Hello dear Enough readers, I promise we haven’t abandoned you! I have a new piece to post, by the incomparable Jessica Hoffmann: The Practice of Freedom: A History of the Self Education Foundation.
The story of SEF has inspired me for years – they were a very small, very grassroots funding project run mostly by young women – organizers and activists who had few sources of individual wealth but shared an expansive vision of self-education that was rooted in social justice movements. None of the founders and organizers were traditional philanthropists – they just wanted to direct whatever resources they could to support the movements that inspired and sustained them. I’ve learned so much from being connected to some of the organizers of this project and hearing their reflections and anecdotes, and I’m very excited to be able to share this written history. Their story is especially inspiring in this era of professionalized social change work – SEF is a great example of what capitalism often makes us forget: that change is created by regular folks with vision and creativity, learning as we go, making mistakes, making up new models, taking risks, working together. Check it out.