by eila in All Ages, Announcements, Civic Action, Events
Posted on July 15, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Last Modified on July 15, 2009 at 11:22 pm
| July 19, 2009 | ||
| 5:00 pm | to | 7:00 pm |
| July 26, 2009 | ||
| 5:00 pm | to | 7:00 pm |
| August 2, 2009 | ||
| 5:00 pm | to | 7:00 pm |
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The Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS)
will be hosting 3 workshops on Radical Organizing Methods!
Steve Meacham, Director of Housing Organizing at City Life/ Vida Urbana,
will be facilitating the workshops.
All are welcome and all sessions are FREE! Snacks will be provided.
Please join us at 66-70 Union Square #104, Somerville on three consecutive Sundays:
July 19th, July 26th, and August 2nd
from 5-7pm.
Note: There is an (almost) accessible back door entrance. Please call 617-623-1392 ext. 141 with any questions.
We will look at what makes a radical organizing method by examining winnability, strategy/tactics, coalitions, spirituality, building a majority movement, role of political education, and the effectiveness of well known organizing methods such as 1-1’s, story-telling, relationship-building. The format will be group discussion.
Please RSVP to Rachel Bedick: rbedick “at”caasomerville.org or 617-623-1392 ext. 141
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Forgive me, but it the methods that are radical or is it radicals that are being organized? Would these workshops be of any use to moderates? To the downright wishy-washy?
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Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for your question. My name is Rachel and I am the local organizer for these workshops. To answer your question, yes I think that moderates and anyone who is curious/eager to talk about how to make change in one’s community would find these workshops useful. The word “Radical” is not meant to exclude people, but rather refers to a way of approaching social change that focuses on combating the root causes of problems instead of just the symptoms.
For instance, take the case of hunger. One approach to this problem is to create food pantries and donate food to people who are hungry. A more “radical” approach might be to organize to raise the minimum wage so that low-income people can make enough money to put food on the table. This is a simplistic example- and I don’t mean to put down food pantries because I DO think that they serve an important function, but I hope that this example better illustrates what the word “radical” means in the context of these workshops.
I hope that you come to check it out for yourself!
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Hi Rachel, I just wanted to see if this is the same group of Mensa candidates who ran these workshops and other communist training classes? What I have in bold would be the “radical” ideas that woud give most Americans (moderate/conservative AND liberal) pause.
The Economic Crisis, part 1
June 18, 6:00-8 at CLVU office, 284 Amory Street (in the Brewery)
The current crisis, its roots in the past 35 years of economic history, the shift from a manufacturing economy to a finance economy, how workers lost leverage, the multiple crises of sustainability we are facing now, and the unsustainability of capitalism.
— What do you propose we replace capitalism with? Let me guess – communism. It worked so well for the USSR, Cuba and throughout history, right?
The Economic Crisis, part 2
June 25, 6:00-8 at CLVU office, 284 Amory St. (in the Brewery), JP
How the drive to restore profits changed government: what the right wing “shrink government” agenda really means, what deregulation and free markets are really for, government as a site of class struggle, why the right wing’s attack on economic human rights concentrated on government.
The Economic Crisis, part 3
July 2, 6:00-8 at CLVU office, 284 Amory St. (in the Brewery), JP
Naming the enemy: where is the core of resistance to a working people’s agenda and economic human rights in the U.S.? What is their identity, their ideology, what accounts for their remarkable consistency and their success?
Facilitators: Mike Prokosch mikeprokosch@verizon.net, with Steve Schnapp (UFE)
— I see a call for class warfare in these words. I don’t see how that is healthy for this country. Please stop this silliness.
Protest Singing
Practices will be June 30, July 2 and July 9 from 6-7 at CLVU, 284 Amory St. (in the Brewery), JP
Karin Parker, an accomplished jazz singer, will organize a group to practice several protest songs. The group will perform the songs at the City Life fundraiser July 11 and perhaps at subsequent events.
Facilitator: Karin Parker kparker@clvu.org
— I had to throw this one in. Protest singing? LOL. I can picture it now – everyone holding hands, wearing tie-dyed peace t-shirts and singing KUMBUYA. LOL.
I am sure there are some worthy efforts and some sincere people working within this group, but you need to better advertise what you folks are all about. I think you folks also need to just chill out a little and realize that wile not perfect – the USA is the best thing going on this rock we call earth.
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These sound like great workshops, Rachel! Count me in as a radical!
The list Xumi printed above was excerpted from the program guide The ROC Summer Institute – 2009 (MSWord). There are many more workshops available in the full list.
Xumi, the text does not call for class warfare, but rather uses this phrase to describe the struggles in government.
Thanks for sharing this, eila!
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