While we had been preparing for months, I knew that once the time was here this experience would still be extremely intense. There would be endless missed opportunities, excitement about possibility and a strong sense of both our human capacities and limitations. I knew for sure that we would laugh as that was one of our goals, but I was pretty sure there would also be aspects of the US Social Forum that would leave us crying, whether on the outside or within.
I knew that we’d have “group dynamics” and interpersonal tensions but I was also pretty sure we’d be able to communicate and sort things out. I could tell that every member of our delegation is committed to a better world, though I wasn’t sure how much experience and inclination different people had toward truly functioning as a “team” with accountability and commitment as much to each other and our common goals, as to ourselves and our individual goals. I knew that we have different habits and ways of communicating, thinking about time, process for engaging an intense experience. I wasn’t sure how we would respect individual style and preferences while fostering group unity.
Our first day included everyone getting to the airport on time – and a smooth flight! Not a small achievement, given that some of us had to get up at 4am. We then took the taxi (7 of us in one car) to Wayne State University.
Research Project Training #1: Learning about the US Social Forum, Detroit and the process of documenting what we observed
This was a wonderful introduction to this experience as the question of what the US Social Forum really ”is” was put on the table. Is it a space where 1000 flowers bloom – where we live-breathe and connect, breaking down “silos” or is it a space for movement building, recognizing the crisis we are living in now, and the way that informs what we do and how we do it?
We discussed the importance of this particular moment in time of history, and the urgency of building long-term relationships. The overall frame is opposition to neo-liberal capitalism but we live in a complex world. It was suggested that critiques of capitalism need to include an understanding race, sexuality, gender and other factors. Someone mentioned that if we think about the “longue durée”, the social forums (world, regional, national and local) represent the best shot the dispossessed have for coming together. We who are part of academic communities need to be mindful of what roles we can and can’t play in relationship to people on the ground working for basic survival in their communities. We need to be humble, respectful and great listeners as we conduct the research.
It is important to recognize that this work is not necessarily valued in the academy and that whatever we do is primarily important to be accountable to the communities and people who are struggling everyday for a better world. Think about through whose eyes and ears one processes information, who gets to decide what things mean, how do we give back to Detroit? Recognize what’s at stake – who is listened to, who has authority? Respect that we each hold within us some of the negative dynamics that shape a very hierarchal world and that we need to be humble and self reflective- what lens an I using – work in alliance with members of the communities we are observing. How do we support their work, and not just observe it? Recognize that being in academia brings with it the frame of being part of a global class position. We make the path by walking, respect the reality of the dynamics of coloniality evident in relationships and combat them in an ongoing manner.
The goals for the “People’s University of the USSF”, which coordinated the project to document and analyze what occurred, set out the following goals, in coordination with the National Planning Council:
- Expand collaborations between scholars, students and social movement organizers to generate knowledge that responds to the needs of social justice movements and that involves organizers in the analysis and dissemination of research;
- Decentralize knowledge-production by cultivating research skills among young people and other learners and by creating opportunities for youth and other movement activists to contribute to research on our movements;
- Expand popular access to knowledge through online courses, bibliographies, discussion materials, etc.
This was a great introduction to what we were about to experience…and emphasized the need for us to bring multiple sensitivities in the effort for fundamental social change.
It was interesting that someone said the main predictor for someone participating in a social movement is that they were asked to participate.
Detroit
The US Social Forum took place deliberately in Detroit as we have much to learn from their struggles – both from the loss of jobs, services and basic infrastructure over the last 30 years, but also the ways that people in Detroit have taken to heart that we can not wait for someone else to fix the problems and save us from destruction. They have created a true Detroit City of Hope – with one example being the creation of urban farms to address the vast degree of food insecurity that is a reality for people in Detroit.
Labeled a “food desert”, one estimate is that almost half of the people of Detroit subsist on food from corner stores and gas stations as all grocery stores have left the city. We, as a delegation, found this was a challenge for us personally as we ended up needing to purchase milk and cereal from the only store we could find – a CVS. One evening we had to search for a place to eat as everywhere we tried was closed – at 7pm. Even the coffeeshop next to the convention center closed at 3pm.
Some of us visited the Detroit City of Hope on Thursday…reflections on that to follow.
Adelphi-St Johns delegations meet
This was a great beginning for the teams to get to know each other. We talked about our experiences prior to the US Social Forum, and expectations for this week. We then shared our most favorite ice cream flavor and did an exercise to build trust between us. Paired in two’s with one having their eyes closed we chaperoned each other around the room. Lots of laughter was a great way to end the evening!!
The THEME for Today was BUILD CONNECT GENERATE RELATIONSHIPS.
