Rochester Activist Summit
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Rochester is home to many dedicated activists and organizations, but sometimes it feels like we're fighting our struggles alone. Why isn't there more concrete, operational-unity, solidarity and support between Rochester activist groups? What links the work we are doing? How can we work towards unity and collective action?
Saturday, March 6th
10am-6pm
Flying Squirrel Community Space
285 Clarissa St.
The goal of the Rochester Activist Summit is to begin an ongoing process of building understanding, concrete, principled, operational-unity, solidarity and systems of support between local activists/organizations that are working to create change in the Rochester area. If we are serious about liberation, then we need to be serious about coming together, discussing the barriers that exist between us, and working towards unity and collective struggle.
Objectives: At the summit, we plan to:
* Learn from each other: We will teach each other about racism, sexism, homophobia/heterosexism, ableism, and all of the oppressions we face, the work we do, and our visions for social change.
* Build understanding regarding linkages between our struggles: We will work to better understand -- in concrete, practical terms -- how different oppressions reinforce and support each other.
* Start working together!: We will identify an issue that we can build a common campaign around and begin working on it.
In the process of achieving the objectives listed above, thus far, the following organizations have committed to presentations:
1. Gay Alliance of Genesee Valley (GAGV): "Sexual orientation and gender identity, identifying homo & transphobia and heterosexism"
2. Activists Against Racism Movement (AARM): "Understanding and confronting individual and institutional racism"; "Understanding and confronting white privilege"
3. Rochester Indymedia: "Interconnected oppressions in media and building alternatives"
If you and/or your organization would like to present at the summit regarding a particular focus or issue concerning the interconnectedness of oppressions, please attend our next planning meeting, scheduled for 3:00 PM on January 15, 2010 @ the Flying Squirrel Community Space. With regard to presentations, it is our intent to maintain a local focus (as opposed to dealing with national and international issues and concerns). We understand that issues of oppression are connected at the national and international levels, but again our specific goal is to begin an ongoing process of building understanding, concrete, principled, operational-unity, solidarity and systems of support between local activists / organizations that are working to create change in the Rochester area.
You can email rochesteractivistsummit@rocus.org for info. We are actively seeking out groups to help us plan the conference. If you are doing activist work in Rochester, please get in touch.
