers, community leaders, pastors, consultants and others who want more experiential tools.

The TSAT is a great way to learn the core approach to Training for Change's elicitive style of activist training, or if you are considering bringing TFC trainers to work more closely with your organization. Anyone who takes the TSAT is then qualified to be a participant at TFC’s Advanced Training of Trainers, an extended 5-day intensive the delves more thoroughly into group dynamics, conflict in groups, and working cross-culturally.

If taken separately, this workshop costs $150 US-$375 US, sliding scale based on income. The fee includes over 23 hours of training, meals during workshop hours, and simple lodging for people who request it. Visit the Training for Change website for a chart that will help you determine your fee: http://www.trainingforchange.org/node/290 

-----                
smartMeme presents 
Advanced Story-based Strategy Training: 
Framing and Narrative Strategy for Social Change Strategists, Communicators and Organizers


Dates: Thursday June 2 (4 pm) to Sunday June 5 (4 pm)
Location: Center For Third World Organizing (CTWO), Oakland CA 
Cost: $1,500 
Tuition cost includes all meals plus handouts and materials. A limited number of partial scholarships may be available. Please see the application. 
Accommodation: Stay onsite at CTWO for an additional $33/night - or participants are welcome to arrange their own off-site accommodations.

STORY-BASED STRATEGY
Storytelling has always been a powerful tool for grassroots organizers, but now more than ever, narrative strategies are at the heart of successful social change campaigns. SmartMeme was founded in 2002 to help grassroots organizations harness the power of narrative to effectively frame issues, build stronger alliances and create more compelling messages. Our story-based strategy model links traditional organizing techniques with new strategy, training, and communications methods––like framing and branding-–to give social change advocates the tools to hone their story, challenge prevailing cultural narratives, and ultimately build stronger movements that can bring social change. Now more than ever, as the overlapping economic, social and ecological crises are escalating—while corporate propagandists and right wing ideologues push their narratives justifying further racism, fear and inequity––our movements need tools and strategies to win the Battle of the Story. 

WHY ADVANCED TRAINING? 
SmartMeme has trained over 3,000 activists since 2002 and collaborated and consulted with over 100 social change organizations to apply the story-based strategy framework to critical campaigns. Our new book Re:Imagining Change -- How to use story-based strategy to win campaigns, build movements, and change the world (PM Press, 2010) has sparked discussion and drawn attention to the methodology. The book is already in its second printing and  smartMeme’s inbox has filled up with requests for training and assistance to bring the ideas in the book to real campaigns. Its time to gather a circle of our alumni, partners and allies in a learning community to share the story-based strategy model in depth. This advanced training is designed to build participant’s skills to facilitate social change constituencies through the process of developing and implementing effective narrative strategies. We have a simple goal: to train and develop  more story-based strategists who can support progressive movements to change the story for social justice and an ecological future. 

APPLICATION PROCESS
Please fill out the application at http://smartmeme.org/advancedtrainingapp by March 23, 2011 (5 pm est). 
The Training Team will review all applications and select candidates according to:
1. EXPERIENCE: Applicants’ experience with story-based strategy and related communications and strategy methods
2. IMPACT: Applicant’s ability to spread the model amongst organized constituencies in key social and ecological justice alliances and sectors
3. DIVERSITY: SmartMeme is committed to convening spaces that reflect the diversity of our movements
4. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: SmartMeme's goals for this training include building capacity in specific movement sectors and developing leadership for our story-based strategy practitioners network.

The Training Team requests that applicants have been through a smartMeme training before or worked with smartMeme in a story-based strategy process. We will give folks with this experience priority when reviewing applications, but encourage all to apply and will accommodate as many people as possible.

Applicants will be notified by April 6. If accepted, applicants must make a deposit of $250 by April 22 to hold their place.

Space is limited and we do expect to fill this training and will create a waiting list for spots that may become available.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MARCH 23th 2011 (5 pm eastern)
http://smartmeme.org/advancedtrainingapp

TRAINING FOCUS
This training will include: 
•    Discussion of the theory and practice of framing and the story-based strategy model looking at case studies and examples from smartMeme’s fieldwork 
•    Opportunities to practice facilitating smartMeme’s story-based strategy curriculum and receive feedback 
•    Intensive team-based simulations to apply story-based strategy concepts to social change campaigning 
This training will NOT include:
•    Introductory workshop on story-based strategy. Participants are expected to have some experience with this model already, and at the very least to have read Re:Imagining Change. 
•    Traditional communications/media training, such as how to speak to the media, write press releases, or pitch news outlets

TRAINING TEAM
SmartMeme principals Doyle Canning & Patrick Reinsborough and other associates TBD

GRATITUDE GOES TO...
This advanced training is made possible by the generous support of smartMeme’s member donors (LIKE YOU - Donate now!)  and:
The Frances Fund
The UU Congregation at Shelter Rock
Ben & Jerry’s Foundation

Read More

February News - Community Supported Activism!

Hello Good People!

Want to support health justice and get a gorgeous handmade journal? Here is your golden opportunity. This year, I am trying something new, different, and unprecedented in my own work! You have heard of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) - where families pay a monthly fee to a farmer, who then provides them with fresh food for the duration of the growing season - but have you heard of Community Supported Activism?
 
This year, I have the privilege of serving as the Rock Dove Collective's representative on the National Coordination Team for the Health and Healing Justice Track at the Allied Media Conference, which takes place in Detroit on June 23-26, 2011. This means that I will be working with two other incredible organizers, Adele Nieves and Anjali Taneja, to create and facilitate a process at the conference where healers, health workers, and health justice organizers can gather, share strategies, and learn from each other. We will also be organizing a healing practice space at the conference, so that attendees in need of care can have access to what they need.
 
As you can imagine, this is a big job and it will take a lot of time and careful planning. Most of you know that the Rock Dove Collective is a no-budget organization, meaning that we do not raise money for our work unless absolutely necessary. In order to engage in this national process, we have determined as a collective that raising funds for my position is a necessity. But we want to raise this money in a way that represents our values and our firm belief that the resources we need to heal each other and to heal ourselves can be found within ourselves and within our communities.
 
So I am asking you to become a part of a new kind of CSA, where you donate money to make it possible for me to do this critical work. Read on for details of how this works, and why it works!
 
How do you donate and how much can you give?
If everyone on this list donated just $5, we would raise enough money to pay me a monthly stipend of $600 for the work of national organizing from February-June. How much you donate is up to you, and any amount is appreciated. You can donate a small amount monthly ($5-10), or you can make a one-time donation of any size.
  • You can send money to me online using Paypal by clicking here, or click on the Donate link on my website.
  • You can send a check to me directly. Ask me for my mailing address!
  • You can make a tax deductible donation - ask me how!
What will I do with the money?
My work as a national coordinator involves organizing the national health and healing justice community to propose sessions that fit with the vision of the track, reviewing and selecting session proposals for the conference, managing the logistics of the healing practice space, and coordinating fundraising efforts across the country to get presenters and organizers to the conference, with a strong emphasis on making it possible for people of color, young people, elders, queer and genderqueer people, and low-income people to attend.
 
What do you get in return?
Everyone who makes a donation will be added to my donor-list, and you will receive monthly updates on the progress the National Coordination Team is making in our work on the track. You will also be the recipient of a video blog at the end of June, made by yours truly, that gives you a taste of what people experienced in the Health and Healing Justice Track.
 
For people who make a donation of $50 or more, you will receive a unique, hand-made book, which I make using paper that is locally constructed from sustainably-harvested Minnesota grass as well as other locally sourced materials! Or I can bake you some cookies.
 
What is the Allied Media Conference?

The Allied Media Conference, held every summer in Detroit, unites the worlds of media and communications, technology, education and social justice. From this unique intersection, some of the most innovative community organizing models emerge each year. The AMC cultivates strategies for a more just and creative world. We come together to share tools and tactics for transforming our communities through media-based organizing.



The Allied Media Conference is the only conference I have ever attended where I felt that we were truly building the world we wished to see in that space. It is a visionary gathering, and it is organized in a truly participatory way!



What is the Health and Healing Justice Track?

The theme of the track is Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance. Our vision is to build a national movement for healing justice by answering two important questions: 1) How do we utilize and decentralize all forms of media so as to build a post-capitalist health care system here and now? 2) How do we imbue our social justice movements with a healing framework that frontlines conversations about race and racism, bodies and connectedness, and alternative resourcing?


Who are you and Why should you donate?
You are community organizers and community developers, artists and media makers, faith leaders and community leaders, healers and health workers, educators and mediators, facilitators and union workers, anarchists, libertarians, democrats, and green-workers - you are people who have touched me and who have in some way been a part of my work. You are someone who shares my vision for a better, more just world, and shares my hope that we can and are creating it NOW. You should donate because participating in alternative models for resourcing the work of changing the world is EXACTLY what it takes to change the world!!
 
Thank you so much for always supporting my work. And thank you in advance for any financial contribution you can make to this project, which is so dear to my heart, and which is so critical to the movement.
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Center for Whole Communities is Hiring a Chef!
  • The Never Again for Anyone Speaking Tour with Hajo Meyer - Feb. 8th
  • Tou SaiKo Lee and Grandma of Fresh Traditions perform at Wee Cabaret - Feb. 18th and 19th
  • Cultural Organizing Workshop, New Orleans - Feb. 18th-21st
  • White Folks Soul, by Any Dance Necessary - Feb. 18th
  • 2011 Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers 
  • Una Osato in JapJAP - Begins Feb. 25th
  • You Don't Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One - March 10th
-----
Center for Whole Communities is Hiring a Chef!
 
The Center for Whole Communities, a land-based leadership development organization, is now hiring for the summer season at Knoll Farm, Vermont. In addition to a new team of interns, they are looking for a cook to source, plan, prepare wholesome delicious local foods for the transformative retreats that take place throughout the summer.  

This position is full time for the period of early June to early October. If you or anyone you know is interested, please visit to the homepage of the website to apply, www.wholecommunities.org

-----
The Never Again for Anyone Speaking Tour: An Evening with Hajo Meyer in St. Paul, MN

Tuesday, February 8th, 7PM
John B. Davis Lecture Hall 
Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center - Macalaster College 
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN 55105

Donations accepted at the door. No one turned away for lack of funds.

This year international Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27th. A time for reflection and commitment, please join Dr. Hajo Meyer in hearing about his experience in Auschwitz and the lessons he has learned: Never Again for Anyone. Dr. Meyer will be joined by Palestianian activist, Osama Abu Irshaid, founder and editor of the newspaper Al Mezan, and Coya White Hat-Artichoker, a Lakota activist for indigenous rights. 

Dr. Hajo G. Meyer: 

Meyer was born in Bielefeld, Germany, in 1924. In 1939, at the age of 14, he fled alone to Holland to escape the Nazi regime. After the Germans occupied that country, he was captured by the Gestapo in 1944, and survived ten months in Auschwitz. After the war, he studied theoretical physics and became a researcher at Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven. He received his Ph.D. in 1956, and in 1974 became managing director of the lab. Retiring in 1984, he became a maker of violins, selling his instruments to professional musicians. He has devoted himself full-time to his work as an activist and essayist.

Sponsored By: American Muslims for Palestine, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and the Middle East Children's Alliance.

Endorsed by: Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Middle East Peace Now, Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign, Women Against Military Madness – Middle East Committee, National Lawyer’s Guild, Jewish Voice for Peace - TC, Opposed to War and Occupation

For more information about the tour and the speakers, go to www.neveragainforanyone.com or call888.404.4267

-----
Fresh Traditions performs at Wee Cabaret in Minneapolis, MN

Friday, February 18th, 2011 at 7:00 PM 
and
Saturday, February 19th, 2011 at 7:00 PM

Form + Content Gallery
210 North 2nd Street 
Minneapolis, MN 55401

WEE CABARET, a performing art series being produced by Form + Content Gallery, will present all performing arts disciplines, including music, dance, spoken word, theater and performance art.  Participating artists are encouraged to try something unusual, create something site specific, and/or explore new ideas in an incredibly intimate venue that emphasizes the unique dynamic between the spectator and the artist.

Performers include: 
Sophia Shorai and DVRG
Tou SaiKo Lee and Grandma of Fresh Traditions
HIJACK

Please click on links to purchase tickets:
http://www.formandcontent.org/fc_exhibitions/wee_cab/wee_cab.htm
for Friday:
http://weecabaretfeb18.eventbrite.com/
for Saturday
http://weecabaretfeb19.eventbrite.com/
Here is a youtube video of what we do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIrN9hV62D8
 
-----
Cultural Organizing Workshop, New Orleans - February 18th-21st

This convening, sponsored by Moving Stories Dance Project, The Arts and Democracy Project and New Voices Fellowship, is a space where artists and organizers will learn effective ways to deepen their work and strengthen capacity to use the tools of creativity, imagination and organizing in community building.

Activities begin Friday night with dinner & an inspirational conversation among veteran cultural organizers,and concludes Sunday
at lunch. Session leaders include Linda Parris-Bailey (Carpetbag Theater), visual artist Ricardo Levin Morales, Tufara Muhammad Waller (Highlander Center), Stephanie McKee and Wendi O'Neal (New Voices Fellows). Registration is easy, just click on the registration link: http://surveymonkey.com/s/NewVoicesRegistration

All travel arrangements and accommodations are the full responsibility of the individual. Registration (which includes Friday
night dinner and lunch both days) is on a sliding scale, from $50-$75. After you fill out the on-line registration form, you can
reserve your slot by sending Kathie de a check (made out to State Voices, which is the umbrella agency for Arts and Democracy Project)

Call Kathie deNobriga if you have any questions.
PO Box 1087 * Pine Lake * GA 30072-1087
404-299-9498 (home, office & fax)
678-427-9673 (cell)
 
-----
White Folks Soul, by Any Dance Necessary presents Moving the Movement in New York City
 
An interactive workshop and performance with Zahava, Alexis, & Jesse 

White Folks Soul: By Any Dance Necessary
at the Anti-Racist Potluck
Friday, February 18th
6 - 9 pm  
28 E. 35th St. btw Park & Madison 

Come ready to move your body and your relationship to what's possible in a powerful community committed to ending racism.

-----
Intermedia Arts Announces ... 2011 Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers 

DEADLINE TO APPLY: 6PM Friday, February 25th, 2011

Intermedia Arts' Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers (formerly the SASE Jerome Grants for Emerging Writers), is a fellowship program that awards grants of up to $4,000 to four to six emerging Minnesota writers each year. In addition to their grant award, recipients also participate in a 12-month fellowship program that provides community, mentorship, guidance, workshops, and resources throughout the program year. Intermedia Arts' Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers places a particular emphasis on increasing the visibility of and providing a platform for emerging writers whose voices have historically been underrepresented in the literary arts.

Application and complete program information available here: http://intermediaarts.org/beyond-the-pure-fellowships

This program is made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of the Jerome Foundation. 

-----
Keep It Movin' Production presents...JapJAP
 
JapJAP is written and performed by Una Aya Osato, and directed by Moises Belizario.
 
"JapJAP is trying to find out who she is, tearing down borders and tearing off clothes. Her body is her only road map as she embarks on a journey through identity, culture, and history. Join award-winning team, performer/playwright Una Aya Osato and director Moises Belizario, for the world premiere of Una's newest, freshest, full-bodied one-woman show: JapJAP."
 
for more info visit www.playjapjap.wordpress.com
 

in the FRIGID NY Festival:
Friday, February 25th, 5:30PM
Saturday, February 26th, 2:30PM
Tuesday, March 1st, 10:30PM
Friday, March 4th, 7:00PM
Sunday, March 6th, 7:00PM

The Kraine Theater
85 East 4th Street (btwn. 2nd Ave & Bowery)
NY, NY 10003
$15/$10 students/seniors/struggling artists

Buy your tickets now!
www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?EID=&showCode=JAP6&BundleCode=&GUID=

-----

You Don't Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One
Featuring Majora Carter
March 10th, 2011 | 7:30 p.m.
 

Majora Carter founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 to bring community-building jobs and a healthier environment to the neighborhood in which she grew up. Today, as president of the Majora Carter Group, she’s advising cities, foundations, universities, businesses, and communities around the world on how they can unlock their local economic potential to benefit everyone.



http://environment.umn.edu/momentum/eventseries/speakers/majora_carter.html

Hello Good People!

Want to support health justice and get a gorgeous handmade journal? Here is your golden opportunity. This year, I am trying something new, different, and unprecedented in my own work! You have heard of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) - where families pay a monthly fee to a farmer, who then provides them with fresh food for the duration of the growing season - but have you heard of Community Supported Activism?
 
This year, I have the privilege of serving as the Rock Dove Collective's representative on the National Coordination Team for the Health and Healing Justice Track at the Allied Media Conference, which takes place in Detroit on June 23-26, 2011. This means that I will be working with two other incredible organizers, Adele Nieves and Anjali Taneja, to create and facilitate a process at the conference where healers, health workers, and health justice organizers can gather, share strategies, and learn from each other. We will also be organizing a healing practice space at the conference, so that attendees in need of care can have access to what they need.
 
As you can imagine, this is a big job and it will take a lot of time and careful planning. Most of you know that the Rock Dove Collective is a no-budget organization, meaning that we do not raise money for our work unless absolutely necessary. In order to engage in this national process, we have determined as a collective that raising funds for my position is a necessity. But we want to raise this money in a way that represents our values and our firm belief that the resources we need to heal each other and to heal ourselves can be found within ourselves and within our communities.
 
So I am asking you to become a part of a new kind of CSA, where you donate money to make it possible for me to do this critical work. Read on for details of how this works, and why it works!
 
How do you donate and how much can you give?
If everyone on this list donated just $5, we would raise enough money to pay me a monthly stipend of $600 for the work of national organizing from February-June. How much you donate is up to you, and any amount is appreciated. You can donate a small amount monthly ($5-10), or you can make a one-time donation of any size.
  • You can send money to me online using Paypal by clicking here, or click on the Donate link on my website.
  • You can send a check to me directly. Ask me for my mailing address!
  • You can make a tax deductible donation - ask me how!
What will I do with the money?
My work as a national coordinator involves organizing the national health and healing justice community to propose sessions that fit with the vision of the track, reviewing and selecting session proposals for the conference, managing the logistics of the healing practice space, and coordinating fundraising efforts across the country to get presenters and organizers to the conference, with a strong emphasis on making it possible for people of color, young people, elders, queer and genderqueer people, and low-income people to attend.
 
What do you get in return?
Everyone who makes a donation will be added to my donor-list, and you will receive monthly updates on the progress the National Coordination Team is making in our work on the track. You will also be the recipient of a video blog at the end of June, made by yours truly, that gives you a taste of what people experienced in the Health and Healing Justice Track.
 
For people who make a donation of $50 or more, you will receive a unique, hand-made book, which I make using paper that is locally constructed from sustainably-harvested Minnesota grass as well as other locally sourced materials! Or I can bake you some cookies.
 
What is the Allied Media Conference?

The Allied Media Conference, held every summer in Detroit, unites the worlds of media and communications, technology, education and social justice. From this unique intersection, some of the most innovative community organizing models emerge each year. The AMC cultivates strategies for a more just and creative world. We come together to share tools and tactics for transforming our communities through media-based organizing.



The Allied Media Conference is the only conference I have ever attended where I felt that we were truly building the world we wished to see in that space. It is a visionary gathering, and it is organized in a truly participatory way!



What is the Health and Healing Justice Track?

The theme of the track is Health is Dignity, Dignity is Resistance. Our vision is to build a national movement for healing justice by answering two important questions: 1) How do we utilize and decentralize all forms of media so as to build a post-capitalist health care system here and now? 2) How do we imbue our social justice movements with a healing framework that frontlines conversations about race and racism, bodies and connectedness, and alternative resourcing?


Who are you and Why should you donate?
You are community organizers and community developers, artists and media makers, faith leaders and community leaders, healers and health workers, educators and mediators, facilitators and union workers, anarchists, libertarians, democrats, and green-workers - you are people who have touched me and who have in some way been a part of my work. You are someone who shares my vision for a better, more just world, and shares my hope that we can and are creating it NOW. You should donate because participating in alternative models for resourcing the work of changing the world is EXACTLY what it takes to change the world!!
 
Thank you so much for always supporting my work. And thank you in advance for any financial contribution you can make to this project, which is so dear to my heart, and which is so critical to the movement.
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Center for Whole Communities is Hiring a Chef!
  • The Never Again for Anyone Speaking Tour with Hajo Meyer - Feb. 8th
  • Tou SaiKo Lee and Grandma of Fresh Traditions perform at Wee Cabaret - Feb. 18th and 19th
  • Cultural Organizing Workshop, New Orleans - Feb. 18th-21st
  • White Folks Soul, by Any Dance Necessary - Feb. 18th
  • 2011 Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers 
  • Una Osato in JapJAP - Begins Feb. 25th
  • You Don't Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One - March 10th
-----
Center for Whole Communities is Hiring a Chef!
 
The Center for Whole Communities, a land-based leadership development organization, is now hiring for the summer season at Knoll Farm, Vermont. In addition to a new team of interns, they are looking for a cook to source, plan, prepare wholesome delicious local foods for the transformative retreats that take place throughout the summer.  

This position is full time for the period of early June to early October. If you or anyone you know is interested, please visit to the homepage of the website to apply, www.wholecommunities.org

-----
The Never Again for Anyone Speaking Tour: An Evening with Hajo Meyer in St. Paul, MN

Tuesday, February 8th, 7PM
John B. Davis Lecture Hall 
Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center - Macalaster College 
1600 Grand Ave, St. Paul, MN 55105

Donations accepted at the door. No one turned away for lack of funds.

This year international Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27th. A time for reflection and commitment, please join Dr. Hajo Meyer in hearing about his experience in Auschwitz and the lessons he has learned: Never Again for Anyone. Dr. Meyer will be joined by Palestianian activist, Osama Abu Irshaid, founder and editor of the newspaper Al Mezan, and Coya White Hat-Artichoker, a Lakota activist for indigenous rights. 

Dr. Hajo G. Meyer: 

Meyer was born in Bielefeld, Germany, in 1924. In 1939, at the age of 14, he fled alone to Holland to escape the Nazi regime. After the Germans occupied that country, he was captured by the Gestapo in 1944, and survived ten months in Auschwitz. After the war, he studied theoretical physics and became a researcher at Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven. He received his Ph.D. in 1956, and in 1974 became managing director of the lab. Retiring in 1984, he became a maker of violins, selling his instruments to professional musicians. He has devoted himself full-time to his work as an activist and essayist.

Sponsored By: American Muslims for Palestine, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and the Middle East Children's Alliance.

Endorsed by: Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Middle East Peace Now, Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign, Women Against Military Madness – Middle East Committee, National Lawyer’s Guild, Jewish Voice for Peace - TC, Opposed to War and Occupation

For more information about the tour and the speakers, go to www.neveragainforanyone.com or call888.404.4267

-----
Fresh Traditions performs at Wee Cabaret in Minneapolis, MN

Friday, February 18th, 2011 at 7:00 PM 
and
Saturday, February 19th, 2011 at 7:00 PM

Form + Content Gallery
210 North 2nd Street 
Minneapolis, MN 55401

WEE CABARET, a performing art series being produced by Form + Content Gallery, will present all performing arts disciplines, including music, dance, spoken word, theater and performance art.  Participating artists are encouraged to try something unusual, create something site specific, and/or explore new ideas in an incredibly intimate venue that emphasizes the unique dynamic between the spectator and the artist.

Performers include: 
Sophia Shorai and DVRG
Tou SaiKo Lee and Grandma of Fresh Traditions
HIJACK

Please click on links to purchase tickets:
http://www.formandcontent.org/fc_exhibitions/wee_cab/wee_cab.htm
for Friday:
http://weecabaretfeb18.eventbrite.com/
for Saturday
http://weecabaretfeb19.eventbrite.com/
Here is a youtube video of what we do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIrN9hV62D8
 
-----
Cultural Organizing Workshop, New Orleans - February 18th-21st

This convening, sponsored by Moving Stories Dance Project, The Arts and Democracy Project and New Voices Fellowship, is a space where artists and organizers will learn effective ways to deepen their work and strengthen capacity to use the tools of creativity, imagination and organizing in community building.

Activities begin Friday night with dinner & an inspirational conversation among veteran cultural organizers,and concludes Sunday
at lunch. Session leaders include Linda Parris-Bailey (Carpetbag Theater), visual artist Ricardo Levin Morales, Tufara Muhammad Waller (Highlander Center), Stephanie McKee and Wendi O'Neal (New Voices Fellows). Registration is easy, just click on the registration link: http://surveymonkey.com/s/NewVoicesRegistration

All travel arrangements and accommodations are the full responsibility of the individual. Registration (which includes Friday
night dinner and lunch both days) is on a sliding scale, from $50-$75. After you fill out the on-line registration form, you can
reserve your slot by sending Kathie de a check (made out to State Voices, which is the umbrella agency for Arts and Democracy Project)

Call Kathie deNobriga if you have any questions.
PO Box 1087 * Pine Lake * GA 30072-1087
404-299-9498 (home, office & fax)
678-427-9673 (cell)
 
-----
White Folks Soul, by Any Dance Necessary presents Moving the Movement in New York City
 
An interactive workshop and performance with Zahava, Alexis, & Jesse 

White Folks Soul: By Any Dance Necessary
at the Anti-Racist Potluck
Friday, February 18th
6 - 9 pm  
28 E. 35th St. btw Park & Madison 

Come ready to move your body and your relationship to what's possible in a powerful community committed to ending racism.

-----
Intermedia Arts Announces ... 2011 Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers 

DEADLINE TO APPLY: 6PM Friday, February 25th, 2011

Intermedia Arts' Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers (formerly the SASE Jerome Grants for Emerging Writers), is a fellowship program that awards grants of up to $4,000 to four to six emerging Minnesota writers each year. In addition to their grant award, recipients also participate in a 12-month fellowship program that provides community, mentorship, guidance, workshops, and resources throughout the program year. Intermedia Arts' Beyond the Pure Fellowships for Writers places a particular emphasis on increasing the visibility of and providing a platform for emerging writers whose voices have historically been underrepresented in the literary arts.

Application and complete program information available here: http://intermediaarts.org/beyond-the-pure-fellowships

This program is made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of the Jerome Foundation. 

-----
Keep It Movin' Production presents...JapJAP
 
JapJAP is written and performed by Una Aya Osato, and directed by Moises Belizario.
 
"JapJAP is trying to find out who she is, tearing down borders and tearing off clothes. Her body is her only road map as she embarks on a journey through identity, culture, and history. Join award-winning team, performer/playwright Una Aya Osato and director Moises Belizario, for the world premiere of Una's newest, freshest, full-bodied one-woman show: JapJAP."
 
for more info visit www.playjapjap.wordpress.com
 

in the FRIGID NY Festival:
Friday, February 25th, 5:30PM
Saturday, February 26th, 2:30PM
Tuesday, March 1st, 10:30PM
Friday, March 4th, 7:00PM
Sunday, March 6th, 7:00PM

The Kraine Theater
85 East 4th Street (btwn. 2nd Ave & Bowery)
NY, NY 10003
$15/$10 students/seniors/struggling artists

Buy your tickets now!
www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?EID=&showCode=JAP6&BundleCode=&GUID=

-----

You Don't Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One
Featuring Majora Carter
March 10th, 2011 | 7:30 p.m.
 

Majora Carter founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 to bring community-building jobs and a healthier environment to the neighborhood in which she grew up. Today, as president of the Majora Carter Group, she’s advising cities, foundations, universities, businesses, and communities around the world on how they can unlock their local economic potential to benefit everyone.



http://environment.umn.edu/momentum/eventseries/speakers/majora_carter.html

Read More

January News - sing the praises of the culture

 Hello Good People!

 
Well, I had it in mind to send you all some writing I have been doing on scarcity and abundance. But when I heard the news today about the mass shooting in Arizona - which involved the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the death of at least 5 people (including a 9 year old girl), and the wounding of many others - I was silenced. My intended writing can wait. I have nothing but prayers and compassion in my heart for the wounded, the dead, their families, and the young man who committed this horrendous act.
 
Here is a poem, from It by Inger Christensen. It was shown to me by a man I love dearly, and I think it is strangely befitting the times.
 
7
 
When the insane roll in the dust
when they hug a plastic amoeba close
 
to them sing the praises of the culture
when they pick up the toppled statues
 
and bear them together in procession
single broken fragments or whole skeletons
 
when they lift the frozen canopies
from the Pentagon the Kremlin the world
 
and raise them high over the finest statue
of the president speaker general
 
and write the one word love
in the middle of his gleaming forehead
 
then love is probably compromised
but power is transformed
 
*

 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Great Republic of Rough and Ready team up with Hearsay and Hyperbole- New Music Video!
  • Training for Social Action Trainers - Feb. 11-13, 2011
  • The Center for Whole Communities is Hiring!
  • 6th Immigrant and Minority Farmers Conference - February 4-5, 2011

-----

Great Republic of Rough and Ready team up with Hearsay and Hyperbole- New Music Video!

I am excited and honored to share this gorgeous new work. My best friend Alexis Powell is an incredibly talented artist. Among her many talents (including sibling music, drama therapy, and throwing a great party), she also creates beautiful stop-motion animations. This year, she created a music video for Great Republic of Rough and Ready's The Angel of Death. Between Alexis's heartbreaking attention to detail, and GRRR's swoon-worthy song-making, you are sure to finish the video and hit play again.

Find the video here: http://vimeo.com/18535143.

Find the band here: http://grrr.bandcamp.com/

I am happy to say that Ms. Powell also recently because godmother to my daughter Siobhan. Yay!

-----

Training for Social Action Trainers
 
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Feb. 11-13, 2011
Presented by Training for Change
 

Join us for an intensive training designed for experienced facilitators wanting to revitalize their work, new trainers wanting to inspire, teachers, community leaders, activists -- anyone wanting to take their skills to a new level and learn how training can be used more effectively.

WHY THIS WORKSHOP?

Training and facilitation skills are a key element to successful organizing and movement building. People who have these skills support the groups they work with by developing new leaders, transferring skills and knowledge between generations, creating more participation within their groups, introducing new and transformative concepts, educating and engaging constituents, supporting meetings and decision making, resolving conflict and providing training for successful, creative and disciplined actions. Yet, few people who play the role of educator, trainer or facilitator in their work are offered an opportunity to learn a framework for training that supports their experience or a chance to hone their skills among other trainers. Few organizations commit the time to helping their leaders learn the craft of training. With this in mind, The Training for Social Action Trainers (TSAT) is designed to give people the opportunity to develop a stronger sense of the training tools, approaches and choices that will work for them to be most powerful and useful in their trainer role. [Note: We also offer variations of the TSAT, such as the "How to facilitate strategizing" which emphasizes tools that assist groups to strategize more effectively.]

To learn more about Training for Change, or to register, visit: http://www.trainingforchange.org/node/290


-----
The Center for Whole Communities is Hiring!

A year and a half ago, I attended an incredible, intensive week-long retreat at the Center for Whole Communities in Vermont. This transformative organization is located in a beautiful setting, and they have openings for two new positions - Development Director and Executive Assistant. There is still time to apply. More information can be found on the home page of the website: http://www.wholecommunities.org

-----
6th Immigrant and Minority Farmers Conference
Friday and Saturday, February 4-5, 2011
St. Paul, MN

 
NEWS RELEASE

Media Contacts: Glen Hill, Minnesota Food Association, 651-433-3676, ext. 11, or Ly Vang, Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women, 651-222-0475.

St. Paul—The Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota, Minnesota Food Association and USDA-Farm Service Agency  will jointly co-host the 6th Immigrant and Minority  Farmers Conference on February 4-5, 2011 at the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters Event Hall, 710 Olive Street, St. Paul, MN. The theme of the 2011 Conference is “Planting Seeds for Success on your Farm.”

The two-day conference will focus on important topics for the farmers that include whole farm planning, season extension, organic practices, finding resources for your farm, seed saving, poultry production and diversifying markets.   Keynote presenters at the conference will be Dr. Yang Dao, a Hmong scholar and diplomat with a deep understanding of the role of farming in the Hmong community; and Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, has been invited to speak on the importance of small vegetable producers to our economy. 

Registration is on-line at www.mnfoodassociation.org, or by calling MFA at 651-433-3676, or the Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota at 651-222-0475.

The major barriers for success in farming for minority vegetable growers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area (as well as other regions in the nation) are: access to and knowledge of markets, access to agricultural land, and language and cultural barriers. The upcoming conference provides welcome opportunities for minority and underserved farmers who have many needs for assure sustained successes in their small farm operations.

The 2007 Census of Agriculture shows that immigrants are among the fastest growing sector of farmers today.  Immigrant farmers are passionate about and experienced in agriculture, and have shaped the character of U.S. agriculture throughout American history. While the number of farms in our country has been declining since WWII, the census now shows a leveling of this trend, which can be partially accredited to the increasing numbers of immigrant farmers across all demographic groups. Immigrant farmers are diverse in terms of country of origin, where they live now, what they produce and how they sell.  By supporting these new and aspiring farmers, we not only will ensure that there will be an adequate supply of local foods available in our communities, and a contribution to local economic development and healthy communities.

The conference plans for interpretation into Hmong, Oromo, Karen, Bhutan and Somali languages. The conference hosts invite farmers of any language to register. Interested participants please call the hosts with translation or other needs.

The training conference fosters partnerships between non-governmental community-based organizations, the University of Minnesota and other education institutions, and both the Minnesota and US Department of Agriculture agencies to assist minority, limited resources and underserved farmers in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

This conference is free to farmers; others $20 for one day or $30 for two days.  

We would like everyone to sign up by Monday, January 24, 2011.  Interested farmers and CBOs who have questions should contact Ly Vang, at 651-222-0475, e-mail: lyvangaahwmn@yahoo.com; Joci Tilsen at 651-433-3676 ext. 14 or e-mail:jtilsen@mnfoodassociation.org; and Nigatu Tadesse at 651-602-7705 or email nigatu.tadesse@mn.usda.gov. 

 

 Hello Good People!

 
Well, I had it in mind to send you all some writing I have been doing on scarcity and abundance. But when I heard the news today about the mass shooting in Arizona - which involved the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the death of at least 5 people (including a 9 year old girl), and the wounding of many others - I was silenced. My intended writing can wait. I have nothing but prayers and compassion in my heart for the wounded, the dead, their families, and the young man who committed this horrendous act.
 
Here is a poem, from It by Inger Christensen. It was shown to me by a man I love dearly, and I think it is strangely befitting the times.
 
7
 
When the insane roll in the dust
when they hug a plastic amoeba close
 
to them sing the praises of the culture
when they pick up the toppled statues
 
and bear them together in procession
single broken fragments or whole skeletons
 
when they lift the frozen canopies
from the Pentagon the Kremlin the world
 
and raise them high over the finest statue
of the president speaker general
 
and write the one word love
in the middle of his gleaming forehead
 
then love is probably compromised
but power is transformed
 
*

 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Great Republic of Rough and Ready team up with Hearsay and Hyperbole- New Music Video!
  • Training for Social Action Trainers - Feb. 11-13, 2011
  • The Center for Whole Communities is Hiring!
  • 6th Immigrant and Minority Farmers Conference - February 4-5, 2011

-----

Great Republic of Rough and Ready team up with Hearsay and Hyperbole- New Music Video!

I am excited and honored to share this gorgeous new work. My best friend Alexis Powell is an incredibly talented artist. Among her many talents (including sibling music, drama therapy, and throwing a great party), she also creates beautiful stop-motion animations. This year, she created a music video for Great Republic of Rough and Ready's The Angel of Death. Between Alexis's heartbreaking attention to detail, and GRRR's swoon-worthy song-making, you are sure to finish the video and hit play again.

Find the video here: http://vimeo.com/18535143.

Find the band here: http://grrr.bandcamp.com/

I am happy to say that Ms. Powell also recently because godmother to my daughter Siobhan. Yay!

-----

Training for Social Action Trainers
 
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Feb. 11-13, 2011
Presented by Training for Change
 

Join us for an intensive training designed for experienced facilitators wanting to revitalize their work, new trainers wanting to inspire, teachers, community leaders, activists -- anyone wanting to take their skills to a new level and learn how training can be used more effectively.

WHY THIS WORKSHOP?

Training and facilitation skills are a key element to successful organizing and movement building. People who have these skills support the groups they work with by developing new leaders, transferring skills and knowledge between generations, creating more participation within their groups, introducing new and transformative concepts, educating and engaging constituents, supporting meetings and decision making, resolving conflict and providing training for successful, creative and disciplined actions. Yet, few people who play the role of educator, trainer or facilitator in their work are offered an opportunity to learn a framework for training that supports their experience or a chance to hone their skills among other trainers. Few organizations commit the time to helping their leaders learn the craft of training. With this in mind, The Training for Social Action Trainers (TSAT) is designed to give people the opportunity to develop a stronger sense of the training tools, approaches and choices that will work for them to be most powerful and useful in their trainer role. [Note: We also offer variations of the TSAT, such as the "How to facilitate strategizing" which emphasizes tools that assist groups to strategize more effectively.]

To learn more about Training for Change, or to register, visit: http://www.trainingforchange.org/node/290


-----
The Center for Whole Communities is Hiring!

A year and a half ago, I attended an incredible, intensive week-long retreat at the Center for Whole Communities in Vermont. This transformative organization is located in a beautiful setting, and they have openings for two new positions - Development Director and Executive Assistant. There is still time to apply. More information can be found on the home page of the website: http://www.wholecommunities.org

-----
6th Immigrant and Minority Farmers Conference
Friday and Saturday, February 4-5, 2011
St. Paul, MN

 
NEWS RELEASE

Media Contacts: Glen Hill, Minnesota Food Association, 651-433-3676, ext. 11, or Ly Vang, Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women, 651-222-0475.

St. Paul—The Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota, Minnesota Food Association and USDA-Farm Service Agency  will jointly co-host the 6th Immigrant and Minority  Farmers Conference on February 4-5, 2011 at the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters Event Hall, 710 Olive Street, St. Paul, MN. The theme of the 2011 Conference is “Planting Seeds for Success on your Farm.”

The two-day conference will focus on important topics for the farmers that include whole farm planning, season extension, organic practices, finding resources for your farm, seed saving, poultry production and diversifying markets.   Keynote presenters at the conference will be Dr. Yang Dao, a Hmong scholar and diplomat with a deep understanding of the role of farming in the Hmong community; and Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, has been invited to speak on the importance of small vegetable producers to our economy. 

Registration is on-line at www.mnfoodassociation.org, or by calling MFA at 651-433-3676, or the Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota at 651-222-0475.

The major barriers for success in farming for minority vegetable growers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area (as well as other regions in the nation) are: access to and knowledge of markets, access to agricultural land, and language and cultural barriers. The upcoming conference provides welcome opportunities for minority and underserved farmers who have many needs for assure sustained successes in their small farm operations.

The 2007 Census of Agriculture shows that immigrants are among the fastest growing sector of farmers today.  Immigrant farmers are passionate about and experienced in agriculture, and have shaped the character of U.S. agriculture throughout American history. While the number of farms in our country has been declining since WWII, the census now shows a leveling of this trend, which can be partially accredited to the increasing numbers of immigrant farmers across all demographic groups. Immigrant farmers are diverse in terms of country of origin, where they live now, what they produce and how they sell.  By supporting these new and aspiring farmers, we not only will ensure that there will be an adequate supply of local foods available in our communities, and a contribution to local economic development and healthy communities.

The conference plans for interpretation into Hmong, Oromo, Karen, Bhutan and Somali languages. The conference hosts invite farmers of any language to register. Interested participants please call the hosts with translation or other needs.

The training conference fosters partnerships between non-governmental community-based organizations, the University of Minnesota and other education institutions, and both the Minnesota and US Department of Agriculture agencies to assist minority, limited resources and underserved farmers in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

This conference is free to farmers; others $20 for one day or $30 for two days.  

We would like everyone to sign up by Monday, January 24, 2011.  Interested farmers and CBOs who have questions should contact Ly Vang, at 651-222-0475, e-mail: lyvangaahwmn@yahoo.com; Joci Tilsen at 651-433-3676 ext. 14 or e-mail:jtilsen@mnfoodassociation.org; and Nigatu Tadesse at 651-602-7705 or email nigatu.tadesse@mn.usda.gov. 

 

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December News: What is Holy

Hello Good People!!

Is anyone else feeling anxious? I've noticed a certain distraction in myself lately, undoubtedly related to the fact that I spent over half of the month of November traveling far from home. When I sit down to spend quality time with my children, I immediately begin feeling anxiety: that I am not getting enough done, that I have forgotten something, that I need to reach out for affirmation that I am working hard enough. I find myself migrating towards the computer and my email account, even though I have finished whatever facilitative or consulting work I owe for the day.

Why is this? I am the first to say that every mother is a working mother, whether or not she works outside the home. I myself wear both hats, as both a full time mother and a consultant on projects that would qualify as part-time, and an organizer on political projects that take up what is left of my time (and some time that I do not have). Between my fellowship, my strategic planning contract with a local non-profit, my work with the Rock Dove Collective, the facilitation trainings I offer, and my writing, I should be feeling plenty accomplished at the end of the day. Not to mention the other work I am doing: breastfeeding my daughter, protecting my children from harm, and with the help of my amazing husband and family, feeding them, cleaning them, and getting them to bed at night. This is the work of life.

And yet I am always fighting that bitter sensation that I have not done enough to warrant a moment of peace. From what "lack" does this arise?

In my fellowship, I am working with four other artists and community developers to create a project that centers on the problem of our cultural disconnectedness from land. Alongside this work, I am just starting to read the late 90's tome, Triumph of the Mundane: The Unseen Trends That Shape Our Lives and Environment, by Hal Kane. The book is an effort to track the phenomenal but generally unreported changes to our society - such as speed, distance, and consumption - that have reinvented our culture and our values, to some degree without any intentional thinking or consent from us.

And it has me thinking...no wonder we are culturally un-moored! No wonder we are cynical and disenchanted, no wonder we laugh at the idea of holiness. No wonder I am filled with anxiety as soon as I sit down to rest! Yesterday, while walking down the snow-covered gravel road that runs alongside the woods behind our home, my husband Sam and I found the evidence of a four-wheeler having run repeatedly off the road, purposefully smashing down twenty year old sumac trees and many of our blackberry bushes. I found myself weepy and bewildered as to how someone could find reason to do this. Sam became angry and our son Finn, sensing our distress, began to cry. Siobhan, in her infant fortitude, promptly fell asleep. Trudging home, I could not help but see the connection between this disturbingly destructive act and a disconnection from holiness.

This may read as an angry missive from an anarchist in the woods, hardly befitting the joyful nature of holiday season. But in my mind it is all of a piece. We cannot have joy without living in our sorrow, and we cannot have justice without acknowledging the undercurrent of violence and distrust that flows through our daily lives. My anxiety moves me. It is pushing me to let go of all those behaviors and desires I do not value, but find myself living out. And it is pushing me to hold on to and lift up the things that are sacred to me: my children, my partner, my family, our home, our land, and our love.

In this edition of Iambrown:

  • Death to Sambo Album Release
  • Mother of Many Animation
  • The America Project: Potluck of Ideas - December 14th
  • Minneapolis Childcare Collective Training - December 16th


-----


Teo Blake's Debut Album, Death to Sambo

My dear friend from college days, Teo Blake recently released his debut hip hop album,

Death To Sambo

. It’s available on iTunes at the following link, where you can preview the music before purchasing:



http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/elay/id400066350?i=400066364

Support new musicians!



-----


Madre De Muchos, Mother of Many

Check out this beautiful animation by Emma Lazenby. It tells the story of a hospital midwife, and it is a tribute to her mother who was a midwife from 1980-2008.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbx3ECKvt60&feature=youtube_gdata_player

-----


The America Project: Potluck of Ideas

Intermedia Arts & Kaotic Good Productions invite you to ...

The America Project: Potluck of Ideas

7PM Tuesday, December 14, 2010


at Intermedia Arts


2822 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN



Cost: $5 with potluck item or $10 without


RSVP: 612.871.4444 



What do you bring to the table when it comes to your feelings about the state of America?


Share your food for thought! Bring a potluck item inspired by this question.



Join Intermedia Arts & Kaotic Good Productions for a Community Potluck in the spirit of Sekou Sundiata’s vision of a 51st Dream State. Feed & be fed. Cook up ideas together. Share your food & your food for thought.



Hosted by Robert Karimi, with special performances throughout the evening by:


Tou Saiko Lee & Band


Leah Nelson


BoyTron


Mero Cocinero


Kathy Maxwell


Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay



Plus a screening of Sekou Sundiata’s 51st Dream State film!



-----


Minneapolis Childcare Collective Training

Thursday, December 16 · 7:30pm - 9:00pm


Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association


821 E 35th St


Minneapolis, MN



This is the first of several trainings that we will be hosting for anyone interested in getting involved with the childcare collective next semester. The next training will be in February.



"The Minneapolis Childcare Collective is dedicated to providing high quality childcare in order to support parents' involvement in organizations of resistance and community building. We provide childcare as an act of solidarity with women, peop...le of color, and poor people, especially poor women of color, who are responsible for a disproportional amount of childcare, often excluding them from participating in projects of social change and resistance."

There are two way to get involved:



1. You can commit to providing weekly childcare to a Twin Cities Experimental College (EXCO) La Academia chapter class. La Academia is the EXCO chapter organized by and for the Latin@ community. Most classes are one to two hours and meet in the evening somewhere in South Minneapolis. There is usually between one and eight kids. Most of the parents speak Spanish and most of the kids speak Spanish and English. Classes begin in early February and will run until late spring.



2. You can commit to being a sub for La Academia classes or to providing childcare for one time events. These could range in time length and number of kids. This would be based on your availability.



Please send an email @

childcare@riseup.net

if you are interested so that they can get a sense of how many people to expect!

Hello Good People!!

Is anyone else feeling anxious? I've noticed a certain distraction in myself lately, undoubtedly related to the fact that I spent over half of the month of November traveling far from home. When I sit down to spend quality time with my children, I immediately begin feeling anxiety: that I am not getting enough done, that I have forgotten something, that I need to reach out for affirmation that I am working hard enough. I find myself migrating towards the computer and my email account, even though I have finished whatever facilitative or consulting work I owe for the day.

Why is this? I am the first to say that every mother is a working mother, whether or not she works outside the home. I myself wear both hats, as both a full time mother and a consultant on projects that would qualify as part-time, and an organizer on political projects that take up what is left of my time (and some time that I do not have). Between my fellowship, my strategic planning contract with a local non-profit, my work with the Rock Dove Collective, the facilitation trainings I offer, and my writing, I should be feeling plenty accomplished at the end of the day. Not to mention the other work I am doing: breastfeeding my daughter, protecting my children from harm, and with the help of my amazing husband and family, feeding them, cleaning them, and getting them to bed at night. This is the work of life.

And yet I am always fighting that bitter sensation that I have not done enough to warrant a moment of peace. From what "lack" does this arise?

In my fellowship, I am working with four other artists and community developers to create a project that centers on the problem of our cultural disconnectedness from land. Alongside this work, I am just starting to read the late 90's tome, Triumph of the Mundane: The Unseen Trends That Shape Our Lives and Environment, by Hal Kane. The book is an effort to track the phenomenal but generally unreported changes to our society - such as speed, distance, and consumption - that have reinvented our culture and our values, to some degree without any intentional thinking or consent from us.

And it has me thinking...no wonder we are culturally un-moored! No wonder we are cynical and disenchanted, no wonder we laugh at the idea of holiness. No wonder I am filled with anxiety as soon as I sit down to rest! Yesterday, while walking down the snow-covered gravel road that runs alongside the woods behind our home, my husband Sam and I found the evidence of a four-wheeler having run repeatedly off the road, purposefully smashing down twenty year old sumac trees and many of our blackberry bushes. I found myself weepy and bewildered as to how someone could find reason to do this. Sam became angry and our son Finn, sensing our distress, began to cry. Siobhan, in her infant fortitude, promptly fell asleep. Trudging home, I could not help but see the connection between this disturbingly destructive act and a disconnection from holiness.

This may read as an angry missive from an anarchist in the woods, hardly befitting the joyful nature of holiday season. But in my mind it is all of a piece. We cannot have joy without living in our sorrow, and we cannot have justice without acknowledging the undercurrent of violence and distrust that flows through our daily lives. My anxiety moves me. It is pushing me to let go of all those behaviors and desires I do not value, but find myself living out. And it is pushing me to hold on to and lift up the things that are sacred to me: my children, my partner, my family, our home, our land, and our love.

In this edition of Iambrown:

  • Death to Sambo Album Release
  • Mother of Many Animation
  • The America Project: Potluck of Ideas - December 14th
  • Minneapolis Childcare Collective Training - December 16th


-----


Teo Blake's Debut Album, Death to Sambo

My dear friend from college days, Teo Blake recently released his debut hip hop album,

Death To Sambo

. It’s available on iTunes at the following link, where you can preview the music before purchasing:



http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/elay/id400066350?i=400066364

Support new musicians!



-----


Madre De Muchos, Mother of Many

Check out this beautiful animation by Emma Lazenby. It tells the story of a hospital midwife, and it is a tribute to her mother who was a midwife from 1980-2008.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbx3ECKvt60&feature=youtube_gdata_player

-----


The America Project: Potluck of Ideas

Intermedia Arts & Kaotic Good Productions invite you to ...

The America Project: Potluck of Ideas

7PM Tuesday, December 14, 2010


at Intermedia Arts


2822 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN



Cost: $5 with potluck item or $10 without


RSVP: 612.871.4444 



What do you bring to the table when it comes to your feelings about the state of America?


Share your food for thought! Bring a potluck item inspired by this question.



Join Intermedia Arts & Kaotic Good Productions for a Community Potluck in the spirit of Sekou Sundiata’s vision of a 51st Dream State. Feed & be fed. Cook up ideas together. Share your food & your food for thought.



Hosted by Robert Karimi, with special performances throughout the evening by:


Tou Saiko Lee & Band


Leah Nelson


BoyTron


Mero Cocinero


Kathy Maxwell


Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay



Plus a screening of Sekou Sundiata’s 51st Dream State film!



-----


Minneapolis Childcare Collective Training

Thursday, December 16 · 7:30pm - 9:00pm


Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association


821 E 35th St


Minneapolis, MN



This is the first of several trainings that we will be hosting for anyone interested in getting involved with the childcare collective next semester. The next training will be in February.



"The Minneapolis Childcare Collective is dedicated to providing high quality childcare in order to support parents' involvement in organizations of resistance and community building. We provide childcare as an act of solidarity with women, peop...le of color, and poor people, especially poor women of color, who are responsible for a disproportional amount of childcare, often excluding them from participating in projects of social change and resistance."

There are two way to get involved:



1. You can commit to providing weekly childcare to a Twin Cities Experimental College (EXCO) La Academia chapter class. La Academia is the EXCO chapter organized by and for the Latin@ community. Most classes are one to two hours and meet in the evening somewhere in South Minneapolis. There is usually between one and eight kids. Most of the parents speak Spanish and most of the kids speak Spanish and English. Classes begin in early February and will run until late spring.



2. You can commit to being a sub for La Academia classes or to providing childcare for one time events. These could range in time length and number of kids. This would be based on your availability.



Please send an email @

childcare@riseup.net

if you are interested so that they can get a sense of how many people to expect!

Read More
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November News: The Thin Time

 Hello Good People!

 
This edition of my newsletter has so much content that I will keep my deep thoughts relatively short. I do want to share, however, that I have been so energized by vulnerability in the last few weeks. Either I forgot that vulnerability could be so inspiring, or I never thought of it in this way. Beginning my fellowship, and experiencing the gratitude and discomfort of finding myself in exactly the right place at exactly the right time to have my creativity and my politics challenged in exactly the right ways, has given me a completely new appreciation for being vulnerable and opening my mind and my heart and my body to what is. 
 
This weekend I also had the opportunity to attend a conference in St. Paul, Minnesota on Overcoming Racism. It was an intense weekend on a number of levels, and I came away with an incredible resource for teaching African American history, which I share below. But for me, by far and away the most important take away was recognizing my own ignorance. In the last year I have developed a workshop on Resisting Racism and I have been very lucky to have some incredible teachers and resources in this process. But this weekend an awareness dawned on me: that I have been taught, and I have taught others, to think about race and racism as primarily a white people/black people issue. Now, obviously I know that race and racism goes well beyond white folks and black folks. But in the same way that we tend to oversimplify just about everything, we oversimplify the problem of racism as being between binaries when we can easily identify ourselves in one or both of them. 
 
The conference I attended, however, focused strongly on the horrendous genocide of Native Americans, and the continued struggle of Native Americans and American Indians to regain and/or retain their land. Throughout both days of the conference, I found myself continually shocked and ashamed by how little I knew of these completely current issues, and I felt very keenly my responsibility as an anti-racist facilitator to build my knowledge. As I returned home and felt the wholeness of my life out in the woods, I began to understand how pivotal land and belonging are, both to that wholeness and to this struggle we are all in - the struggle to not only survive these awful times, but to do so in communion with one another.
 
And so, ever in the spirit of building knowledge, I offer these incredible items that have come to me through the many networks I participate in - a new resource for teaching and learning about black people, a challenging documentary about death row, classes on herbs, a conference on activist scholarship, a queer poetry revival, and a report on violence in and against the LGBTQ community. I hope that there is something useful for you here. And as always, if there is something you find that you think I should share, send it to me!
 
Today is election day. It is also All Souls Day, the Day of the Dead. In Irish tradition, this time of year is the thin time, the time when the ancestors come near. Today I will take some time in silence to reflect on the fact that this country was built on the backs and from the blood of children, mothers, grandmothers, fathers, and grandfathers who were massacred and enslaved by occupiers that could not see the value of their living, and could not truly see the value of the land. 
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • The African American Registry
  • Support The Road to Livingston, A Documentary about Death Row
  • Herb Class Series at The Commons, Brooklyn w/ Lauren Giambrone of Good Fight Herb Co.
  • Abriendo Brecha VIII: Eighth Annual Activist Scholarship Conference
  • Black Queer Poets Embark on Regional 'Salon-Inspired Tour'
  • National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs MEDIA RELEASE
 

----
The African American Registry
 
The African American Registry, found at www.aaregistry.org, is a non-profit education organization and web resource that includes hundreds of hours of filmed oral histories with elders, professionals, youth, and others, captured in the service of giving voice to the black experience and assisting educators in incorporating black history into all parts of their curriculum. Right now, black history is primarily taught in February, and primarily taught about the civil rights movement and the figureheads we feel comfortable with. This resource shifts the paradigm, and the Registry offers low-cost training to K-12 teachers who wish to learn more about its use. Check it out and pass it on!
 
----
Support The Road to Livingston, A Documentary about Death Row
 
My dear friend Sally Bergom is working on a documentary about the death row in Texas. The Road to Livingston follows several people affected by death row, and deals with what happens to people when a loved one is sentenced to death. Sally and her team are trying to raise money to complete the film. Please visit this website,  http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Road-to-Livingston?i=pite, to donate any amount, and watch the incredibly moving trailer. Please also feel free to send the trailer to others and offer feedback, particularly if you have experience in the prison system.

----
Herb Class Series at The Commons, Brooklyn w/ Lauren Giambrone of Good Fight Herb Co.

The Commons Brooklyn (www.thecommonsbrooklyn.org) is hosting a 3 part herbal series in November led by farmer & food justice activist, Ben Schwartz, and herbalist & community health educator and organizer, Lauren Giambrone. Participants can take individual classes or sign up for the entire series. 

Urban Herb Walk
saturday, nov. 6th / 12-2pm / $15-25 suggested, $60 for all 3 classes

Realize the wealth of the medicinal plants of Prospect Park with two guides who have more than a decade of experience! This plant walk will focus on learning how to identify medicinals growing within an urban setting, while discussing how these plants contribute to our health and well-being. Bring a notebook and wear appropriate clothing for being outdoors for 2 hours. Meet at Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park.

Home Sick : herbal & at home remedies for the cold and flu season
wednesday, nov. 10th / 7-8:30pm / $15-25 suggested, $60 for all 3 classes

This class will explore remedies to support the immune system during the cold & flu season, as well as to combat and relieve symptoms when we fall ill. With a hands-on approach and a focus on popular education, participants will share their strategies for staying well and leave with tools (and herbal medicinal recipes!) to keep them healthy and thriving during the winter months. 

Herb Justice : supplying tonic herbs for those without health insurance
wednesday, nov. 17th / 7-8:30pm / $15-25 suggested, $60 for all 3 classes

 

This class will profile several gentle herbs that are great tonics for folks suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, toothaches, insomnia and lung conditions.  Among the herbs we will profile are Mullien, Burdock, Nettles, Lemon Balm and Spilanthes.

about the teachers

Ben Schwartz is a grower and food justice activist specializing in medicinal herbs and teas. He founded and currently co-runs Wassaic Community Farm now in its third year, located in Wassaic, NY. He works with farmers’ market customers and CSA members both locally and in the South Bronx to supply their herbal needs and address issues of food justice. He first started working with wild herbs as a teenager under John Young, the first student of Tom Brown at the Wilderness Awareness school. Ben led his first wild and medicinal plant walk at 18 and has learned from many herbalists—from the late Frank Cooke “Green Man” to Robert Eidis of the North Carolina Goldenseal and Ginseng Farm. Ben has grown and harvested herbs from the South Bronx to Honduras, as well as the Harlem Valley, NY. wassaiccommunityfarm.wordpress.com.



Lauren Giambrone is an herbalist practicing western herbal medicine with a harm reductionist approach. In 2008, she apprenticed at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine and interned at the Ithaca Free Clinic, an integrative community health clinic offering free health-care services to all. Lauren has assisted an acupuncturist & herbalist in clinical practice, provided harm reduction, nutrition and wellness services to homeless youth in lower Manhattan, and assisted the medicinal herbs growing effort at Wassaic Community Farm. For the past four years, she has also been organizing with the Rock Dove Collective, a community health-exchange network that works to transform how health care is accessed. Lauren recently moved to a farm in the Hudson Valley where she continues to wildcraft and grow medicinal herbs, offer consultations and workshops, and co-host a radio show discussing health and the politics of healing. She recently started a small herbal medicine company, Good Fight Herb Co., which can be found at stores and farmers’ markets in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Millerton and Hudson, NY, and online at www.goodfightherbco.com. Lauren believes strongly in the importance of self-care and the role that herbal medicine plays in creating access to health services and education.

 

----
Abriendo Brecha VIII: Eighth Annual Activist Scholarship Conference


Sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin Division of Diversity and Community Engagement Community Engagement Center
February 17-19, 2011
The Texas Union
 
Abriendo Brecha is an annual conference at the University of Texas at Austin dedicated to activist scholarship; i.e. research and creative intellectual work in alignment with communities, organizations, movements, and networks working for social and economic justice. Abriendo Brecha VIII calls for a renewed discussion on the meanings and practices of activist scholarship, particularly as it relates to solidarity between groups and overcoming power inequalities through alliance. Some themes for this year’s conference include: struggles over land, resource distribution, gentrification, prisons, cross-racial alliance, and immigrant rights. 

Abriendo Brecha VIII is a unique opportunity for coalition building across geographic, political, and national spaces, as well as a forum to present engaged academic work in solidarity with communities at the local, national and international level.  Solidarity, as a key theme, will both guide submissions as well as structure the nature of the conference.  Presentations will consist of action-oriented discussions, panels, interactive workshops, performances, and film.  This is an opportunity to meet, exchange experiences, and create local and cross-border connections with others working at the intersections of grassroots organizing and intellectual production. 

We welcome the participation of activists, community members, artists, high school students and those not specifically connected to academia. Abriendo Brecha is free and open to the public. 

Proposal submission deadline: November 15, 2010. 
For proposal instructions and submissions please visit: www.utexas.edu/diversity/abriendobrecha/
Contact AbriendoBrecha2011@gmail.com with any questions. 


----
Black Queer Poets Embark on Regional 'Salon-Inspired Tour'

LOVE the poet, Venus Thrash, and J. Pope take four cities by storm in November with a set of poetry, music, and more. Known as “THE REVIVAL”, the tour begins in Washington, DC, then heads out to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The spoken word concerts will be hosted in four private residences, resurrecting the salon concept and breaking the envelope of safe space for today's queer artists and allies.

The Revival offers a unique experience with featured poets and musicians. Catered by local chefs in each city, the atmosphere is filled with good words and good music. Guests will walk into a home, be welcomed by ‘ushers’ and enjoy a service hosted by Jade Foster, whose “Black Church Maraca” open mic series served as a launch pad for this effort. "With Black Church, poets all over DC opened their homes up to complete strangers so we could all have that opportunity to share,” says Foster. “The Revival plays on that idea, offering a chance for people to sit down and listen, get up and move."

Offering food, drinks, as well a vending opportunities for local artists, each city’s event will feature a local poet, including New York’s Yvonne Fly, Baltimore’s Queen Earth and Philly’s Ms. Wise.

The Revival Tour Schedule:
November 11, Washington, DC.
November 12, Philadelphia.
November 13, Brooklyn.
November 14, Baltimore.
Each show starts at 7pm.

Complete information is available at cereusrevival.tumblr.com; tickets are on sale at cereusrevival.eventbrite.com.

For more information about The Revival, please contact: Tierra Rich at cereusarts@gmail.com

---
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs MEDIA RELEASE

October 26, 2010
Media contact: Sue Yacka 212.714.1184 x 26
syacka@avp.org

REPORT ON LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER (LGBTQ) DOMESTIC/INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES RELEASED TODAY

LGBTQ domestic and intimate partner violence reports rise by 15% since 2008; Murder rate up 50% since 2007; Economic crisis and anti-LGBTQ discrimination present barriers for survivors

NATIONAL— The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) today released the Report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence in the United States in 2009. The Report found that LGBTQ domestic/intimate partner violence reports rose 15% since 2008 and is a pervasive social problem at a time when LGBTQ-specific programs were losing staff or closing altogether due to the economic crisis. In 2009, NCAVP documented 6 murders related to LGBTQ domestic/intimate partner violence, representing a 50% rise since 2007.

“NCAVP member programs face sharp increases in calls from LGBTQ survivors while sustaining 50% or more in cuts to staffing and programs closures because of the financial crisis,” said Lisa Gilmore of the Center on Halsted Anti-Violence Project, “We know that LGBTQ survivors need specific and culturally competent services to stay safe and our primary recommendation in this Report is that funding for LGBTQ-specific anti-violence programs is needed now more than ever.”

LGBTQ survivors reported that from 2008 to 2009, there was a 99% increase in calls for police assistance, with a 135% increase in arrests being made; however during this same time, reports of misarrest were up 144% and reports of police misconduct rose 74%. “NCAVP knows that the police are 10 to 15 times as likely to make a dual arrest in cases of same-sex domestic/intimate partner violence than in heterosexual ones,” said Kelly Clark at the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley’s Community Safety Program, “This Report demonstrates the critical need for LGBTQ-specific cultural competence for first responders, such as law enforcement, to prevent re-traumatizing the survivor of violence.”

NCAVP also found significant barriers related to anti-LGBTQ bias and discrimination to service provision and shelter options for LGBTQ survivors. In this Report, NCAVP calls on local, state and federal governments and private funders to increase funding for community-based LGBTQ-focused domestic/intimate partner violence direct services and prevention. “Policy makers, community organizations and the general public must work to eradicate the anti-LGBTQ bias and discrimination in our laws, culture and society that are barriers to LGBTQ survivors seeking access to vital services and supports,” Terra Slavin of the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s Domestic Violence Legal Advocacy Project. “Legislators must take immediate action to overturn discriminatory legislation, to implement laws that prohibit these practices and to support the civil rights of LGBTQ communities including survivors of domestic/intimate partner violence.”

The findings and recommendations made in this Report, and the compelling real-life survivor stories that are highlighted in the accompanying Survival, Support and Resilience: Stories of LGBTQ Survivors and Victims of Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence,highlight the distinct experiences and challenges encountered by LGBTQ survivors of domestic/intimate partner violence. Policymakers and the public have the responsibility to support NCAVP member organizations in our work to foster survivor self-determination and safety, to eradicate LGBTQ domestic/intimate partner violence, and to end institutional discrimination against LGBTQ communities.

A complete version of the report and the accompanying survivor stories, as well as a pre-recorded audio release from NCAVP members, can be found at: http://www.avp.org/ncavp.htm.

 

 Hello Good People!

 
This edition of my newsletter has so much content that I will keep my deep thoughts relatively short. I do want to share, however, that I have been so energized by vulnerability in the last few weeks. Either I forgot that vulnerability could be so inspiring, or I never thought of it in this way. Beginning my fellowship, and experiencing the gratitude and discomfort of finding myself in exactly the right place at exactly the right time to have my creativity and my politics challenged in exactly the right ways, has given me a completely new appreciation for being vulnerable and opening my mind and my heart and my body to what is. 
 
This weekend I also had the opportunity to attend a conference in St. Paul, Minnesota on Overcoming Racism. It was an intense weekend on a number of levels, and I came away with an incredible resource for teaching African American history, which I share below. But for me, by far and away the most important take away was recognizing my own ignorance. In the last year I have developed a workshop on Resisting Racism and I have been very lucky to have some incredible teachers and resources in this process. But this weekend an awareness dawned on me: that I have been taught, and I have taught others, to think about race and racism as primarily a white people/black people issue. Now, obviously I know that race and racism goes well beyond white folks and black folks. But in the same way that we tend to oversimplify just about everything, we oversimplify the problem of racism as being between binaries when we can easily identify ourselves in one or both of them. 
 
The conference I attended, however, focused strongly on the horrendous genocide of Native Americans, and the continued struggle of Native Americans and American Indians to regain and/or retain their land. Throughout both days of the conference, I found myself continually shocked and ashamed by how little I knew of these completely current issues, and I felt very keenly my responsibility as an anti-racist facilitator to build my knowledge. As I returned home and felt the wholeness of my life out in the woods, I began to understand how pivotal land and belonging are, both to that wholeness and to this struggle we are all in - the struggle to not only survive these awful times, but to do so in communion with one another.
 
And so, ever in the spirit of building knowledge, I offer these incredible items that have come to me through the many networks I participate in - a new resource for teaching and learning about black people, a challenging documentary about death row, classes on herbs, a conference on activist scholarship, a queer poetry revival, and a report on violence in and against the LGBTQ community. I hope that there is something useful for you here. And as always, if there is something you find that you think I should share, send it to me!
 
Today is election day. It is also All Souls Day, the Day of the Dead. In Irish tradition, this time of year is the thin time, the time when the ancestors come near. Today I will take some time in silence to reflect on the fact that this country was built on the backs and from the blood of children, mothers, grandmothers, fathers, and grandfathers who were massacred and enslaved by occupiers that could not see the value of their living, and could not truly see the value of the land. 
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • The African American Registry
  • Support The Road to Livingston, A Documentary about Death Row
  • Herb Class Series at The Commons, Brooklyn w/ Lauren Giambrone of Good Fight Herb Co.
  • Abriendo Brecha VIII: Eighth Annual Activist Scholarship Conference
  • Black Queer Poets Embark on Regional 'Salon-Inspired Tour'
  • National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs MEDIA RELEASE
 

----
The African American Registry
 
The African American Registry, found at www.aaregistry.org, is a non-profit education organization and web resource that includes hundreds of hours of filmed oral histories with elders, professionals, youth, and others, captured in the service of giving voice to the black experience and assisting educators in incorporating black history into all parts of their curriculum. Right now, black history is primarily taught in February, and primarily taught about the civil rights movement and the figureheads we feel comfortable with. This resource shifts the paradigm, and the Registry offers low-cost training to K-12 teachers who wish to learn more about its use. Check it out and pass it on!
 
----
Support The Road to Livingston, A Documentary about Death Row
 
My dear friend Sally Bergom is working on a documentary about the death row in Texas. The Road to Livingston follows several people affected by death row, and deals with what happens to people when a loved one is sentenced to death. Sally and her team are trying to raise money to complete the film. Please visit this website,  http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Road-to-Livingston?i=pite, to donate any amount, and watch the incredibly moving trailer. Please also feel free to send the trailer to others and offer feedback, particularly if you have experience in the prison system.

----
Herb Class Series at The Commons, Brooklyn w/ Lauren Giambrone of Good Fight Herb Co.

The Commons Brooklyn (www.thecommonsbrooklyn.org) is hosting a 3 part herbal series in November led by farmer & food justice activist, Ben Schwartz, and herbalist & community health educator and organizer, Lauren Giambrone. Participants can take individual classes or sign up for the entire series. 

Urban Herb Walk
saturday, nov. 6th / 12-2pm / $15-25 suggested, $60 for all 3 classes

Realize the wealth of the medicinal plants of Prospect Park with two guides who have more than a decade of experience! This plant walk will focus on learning how to identify medicinals growing within an urban setting, while discussing how these plants contribute to our health and well-being. Bring a notebook and wear appropriate clothing for being outdoors for 2 hours. Meet at Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park.

Home Sick : herbal & at home remedies for the cold and flu season
wednesday, nov. 10th / 7-8:30pm / $15-25 suggested, $60 for all 3 classes

This class will explore remedies to support the immune system during the cold & flu season, as well as to combat and relieve symptoms when we fall ill. With a hands-on approach and a focus on popular education, participants will share their strategies for staying well and leave with tools (and herbal medicinal recipes!) to keep them healthy and thriving during the winter months. 

Herb Justice : supplying tonic herbs for those without health insurance
wednesday, nov. 17th / 7-8:30pm / $15-25 suggested, $60 for all 3 classes

 

This class will profile several gentle herbs that are great tonics for folks suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, toothaches, insomnia and lung conditions.  Among the herbs we will profile are Mullien, Burdock, Nettles, Lemon Balm and Spilanthes.

about the teachers

Ben Schwartz is a grower and food justice activist specializing in medicinal herbs and teas. He founded and currently co-runs Wassaic Community Farm now in its third year, located in Wassaic, NY. He works with farmers’ market customers and CSA members both locally and in the South Bronx to supply their herbal needs and address issues of food justice. He first started working with wild herbs as a teenager under John Young, the first student of Tom Brown at the Wilderness Awareness school. Ben led his first wild and medicinal plant walk at 18 and has learned from many herbalists—from the late Frank Cooke “Green Man” to Robert Eidis of the North Carolina Goldenseal and Ginseng Farm. Ben has grown and harvested herbs from the South Bronx to Honduras, as well as the Harlem Valley, NY. wassaiccommunityfarm.wordpress.com.



Lauren Giambrone is an herbalist practicing western herbal medicine with a harm reductionist approach. In 2008, she apprenticed at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine and interned at the Ithaca Free Clinic, an integrative community health clinic offering free health-care services to all. Lauren has assisted an acupuncturist & herbalist in clinical practice, provided harm reduction, nutrition and wellness services to homeless youth in lower Manhattan, and assisted the medicinal herbs growing effort at Wassaic Community Farm. For the past four years, she has also been organizing with the Rock Dove Collective, a community health-exchange network that works to transform how health care is accessed. Lauren recently moved to a farm in the Hudson Valley where she continues to wildcraft and grow medicinal herbs, offer consultations and workshops, and co-host a radio show discussing health and the politics of healing. She recently started a small herbal medicine company, Good Fight Herb Co., which can be found at stores and farmers’ markets in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Millerton and Hudson, NY, and online at www.goodfightherbco.com. Lauren believes strongly in the importance of self-care and the role that herbal medicine plays in creating access to health services and education.

 

----
Abriendo Brecha VIII: Eighth Annual Activist Scholarship Conference


Sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin Division of Diversity and Community Engagement Community Engagement Center
February 17-19, 2011
The Texas Union
 
Abriendo Brecha is an annual conference at the University of Texas at Austin dedicated to activist scholarship; i.e. research and creative intellectual work in alignment with communities, organizations, movements, and networks working for social and economic justice. Abriendo Brecha VIII calls for a renewed discussion on the meanings and practices of activist scholarship, particularly as it relates to solidarity between groups and overcoming power inequalities through alliance. Some themes for this year’s conference include: struggles over land, resource distribution, gentrification, prisons, cross-racial alliance, and immigrant rights. 

Abriendo Brecha VIII is a unique opportunity for coalition building across geographic, political, and national spaces, as well as a forum to present engaged academic work in solidarity with communities at the local, national and international level.  Solidarity, as a key theme, will both guide submissions as well as structure the nature of the conference.  Presentations will consist of action-oriented discussions, panels, interactive workshops, performances, and film.  This is an opportunity to meet, exchange experiences, and create local and cross-border connections with others working at the intersections of grassroots organizing and intellectual production. 

We welcome the participation of activists, community members, artists, high school students and those not specifically connected to academia. Abriendo Brecha is free and open to the public. 

Proposal submission deadline: November 15, 2010. 
For proposal instructions and submissions please visit: www.utexas.edu/diversity/abriendobrecha/
Contact AbriendoBrecha2011@gmail.com with any questions. 


----
Black Queer Poets Embark on Regional 'Salon-Inspired Tour'

LOVE the poet, Venus Thrash, and J. Pope take four cities by storm in November with a set of poetry, music, and more. Known as “THE REVIVAL”, the tour begins in Washington, DC, then heads out to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The spoken word concerts will be hosted in four private residences, resurrecting the salon concept and breaking the envelope of safe space for today's queer artists and allies.

The Revival offers a unique experience with featured poets and musicians. Catered by local chefs in each city, the atmosphere is filled with good words and good music. Guests will walk into a home, be welcomed by ‘ushers’ and enjoy a service hosted by Jade Foster, whose “Black Church Maraca” open mic series served as a launch pad for this effort. "With Black Church, poets all over DC opened their homes up to complete strangers so we could all have that opportunity to share,” says Foster. “The Revival plays on that idea, offering a chance for people to sit down and listen, get up and move."

Offering food, drinks, as well a vending opportunities for local artists, each city’s event will feature a local poet, including New York’s Yvonne Fly, Baltimore’s Queen Earth and Philly’s Ms. Wise.

The Revival Tour Schedule:
November 11, Washington, DC.
November 12, Philadelphia.
November 13, Brooklyn.
November 14, Baltimore.
Each show starts at 7pm.

Complete information is available at cereusrevival.tumblr.com; tickets are on sale at cereusrevival.eventbrite.com.

For more information about The Revival, please contact: Tierra Rich at cereusarts@gmail.com

---
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs MEDIA RELEASE

October 26, 2010
Media contact: Sue Yacka 212.714.1184 x 26
syacka@avp.org

REPORT ON LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER (LGBTQ) DOMESTIC/INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES RELEASED TODAY

LGBTQ domestic and intimate partner violence reports rise by 15% since 2008; Murder rate up 50% since 2007; Economic crisis and anti-LGBTQ discrimination present barriers for survivors

NATIONAL— The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) today released the Report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence in the United States in 2009. The Report found that LGBTQ domestic/intimate partner violence reports rose 15% since 2008 and is a pervasive social problem at a time when LGBTQ-specific programs were losing staff or closing altogether due to the economic crisis. In 2009, NCAVP documented 6 murders related to LGBTQ domestic/intimate partner violence, representing a 50% rise since 2007.

“NCAVP member programs face sharp increases in calls from LGBTQ survivors while sustaining 50% or more in cuts to staffing and programs closures because of the financial crisis,” said Lisa Gilmore of the Center on Halsted Anti-Violence Project, “We know that LGBTQ survivors need specific and culturally competent services to stay safe and our primary recommendation in this Report is that funding for LGBTQ-specific anti-violence programs is needed now more than ever.”

LGBTQ survivors reported that from 2008 to 2009, there was a 99% increase in calls for police assistance, with a 135% increase in arrests being made; however during this same time, reports of misarrest were up 144% and reports of police misconduct rose 74%. “NCAVP knows that the police are 10 to 15 times as likely to make a dual arrest in cases of same-sex domestic/intimate partner violence than in heterosexual ones,” said Kelly Clark at the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley’s Community Safety Program, “This Report demonstrates the critical need for LGBTQ-specific cultural competence for first responders, such as law enforcement, to prevent re-traumatizing the survivor of violence.”

NCAVP also found significant barriers related to anti-LGBTQ bias and discrimination to service provision and shelter options for LGBTQ survivors. In this Report, NCAVP calls on local, state and federal governments and private funders to increase funding for community-based LGBTQ-focused domestic/intimate partner violence direct services and prevention. “Policy makers, community organizations and the general public must work to eradicate the anti-LGBTQ bias and discrimination in our laws, culture and society that are barriers to LGBTQ survivors seeking access to vital services and supports,” Terra Slavin of the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s Domestic Violence Legal Advocacy Project. “Legislators must take immediate action to overturn discriminatory legislation, to implement laws that prohibit these practices and to support the civil rights of LGBTQ communities including survivors of domestic/intimate partner violence.”

The findings and recommendations made in this Report, and the compelling real-life survivor stories that are highlighted in the accompanying Survival, Support and Resilience: Stories of LGBTQ Survivors and Victims of Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence,highlight the distinct experiences and challenges encountered by LGBTQ survivors of domestic/intimate partner violence. Policymakers and the public have the responsibility to support NCAVP member organizations in our work to foster survivor self-determination and safety, to eradicate LGBTQ domestic/intimate partner violence, and to end institutional discrimination against LGBTQ communities.

A complete version of the report and the accompanying survivor stories, as well as a pre-recorded audio release from NCAVP members, can be found at: http://www.avp.org/ncavp.htm.

 

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October Newsletter - Unbending Will

Hello Good People!

A dear friend of mine recently sent me a piece of writing in which she related her commitment to vegetarianism to her commitment to combating white supremacy. She said that her commitment to not eat meat involves deciding to not consume meat in many situations where it would be easier and more convenient to do so; just like the commitment to be anti-racist involves deciding to not participate in or benefit from racist systems, to the extent possible, and to confront racism when it happens, even when it would be easier and more convenient to let it pass (i.e. at the dinner table with your best friend's parents).

I am not a vegetarian, but I found that I knew exactly what she meant. I recently found myself in a similar struggle, but mine was with cloth diapers. 

Bear with me here.

I started trying to use cloth diapers on Siobhan about two months ago. I had tried this with Finn, but could never get the hang of it, and instead opted for the flushable gDiaper, and then chlorine-free disposables, internally berating myself for giving into the sense of self-congratulatory do-goodery provided by green capitalism. When Siobhan was born, I committed to trying again to use cloth diapers. I know the statistics on the global use of and accumulation of waste generated by disposable diapers. They are about as depressing as those pictures of seagulls choking on plastic, so I won't review them here - suffice it to say its a heck of a lot of plastic-wrapped fecal matter that gets thrown away and doesn't biodegrade. Literally, more than can be imagined by the human mind. Which is why, unsurprisingly, we don't tend to think about it. And the cycle of waste continues.

So I got some special diapers and some special snappy covers and I renewed my commitment to cloth diapering. It was really hard at first. I would become easily frustrated, often reverting back to using disposables in the middle of the day, then using them through the night and the next day, before getting back on the horse (so to speak). It took me a few weeks before I figured out why I was so frustrated. It wasn't that cloth diapers were so hard to use. They aren't. It's that disposable diapers are so easy. They soak up the pee and poo and disappear. No mess! And I thought to myself, it's just a few years. It's no big deal. It's just one baby.

Then I was reading an enthralling, imaginative non-fiction book called The World Without Us, which explores what would happen to planet Earth should humanity up and disappear tomorrow. How would the earth recover? And what of our human legacy would remain? In answering that question, author Alan Weisman devotes a small portion of the book to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a former chemical-weapons plant that formally produced mustard and nerve gas, napalm, and insecticides, that was decommissioned and redeveloped as a National Wildlife Reserve. As I am reading about this place, and the super-contaminated Arsenal lake that had to be drained and sealed because any duck unlucky enough to land on it would die within moments, and the bottom of the aluminum boats used to fish out their carcasses would rot within a month, I think to myself, "See! Disposable diapers aren't THAT bad." 

But as soon as I had that thought, I remembered my vegetarian, anti-racist pal, and her ethic of making the harder choice because its right, instead of the easy choice because it's convenient. And I know that while my kids poo wrapped in plastic may not be the residue of napalm production, or DDT, or weapons-grade uranium with a half-life longer than the time our planet has left, it still has no business in a landfill.

I cannot divest myself of the privileged position of being able to choose whether or not to poison myself, or of being able to choose the extent to which I will poison the world around me. I can, however, find every opportunity and accept every invitation to challenge the system that depends on that choice. That confrontation looks like making the extra effort to put a cloth diaper on my daughter's bum, and wash it later, when I could just as easily have used a disposable and thrown it in the trash, where it would eventually make its way back into the environment in the form of poison. And that confrontation could also look like building the possibility of all mothers and care-takers of children being able to make that same choice. It is a thought, that becomes a lifestyle choice, that leads to change at a systemic level. 

I may have the chance to make some of that systemic change as I take the next major step in my transition to being a citizen of the good state of Minnesota. I am so pleased to share that I received a fellowship from Intermedia Arts, Minnesota's premier multidisciplinary, multicultural arts organization. I will be participating in their 2010 Creative Community Leadership Institute, a learning laboratory that brings together artists and community organizers to conceive of and develop projects that cultivate sustaining communities. Should be awesome!

For those of you waiting for the forthcoming story of Siobhan's birth, written by myself and my esteemed midwife, Marcy Tardio, I am sorry to say you will have to wait a bit longer. We wrote it for Sarah Lawrence College magazine, but the editor who had initially accepted the story pulled it at the last minute because she couldn't see fit to include mention of a certain part of the body, through which a baby must travel in order to see the light of day (those of you on this list who are SLC graduates will appreciate the irony of our college's alumnae magazine refusing to mention a vagina). We are currently looking for another place to publish our story, and I will keep you in the loop.

On to brighter things...In this edition of Iambrown, I am sharing information about a project I think rocks and that I hope you will consider supporting, as well as a set of new consensus and facilitation resources recently uploaded to my website:

  • Survivor Theater Project
  • NEW Consensus and Facilitation Resources


-----
Survivor Theater Project

The Survivor Theater Project is a traveling theater company "engaging and empowering survivors to create brave new works of art and speak out to end sexual violence." They are currently presenting an original piece called Resuing Persephone: Surviving and Transforming Sexual Violence. The play is about four women's experiences with rape and sexual abuse, and the social stigmatization that accompanies sexual abuse. The play closes with an in-depth Q&A that generates community discussion about sexual violence. All of the performers are survivors of sexual violence.

The company is about to start touring Massachusetts and New York and are greatly in need of funds to support their trip. They are trying to raise $5000 to cover transportation, food, and modest venue rental fees. You can support them by donating through their website.

-----
NEW Consensus and Facilitation Resources on Iambrown.org

Visit the Resources section of my website, and you will now find a set of articles, tip sheets, and maps that I have developed for my consensus and facilitation trainings, plus an excellent article written by Jo Freeman that I assign to all of my consensus students. Please download, read, and share with others!

Hello Good People!

A dear friend of mine recently sent me a piece of writing in which she related her commitment to vegetarianism to her commitment to combating white supremacy. She said that her commitment to not eat meat involves deciding to not consume meat in many situations where it would be easier and more convenient to do so; just like the commitment to be anti-racist involves deciding to not participate in or benefit from racist systems, to the extent possible, and to confront racism when it happens, even when it would be easier and more convenient to let it pass (i.e. at the dinner table with your best friend's parents).

I am not a vegetarian, but I found that I knew exactly what she meant. I recently found myself in a similar struggle, but mine was with cloth diapers. 

Bear with me here.

I started trying to use cloth diapers on Siobhan about two months ago. I had tried this with Finn, but could never get the hang of it, and instead opted for the flushable gDiaper, and then chlorine-free disposables, internally berating myself for giving into the sense of self-congratulatory do-goodery provided by green capitalism. When Siobhan was born, I committed to trying again to use cloth diapers. I know the statistics on the global use of and accumulation of waste generated by disposable diapers. They are about as depressing as those pictures of seagulls choking on plastic, so I won't review them here - suffice it to say its a heck of a lot of plastic-wrapped fecal matter that gets thrown away and doesn't biodegrade. Literally, more than can be imagined by the human mind. Which is why, unsurprisingly, we don't tend to think about it. And the cycle of waste continues.

So I got some special diapers and some special snappy covers and I renewed my commitment to cloth diapering. It was really hard at first. I would become easily frustrated, often reverting back to using disposables in the middle of the day, then using them through the night and the next day, before getting back on the horse (so to speak). It took me a few weeks before I figured out why I was so frustrated. It wasn't that cloth diapers were so hard to use. They aren't. It's that disposable diapers are so easy. They soak up the pee and poo and disappear. No mess! And I thought to myself, it's just a few years. It's no big deal. It's just one baby.

Then I was reading an enthralling, imaginative non-fiction book called The World Without Us, which explores what would happen to planet Earth should humanity up and disappear tomorrow. How would the earth recover? And what of our human legacy would remain? In answering that question, author Alan Weisman devotes a small portion of the book to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a former chemical-weapons plant that formally produced mustard and nerve gas, napalm, and insecticides, that was decommissioned and redeveloped as a National Wildlife Reserve. As I am reading about this place, and the super-contaminated Arsenal lake that had to be drained and sealed because any duck unlucky enough to land on it would die within moments, and the bottom of the aluminum boats used to fish out their carcasses would rot within a month, I think to myself, "See! Disposable diapers aren't THAT bad." 

But as soon as I had that thought, I remembered my vegetarian, anti-racist pal, and her ethic of making the harder choice because its right, instead of the easy choice because it's convenient. And I know that while my kids poo wrapped in plastic may not be the residue of napalm production, or DDT, or weapons-grade uranium with a half-life longer than the time our planet has left, it still has no business in a landfill.

I cannot divest myself of the privileged position of being able to choose whether or not to poison myself, or of being able to choose the extent to which I will poison the world around me. I can, however, find every opportunity and accept every invitation to challenge the system that depends on that choice. That confrontation looks like making the extra effort to put a cloth diaper on my daughter's bum, and wash it later, when I could just as easily have used a disposable and thrown it in the trash, where it would eventually make its way back into the environment in the form of poison. And that confrontation could also look like building the possibility of all mothers and care-takers of children being able to make that same choice. It is a thought, that becomes a lifestyle choice, that leads to change at a systemic level. 

I may have the chance to make some of that systemic change as I take the next major step in my transition to being a citizen of the good state of Minnesota. I am so pleased to share that I received a fellowship from Intermedia Arts, Minnesota's premier multidisciplinary, multicultural arts organization. I will be participating in their 2010 Creative Community Leadership Institute, a learning laboratory that brings together artists and community organizers to conceive of and develop projects that cultivate sustaining communities. Should be awesome!

For those of you waiting for the forthcoming story of Siobhan's birth, written by myself and my esteemed midwife, Marcy Tardio, I am sorry to say you will have to wait a bit longer. We wrote it for Sarah Lawrence College magazine, but the editor who had initially accepted the story pulled it at the last minute because she couldn't see fit to include mention of a certain part of the body, through which a baby must travel in order to see the light of day (those of you on this list who are SLC graduates will appreciate the irony of our college's alumnae magazine refusing to mention a vagina). We are currently looking for another place to publish our story, and I will keep you in the loop.

On to brighter things...In this edition of Iambrown, I am sharing information about a project I think rocks and that I hope you will consider supporting, as well as a set of new consensus and facilitation resources recently uploaded to my website:

  • Survivor Theater Project
  • NEW Consensus and Facilitation Resources


-----
Survivor Theater Project

The Survivor Theater Project is a traveling theater company "engaging and empowering survivors to create brave new works of art and speak out to end sexual violence." They are currently presenting an original piece called Resuing Persephone: Surviving and Transforming Sexual Violence. The play is about four women's experiences with rape and sexual abuse, and the social stigmatization that accompanies sexual abuse. The play closes with an in-depth Q&A that generates community discussion about sexual violence. All of the performers are survivors of sexual violence.

The company is about to start touring Massachusetts and New York and are greatly in need of funds to support their trip. They are trying to raise $5000 to cover transportation, food, and modest venue rental fees. You can support them by donating through their website.

-----
NEW Consensus and Facilitation Resources on Iambrown.org

Visit the Resources section of my website, and you will now find a set of articles, tip sheets, and maps that I have developed for my consensus and facilitation trainings, plus an excellent article written by Jo Freeman that I assign to all of my consensus students. Please download, read, and share with others!

Read More

September Newsletter - In The Collision

 Hello Good People!


The transition to our new life here in the great MN continues. We've spent the month of August swimming in the lake, harvesting incredible produce from the garden, and putting food up for the winter. In the last few weeks I have canned Yellow Tomato Jam, Corn Chowder, and many jars of Arabiatta Sauce. It is the most satisfying kind of work: hard and finite. I look forward to the taste of summer that I will treat myself to in November, December, January, and on.

And like any transition, I find myself thinking very hard about things that are very hard to think about. Yesterday Sam took me and Finn and Siobhan on a long walk through a restored wetland protected and cultivated by Saint John's University. We walked slowly on a tilting boardwalk through the tall grasses and shallow green water smelling of manure, that fecund smell of deteriorating biomatter. The boardwalk became a path through dark Eastern Hardwoods. And just beyond the ridge I could see another forest begin, the white grey of the boreal forest. Sam tells me this collision of forests is the mark of biodiversity resulting from living at the very point where the glaciers descended and would go no further. Our path continued into a restored Oak Savanna and Prairie melange. At that point, the mosquitoes became ferocious and I was no longer waxing poetic.

But I came away feeling very deeply this same sense I have had now for months - that I am standing in the flow of time, and watching it stretch out behind me and watching it stretch out before me. And there are small signs - how my hands are beginning to age. And there are very very big signs - how my three month-old daughter can laugh and stare and seem to see right through me. How in a weird way, my son Finn seems to know me better than anyone (is that a first kid thing?). I feel lucky and I despair my own death, and I feel carefree and I am burdened by choices, all at the same time. Now isn't that living?

Then this morning I am listening to MPR, hearing the economy defined as "everything that people make and do and buy and sell," and it occurs to me again how insane capitalism is when you consider how precious and finite life is. The very idea that a people's economy - that which creates and impacts a family's livelihood - could be predicated on how many unnecessary things can be invented, patented, produced, marketed, sold, bought, consumed, accumulated, wasted, and thrown away. It is curious as a practice, but it is appalling that such a practice can be defended or worse: normalized.

I am reading an incredible story, The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin, of his journey through Australia in the effort of understanding the Aboriginal's practice of singing their country and keeping it alive and whole through the continued songs that march every inch of ground. The book was written in the early 80's. Hear this message from one of the white men Chatwin spoke to while on his journey: "Today, he said, more than ever before, men had to learn to live without things. Things filled men with fear. The more things they had, the more they had to fear. Things had a way of riveting themselves on to the soul and then telling the soul what to do."

And later, a central figure in the book, Arkady says, "The world, if it has a future, has an ascetic future."

So I am challenging myself to an ascetic future, to consider how to do more making and doing, more remaking and trading and giving, and less buying and selling and accumulating and throwing away. More generosity, and less hoarding. Now isn't that living?
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Vote for East Side Community High School
  • The Great Republic of Rough and Ready - New Album!!
  • Dreaming Man, Face Down - New Book by Mark Conway
-----
Vote for East Side Community High School!!

This comes by way of my dear friend Elise Stone of the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. Her daugher is a student at East Side Community High School, which is located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. ESCH is eligible to become one of 20 schools that will receive half a million dollars from Kohls Cares, through a contest being run entirely on Facebook. The need to be in the top 20 of schools to receive the most votes, and right now they are ranked 54th. Currently, ESCH is the ONLY PUBLIC SCHOOL to have made it into the top 100 schools, and the only New York City public school to have made it this far. Unlike many of the private schools in the competition, ESCH doesn't have the resources to offer free iPods as incentives to get folks to vote, so the school's principal has been camping out in front of the school to raise awareness and get out the vote.

I had the privilege of working with staff at ESCH in 2008 when I learned about their 100% Respect program, and used many of the principles of their program in my work with the Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women, which was at that time housed in the same building.

Voting ends tomorrow, so VOTE TONIGHT!!
 
-----
The Great Republic of Rough and Ready - New Album!!

My dear friends Elissa Spence and Sam Stein, the inestimable musicians who make up the band GRRREADY have released a new album, The Angel of Death. They play
 "spare reimaginings of blues, folks, and country music." 

If you are in the New York area, you can see them play at the following upcoming dates and locations in September:


9/12 Pete's Candy Store
9/15 The Tank, as part of their Puppet Playlist series

 

9/19 Asbury Methodist Church (Yonkers)

 

If you are outside of NYC, check them out online, and buy the new album. You won't be disappointed. I listen to these folks as often as I listen to Erykah Badu.
 

-----

Dreaming Man, Face Down
 
Dreaming Man, Face Down, a new book of poems from Mark Conway, is a gorgeous and challenging meditation on death and dying. I have been reading Mark Conway's poetry for years (I have the privilege of his friendship because I happened to fall in love with his son), but I have only just begun understanding it since I have become a mother! It is deep, raw, irreverant, humorous, and electrifying. Poet Marie Howe says of his work, "Oh Lord, read this book. It made me laugh out loud and put my head in my hands. It made me look out the window and be glad."
 
Mark Conway will be giving a reading to celebrate the release of his second book on Friday, September 3rd at Micawber's in St. Paul, MN at 7pm. Be blown away.
 
You can buy the book on amazon, or from any big bookstore.
 
About the Author: Mark Conway is the author of Any Holy City which won the Gerald Cable Book Award and was short-listed for the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry. His work has appeared in The Paris Review, Slate, American Poetry Review, and Ploughshares. He lives in Avon, Minnesota and directs the Literary Arts Institute at the College of Saint Benedict.
 

 Hello Good People!


The transition to our new life here in the great MN continues. We've spent the month of August swimming in the lake, harvesting incredible produce from the garden, and putting food up for the winter. In the last few weeks I have canned Yellow Tomato Jam, Corn Chowder, and many jars of Arabiatta Sauce. It is the most satisfying kind of work: hard and finite. I look forward to the taste of summer that I will treat myself to in November, December, January, and on.

And like any transition, I find myself thinking very hard about things that are very hard to think about. Yesterday Sam took me and Finn and Siobhan on a long walk through a restored wetland protected and cultivated by Saint John's University. We walked slowly on a tilting boardwalk through the tall grasses and shallow green water smelling of manure, that fecund smell of deteriorating biomatter. The boardwalk became a path through dark Eastern Hardwoods. And just beyond the ridge I could see another forest begin, the white grey of the boreal forest. Sam tells me this collision of forests is the mark of biodiversity resulting from living at the very point where the glaciers descended and would go no further. Our path continued into a restored Oak Savanna and Prairie melange. At that point, the mosquitoes became ferocious and I was no longer waxing poetic.

But I came away feeling very deeply this same sense I have had now for months - that I am standing in the flow of time, and watching it stretch out behind me and watching it stretch out before me. And there are small signs - how my hands are beginning to age. And there are very very big signs - how my three month-old daughter can laugh and stare and seem to see right through me. How in a weird way, my son Finn seems to know me better than anyone (is that a first kid thing?). I feel lucky and I despair my own death, and I feel carefree and I am burdened by choices, all at the same time. Now isn't that living?

Then this morning I am listening to MPR, hearing the economy defined as "everything that people make and do and buy and sell," and it occurs to me again how insane capitalism is when you consider how precious and finite life is. The very idea that a people's economy - that which creates and impacts a family's livelihood - could be predicated on how many unnecessary things can be invented, patented, produced, marketed, sold, bought, consumed, accumulated, wasted, and thrown away. It is curious as a practice, but it is appalling that such a practice can be defended or worse: normalized.

I am reading an incredible story, The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin, of his journey through Australia in the effort of understanding the Aboriginal's practice of singing their country and keeping it alive and whole through the continued songs that march every inch of ground. The book was written in the early 80's. Hear this message from one of the white men Chatwin spoke to while on his journey: "Today, he said, more than ever before, men had to learn to live without things. Things filled men with fear. The more things they had, the more they had to fear. Things had a way of riveting themselves on to the soul and then telling the soul what to do."

And later, a central figure in the book, Arkady says, "The world, if it has a future, has an ascetic future."

So I am challenging myself to an ascetic future, to consider how to do more making and doing, more remaking and trading and giving, and less buying and selling and accumulating and throwing away. More generosity, and less hoarding. Now isn't that living?
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Vote for East Side Community High School
  • The Great Republic of Rough and Ready - New Album!!
  • Dreaming Man, Face Down - New Book by Mark Conway
-----
Vote for East Side Community High School!!

This comes by way of my dear friend Elise Stone of the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. Her daugher is a student at East Side Community High School, which is located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. ESCH is eligible to become one of 20 schools that will receive half a million dollars from Kohls Cares, through a contest being run entirely on Facebook. The need to be in the top 20 of schools to receive the most votes, and right now they are ranked 54th. Currently, ESCH is the ONLY PUBLIC SCHOOL to have made it into the top 100 schools, and the only New York City public school to have made it this far. Unlike many of the private schools in the competition, ESCH doesn't have the resources to offer free iPods as incentives to get folks to vote, so the school's principal has been camping out in front of the school to raise awareness and get out the vote.

I had the privilege of working with staff at ESCH in 2008 when I learned about their 100% Respect program, and used many of the principles of their program in my work with the Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women, which was at that time housed in the same building.

Voting ends tomorrow, so VOTE TONIGHT!!
 
-----
The Great Republic of Rough and Ready - New Album!!

My dear friends Elissa Spence and Sam Stein, the inestimable musicians who make up the band GRRREADY have released a new album, The Angel of Death. They play
 "spare reimaginings of blues, folks, and country music." 

If you are in the New York area, you can see them play at the following upcoming dates and locations in September:


9/12 Pete's Candy Store
9/15 The Tank, as part of their Puppet Playlist series

 

9/19 Asbury Methodist Church (Yonkers)

 

If you are outside of NYC, check them out online, and buy the new album. You won't be disappointed. I listen to these folks as often as I listen to Erykah Badu.
 

-----

Dreaming Man, Face Down
 
Dreaming Man, Face Down, a new book of poems from Mark Conway, is a gorgeous and challenging meditation on death and dying. I have been reading Mark Conway's poetry for years (I have the privilege of his friendship because I happened to fall in love with his son), but I have only just begun understanding it since I have become a mother! It is deep, raw, irreverant, humorous, and electrifying. Poet Marie Howe says of his work, "Oh Lord, read this book. It made me laugh out loud and put my head in my hands. It made me look out the window and be glad."
 
Mark Conway will be giving a reading to celebrate the release of his second book on Friday, September 3rd at Micawber's in St. Paul, MN at 7pm. Be blown away.
 
You can buy the book on amazon, or from any big bookstore.
 
About the Author: Mark Conway is the author of Any Holy City which won the Gerald Cable Book Award and was short-listed for the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry. His work has appeared in The Paris Review, Slate, American Poetry Review, and Ploughshares. He lives in Avon, Minnesota and directs the Literary Arts Institute at the College of Saint Benedict.
 

Read More
Uncategorized Uncategorized

August Newsletter - IamArriving

 Hello Good People!

 
My apologies for the hiatus - I gave birth to my daughter Siobhan Eloise Brown Conway on June 1st, 2010 and life since then has been, well, different! Siobhan was born at home, and I was attended in my labor by an extraordinary team that included my midwife, Marcy Tardio, my doula, Samara Gaev, and my husband, Samuel Conway. It was a transformative birth experience - Siobhan came in less than 5 hours and weighed 10 lbs 12 oz! My midwife Marcy and I are writing the story of the birth experience together, to be published in the Sarah Lawrence College Magazine (we are both alums). When that goes up, I will link to it in Iambrown so that those who are interested can have a read.
 
And now for the other big news. As many of you already know, my partner Sam and I made the decision this past spring to move our growing family to the Twin Cities (otherwise known as Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota). We officially left Brooklyn on July 30th, and we are currently taking a brief respite from the world at Sam's childhood home in the woods, before we begin home-hunting in earnest. 
 
Sam grew up in Minnesota, and I have been in love with it ever since the first time I visited him here in the summer of 2004. It has always been our plan to live here, and when we became pregnant with our second child, we found ourselves considering what it would mean to go ahead and make the transition now (as opposed to 2012, when everything is falling apart :). Leaving Brooklyn was one of the hardest choices I have ever made, but I realized two things as a part of that process: 1) leaving my community was not ever going to be easy, whether I did it in 2010 or 2012 or 2020; and 2) it was because I had this incredible, strong community that I could be brave enough to leave. In my community, I am deeply rooted in people rather than place, which means I am not really leaving it behind me. I can carry it with me.
 
And there's always facebook.
 
Needless to say, this is an enormous transition. Just ask my two-year old. But I am so happy to have the support of my friends and family in taking this step, and so thrilled to build a truly healthy life for my children in this beautiful place, where the food is fresh off the land, the seasons are challenging and rewarding, the cities have lakes and the bike paths have bridges!
 
What does this mean for Iambrown? 
 
I will continue to do my work in the world - teaching Consensus Decision-Making workshops, as well as workshops on Resisting Racism; facilitating for community-based organizations, non-profits, and educational institutions; advancing the cause of accessible health care for all people (I will continue to be a member of Rock Dove Collective, woo!). I have always been willing to travel to teach and facilitate, and that will not change. I can also make referrals to facilitators and colleagues in New York for those organizations that lack the budget to pay for travel and accommodations.
 
How can you support this transition?
 
Help me connect with organizations in the midwest! I would like to bring my facilitation and workshops to communities that need them, and I am always looking for opportunities to grow. So if you know of an org that could use my help, refer them to me. And if you know of a program or resource I could benefit from, send it my way!
 
You can also support this transition by helping me figure out how to get back to New York City: two organizations in New York have requested that I return to offer consensus training in the fall, but neither have the resources to fund airfare. If you or your organization is in need of training, and can compensate me by funding my air travel and/or accommodations, let's talk!
 
What does this mean for the newsletter?
 
I will continue sending the Iambrown newsletter on a monthly basis for as long as feels right. It will have more narrative and more resources, and less local event announcements (since, you know, I am not local anymore). If you have any ideas as to how I could make the newsletter stronger and more relevant to your work, let a sista know!
 
And thank you all for reading, and encouraging, and supporting me these last few years. If you promise to continue inspiring me, I promise to continue working for and imagining and embodying change.
 
Be well-Autumn
 
p.s. Thanks to all who supported and fought for the Midwifery Modernization Act (MMA). MMA passed the New York State Senate unanimously and without debate, which means that homebirth midwives in NYC are now free to practice without the restriction of a written agreement with an obstetrician, and without fear of being reported for doing the work they are trained to do. Yes! Change is possible!

 Hello Good People!

 
My apologies for the hiatus - I gave birth to my daughter Siobhan Eloise Brown Conway on June 1st, 2010 and life since then has been, well, different! Siobhan was born at home, and I was attended in my labor by an extraordinary team that included my midwife, Marcy Tardio, my doula, Samara Gaev, and my husband, Samuel Conway. It was a transformative birth experience - Siobhan came in less than 5 hours and weighed 10 lbs 12 oz! My midwife Marcy and I are writing the story of the birth experience together, to be published in the Sarah Lawrence College Magazine (we are both alums). When that goes up, I will link to it in Iambrown so that those who are interested can have a read.
 
And now for the other big news. As many of you already know, my partner Sam and I made the decision this past spring to move our growing family to the Twin Cities (otherwise known as Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota). We officially left Brooklyn on July 30th, and we are currently taking a brief respite from the world at Sam's childhood home in the woods, before we begin home-hunting in earnest. 
 
Sam grew up in Minnesota, and I have been in love with it ever since the first time I visited him here in the summer of 2004. It has always been our plan to live here, and when we became pregnant with our second child, we found ourselves considering what it would mean to go ahead and make the transition now (as opposed to 2012, when everything is falling apart :). Leaving Brooklyn was one of the hardest choices I have ever made, but I realized two things as a part of that process: 1) leaving my community was not ever going to be easy, whether I did it in 2010 or 2012 or 2020; and 2) it was because I had this incredible, strong community that I could be brave enough to leave. In my community, I am deeply rooted in people rather than place, which means I am not really leaving it behind me. I can carry it with me.
 
And there's always facebook.
 
Needless to say, this is an enormous transition. Just ask my two-year old. But I am so happy to have the support of my friends and family in taking this step, and so thrilled to build a truly healthy life for my children in this beautiful place, where the food is fresh off the land, the seasons are challenging and rewarding, the cities have lakes and the bike paths have bridges!
 
What does this mean for Iambrown? 
 
I will continue to do my work in the world - teaching Consensus Decision-Making workshops, as well as workshops on Resisting Racism; facilitating for community-based organizations, non-profits, and educational institutions; advancing the cause of accessible health care for all people (I will continue to be a member of Rock Dove Collective, woo!). I have always been willing to travel to teach and facilitate, and that will not change. I can also make referrals to facilitators and colleagues in New York for those organizations that lack the budget to pay for travel and accommodations.
 
How can you support this transition?
 
Help me connect with organizations in the midwest! I would like to bring my facilitation and workshops to communities that need them, and I am always looking for opportunities to grow. So if you know of an org that could use my help, refer them to me. And if you know of a program or resource I could benefit from, send it my way!
 
You can also support this transition by helping me figure out how to get back to New York City: two organizations in New York have requested that I return to offer consensus training in the fall, but neither have the resources to fund airfare. If you or your organization is in need of training, and can compensate me by funding my air travel and/or accommodations, let's talk!
 
What does this mean for the newsletter?
 
I will continue sending the Iambrown newsletter on a monthly basis for as long as feels right. It will have more narrative and more resources, and less local event announcements (since, you know, I am not local anymore). If you have any ideas as to how I could make the newsletter stronger and more relevant to your work, let a sista know!
 
And thank you all for reading, and encouraging, and supporting me these last few years. If you promise to continue inspiring me, I promise to continue working for and imagining and embodying change.
 
Be well-Autumn
 
p.s. Thanks to all who supported and fought for the Midwifery Modernization Act (MMA). MMA passed the New York State Senate unanimously and without debate, which means that homebirth midwives in NYC are now free to practice without the restriction of a written agreement with an obstetrician, and without fear of being reported for doing the work they are trained to do. Yes! Change is possible!

Read More

May Newsletter

 Hello Good People!

 
As many of you already know, I am expecting my second child this month (woooo)! It is extremely timely, then, that the fight to save Home Birth in New York City is currently gaining a great deal of momentum, with a current crisis in access to care that has been brought on by the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital. As a woman who believes very deeply in the power of natural birth - as a woman who has experienced natural birth - and is currently planning a Home Birth, this issue is very close to my heart. I ask that you read about it and take action by signing the petition I link to below.
 
Also up for grabs in my newsletter this month - you can donate your new, unused, old, or broken bike to the Cypress Hills Community Center, and spread the super fit and environmentally friendly practice of biking to the next generation of young people. You can also read a fantastic and challenging essay on alternatives to policing by my girl Caroline Loomis.
 
I am excited to announce that I have an article being published in the May issue of Bonfire, the monthly e-publication of the International Institute for Facilitation and Change. Check out www.iifac.org to subscribe and read my article all about Restating for Facilitators.
 
Since I will be giving birth this month, I will not be sending a newsletter in June (unless I am feeling really ambitious), but expect to hear from me in July!
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Save Homebirth in New York City!!
  • Donate a Bike to the Cypress Hills Community Center
  • Finding Ways to Not Call the Police
-----

Save Home Birth in New York City!!


If you receive my newsletter, chances are that you and I agree on some fairly basic progressive ideas, including the idea that each human being should have the right and every opportunity to determine for him or her self what kind of health care he or she would like to have. What many people around the country are not aware of is how this fundamental right applies to birth. It may seem to be straightforward that if a woman can choose who her practitioner is, then she can quite as easily choose where she would like to give birth and what the nature of that environment should be. 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Few expectant mothers are offered the option to give birth in any setting except for a hospital, and for those of us who have chosen to give birth outside of hospitals (a choice that is made for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is to avoid the use of unnecessary interventions, such as drugs and major surgery, that are routinely used in hospitals in order to "manage" the birth experience), the option to give birth at home is under serious threat.

In New York State, Home Birth Midwives are beholden to a law that requires them to have a Written Practice Agreement (WPA) with an Obstetrician. This means that in order to practice "legally" every Home Birth Midwife must have an Obstetrician who is willing to sign a document that says he or she is the formal backup physician, should the midwife need to transfer her patient from home to hospital. In and of itself, this law would not be a problem, if it were not for the fact that there are currently no Obstetricians in the whole of New York City willing to sign a WPA with a Home Birth Midwife. St. Vincent's Hospital was the home of the only obstetrics practice in New York City supportive of a woman's right to give birth at home; with its recent closure, Home Birth Midwives are now forced to practice illegally.

Choices in Childbirth has come up with a number of ways that you can help to support Home Birth Midwives in maintaining their ability to practice legally in New York City.

By Petition:
You can sign the petition supporting the Midwifery Modernization Act which will remove the WPA from the midwifery law, effectively removing this barrier to accessing midwifery care. (See NYSALM's fact sheet about what the Midwifery Modernization Act Means for You).

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/midwifery/

By Phone:
Call 311; or Wendy Saunders, Executive Deputy Commissioner for the NY State Department of Health, appointed by Governor Paterson at 518-474-8390; or Larry Mokhiber, the Secretary of the Board of Midwifery at 518-474-3817, extension 130.

And say....

"With the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital, half of the licensed, highly trained home birth midwives serving NYC have lost their  
Written Practice Agreement (WPA). St Vincent's was the only Hospital in the city supportive of a woman's right to choose a home birth and willing to sign a WPA.  In the weeks since it's announced closure, these midwives have reached out to hospitals and obstetricians all across the city looking for support, with no success. Please help us to save the homebirth option in New York."

By Email:
You can also email the Governor at http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/GovernorContactForm.php 

Thanks for any support you can give. And please spread the word!

-----
Donate a Bike to the Cypress Hills Community Center

The Cypress Hills Community Center, a newly re-opened multi-use center serving the residents of the Cypress Hills NYCHA Community in East New York, is looking for donated bicycles for elementary and middle-school youth. These bicycles will be used in our "Junior Mechanics" program, where young people are taught to ride, use, and maintain bicycles over the course of the summer. Broken bicycles are welcome. 

The Bicycles can be dropped off at the Cypress Hills Community Center (475 Fountain Ave, Brooklyn NY) between the hours of 11-8 Monday-Friday or 12-5 on Saturdays. If you can't get your donated bike to the Community Center, we can make arrangments to pick it up. Contact Samuel Conway at sconway@dfoy.org for more information.


-----
Feeling for the Edge of Your Imagination: Finding Ways to Not Call the Police
 
My friend Caroline Loomis wrote a really beautiful and on point piece in which she challenges the reader to consider what it means to call the police when we are experiencing or have experienced harm of some kind, what it means to participate in a legal system that imprisons people as opposed to helping them to heal, and what it would look like if more of us stopped calling the police and started creating community-based alternatives for addressing harm and holding each other accountable. It is a deeply challenging essay, and even includes a set of exercises the reader can engage in to think through alternatives. I highly recommend it, and you can find the article posted in full here:
 
 
 

 Hello Good People!

 
As many of you already know, I am expecting my second child this month (woooo)! It is extremely timely, then, that the fight to save Home Birth in New York City is currently gaining a great deal of momentum, with a current crisis in access to care that has been brought on by the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital. As a woman who believes very deeply in the power of natural birth - as a woman who has experienced natural birth - and is currently planning a Home Birth, this issue is very close to my heart. I ask that you read about it and take action by signing the petition I link to below.
 
Also up for grabs in my newsletter this month - you can donate your new, unused, old, or broken bike to the Cypress Hills Community Center, and spread the super fit and environmentally friendly practice of biking to the next generation of young people. You can also read a fantastic and challenging essay on alternatives to policing by my girl Caroline Loomis.
 
I am excited to announce that I have an article being published in the May issue of Bonfire, the monthly e-publication of the International Institute for Facilitation and Change. Check out www.iifac.org to subscribe and read my article all about Restating for Facilitators.
 
Since I will be giving birth this month, I will not be sending a newsletter in June (unless I am feeling really ambitious), but expect to hear from me in July!
 
In this edition of Iambrown:
  • Save Homebirth in New York City!!
  • Donate a Bike to the Cypress Hills Community Center
  • Finding Ways to Not Call the Police
-----

Save Home Birth in New York City!!


If you receive my newsletter, chances are that you and I agree on some fairly basic progressive ideas, including the idea that each human being should have the right and every opportunity to determine for him or her self what kind of health care he or she would like to have. What many people around the country are not aware of is how this fundamental right applies to birth. It may seem to be straightforward that if a woman can choose who her practitioner is, then she can quite as easily choose where she would like to give birth and what the nature of that environment should be. 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Few expectant mothers are offered the option to give birth in any setting except for a hospital, and for those of us who have chosen to give birth outside of hospitals (a choice that is made for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is to avoid the use of unnecessary interventions, such as drugs and major surgery, that are routinely used in hospitals in order to "manage" the birth experience), the option to give birth at home is under serious threat.

In New York State, Home Birth Midwives are beholden to a law that requires them to have a Written Practice Agreement (WPA) with an Obstetrician. This means that in order to practice "legally" every Home Birth Midwife must have an Obstetrician who is willing to sign a document that says he or she is the formal backup physician, should the midwife need to transfer her patient from home to hospital. In and of itself, this law would not be a problem, if it were not for the fact that there are currently no Obstetricians in the whole of New York City willing to sign a WPA with a Home Birth Midwife. St. Vincent's Hospital was the home of the only obstetrics practice in New York City supportive of a woman's right to give birth at home; with its recent closure, Home Birth Midwives are now forced to practice illegally.

Choices in Childbirth has come up with a number of ways that you can help to support Home Birth Midwives in maintaining their ability to practice legally in New York City.

By Petition:
You can sign the petition supporting the Midwifery Modernization Act which will remove the WPA from the midwifery law, effectively removing this barrier to accessing midwifery care. (See NYSALM's fact sheet about what the Midwifery Modernization Act Means for You).

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/midwifery/

By Phone:
Call 311; or Wendy Saunders, Executive Deputy Commissioner for the NY State Department of Health, appointed by Governor Paterson at 518-474-8390; or Larry Mokhiber, the Secretary of the Board of Midwifery at 518-474-3817, extension 130.

And say....

"With the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital, half of the licensed, highly trained home birth midwives serving NYC have lost their  
Written Practice Agreement (WPA). St Vincent's was the only Hospital in the city supportive of a woman's right to choose a home birth and willing to sign a WPA.  In the weeks since it's announced closure, these midwives have reached out to hospitals and obstetricians all across the city looking for support, with no success. Please help us to save the homebirth option in New York."

By Email:
You can also email the Governor at http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/GovernorContactForm.php 

Thanks for any support you can give. And please spread the word!

-----
Donate a Bike to the Cypress Hills Community Center

The Cypress Hills Community Center, a newly re-opened multi-use center serving the residents of the Cypress Hills NYCHA Community in East New York, is looking for donated bicycles for elementary and middle-school youth. These bicycles will be used in our "Junior Mechanics" program, where young people are taught to ride, use, and maintain bicycles over the course of the summer. Broken bicycles are welcome. 

The Bicycles can be dropped off at the Cypress Hills Community Center (475 Fountain Ave, Brooklyn NY) between the hours of 11-8 Monday-Friday or 12-5 on Saturdays. If you can't get your donated bike to the Community Center, we can make arrangments to pick it up. Contact Samuel Conway at sconway@dfoy.org for more information.


-----
Feeling for the Edge of Your Imagination: Finding Ways to Not Call the Police
 
My friend Caroline Loomis wrote a really beautiful and on point piece in which she challenges the reader to consider what it means to call the police when we are experiencing or have experienced harm of some kind, what it means to participate in a legal system that imprisons people as opposed to helping them to heal, and what it would look like if more of us stopped calling the police and started creating community-based alternatives for addressing harm and holding each other accountable. It is a deeply challenging essay, and even includes a set of exercises the reader can engage in to think through alternatives. I highly recommend it, and you can find the article posted in full here:
 
 
 
Read More
Uncategorized Uncategorized

April Newsletter

 Hello Good People!

 
As many of you already know, I serve as a member of the Board of Directors of smartMeme, an amazing group that provides training and develops story-based strategy with social justice organizations across the country. I am so excited to announce that smartMeme is publishing its first book this week, entitled Re:Imagining Change, and we are throwing a big book release party at Bluestockings Bookstore on Sunday evening to celebrate!! Please read on for more information.
 
And in the rest of this edition of Iambrown, you will find other opportunities for reimagining yourself and your community: through goddess burlesque, through a unique vocal arts program that takes place every summer in Croatia, and through an opportunity to reclaim our health. 
 
In this Edition of Iambrown:
  • Re:Imagining Change - Book Release Event March 28th!
  • The International Vocal Arts Workshop in Grožnjan, Croatia
  • Goddess Burlesque!! - Begins April 5th
  • Reclaiming Our Health Fair - April 3rd
If you have trouble reading this e-newsletter, please visit my website at www.iambrown.org.

-----
Re:Imagining Change - Book Release Event March 28th!
 

smartMeme's first book, co-authored by Patrick Reinsborough and Doyle Canning, is being published this week by PM Press [http://smartmeme.org/book ] - and we're headed to New York City to celebrate! 


Join Patrick & Doyle (plus smartMeme Board leaders & friends) for *two* community events in New York City:
 
in Manhattan...
*Sunday 3/28 7:00 pm*
Bluestockings Bookstore & Activists Center
www.bluestockings.com  
172 Allen St (1 block south of Houston & 1rst Ave.)
NY, NY 10002 

in Williamsburg...
*Monday 3/29 7:30 pm*
The Change You Want To See Gallery
www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org
84 Havemeyer St @ Metropolitan Ave 
Brooklyn, NY 11211 

The book "Re:Imagining Change -- How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements and Change the World"  [www.smartmeme.org/book] is an interactive and accessible resource guide to smartMeme's story-based strategy tools and methodology. The book outlines how to apply narrative power analysis to effectively frame issues and offers plenty of juicy case studies and analysis, including a call for our movements to innovate our storytelling techniques in the face of the looming ecological crisis. 
 
Come out to hear some of the insights from "Re:Imagining Change", chat with the co-authors and pick up your very own copy of the book! We'd love to see you!

(And, If you can't make it -- you can now order a copy of it at: http://www.smartmeme.org/book) 
 
Yours in celebration,
Doyle, Patrick, Autumn, Maryrose, Shana, Nupur, and Myla
 
PS: Major discounts for bulk purchases are available (10 or more copies) for groups that want to distribute the book to their staff or members - email info (at) smartmeme dot org for details!
 
PPS: Thanks for your help spreading the word! Tweet it:
@smartMeme book release in NYC 3/28 & 3/29 http://bit.ly/dd1xrQ 

-----
The International Vocal Arts Workshop in Grožnjan, Croatia
Looking for a summer music and theater program in Europe?
Want to study with faculty from around the world?
Perform in a medieval hilltop village? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Jeunesses Musicales Croatia Summer Festival and School offers the International Vocal Arts Workshop, an unusual and adventurous session for singers and instrumentalists who are looking to think, and perform, outside of the box. This is an opportunity to explore every genre from Artsong, Arias, Early Music and Folk, to Rock, Jazz and Musical Theater. Led by Jane McMahan of Barnard College, Columbia University, the workshop fosters a collaborative environment between participants, guest artists and teachers, and the medieval hilltop village of Grožnjan, Croatia. In addition to intensive personal vocal coaching, participants study with visiting artists and work together to create a variety of performances that draw on world music, dance, theater, mask-making and stage-craft.

The program’s fifth season will run from June 7th-24th, 2010. Please see www.artSynergy.net for more information.

Information Session
March 27th 3:00 PM
Ella Weed Room in Milbank Hall, 2nd Floor
Barnard College, Columbia University
3009 Broadway  (117th St.)

-----
Goddess Burlesque!! Begins April 5th

Taught by Howling Vic aka Victoria Libertore

SPRING SESSION (six consecutive Mondays):
Mondays, April 5th - May 10th, 2010, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Location: Studios 353

353 W. 48th St., 2nd Fl. (between 8th & 9th Ave.) 
Cost: $300 ($250 for past participants of any of Victoria's workshops)
Credit cards are accepted.
Registration: Limited to eight.
Deposit of $150 is due by March 29th to reserve your spot.
Contact: victorialibertore@gmail.com

Optional performance at the end of this session: Dixon Place on Thursday, May 13th, 2010.

Come let loose of your inhibitions and get comfortable in your own skin. In this six-week workshop, you will build a three to five-minute performance piece incorporating a strip tease that reflects your individual attributes.  Using tools of physical theatre, archetypal energy, intuition, character exploration and imagery, each participant creates an original performance piece, receives feedback and learns how to further develop the piece, and then performs the creation while discovering how to be comfortable while doing it! Women of all backgrounds are welcome and previous performance experience is not a requirement.  Performance at the end of the workshop (totally optional).  Please note this builds from week to week, and you get the most out of it if you are available for all dates. Please see Teaching at www.howlingvic.com for Victoria's bio and testimonials.

Bio
Victoria Libertore aka Howling Vic has performed her original performance art at dozens of venues throughout New York including BAX, Dixon Place, Galapagos, Joe's Pub and Joyce SoHo as well as in Boston, Philly, Provincetown, Montreal and Toronto. Victoria has taught sold-out burlesque workshops at Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Dance New Amsterdam, Grove Mama Ink and independently. Victoria has worked with Six Figures Theatre Company teaching workshops in the Viewpoints technique, has taught improv, hula and worked for eight years teaching performance, showmanship and how to interact with audiences at an international hands-on science museum. Victoria also coaches one-on-one for solo performance.

Victoria has a BFA in Theatre from Otterbein College. Her studies also include Balinese mask with Per Brahe, Butoh with Tanya Calamoneri, clown with Kendall Cornell, Grotowski with Raïna von Waldenburg, Viewpoints with Stephen Wangh and site-specific performance with Martha Bowers. She is a 2008-2010 Brooklyn Arts Exchange/BAX Theatre Artist in Residence where she is developing new performance work.

Victoria has developed her own original approach and method to performance which she calls Archetypal Energy Work. She combines archetypal images with both chakra and imagery work to create a dynamic and powerful experience for both the performer and audience. She teaches this approach to those who wish to create their own original performance work.

-----
Reclaiming Our Health - April 3rd
A health fair for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming(LGBTSTGNC) People of Color to gain knowledge and access to different community organizations that offer health services and resources specifically for our communities. Organized by the Audre Lorde Project (www.alp.org)
 
When: Saturday April 3rd 2010 12-6pm 
Where: The Brecht Forum 451 West St. (Between Bank and Bethune St.) 
 
Organizations tabling: 
Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA)
The Door 
Callen Lorde Community Health Center 
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
Housing Works 
Positive Health Project
Rock Dove Collective 
Third Root 
And many more! 
 
Workshops provided will include:
Lesbian Cancer Initiative: "EveryBODY Hates Cancer" 
Third Root: "Herbal Education 101" 
AllisonJoy: "Intro to Reiki" 
Ignacio RIvera: "Hooking Up: Power, Sex, and Consent" 
Inner Child Experience: "Art Therapy Through Joy-elry(Jewlery) Making" 
Housing Works- Women’s Center: “How to Take Care of Your Body Under Hormonal Care” 
Babeland: “Sex Toys 101” 
And more! 
 
Open Mic Performances: 5-6pm featuring Yalini Dream
 
********HIV Testing provided by GMHC******** 
 
To RSVP for the fair and lunch please visit http://alp.org/reclaiming TODAY!
If you have any questions, are interested in volunteering, or want to facilitate a workshop please contact rgarrido@alp.org or 718.596.1328 ext.18 
 

 Hello Good People!

 
As many of you already know, I serve as a member of the Board of Directors of smartMeme, an amazing group that provides training and develops story-based strategy with social justice organizations across the country. I am so excited to announce that smartMeme is publishing its first book this week, entitled Re:Imagining Change, and we are throwing a big book release party at Bluestockings Bookstore on Sunday evening to celebrate!! Please read on for more information.
 
And in the rest of this edition of Iambrown, you will find other opportunities for reimagining yourself and your community: through goddess burlesque, through a unique vocal arts program that takes place every summer in Croatia, and through an opportunity to reclaim our health. 
 
In this Edition of Iambrown:
  • Re:Imagining Change - Book Release Event March 28th!
  • The International Vocal Arts Workshop in Grožnjan, Croatia
  • Goddess Burlesque!! - Begins April 5th
  • Reclaiming Our Health Fair - April 3rd
If you have trouble reading this e-newsletter, please visit my website at www.iambrown.org.

-----
Re:Imagining Change - Book Release Event March 28th!
 

smartMeme's first book, co-authored by Patrick Reinsborough and Doyle Canning, is being published this week by PM Press [http://smartmeme.org/book ] - and we're headed to New York City to celebrate! 


Join Patrick & Doyle (plus smartMeme Board leaders & friends) for *two* community events in New York City:
 
in Manhattan...
*Sunday 3/28 7:00 pm*
Bluestockings Bookstore & Activists Center
www.bluestockings.com  
172 Allen St (1 block south of Houston & 1rst Ave.)
NY, NY 10002 

in Williamsburg...
*Monday 3/29 7:30 pm*
The Change You Want To See Gallery
www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org
84 Havemeyer St @ Metropolitan Ave 
Brooklyn, NY 11211 

The book "Re:Imagining Change -- How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements and Change the World"  [www.smartmeme.org/book] is an interactive and accessible resource guide to smartMeme's story-based strategy tools and methodology. The book outlines how to apply narrative power analysis to effectively frame issues and offers plenty of juicy case studies and analysis, including a call for our movements to innovate our storytelling techniques in the face of the looming ecological crisis. 
 
Come out to hear some of the insights from "Re:Imagining Change", chat with the co-authors and pick up your very own copy of the book! We'd love to see you!

(And, If you can't make it -- you can now order a copy of it at: http://www.smartmeme.org/book) 
 
Yours in celebration,
Doyle, Patrick, Autumn, Maryrose, Shana, Nupur, and Myla
 
PS: Major discounts for bulk purchases are available (10 or more copies) for groups that want to distribute the book to their staff or members - email info (at) smartmeme dot org for details!
 
PPS: Thanks for your help spreading the word! Tweet it:
@smartMeme book release in NYC 3/28 & 3/29 http://bit.ly/dd1xrQ 

-----
The International Vocal Arts Workshop in Grožnjan, Croatia
Looking for a summer music and theater program in Europe?
Want to study with faculty from around the world?
Perform in a medieval hilltop village? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Jeunesses Musicales Croatia Summer Festival and School offers the International Vocal Arts Workshop, an unusual and adventurous session for singers and instrumentalists who are looking to think, and perform, outside of the box. This is an opportunity to explore every genre from Artsong, Arias, Early Music and Folk, to Rock, Jazz and Musical Theater. Led by Jane McMahan of Barnard College, Columbia University, the workshop fosters a collaborative environment between participants, guest artists and teachers, and the medieval hilltop village of Grožnjan, Croatia. In addition to intensive personal vocal coaching, participants study with visiting artists and work together to create a variety of performances that draw on world music, dance, theater, mask-making and stage-craft.

The program’s fifth season will run from June 7th-24th, 2010. Please see www.artSynergy.net for more information.

Information Session
March 27th 3:00 PM
Ella Weed Room in Milbank Hall, 2nd Floor
Barnard College, Columbia University
3009 Broadway  (117th St.)

-----
Goddess Burlesque!! Begins April 5th

Taught by Howling Vic aka Victoria Libertore

SPRING SESSION (six consecutive Mondays):
Mondays, April 5th - May 10th, 2010, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Location: Studios 353

353 W. 48th St., 2nd Fl. (between 8th & 9th Ave.) 
Cost: $300 ($250 for past participants of any of Victoria's workshops)
Credit cards are accepted.
Registration: Limited to eight.
Deposit of $150 is due by March 29th to reserve your spot.
Contact: victorialibertore@gmail.com

Optional performance at the end of this session: Dixon Place on Thursday, May 13th, 2010.

Come let loose of your inhibitions and get comfortable in your own skin. In this six-week workshop, you will build a three to five-minute performance piece incorporating a strip tease that reflects your individual attributes.  Using tools of physical theatre, archetypal energy, intuition, character exploration and imagery, each participant creates an original performance piece, receives feedback and learns how to further develop the piece, and then performs the creation while discovering how to be comfortable while doing it! Women of all backgrounds are welcome and previous performance experience is not a requirement.  Performance at the end of the workshop (totally optional).  Please note this builds from week to week, and you get the most out of it if you are available for all dates. Please see Teaching at www.howlingvic.com for Victoria's bio and testimonials.

Bio
Victoria Libertore aka Howling Vic has performed her original performance art at dozens of venues throughout New York including BAX, Dixon Place, Galapagos, Joe's Pub and Joyce SoHo as well as in Boston, Philly, Provincetown, Montreal and Toronto. Victoria has taught sold-out burlesque workshops at Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Dance New Amsterdam, Grove Mama Ink and independently. Victoria has worked with Six Figures Theatre Company teaching workshops in the Viewpoints technique, has taught improv, hula and worked for eight years teaching performance, showmanship and how to interact with audiences at an international hands-on science museum. Victoria also coaches one-on-one for solo performance.

Victoria has a BFA in Theatre from Otterbein College. Her studies also include Balinese mask with Per Brahe, Butoh with Tanya Calamoneri, clown with Kendall Cornell, Grotowski with Raïna von Waldenburg, Viewpoints with Stephen Wangh and site-specific performance with Martha Bowers. She is a 2008-2010 Brooklyn Arts Exchange/BAX Theatre Artist in Residence where she is developing new performance work.

Victoria has developed her own original approach and method to performance which she calls Archetypal Energy Work. She combines archetypal images with both chakra and imagery work to create a dynamic and powerful experience for both the performer and audience. She teaches this approach to those who wish to create their own original performance work.

-----
Reclaiming Our Health - April 3rd
A health fair for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming(LGBTSTGNC) People of Color to gain knowledge and access to different community organizations that offer health services and resources specifically for our communities. Organized by the Audre Lorde Project (www.alp.org)
 
When: Saturday April 3rd 2010 12-6pm 
Where: The Brecht Forum 451 West St. (Between Bank and Bethune St.) 
 
Organizations tabling: 
Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA)
The Door 
Callen Lorde Community Health Center 
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
Housing Works 
Positive Health Project
Rock Dove Collective 
Third Root 
And many more! 
 
Workshops provided will include:
Lesbian Cancer Initiative: "EveryBODY Hates Cancer" 
Third Root: "Herbal Education 101" 
AllisonJoy: "Intro to Reiki" 
Ignacio RIvera: "Hooking Up: Power, Sex, and Consent" 
Inner Child Experience: "Art Therapy Through Joy-elry(Jewlery) Making" 
Housing Works- Women’s Center: “How to Take Care of Your Body Under Hormonal Care” 
Babeland: “Sex Toys 101” 
And more! 
 
Open Mic Performances: 5-6pm featuring Yalini Dream
 
********HIV Testing provided by GMHC******** 
 
To RSVP for the fair and lunch please visit http://alp.org/reclaiming TODAY!
If you have any questions, are interested in volunteering, or want to facilitate a workshop please contact rgarrido@alp.org or 718.596.1328 ext.18 
 

Read More

March Newsletter

 

Hello Good People!

 
I just got back from a fantastic conference organized by the Food Security Roundtable (check 'em out at www.foodpower.org), where I spent the weekend co-facilitating workshops on Dismantling Racism in the Food System and strategizing with farmers and fellow organizers on how to build alternative systems for accessing food that enlivens us (instead of poisoning us). I was so inspired by the creativity and generosity of these folks and the many narrative linkages we can make across the movement where we share the common goal of not simply reforming this political and economic system, but retiring it so that we can live in one that works. I was feeling so good that when I got home that I immediately set about making cheese - I've got a Queso Blanco setting up in my DIY cheese press (made from a 28 oz can) right now!

We can do little things and we can do big things. Both aid us in transforming the world. Onto some bigger things...in this edition of Iambrown:
  • S.O.S. Crown Heights - Submit a Logo!

  • SmartMeme Book Release Event for Re:Imagining Change - Sunday March 28th 7pm

  • Communicating Racial Justice: A Weekend Workshop for Boston Area Organizers: April 9-11

----
S.O.S. Crown Heights - Submit a Logo!

The Crown Heights Community Mediation Center (of which I am a huge fan!) is launching a new anti-violence initiative called Save Our Streets (S.O.S) Crown Heights, an anti-gun violence program wherein program staff, who are individuals hired due to their street credibility and the positive transformation they have made in their own lives, work with individuals most likely to get shot or shoot other people. S.O.S. Crown Heights staff members provide immediate intervention whenever a shooting occurs in the neighborhood, reaching out to the victim, friends and family to ensure that a retaliatory shooting does not take place. This program is a replication of a program in Chicago called Ceasefire that has been scientifically proven to reduce shootings and killings by 40-70%.


The Crown Heights Community Mediation Center is asking artists to assist them in the creation of a logo that represents Save Our Streets Crown Heights (S.O.S. Crown Heights.)  The Request for Proposals is attached to this newsletter. To learn more about the Mediation Center, go to: www.crownheightsmediationcenter.blogspot.com

-----
SmartMeme Book Release Event for Re:Imagining Change - Sunday March 28th 7pm

Please join us on Sunday, March 28th at 7pm at Bluestockings Radical Bookstore, located at 172 Allen Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, to celebrate the launch of RE:Imagining Change - How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World (PM Press, 2010)!!

An evening of inspiration and inquiry with readings from Re:Imagining Change – a handbook for change agents that offers theoretical approaches and practical methods to reframe discourse and amplify progressive voices. Produced by the trailblazing strategists at smartMeme, this book explores how culture, media, memes, and narrative intertwine with social change strategies, and issues a call to action to build 21st century movements for ecological justice. Help us launch the smartMeme book in celebratory style!

Presenters:

Patrick Reinsborough co-founded the smartMeme strategy and training project as a vehicle to explore the intersections of social change strategy, imagination and narrative. He has been involved in campaigns for peace, the environment, and social justice for nearly twenty years, and previously served as the Organizing Director of the Rainforest Action Network. He lives in San Francisco.

Doyle Canning is a strategist, trainer, and organizer with a commitment to building holistic movements for racial justice and an ecological future. She came to the smartMeme collective in 2003 after studying critical pedagogy, working as a grassroots organizer, and being banned from Australia for her rabble rousing. She lives in Boston.

For more information, contact smartMeme Board Member Autumn Brown, autumn@iambrown.org.

-----
Communicating Racial Justice: A Weekend Workshop for Boston Area Organizers: April 9-11

Are you an community organizer? Activist? Communicator of social justice causes in the Northeast? Join us for a weekend of inquiry, popular education, and sharing messaging strategies to build stronger movements for racial justice in Boston and beyond! 
This is a weekend workshop for activists, organized by the Progressive Communicators Network - Boston/New England Chapter in collaboration with smartMeme. Hosted by the YWCA of Boston, Inter-racial Dialogues Program.

WHY Communicating Racial Justice?

It is often a challenge to talk about the impacts of race and racism in social change campaigns, especially in today's context of the so-called "post-racial society." The conventional wisdom seems to be to avoid the subject all together! But that strategy has serious consequences for long term movement building, and will ultimately harm the cause of true equality and social justice.  

We believe that in order to succeed, social justice leaders must be equipped to effectively frame and lead conversations about racial justice principles and key issues in the public sphere: through the mainstream media, online media, public events, and the narrative of campaigns. If we are to achieve the changes that our communities and planet needs, we must also nurture and build diverse networks of solidarity for racial justice.

Join the Boston Area chapter of the Progressive Communicators Network for a multi-day intensive training experience that will deepen analysis, build skills, and strengthen relationships amongst a diverse group of 20 to 25 organizers and communicators!

Date: April 9-11th (Friday: 5:30-8:30, Saturday: 9-6, Sunday: 9-4)

Location: YWCA of Boston : 140 Clarendon, Ste. 403 Boston, MA 02116

Cost: Sliding Scale - $75-$200

Tuition cost includes 4 meals plus handouts and materials, including a copy of RE:Imagining Change -- How to use story-based strategy to win campaigns, build movements, and change the world (PM Press, 2010). 
(No one turned away for lack of funds - please apply!)

Application Process

Please fill out the application HERE by March 15, 2010 (5 pm et). 

* The Training Team requests that organizations send two people to this training. The Training Team will review all applications and select candidates according to PCN's diversity criteria (available HERE) and the goals of the training. Space is limited. In order to maximize the impact of this experience for the ongoing work, they will give organizations with a team of two priority when reviewing applications.

More About the Training

This training will include: 

Popular education on issues of race and racism, including working definitions of institutional racism and related concepts
Discussion of the theory and practice of framing, and racial justice framing specifically, looking at case-studies and examples and pulling from multiple sources such as the work of the Center for Media Justice, The Praxis Project, Talking the Walk, and others.
Introduction to the story-based strategy approach, and opportunities to practice using storytelling tools
Team-based simulations to apply learning

This training will NOT include:

-In depth anti-racism training. Participants are expected to have experience(s) with the analysis and practice of antiracism prior to this training.
-Traditional communications/media training, such as how to speak to the media, write press releases, or pitch news outlets

Training Team

Tom Louie, Progressive Communicators Network, Boston Chapter Coordinator
Amaad Rivera, member of PCN Boston/New England and board member of Community Change andsmartMeme
Doyle Canning, Co-Director, smartMeme

For more information

Tom Louie, Progressive Communicators Network, Boston Chapter: Tlouie@progressivecommunicators.net or 857-540-1316

 

 

Hello Good People!

 
I just got back from a fantastic conference organized by the Food Security Roundtable (check 'em out at www.foodpower.org), where I spent the weekend co-facilitating workshops on Dismantling Racism in the Food System and strategizing with farmers and fellow organizers on how to build alternative systems for accessing food that enlivens us (instead of poisoning us). I was so inspired by the creativity and generosity of these folks and the many narrative linkages we can make across the movement where we share the common goal of not simply reforming this political and economic system, but retiring it so that we can live in one that works. I was feeling so good that when I got home that I immediately set about making cheese - I've got a Queso Blanco setting up in my DIY cheese press (made from a 28 oz can) right now!

We can do little things and we can do big things. Both aid us in transforming the world. Onto some bigger things...in this edition of Iambrown:
  • S.O.S. Crown Heights - Submit a Logo!

  • SmartMeme Book Release Event for Re:Imagining Change - Sunday March 28th 7pm

  • Communicating Racial Justice: A Weekend Workshop for Boston Area Organizers: April 9-11

----
S.O.S. Crown Heights - Submit a Logo!

The Crown Heights Community Mediation Center (of which I am a huge fan!) is launching a new anti-violence initiative called Save Our Streets (S.O.S) Crown Heights, an anti-gun violence program wherein program staff, who are individuals hired due to their street credibility and the positive transformation they have made in their own lives, work with individuals most likely to get shot or shoot other people. S.O.S. Crown Heights staff members provide immediate intervention whenever a shooting occurs in the neighborhood, reaching out to the victim, friends and family to ensure that a retaliatory shooting does not take place. This program is a replication of a program in Chicago called Ceasefire that has been scientifically proven to reduce shootings and killings by 40-70%.


The Crown Heights Community Mediation Center is asking artists to assist them in the creation of a logo that represents Save Our Streets Crown Heights (S.O.S. Crown Heights.)  The Request for Proposals is attached to this newsletter. To learn more about the Mediation Center, go to: www.crownheightsmediationcenter.blogspot.com

-----
SmartMeme Book Release Event for Re:Imagining Change - Sunday March 28th 7pm

Please join us on Sunday, March 28th at 7pm at Bluestockings Radical Bookstore, located at 172 Allen Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, to celebrate the launch of RE:Imagining Change - How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World (PM Press, 2010)!!

An evening of inspiration and inquiry with readings from Re:Imagining Change – a handbook for change agents that offers theoretical approaches and practical methods to reframe discourse and amplify progressive voices. Produced by the trailblazing strategists at smartMeme, this book explores how culture, media, memes, and narrative intertwine with social change strategies, and issues a call to action to build 21st century movements for ecological justice. Help us launch the smartMeme book in celebratory style!

Presenters:

Patrick Reinsborough co-founded the smartMeme strategy and training project as a vehicle to explore the intersections of social change strategy, imagination and narrative. He has been involved in campaigns for peace, the environment, and social justice for nearly twenty years, and previously served as the Organizing Director of the Rainforest Action Network. He lives in San Francisco.

Doyle Canning is a strategist, trainer, and organizer with a commitment to building holistic movements for racial justice and an ecological future. She came to the smartMeme collective in 2003 after studying critical pedagogy, working as a grassroots organizer, and being banned from Australia for her rabble rousing. She lives in Boston.

For more information, contact smartMeme Board Member Autumn Brown, autumn@iambrown.org.

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Communicating Racial Justice: A Weekend Workshop for Boston Area Organizers: April 9-11

Are you an community organizer? Activist? Communicator of social justice causes in the Northeast? Join us for a weekend of inquiry, popular education, and sharing messaging strategies to build stronger movements for racial justice in Boston and beyond! 
This is a weekend workshop for activists, organized by the Progressive Communicators Network - Boston/New England Chapter in collaboration with smartMeme. Hosted by the YWCA of Boston, Inter-racial Dialogues Program.

WHY Communicating Racial Justice?

It is often a challenge to talk about the impacts of race and racism in social change campaigns, especially in today's context of the so-called "post-racial society." The conventional wisdom seems to be to avoid the subject all together! But that strategy has serious consequences for long term movement building, and will ultimately harm the cause of true equality and social justice.  

We believe that in order to succeed, social justice leaders must be equipped to effectively frame and lead conversations about racial justice principles and key issues in the public sphere: through the mainstream media, online media, public events, and the narrative of campaigns. If we are to achieve the changes that our communities and planet needs, we must also nurture and build diverse networks of solidarity for racial justice.

Join the Boston Area chapter of the Progressive Communicators Network for a multi-day intensive training experience that will deepen analysis, build skills, and strengthen relationships amongst a diverse group of 20 to 25 organizers and communicators!

Date: April 9-11th (Friday: 5:30-8:30, Saturday: 9-6, Sunday: 9-4)

Location: YWCA of Boston : 140 Clarendon, Ste. 403 Boston, MA 02116

Cost: Sliding Scale - $75-$200

Tuition cost includes 4 meals plus handouts and materials, including a copy of RE:Imagining Change -- How to use story-based strategy to win campaigns, build movements, and change the world (PM Press, 2010). 
(No one turned away for lack of funds - please apply!)

Application Process

Please fill out the application HERE by March 15, 2010 (5 pm et). 

* The Training Team requests that organizations send two people to this training. The Training Team will review all applications and select candidates according to PCN's diversity criteria (available HERE) and the goals of the training. Space is limited. In order to maximize the impact of this experience for the ongoing work, they will give organizations with a team of two priority when reviewing applications.

More About the Training

This training will include: 

Popular education on issues of race and racism, including working definitions of institutional racism and related concepts
Discussion of the theory and practice of framing, and racial justice framing specifically, looking at case-studies and examples and pulling from multiple sources such as the work of the Center for Media Justice, The Praxis Project, Talking the Walk, and others.
Introduction to the story-based strategy approach, and opportunities to practice using storytelling tools
Team-based simulations to apply learning

This training will NOT include:

-In depth anti-racism training. Participants are expected to have experience(s) with the analysis and practice of antiracism prior to this training.
-Traditional communications/media training, such as how to speak to the media, write press releases, or pitch news outlets

Training Team

Tom Louie, Progressive Communicators Network, Boston Chapter Coordinator
Amaad Rivera, member of PCN Boston/New England and board member of Community Change andsmartMeme
Doyle Canning, Co-Director, smartMeme

For more information

Tom Louie, Progressive Communicators Network, Boston Chapter: Tlouie@progressivecommunicators.net or 857-540-1316

 

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