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I had to write this…

I keep thinking, I should be writing this down.

Last night participating in the USSF Detroit Anchor meeting where tensions rise and then combust in laughter. And then at the Detroit Local Organizing meeting where a song was unveiled…’another world is possible! Another u.s. Is necessary, another detroit is happening.’

Conversations with cynics who point out that ‘another u.s. is actually not necessary.’ Absolutely true, one is more than enough and it needs to scale down and back, or decentralize into hundreds of watershed based governances. I think about that, i do. And yet the spirit of the sentiment, that great change is needed and possible, is not easy to gimmick into a slogan. But watching people stand against poverty and racism, who may not yet be anti-imperialist but are feeling the effects of true colonialism in their lives every day, inspires me every day.

Detroit’s sense of humor…of complex deep emotion worn on the sleeve that can move from rage to weeping to uproarious laughter, it wakes me up.

I had to write about New Orleans, a week of eating interrupted only by sleeping and a pleasant strategy session with the NOLA Parent Organizing Network. The last time I was with them, a year ago, they were committed to bringing the parent leaders onto the staff. This time, the staff was 90% New Orleans parents, strategizing how to develop the leadership of their peers, how to provide more resources for parents trying to navigate and revolutionize the school system.

I want to write about how I am seeing focused attention slip through the cracks of hopelessness. We are carrying so much, those of us who believe the world can be miraculous. And yet most of the time all that is needed is to have another person really See you.

it helps even more if they are seeing you over a catfish po’boy, a muffaletta, fish caught earlier that day, or a spread of stunning southern Vietnamese food. Its no exaggeration to say I carry NOLA with me 🙂

I want to write about the partnerships Ruckus is developing right now, as we escalate into Copenhagen to support indigenous organizers, get inspired to join the Take Back the Land campaign nationally and train folks to reclaim public land, public housing, and demand the right to return to land we are displaced from…not to mention launching our new Eco-Justice action idea resource. Our work feels so right for this moment.

I want to write about my family – slipping through NY to grab an hour with my sister and her son, how happy I get sitting at her table. How my sisters and I are going to get our hair did this week and I just can’t wait to be with them, with my parents, with my brother-in-law’s family and my sweetheart, all in one place. Smiling while writing.

And my friends are pulling off major acts of bravery every day. Growing up in leaps and bounds, seeing what happiness, love, forgiveness, mistakes, commitment and skinshedding look like in our 30s.

Its all happening!

Now catching a flight to begin another 2.5 weeks of travel through ny, philly, flagstaff, cali, and maybe miami. Wink at the sky 🙂