We are anti-oppression practitioners working to facilitate relationships, learning, and action that move towards collective liberation. We believe in doing relational work that builds capacity for collective action to shift material conditions for oppressed people. To do this, we use experiential learning, critical theory, and embodiment and healing practices. We are grounded in anti-racist, anti-colonial, Black feminist, abolitionist, and transformative justice frameworks.
PRAXIS
We are grounded in praxis, or the integration of learning & action. As facilitators we offer spaces for reflection, deeper analysis, and healing so we can apply new learning to collective action moving forward. By developing praxis, we are all able to strengthen liberation movements. When we are grounded in praxis, we realize that in fact we are all facilitators of transformation
SPACE TO GROW
Learning is a continuous process and as educators and organizers we believe in offering the space to grow, to dream, and to grapple. Expecting people to show up with all of the ‘right’ language, frameworks, and awareness is counter to movement building. We strive to create space for people to develop their political analyses, try on new skills and frameworks, and seek self and community healing.
POWER ANALYSIS
We lead with and center a power analysis. This means naming colonialism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism as dominant oppressive forces that are both historical and ongoing, are adaptative, and shape all of our lives fundamentally. Using a lens of systemic oppression and naming power allows us to get clear on what we are fighting against.
DESTRUCTION
Oppressive systems are connected and reinforce each other, so in order to do work that dismantles them we need to understand their interconnections. The Combahee River Collective famously said, “If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all systems of oppression.” This is the horizon.
CREATION
We believe that the destruction of oppressive systems necessitates the creation of the world we want to live in. Ruth Wilson Gilmore says, “abolition is about presence, not absence. It is about building life affirming institutions.” How can we, together, imagine and create new systems? How can we build new worlds in our connection to each other, our direct action, and our commitment to learning?
CHALLENGE REFORMISM
Reformism promotes making changes or tweaks that reinforce the status quo and do not disrupt underlying power structures. Often, reforms take the shape of liberal ‘wins’ that further reinforce white supremacy and capitalism. We need to constantly ask: does this change move us closer to destroying oppression or does it legitimize the continuation of an oppressive institution? By challenging reformism, we ensure that the changes we are fighting for don’t get co-opted.
LIBERATION
We are moving towards liberation. Liberation is a continuous process of setting free land, labor, resources, relationships, and ideologies from oppression. When we move towards liberation, we are clear about what we are fighting and what we are willing to do to win. We understand learning, action, reflection, healing, accountability, and transformation as processes that we continuously develop and build in community. Liberation is putting our belief that the world can transform into practice by creating communities that actively build interdependence, accountable relationships, new systems of care, and collectively challenge systemic violence. Liberation is the feeling we get within our bodies when we have the tools to heal from trauma and connect more deeply with ourselves and others. When we create liberatory spaces on a small scale, we feel what is possible. When we connect that embodied experience to mass movements, we are able to truly show up in solidarity. When we move towards liberation, we are all facilitators.
Gratitude to the practitioners, organizers, and thinkers who have influenced our praxis: Grace Lee Boggs, Paulo Friere, Adrienne Maree Brown, Audre Lorde, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Mariame Kaba, bell hooks, Angela Davis, INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, Dylan Rodriguez, Dean Spade, Mia Mingus, Fran Peavy, David Kolb.
