Wait a minute!

I have to say that it has been a darn "minute" since I wrote. Here in the bay that means a while. It's not that things have stopped happening, indeed they've been going full speed ahead in exactly the season that is about slowing down, going inward, reflecting and resting. It's been a tug of war between the pressures to move faster and produce/consume more and just wanting to sleep.
I've had some rest and some play time and here I am with the sun shining out over the ocean here in San Francisco, taking a moment of reflection.

While I was on my adventure this last summer I picked up a copy of a book I'd heard so much about, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded, Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex (imagine that is underlined as proper titles are usually). It is Edited by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence and published by South End Press, Cambridge MA. ISBN: 978-0-89608-766-8. This compilation of authors who presented at the same named conference in 2004 took me 3 months to read, little by little. It's the kind of book that is like a oxy-acetylene cutting torch in a world of candles. I had always been troubled by the contradictions of working in the non-profit field and taking money from mainstream organization who's shadow side worked to destroy the gains made by it's seemingly benevolent foundation side. Little did I know the usefulness of the non-profit organizational tax structure in containing and redirecting the frustrations of those for which the economic and class system are not benefiting. I've often brainstormed different programs to be offered and always compared what seemed needed with what was "fundable." More personally, I think we all picture the way we'd like to spend our time and then do what we needed to in order to make rent or mortgage "payable." There is always some force seemingly far away and on high that decided who gets rewarded financially and who doesn't. That's just the way things are structured. Our system has a logic of it's own and it is geared for it's own survival. I had no idea that the whole non-profit setup was developed and promoted to contain the successes of previous social movements in the US during the 1960's while giving corporations not only a huge tax break, but an opportunity to advocate for their own future interests in a manner beyond any kind of public accountability. Imagine if corporations paid the same taxes as most folks- 25-30% of income, (nevermind that I'd like to see a different tax structure that taxes things that we don't want like pollution....another topic for later). That money would go the government where theoretically we as voters could advocate for the way it was spent via our elected officials. Instead, corporations get to give away 20% to a foundation instead of pay it out to the IRS. That foundation gets to invest and grow it's assets and is only required to give out 5% of it's total worth. That includes grants as well as paying staff, rent and phone/internet, ect. Foundations have no public accountability in terms of who doles out the money and the can specify whatever conditions they'd like to for how the money will be spent.
That means that the foundation can do the bidding of the corporation and fertilize the soil or minds of masses in order to enrich exploitation opportunities for the corporation. And this extended beyond the realm of just private business....

"In 1976, a select committee appointed to investigate US intelligence activities reported on the CIA's penetration of the foundation field by the mid-1960s: during 1963-6, of the 700 grants over $10,000 given by 164 foundations, at least 108 involved partial or complete CIA funding. More importantly, CIA funding was involved in nearly half the grants made by these 164 foundations in the filed of international activities during the same period. " p.88

In other words, foundations were used to implement change beneficial to US Corporate interests both overseas and at home. An effective compliment to covert military operations. And what did the people in those countries want for themselves?

There's a lot more in the book that is informative and brilliant. I hope you are able to pick up a copy and read it.

Night Reflectivity

This last weekend I helped out with a League of American Bicyclists instructor certification training in SF. 14 people from around the west coast came out for about 30 hours of training and evaluation.
Here is a video showing our different kinds of reflectors and lighting systems. Geeky for sure, but better with some Ben Harper in the background.

New York gets a separted bike lane!

http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/ninth-avenue-gets-a-physically-separated-bike-lane/

New York is trying out something that is already done in some of those European countries where lots of people bike.

Upcoming Shows!

That's right folks, we're back together for a show with the
APAture Theater Festival in SF.
We're on for 20 minutes between 4-6pm Saturday 9/22/07. The venue is the new International Hotel. The site of a historic struggle for Filipino and Elderly housing from 1968-1975. It's an honor to be in that space with other great performers.
Tickets are $10-20 sliding scale













FLOW THE BUCK UP!
9/28 and 9/29
8PM Zeum Theater at Yerba Buena Gardens- SF.
3 of us from the Playback Troupe will be preforming with Anthem Salgado those nights.
Trailer

Tickets
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/19186
$20

SF Bike Coalition Family Day

This last weekend I was part of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalitions' 1st Family Day. I led family cycling workshops and we met at the "Purple Head" in Golden Gate Park.
It was hilarious to yell "Purple Head! Family Cycling Workshop in 10 minutes!"

















Here is a video from the day as well as other pictures.
I'm wearing safety orange...










The image that sticks with me is of 5 small children with training wheels, spread out and speeding down the road in front of me... the noise of the wheels was deafening and just a glimpse of what is to come.... Muhahahahahahaha!

How to do a quick turn

Here is a photo sequence from the League of American Bicyclists Bike Education conference I attended in Austin, TX this year.

This is me being coached on improving my emergency turn by League Cycling Instructor (LCI) Preston Tyree.
You would use this turn if someone turned in front of you or ran a red light and you suddenly needed to turn right or left, usually right. I'm told that you can do this up to 17 mph and I was doing it at about 11 or 12 mph. There were a couple of warm ups before I got it, this was the successful run.

Start at a comfortable speed for learning this very awkward and counter intuitive maneuver.








Turn your handlebars quickly in the opposite direction that you want to turn. This leans your bike in the direction you want to go instantly.
















Turn your handlebars quickly back toward the direction you want to turn. Now your bike is in a sharp lean in the direction you want to turn.

















Breathe and Commit.

Follow through the turn putting weight on the inside (of the turn) handlebar and the outside leg. For me it was important to keep my inside elbow low and center of weight low in the turn.



















Breathe continued...

















Look at where you want to go.























Finish the turn. This turn was much sharper than I expected and I would probably have to do another turn to keep from going too far to the right and off the road or into a parked car.














Get encouragement from League (of American Bicyclists) Cycling Instructor (LCI) Preston Tyree.

And for all those worried souls out there- yes, next time I'll try it in shoes instead of flip flops.

Thanks to LCI Chris Daigle from the Eagle Wheel Cycling School and Photography for the photos!

Jason

The Bittersweet Life

Life at it’s best is bittersweet.
I’m not jaded, just hear me out here. As we grow up and become adults we gradually get more control over our choices and our life. With these choices come consequences, good ones, bad ones and all the mixed ones. It’s pretty easy to choose between a horrible option and a good one. I’m a child of immigrants and my parents and or great grandparents chose as best they could and gave me more options than they had. Many times, they lived with fewer opportunities than do now. So, because they worked and still work very hard I have more options. Also, if I’m being smart about my life I might be able to use the privilege they built for me to create even more options for myself. At that point, I’m choosing between two or more great options and that’s painful because I have choose one thing over another. You will always have to face disappointment and loss as you let something come into being and send others into unrealization. John Trudel speaks about our value of responsibility (you can listen to it from “my favorites audio links on the right side of this page). He says that we should value responsibility more than freedom. If we are being responsible for making something happen then there are steps involved and choices to be made and follow though with and accountability to the goal. It’s not easy, and it’s not often clear.

Also, it’s not something that those previous generations want to hear about. “Must be nice to have choices” is what my Dad would often say to me with a tone of resentment.

So goodbye. Maybe another time or maybe just never…

So, for all of you out there....
If you’re wrestling with a major choice I’m here to say, you’re not alone and it’s a sign that things are getting better!

Exit Interview USSF- Jason

Here's a full interview of my experience at the Social Forum.
I wrote a summary of the Playback Theatre part that you can read on the July 10th archive page.





The real work in unifying our movements has to do with our one to one relationships with each other. I was so busy with our 2 shows and 2 workshops at the Social Forum (all led by different group members) that I was usually either preparing to rehearse, recovering from rehearsal, or interacting with our Playback group. That meant that I didn't get to that many of the other presentations. It was frustrating at first, but at the forum we did significant work in figuring out how to move through conflict and trust each other so that we could improvise and function together, ultimately benefiting us and the stories of people beyond ourselves.

Exit Interview USSF- Joyce

Joyce was a member of the Playback Delegation at the Social Forum. I'll include her summary of the experience here later.

NOLA Contingent at March

There were about 20,000 people at the US Social Forum sharing their work, their passion for change, asking the question, what do we want and figuring out steps for how to get there. It started off with a big march. Here is some footage from the New Orleans Contingent. We joined the march en masse all together and the image of our group joining the larger mass of people was a powerful moment for me. Here is some video before and during the march.

Rewind to 6/27- On the phone to Bush

"People want fantasy, what they need is reality." Lauryn Hill

Here's a little of both on the bus as we arrived in Atlanta on 6/27/07.

Selma Revisted - with video

Visiting Selma, Alabama was a brief, but memorable experience for me. This was the place that 42 years ago Alabama police brutally beat masses of people including the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. on their way to the polls to vote. Local "Jim Crow" laws prohibited Blacks from voting although it was their constitutional right. Known as "Bloody Sunday", that day was a glimpse or moment from a larger struggle where acts of liberation were met with overwhelming state violence. And still people continued forward. The Black and White racist system of limiting access to resources on this continent was implemented as economic policy starting in the 1680's and then instituted into public policy soon afterwards. After the freeing of slaves during the Civil War "Jim Crow" social control laws were passed. During all this time the forced labor of African Americans and other groups built wealth for a white power structure that police were charged to protect. Bloody Sunday is remembered as a "turning point" in the Civil Rights Movement, turning in a positive direction that is. Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the various efforts to apply those laws there have been change. There as also been the rise of the "Prison Industrial Complex" and the simultaneous encouragement and criminalization of drug crimes actions in low income communities of color by the US government. These are the newest incarnation of racial social control polices.

"Bloody Sunday" was a moment in time that has been repeated as people have tried to free themselves from unjust systems of dehumanization. In this instance it was to take back the right to vote. Violence and injustice are things that most of us have experienced and fear in one way or another. Taking action and facing that fear with others has usually skull crushing consequences, but possibly a large reward. Like Ghandi's raids on the Salt Mines of India, confronting fear showed that people's spirit and determination were greater than the weapons or violence used on them. What would it be like not to live in fear? I think that in taking on those figures of authority and facing that fear, they are in better position to answer that question.
With less fear, we are better able to imagine the world that we want and to build toward that vision. Without the fear of others, we'd be able to do much more together.

When Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton came to Selma to celebrate the Jubilee and remember "Bloody Sunday" it celebrated a worthy battle in 1965. It pushed against the white power structure and predictably that structure pushed back.

See the Houston Indy Media article on this.

Here is a video I took there at the school in Selma.





Stepping back somewhat and thinking beyond the US I know that more people have died in the Philippines under their current U.S. supported government than in all the 20 years of Ferdinand Marcos and his brutal enactment of Martial Law. Over 1000 people so far. And still there are people acting to change intolerable conditions, facing and living with fear of being disappeared every day. This is nothing new to many places in the world, especially ones that have governments friendlier to U.S. interests than to the prosperity and welfare of it's citizens. Isn't it time to think about the cost that fear takes on all of us? Clearly, acting in our own interests for a more human and thoughtful world will make it easier for others to do the same worldwide.

Rewind to 6/26 Omar pre-dawn moment

I'm gradually unpacking bits and pieces of my trip to the US Social Forum. Here's a moment of my roomate Omar in Selma on 6/26/07 on the way to Atlanta. It's 30 minutes before sunrise and the yellow light of that old hotel room is a too early dawn of it's own.

Re Creation

Something I want to do more of is play and exercise. Today I surfed and watched the sunset from the water. The wind had died down and the water was close to glassy. The water at Ocean Beach was warm and the waves were small and fun. It was perfect. A welcome break from no or bad wind blown waves, male competition and aggression in the water, and other usual barriers to fun. I appreciated it greatly.

Here's one of the few videos I have of me surfing in Big Sur on the California coast in March. My stellar friend Paul filmed with his little camera.

Rewind to 6/27/07 - Eloise Speaks in Selma

Eloise, a resident and activist in New Orleans speaks on elected officials and the land grab that is being attempted there.

Dougie Beatboxes!

On the bus from New Orleans to Biloxi, MS 6/26/07

Joyce and Deb report on the group experience

This first report is from Joyce from Oakland's Living Art's Playback Troupe. The next one is from Deb from Asheville Playback. Both reports are posted here with authors' permission.

Joyce:
I joined the IPTN delegation at the US Social Forum (USSF) in response to an email I received calling especially for “people of color” to join what Susan Metz, who organized the delegation, described as a “mostly Euro” group of Playback practitioners. I was initially a bit concerned about what this meant. Obviously, it was an attempt to achieve some kind of diversity, but what kind? Physical, or cosmetic diversity, or something deeper? Despite my concerns, I did want to meet and learn from other Playback practitioners, and I was also interested in attending the first USSF.
In the end, it was great for me to meet and work with others who share a love of Playback Theater. I found that we all share the desire to serve humanity through our art, and that we share a certain language in terms of the major conventions of Playback. We also discovered the ways in which we speak this language differently.

Part of the challenge of collaborating came from coming from troupes with different styles of doing Playback. In our troupe, Living Arts PT in the Bay Area of SF, we are accustomed to a short huddle with the other actors before doing an enactment. It was challenging for me to perform without this opportunity to verbally check-in with others in the ensemble.

Another challenge came from the fact that we come from different cultural and class backgrounds. Especially difficult for me, as a Chinese-American, (or would you identify yourself) was one story in which a South-Asian American woman described her experience of living in the U.S., including relationships with and inspiration from different cultural traditions. Enacting this story challenged us to not simply reiterate a long history of cultural appropriation that supports European colonial and imperialist ventures. Minstrelsy and other forms of cultural drag have been used for centuries to paint pictures of people of non-European descent as inferior, or inhuman. “White” people may also dress-up as non-“white” people in various festival, Halloween, or frat party contexts as a way of expressing desires that have been repressed by certain dominant Christian traditions. (?) For what? Do you want to say more? Meanwhile, however, they retain the privilege of being insulated from the everyday oppression that non-“white” people face in the U.S. and beyond I would delete beyond unless you want to explain. (OK!)

Some members of the audience and our ensemble felt unsatisfied with the enactment of this woman’s story, because some elements seemed to fall into a – albeit unconscious and unintentional – mocking of other cultures. This experience launched a conversation about what the responsibility of a Playback practitioner is in terms of working with material or populations with which one is less familiar. We talked about emphasizing the relationships described in a story rather than trying to portray the culture. For example, the teller’s partner is Arab. It is more important to play the love relationship than it is to try to play an Arab. Afterwards, another audience member expressed discomfort at seeing a European American actor attempt to sing the blues. We talked about if there might have been a way to represent the essence of the blues without having to try to play a blues singer.

There is a certain pleasure we derive from playing dress-up, and a certain license that the history of white supremacy gives us to perform the cultural traditions of others. But being a responsible Playback actor means being vigilant of this history and of our own social locations relative to this history. In a split second I must be able to distinguish when I am making a choice to serve the teller with my knowledge of other cultures versus when am I just showing off or playing for my own satisfaction that I can speak another language, sing someone else’s song, or dance someone else’s dance. Jason Agar put forth his model of having his group study an issue together; i.e. taking the initiative to use one’s Playback company, and the form itself, to educate ourselves on issues we would like to know more about in order to become more culturally proficient. Deb Scott talked about bringing PT skills to communities outside of our own in order to give the tools to people who can start their own groups that may then adjust the work to be relevant to particular histories and/or cultures.

Working with folks from Ashé Cultural Center in New Orleans, the agency that sponsors the New Orleans Playback Theatre company, was a highlight for me. I could see how they integrate Playback with other structures. I especially appreciated how John O’Neal prepared the space by asking us to form a circle and to dedicate the work to someone significant to us. We also prayed together as a group. This reinforced the necessity of a ritual preparation of the ground for working with each others’ stories, and the possibility of finding new ways of calling on the support of the spirit that can work in diverse groups. Especially in this strange environment of the U.S., where we are all still struggling with a legacy of genocide, sexism, heterosexism, and racism, we must continue to educate ourselves, or take the initiative to heal ourselves, and to work to bring light to our own blind spots. I believe with support from spirit in holding the stories that are entrusted to us, we can do what is in the best interests of the teller.

Despite the challenges we faced, it was a highlight and a privilege for me to meet people from different Playback groups and work/play together. I am also very grateful that we were able to communicate with each other about our discomfort. I hope that we all can continue to find better and better ways to use Playback Theater to work together towards decolonization and positive social change.



This next report is from Deb, a member of our Playback Group at the Social Forum. Posted with her permission. Photos and photo captioning are added.

Impressions from the US Social Forum, Atlanta, 2007
Deb Scott – [Asheville Playback Theatre, North Carolina]

I went to Atlanta with the hope of introducing playback to the Social Change movement, (pretty grand ambition!) and the desire to be stretched by performing for, and with, a new and diverse group of people.

I had forgotten what it is to be in a great sea of people, intent on their work and causes, passionate and articulate, in the crucible of a very, very hot city. The streets of Atlanta were almost 100 degrees every day, and every indoor space was refridgerated. Events were all over the city, and the densely packed schedule allowed only a half hour between sessions. Of great interest to me was the street life that surrounded our somewhat seedy hotel, sandwiched in between one of the parks and a large and welcoming Drop In Homeless Center. This scene was juxtaposed with the throngs of workers for social change who moved on through the living room of the homeless with minimal interaction. One suggestion many of us felt for the next Social Forum is to consider programs that interact with the host city—in this case a shared meal or an invitation to the residents to participate freely at the conference. In fact, in retrospect, I wish the playback group had spontaneously offered a performance at the Drop In Center some evening.

We offered 4 playback events, two workshops, a performance, and a collaboration with Ashe Cultural Arts Center from New Orleans. The context of the work made me acutely aware of assumptions and the importance of moving gently into others’ experiences. This deliberation required focus and attention, and I found myself exhausted by constantly taking stock of my responses: Is this a cultural bias vs. a personal preference? Am I holding onto the “Master Narrative” as I listen to what is being said? Where are my blind areas? What does it take to educate the privileged (me), so often unaware of our privilege? And what does it ask of our neighbors who find themselves in the tiresome role of constantly enlightening us? I feel gratitude to those who continue to teach people like me out of their dedication to the creation of a new world and new understanding, one conversation at a time.

The publicity for the USSF proclaimed “Another World is Possible”. I saw once again that any tool kit for making a paradigm shift can benefit from the playback principles—listening, honoring human experience, being willing to initiate and to follow, and making everyone right. These principles allowed members of 5 playback companies to become an ensemble in a matter of hours, and allowed us to create a safe place for some difficult learning to happen. How I wish more groups carried such tools into their meetings and board rooms…

I conducted the first event, the performance on day one of the Conference. There were about 25 people in our hotel ballroom and I felt very confident that the team of actors would work well together. The stories we heard reflected several themes from the conference. A man told of his rich family tradition of gathering together, his divorce that forced his son from his life, and then recently coming back into relationship with his son when a crisis in his own marriage made him vulnerable. I heard in that story the cost of alienation, and a father’s inability to speak words of love and regret to his son.



The next story was told by a college student who described the endless parade of meetings in his life, and the uncomfortable discovery that in the heat of argument he was capable of behavior he did not respect in others. A young woman told of being drawn to the Conference across the country, and following this impulse knowing she had no way back home.



"The meeting agenda and group agreements"




The last story was told by a woman from (now I forget—Pakistan?) originally, but who has lived the life of an international, working here in the US with immigrant factory workers, finding moments of belonging through music and cross-cultural relationships. She did not specify what became her center, or a moment when she felt “at home”. It was a difficult story to conduct (and not an easy life to live) and I felt a sadness coming from the teller. The actors created a kaleidoscope of impressions, swirling around the teller’s actor, and ended with a chorus of voices saying “home”.

While the teller seemed to leave the chair moved, we got feedback from another audience member after the performance raising the question of cultural appropriation. She felt for example that it was inappropriate for a white actor to sing the blues (and Kerry from NOLA Playback did a really fine blues) even though this was specifically mentioned by the teller. I do not personally think cultural appropriation was an issue with this story, but the question has burned its way into my thinking about how to handle stories that are culturally specific. How do we honor the spirit of the story without resorting to cliché or cursory “playacting” when the actor is unfamiliar with cultural references? Is it enough to bring the emotional dynamics to the fore front, and in a general way honor the common humanity that we all can relate to? I think not.

So I am learning in real time some of the lessons Jonathan and others at the School have taught for years. About the responsibility of playback conductors and actors to be grounded in a broad and inclusive awareness of the world around them, of cultural and power dynamics, of historical and geographical facts, of Roles people play, and of what we do not know and how to ask for the information we need. The days in Atlanta were filled with discovery and I had a great time with my expanded playback family, asking hard questions and playing together. Thank you all!

Playback Theatre Photos from the USSF

Most of our group during the introductory sections and shorter improv forms.





















This is an encatment scene from a father's story about his divorce and caring for his son through the process.



"Pairs" is a Playback Forum that contrasts 2 or more conflicting emotions.

This scene is something that we thought about a great deal afterwards. How can we as actors represent a different cultural background without instantly appropriating a cultural experience outside of our own?
How can we be true to the teller's story amidst this?

Our group at the end of our 1st of 4 events. 2 were performances, 2 were workshops.

There were 10 or us total, Karel from NOLA Playback Theatre (PBT) is taking photos here.

Pictured from left to right: Carie from NOLA PBT, Montaine and Ike from Asheville PBT, Susan from Brooklyn PBT collaborative, Joyce from Living Arts PBT- Oakland, Daniel from Asheville PBT, Lloyd from NOLA PBT. In front , myself Jason from Pinoy Playaback - SF and Deb from Asheville PBT.

We were from 5 different Playback Companies and all had different ways of doing things. Coming together and sticking together amidst the sea of activity that was the Social Forum surrounding us and building our relationships within our group was a powerful experience.

My experience of doing Playback Theatre at the Forum

This is something I've written to be included in a larger article from our delegation.

My journey to the US Social Forum was a roundabout one. In the Playback sense, it would a rich “chorus story” for another telling. For now I’ll share that I had decided to go the Social Form first and later found out that there would a Playback Troupe that I could join while I was there. What an excellent combination, Social Change networking with people from all over and Playback! I just needed to figure out a way to make it work for myself.

Our group was mostly “Euros” and they were looking for “people of color” to balance them out.
This is a mirror for the way that racial equity is being framed in a broader sense presently. The solution to racism is laid out as one of representation. If there are people of color in the group or “diversity” in the group then racism will have been addressed. This however does not change the economic or social power structure or misinformation about others that we are raised with. It does not bridge the gap in our experiences of daily life. Being able to hear each other out and be accountable to each other, in the process of working together can bridge that gap. Playback as an improv form relies on connection and trust between everyone at the performance. When that trust breaks down, the whole process breaks down. Barriers and conflicts are opportunities to build a group that can go to challenging places and do difficult stories because they have dealt with them personally first. During our first time together at the Social Forum I asked people in our group to make a commitment to take me seriously if I brought something up and really consider what I was saying, even if it was outside of their realm of experience. In turn, I agreed that I would bring up the issue “gently’ with the goal of building trust and respect within our ensemble. This was a necessary agreement for my participation in the troupe. It put into place a framework to address issues on different topics outside of race. It also grounded our group in a common agreement to respect each other through differences and conflict.

My highlight was the way that we worked together for 4 different workshops/performances, figuring out how to support a different leader for each one. We came from 5 different companies all with their own Playback “dialects” and figured out common performance language. We had our challenging conversations and we had our fun also. For me, all of this is an affirmation that how we work together is the main factor in what we accomplish together. The only thing better was my surprise birthday cake from the group. Thank you all!

Jason Agar
San Francisco, CA
Pinoy (Filipino) Playback Theatre

Onward beyond video

I have many short videos to share and currently I'm not able to put them up here. I'll keep working on it though.

As soon as we pulled up to the Civic Center, groups from the other Freedom Caravan buses were massing for a short march. It was great to join up with the rest of the group that I hadn't seen in a couple of days- since the NOLA Playback Theatre show in Congo Square in New Orleans.

Helpful folks, (Sunny, Karel, Riley and B) making sure everyone was fed.

This is the New Orleans contingent after joining the larger march on the opening day of the Social Forum.
The march was brilliant and I saw many people from different places in my life all converging in Atlanta. We ended up back at park by the Civic Center and shortly afterwards I met up with my Playback Theatre Delegation.

Rewind 6/26- 6/27 The bus from New Orleans to Selma

On June 26th I boarded the bus caravan in New Orleans en route to Biloxi, Mississippi for lunch and then Selma, Alabama for the night.


This is Pamela from One Torch taping signs on the bus.

There were people from different organizations on the bus and one of the intentions was to have conversations about current struggles and ways to move forward through them.

This Ancient African Symbol was part of the icebreaker in the discussion. It signifies 2 alligators that share a common stomach. When one eats, it feeds the other. A nice way to think about nourishing or supporting each other. The energy on the bus was upbeat and playful. Although there were 3 buses in our caravan I was on the best one. I was traveling with a group of talented, playful, intelligent and fun high school students. They brought "Dougie" the puppet with them along with songs, jokes, statements on intention for the Social Forum and great energy.

I met some folks from the Fourth World Movement Organization. It's been a while since I was able to live on about $600.00/month and these wonderful people, Jill, Diana and Diana had me rethinking the question of "how much is enough" in this materialist culture. $600/month is an approximate stipend for them within their organization. The director is paid the same as the other staff and some folks have been working with this organization for over 20 years. Room and board is provided by the organization. If the world was to survive and you could make the difference by figuring out "how much was enough" for you, would you walk away from the rest? Forget the rest of the world for a moment.... Would you do it anyway because your own life would be better by focusing on the most important things? What would it look like?

Lunch was in Biloxi, Mississippi and we heard from several groups working to rebuild from storm damage from Katrina. Possibly Hurricane Rita also, I'm not sure. The damage to New Orleans was vast, but it didn't stop there. We met with a woman from the Coastal Women's Center there, doing fundraising to start a Head Start early education program there.

One thing that is very clear to me on this trip is that people are getting little if any assistance from our government. If anything, the government is allied with developers in trying to further take from the public sector and give it over the private. There is a monumental land grab that is being attempted in New Orleans, trying to take land from people and make lots of money redeveloping it. Also there is a public housing in great condition being taken down in favor of "market housing" that would provide only 30% low income units. New Orleans and other damaged areas illustrate that nothing is going to get better without a continued and coodinated effort to make it better for ourselves. Additionally, the government, which bows down to money over morals isn't there to help, especially if you are poor or a minority.

Arriving in Selma we went to a Black Community school where hate crime vandalism had been perpetrated. An estimated $200,000 dollars of damage was done including the tagging of "Nigger" and other phrases on the walls. Communications wiring was destroyed outside, plumbing was destroyed, cords on vacuum cleaners and copy machines were cut and other malicious acts were done to disable the school. Clearly they were making good progress at challenging white privilege there. Hence the reaction. I was thinking about it that way initially and it helped me deal with what I saw there. Many people remarked that it looked like Katrina had left the mess. Difficult to believe that it was a group of people so hateful and out of touch with their own humanity. Like I said, I was taking a positive view on it, but hearing from a black State Senator at dinner about the continual and direct assaults he deals with from white lawmakers I think that making progress is a daily, direct and exhausting fight here.





Our fried chicken dinner was much appreciated, even more so for breakfast the next day after about 5 hours of sleep the night before.







I have videos from this section of the trip that I hope I'll be able to upload at some point. A glitch in Blogger is preventing me from doing that currently.

On the Bus from New Orleans to Selma, Alabama - June 26th

On June 26th I boarded the bus caravan in New Orleans en route to Biloxi, Mississippi for lunch and then Selma, Alabama for the night. There were people from different organizations on the bus and one of the intentions was to have conversations about current struggles and ways to move forward through them. The energy on the bus was upbeat and playful. I was on the best bus in that I was traveling with a group of talented, playful, intelligent and fun high school students. They brought "Dougie" the puppet with them along with songs, jokes, statements on intention for the Social Forum and great energy.

Upon arriving in Selma we I had an abrupt awakening to the nature of southern racism.
Read about it here:

http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2007/07/59407.php

B Speaks on the US Social Forum and "Kids"

Beatrix from New Orleans a couple of days before the forum.

Activism at home vs. away

Janick speaks in New Orleans about making change at home vs. away from home.
This is from about 6/24/07.

Hate Crime in Selma, AL

We are in a motel in Selma, AL. In less than 6 hours we're getting back on the bus - bound for Atlanta. Today we visited a school established for the Black community that was severely vandalized in a brutal and malicious way. I'll have photos and video maybe later. We also heard from a State Senator on the daily blatant ways that racism affects people every day. It's very direct here and obviously they are making great strides here as they are continuing to threaten the white power base and elicit drastic responses. Young Black children have to go to schools named in honor of KKK founders. Imagine Jewish children going to Hitler Elementary School.

Bukas ang Atlanta!
Atlanta tomorrow!
Jason

NOLA Playback Theatre "People's Freedom Caravan" Show

This morning I performed with NOLA Playback Theatre. We were part of an event welcoming the People's Freedom Caravan that started in Albuquerque, NM on the way to the US Social Forum. The original Freedom Rides happened in 1961 and were an effort to take direct action fighting racial segregation.


In this incarnation, the People's Freedom Caravan has a broad focus...

"By bringing together indigenous nations, displaced peoples of New Orleans, migrant workers along the border, and youth and civil rights veterans in Mississippi, the People’s Freedom Caravan will break down the geographic, political, racial and cultural barriers that have been used to marginalize our communities. Starting in Albuquerque, the caravan will weave its way across the country, converging at cities to highlight local struggles for justice, share cultures and hold media events. The Caravan will arrive marching into Atlanta, where participants will be met by thousands of delegates at the first U.S. Social Forum."




Our show this morning was mixed with the Story Circle format from John O'Neal's Free Southern Theater\. It was great to play back people's stories as part of the day's many events (tours included).
















I'm on the BUS!

There was a change with my transportation to the US Social Forum and tomorrow morning at 8am I'm boarding the bus also. We'll be headed to Selma, Alabama tomorrow night, arriving at the social forum on Weds at noon. I'm excited to see something of Selma, where so much happened in the 1960's and beyond around civil rights.


By the way, it rains a lot here. Big DROPS!

Levees

This area is the river side of the levee.

I'm riding my bike over the bridge in the picture above and it's a long way down.































To the left is the river. To the right are the lots where houses used to be. The fact that the levees are not built any stronger than before Hurricane Katrina has to be a big psycological barrier to rebuilding also. A major strategy in the rebuilding of the city has been to focus on and subsidize business's first as a means to rebuild the economy. At the same time, the value of profit ahead of people means that there is an enormous land grab being attempted here.

In 1965, during Hurricane Betsy, these same levees were dynamited and many of the same neighborhoods destroyed in order to keep the richer and white areas - like the French Quarter from flooding. This is a familiar routine for poor and black people here.

Lower 9th Ward Photos

Have tools, will travel

One thing I haven't mentioned yet has to do with some of the culture that I've experienced here. It's difficult to be in New Orleans. Chances are, if you aren't fighting for your home or to stay or for a better world, then you're not here. There's a energy here that says "put up" and start doing something or get out. I've me so many committed, intelligent, passionate and skilled people here doing all different kinds of work. It's exciting. It's a great reminder that humanity is capable of much more than we often think it is. Thousands and thousands of people have come to this place to try and make a contribution.
There are many young people in their 20's who are taking on big issues, finding solutions and moving forward through different struggles they've encountered.

Tools for the making change (the minimalist utility belt: cell Phone, folding knife, blue sharpie marker for meetings and more, keys, bottle opener. Not pictured, but present: Background work on understanding privilege, social skills, compassion, love, dedication, creativity/ability to improvise, tolerance for harsh situations, blinding intelligence and sense of humor.





Here's some graffiti from the bathroom at the Common Ground headquarters in the Upper 9th ward, where RUBARB bikes is located.