The coaster ride begins

Months of almost unbearable excitement have finally materialized into the present - a new home, new city, and 12 hours of fun and lesson-filled program orientation, not to mention about 40 new best friends. It's like I've been standing in line for some awesome, gigantic roller coaster, bubbling over with eagerness, and this weekend was getting on the coaster car and making that initial climb - the anticipation and thrill was buzzing.

These 2 days were orientation, meaning we spent a lot of time hearing about the background of our trainers and the Catalyst project, going over program logistics, setting up small groups and partners, and delving into material enough to pique our appetites and set the tone of the coming months. Catalyst's approach is certainly fresh, as even going over program logistics meant really talking about the ways we do things and how that is influenced by white supremacy or our visions for a new world. They needed to set up both a small working group and separate support buddies; but instead of just doing that, they would have us play games and then somewhere during the game announce that the person/people we were with would be our buddy/group for the rest of the program. With the buddies, who were meant to be political and emotional support, the trainers encouraged us to get deep instantly, calling on us to identify our needs for support and even how we may resist support.

We were asked to map out the path that brought us to the program today, and it was honestly clarifying for me to identify the journey of my anti-racist and activist development. Even though I think I've told "my story" before, many new things came to light about how it has all contributed to my current perspective. I had almost kinda forgotten how much race analysis was a part of the human rights work I did in Guatemala: During the training to become accompaniers, we were reminded that we needed to be clear that we were there because we were white (and/or US citizens) and our lives were valued more than indigenous Guatemalans - so we needed to take that birth privilege and torque it and allow it to be used NOT to further world domination, but fight it; that we needed to surrender that privilege to the needs of the indigenous Guatemalans who were asking us to come protect them so that they may continue their self-determined struggle; that we there to watch and observe, but never participate, because it was NOT our struggle, and we needed to learn to be silent support instead of always dominating actors. There were more key stages in my development, of course, but this one was maybe my first huge growth experience that was losing its freshness.

In another exercise, one trainer led us through a long closed-eye visioning section, asking us to actually picture the world we are hoping to create, from what our houses and neighborhoods looked like, what institutions were around, what jobs people had, and all the way up to how people interacted globally (if it all). So often activists know what we are fighting against, and have an inkling of what we are fighting for, but don't actually spend a lot of time being concrete and specific about what our post-revolution world would consist of. Then we identified one element of our vision and brainstormed on how to organize towards that goal.

The second day opened up with the volunteer placements. A major component of the program is volunteering with a designated racial justice organization, and we talked about the purposes behind that, and how we should view our role and our behavior within that organization. Although this was directed at the specific element of this structured program, the analysis we created together is applicable to how we interact with organizations and activists of color for the rest of our lives. The way this practical, logistical discussion melded into learning and analysis of interracial relations seems to be the powerful model Catalyst will be using in the curriculum - let's look at the specifics and figure out the larger implications.

A small-group role play required us to be managers in a fruit packing company whose workers were threatening to strike. We needed to prevent the strike, but could not acquiesce to any of their demands. Instantly it seemed, most people turned to brewing up a lot of the evil schemes that bosses have historically used to break people's unity. A few of us, though, were inclined to come up with creative and loving solutions, that we all realized were most likely totally unrealistic. When it came time to report some of our strategies, the small groups began pouring out their ideas on how to poison the workers with fear, sexism, homophobia, and racism. My group playfully interjected, calling them out on their nasty attitudes and presenting our totally dreamy solution of the managers sacrificing their own salaries to provide on-site healthcare and childcare. The company CEO said we must be from the the "San Francisco branch." This exercise so easily illustrated how the different "-isms" were created and to keep people economically oppressed.

Lastly, two longtime movement activists, in their 60s and 70s, came to share their stories, their continued belief in the struggle, and some lessons and advice for us all. What stood out for me was that things happen that can either totally catalyze a movement or pass us by - and we need to sit down and study what determines that outcome. Are there things we can do to turn an awful event, such as a killing by the police, or expose on government corruption, into a powerful movement for revolutionary change? I think about the scandal around Miami city commissioners misusing affordable housing funds, and how that spawned Take Back the Land's incredibly powerful land occupation and totally boosted the leverage of organizations like Power U and the Miami Workers Center. Then how there's so much government corruption coming to light in Palm Beach County, but I've yet to see that (or help that) develop into a movement.

So, those are the major elements in my experience of Anne Braden orientation weekend. I'm certainly thrilled about the other people in the program, as new friends, crushes, and teachers. People often say that they are inspired by the people the meet, but I want to find a way to help you understand how genuine that was for me. Somehow I was worried that people in the program would be younger, less experienced, and less politically developed than me. Yes, many people are younger, even 19 years old, but they all had elaborate histories of involvement in awesome struggles that I was impressed by. It was relieving and inspiring to know that lots of people from all over the country are so deeply involved in working towards justice and that I truly will be able to learn from each person in the room. I expected I'd have 4-5 teachers during this program, but it looks more like 40-50! Heck, yeah!