Alright, I know we always promise to post more and then don’t. It’s sad. That’s why you should all be like Zeph, and write to us with your stories, thoughts, critiques, responses, brilliant analyses, etc, so that we can post them on the site.
Zeph writes:
In the last few years I’ve tried to “step up” in various ways, to stop running away and hiding from my class privilege and my family history and to instead figure out ways to use that privilege to support the work that needs to happen in the world. And, as your postings amply demonstrate, it’s confusing! And contradictory! And imperfect! I have a lot to learn, I have a lot of decisions to make, and for many good and bad reasons it continues to be an awkward conversation. I figure the only way it will get less awkward is to keep trying, to keep speaking and listening, and learning the approaches that generate connection and inspiration, versus confusion, frustration, dead ends.
What am I hoping for? Well, allies & more folks to brainstorm with, folks who can share role models and cautionary tales. Most specifically, I’d like examples of projects where cash-resourceful folks collaborate with other kinds of resourceful folks to build flourishing community spaces that nourish voice and creativity at the grassroots. What makes these kinds of projects successful? Or not?
I know I can collaborate most effectively when I bring my whole self, and yet I’ve most often felt fragmented. Telling my story out loud is a way of tying all these fragments together so that I can’t leave inconvenient pieces behind me when I step through a new door. They all need to stumble together wherever I go.
Read Zeph’s story over here in the articles section.