July 26, 2013
The following post has been reblogged from our friends at Grist.org and features our newest colleague Mistinguette Smith. We hope you find it as inspiring as we did! Please note one correction: Smith was born in the Midwest.
Gastronomically enlightened Grist reader that you are, you’ve probably participated in a CSA, or at least heard of them. Community-supported agriculture is so common that in many circles the acronym needs no explanation. (Sorry, mini football helmet collectors, we’re talking about farmers who sell “shares” of their seasonal fruits and veggies, then deliver them to members when they’re ripe.) But a pint of locally sourced strawberries says you didn’t know a black man came up with the idea.
Read More
July 22, 2013
“When somebody says ‘I’m in pain,’ when somebody says ‘I’m being targeted,’ when somebody says ‘there are too many young black boys being killed…’ if our first reaction is to defend ourselves, then that shows a great degree of loveless-ness. Nobody is saying that you hate black people… but I am asking you the question, do you love them?” -Brother Ali
July 21, 2013
On Friday, President Obama spoke about the Trayvon Martin tragedy, in terms that were both personal and presidential. If you haven’t heard his talk you can listen here. Read More
July 9, 2013
Regular readers know that facilitating for the Barr Fellows Network has been among the most rewarding work I have ever gotten to do – here is why, part 2
June 28, 2013
If you’re not familiar with six word memoirs, it’s a project of SMITH Magazine, which has as its mission to celebrate the joy of passionate, personal storytelling. As the SMITH folks say, it’s all about “One life. Six Words, What’s yours?”
So over here at IISC we did a little passionate, personal storytelling of our own the other day…each creating a six-word memoir in the moment.
Read More
June 25, 2013
I’m sharing another great piece from my dear friend Adrienne Maree Brown. I am absolutely moved by the way she speaks of emergence. She is spot on. As you read, I encourage you to remember that evolution “transcends and includes.” There are aspects of our industrial paradigm that can and should be included as we move towards working with emergence. How can you apply what Adrienne is talking about?
Read More
June 21, 2013
The following post was written by our good friend David Roberts and can be found at Grist.com. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Thanks for all your work David!
Trying to change the world for the better — being an activist, social change agent, do-gooder, whatever you want to call it — can be exhausting and dispiriting, especially for young people launching into it full of energy and hope. What activists need most is … well, money. They’re all stressed about funding.
But what activists need next most is, for lack of a better term, recharging. They need to get together and relax, share stories, celebrate each other’s victories, commiserate over defeats, and get back in touch with deeper convictions and purposes. That’s what gives them the energy they need to keep going in the face of setbacks.
Read More
June 7, 2013
Andrea Nagel and I have been facilitating retreats for the Social Justice Funders Network (SJFN) of Massachusetts for the last year and a half or so. What an honor! Network members include individuals who work at foundations both small and large across the state and who have intentionally created a space for learning and relationship-building across roles, institutions, and issues. Read More
May 21, 2013
In January of this year I was privileged to design and facilitate the first ever International OPEN Summit. Today I’m on my way to facilitate the first ever OPEN Summit US. The leadership of our nation’s “Online Progressive Engagement Networks” are coming together to support the development of an informal network by strengthening relationships among the people doing this work. Read More
May 3, 2013
Photo provided by Alex Pelayo. Check out the rest of his amazing portfolio here!
This post is Part II in a series on Strategic Planning and Emergence.
It doesn’t make much sense to look at strategic planning without taking a look at what we mean by strategy. There doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus on what people mean when they use the word strategy. I like the way Thomas Rice, IISC’s founding board chair, talks about it here. Thomas stresses that strategy is about how you choose to deploy scarce resources in order to achieve your goals.
Read More
April 25, 2013
Hope you enjoy this article as much as we did! It’s a great illustration of the kinds of connections we need to make between movements–in this case immigrant rights and environmental sustainability–to stand a chance of seeing the kinds of transformation we’re seeking.
Philip Radford of Greenpeace and Bill McKibben of 350.org recently joined the growing crowd of people calling for comprehensive immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship.
Read More
