Latino African-American Solidarity, Popular Education, and Effective Story Telling for Change
Posted June 29th, 2007 by jgarcia
By Jordan Garcia, Immigrant Rights Organizer, AFSC in Denver, CO
'¨I started out this morning at the US Social Forum in Atlanta by volunteering to work security. I helped '¨people find the registration area and answered a lot of questions. For not '¨being from Atlanta, I had to figure out this area pretty quick. It was '¨incredibly interesting to get a chance to talk to people and find out where '¨they were from and the type of work they were doing in their communities. '¨And it kept my mind of the heat and humidity!
'¨Then I attended the Black and Brown Unity work shop with the Third World '¨Coalition Members of the AFSC. I found the alliances built in the room '¨exceptional and felt like I gained a deeper understanding of some of the '¨nuances of the issues affecting African American and Latino Folks.
Next I attended a workshop put on by an organization named Smart Meme . '¨They shortened their full-day workshop down into two hours and still spoke '¨incredibly articulately about messaging and the importance of story telling '¨in our work. We discussed the role of the dominant culture' s story and the '¨power analysis that can become a part of any campaign' s strategy. We '¨discussed the ways a good story is at the heart of any compelling campaign and '¨the necessary components of those stories.
The presenters used elements of '¨popular education to make the workshop interactive and each activity gave '¨me ideas and made me think deeper. There wasn't a dull moment and I don't '¨think it was a coincidence that all the presenters and members of the '¨organization were young people.
I left feeling like there was so much I '¨could bring back to my work with Coloradans For Immigrant Rights. Some of '¨the activities I feel I could recreate for our members to further inform the '¨messaging and effectiveness of the stories we use to move people to a more '¨compassionate place with regard to immigrant rights.
While staffing the AFSC table this evening, I got to catch up with Marge '¨Taniwaki, also from Denver, and spend time discussing how we can bring back '¨the skills and energy we're privy to here at the USSF. Then we were able '¨to tag team inviting folks from all over the world over to our table to '¨encourage them to take some of our literature home with them. The No Human '¨Being Is Illegal bumper stickers were of particular interest. '¨Now I'm off to a party for the Ruckus Society and even more events put on by '¨MondoHomo, a queer arts collective here in Atlanta!
'¨I started out this morning at the US Social Forum in Atlanta by volunteering to work security. I helped '¨people find the registration area and answered a lot of questions. For not '¨being from Atlanta, I had to figure out this area pretty quick. It was '¨incredibly interesting to get a chance to talk to people and find out where '¨they were from and the type of work they were doing in their communities. '¨And it kept my mind of the heat and humidity!
'¨Then I attended the Black and Brown Unity work shop with the Third World '¨Coalition Members of the AFSC. I found the alliances built in the room '¨exceptional and felt like I gained a deeper understanding of some of the '¨nuances of the issues affecting African American and Latino Folks.
Next I attended a workshop put on by an organization named Smart Meme . '¨They shortened their full-day workshop down into two hours and still spoke '¨incredibly articulately about messaging and the importance of story telling '¨in our work. We discussed the role of the dominant culture' s story and the '¨power analysis that can become a part of any campaign' s strategy. We '¨discussed the ways a good story is at the heart of any compelling campaign and '¨the necessary components of those stories.
The presenters used elements of '¨popular education to make the workshop interactive and each activity gave '¨me ideas and made me think deeper. There wasn't a dull moment and I don't '¨think it was a coincidence that all the presenters and members of the '¨organization were young people.
I left feeling like there was so much I '¨could bring back to my work with Coloradans For Immigrant Rights. Some of '¨the activities I feel I could recreate for our members to further inform the '¨messaging and effectiveness of the stories we use to move people to a more '¨compassionate place with regard to immigrant rights.
While staffing the AFSC table this evening, I got to catch up with Marge '¨Taniwaki, also from Denver, and spend time discussing how we can bring back '¨the skills and energy we're privy to here at the USSF. Then we were able '¨to tag team inviting folks from all over the world over to our table to '¨encourage them to take some of our literature home with them. The No Human '¨Being Is Illegal bumper stickers were of particular interest. '¨Now I'm off to a party for the Ruckus Society and even more events put on by '¨MondoHomo, a queer arts collective here in Atlanta!
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