Some of these are my questions, some are Autumn’s:

What is your core melancholy?
Are collectives more crucial during the birthing process of movements and/or communities?
How much of love is dependence, how much is exhaustion, how much is a trap, how much is it the only point or the central struggle of life?
Do you ever really fight with another person, or just with the idea that they could hurt you, or change your mind?
Why aren’t there clear post college communities where you can select your reality as specifically as you do in college but not have to be in college? Or simultaneous ones for those who don’t want to go to college – everyone should be able to choose to explore communities other than their starting one…
Or – can you reject the institution of academia, AND reject the institution of organized religion and still be deeply analytical and deeply spiritual without trying to create new institutions…?
and – how much of human nature is fundamentally imperialist? are chapter-based organizations imperialist at heart?
Will I ever be able to budget or pay taxes on time with the way I hate money?
Aren’t we more privileged than roughly anyone else we know because our parents are so remarkably unconditionally in love with each other and with us and in every struggle we’ve faced in life we’ve been able to come back to their example?
Is it better to study specific fields or, for the sake of expansive art, to remain an artist engaging in a variety of fields and subjects…but is art important anymore?
How dope is our grandfather’s faith (note: my grandfather had a heart attack this week and needed triple by-pass surgery for it. he awoke in the morning, having had it – and he should have woken up dead as they say – but god  told him to take an aspirin so he did and that thinned his blood enough to get him to the hospital where he was saved for another day of loving jesus. the entire time he was unflappable – any outcome will be a good one) and how cool is jesus, even if the interpretation of his story is so misapplied? god is always manifest among the people – he whispered to my papa on thursday am, i am grateful.

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And then here are some things I said at the grassroots media conference today (a very cool conference which is still happening tomorrow at 65 5th avenue in manhattan):
– i used to clown bush for saying he didn’t read the newspaper but what folks filter to him, but recently i’ve realized that most folks i know do the same thing, including myself, use filters to get information most suited to them and what they want to hear.  now we can be responsible filters – that’s what voter guides are, that’s what grm has to do.
– grassroots media needs to beware well-meaning activists who become famous: check the credentials, check that folks/we are still doing the work, not just talking about, unless they are official…
– progressive pundits! which is my new favorite thing the league will be teaching. the art of being able to represent your work and movement and issues and view point and hold your own in an interview in any medium! it has to look and sound good, we have to be media savvy now, we know how!
– let’s build more funding for grassroots media into our non-profit plan so we can get journalists paid. what are the legal implications of this?

i was on the panel with lumumba from malcolm x grassroots movement, who had a wonderful and organic response when asked what kept us motivated – the people in the community, the mothers who’ve lost their sons to police shootings, the people. i later attended his and djibril’s training on their know your rights campaign and their work is amazing and folks should really pick it up in more communities. www.mxgm.org.

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and lastly, yesterday i was at a climate crisis meeting and it was dope – top enviro-organizers from all over the country discussion the plan to change the perception of the movement, get back to enviro-justice…it was dope. more to come.

SONG OF THE NIGHT: THROWBACK, BY USHER

saturday night blog complete