WG/Strategies/Anti-Oppression/Minutes/Oct 30 2011

Anti-Oppression Home

Anti-Oppression Working Group Meeting Notes - October 30, 2011 Community Change Inc

Agenda

Check-in (10) Cathy, Michelle, Irene, Carolina, Stacia, Zoe, Nicole, Meck, Maureen, Chris, Ester, Susie H, Bhavin, Michael M.
 * Chose scribe, note taker, time watcher, etc
 * Go around: name, oops & ouch moment

Ground rules & discussion (30)

1. Step up, Step back
 * Facilitators can help w/ this
 * Its hard work

2. Active listening
 * Actively engaging with speaker: nodding, affirmative gestures
 * Don’t multi-task while someone else is speaking
 * Possible: not raising hand until someone else is finished speaking

3. Allow Space for disagreement

4. Don’t blame/ shame/ attack

5. Speak for yourself, Use I statements

6. Progressive Stack & Diversity of facilitation techniques
 * Have people who self-identify with marginalized groups put higher on the stack
 * EX: people of color, woman, trans, queer, …
 * ALSO, can put people who have talked a lot lower on stack … Facilitators
 * Discuss this ahead of time so it is not on facilitator to decide how to manage

7. Practice ‘both/ and’ thinking not just ‘either/ or’
 * more than 1 reality exists
 * EX: should we go to gov. and beg/ ask for stuff or create our own world… actually both are possible
 * be mindful of ‘neither/ nor’ possibility
 * EX: glass half full, half empty? One could also say: glass is partly full of water and partly full of air

8. Oops, Ouch, What’s up with that? (& positive hand gestures)
 * What’s up with that?: if something may be an ouch, this is an option that asks for clarification and can open up discussion

Create toolbox:


 * ethics of groundrules
 * specific practices and ideas that we have used/ going to use to diversify facilitation techniques
 * WHO WOULD LIKE TO WORK ON THIS?

Not going to include 1. Assume best intentions
 * might not leave room for disscussion

Working Group Updates (15)

Women’s Caucus
 * currently a space for females
 * purpose
 * creating a process: discussion about how we are going to decide things
 * 100 listening; 15-40 in meetings
 * being visible at camp & accountable in decision making

Occupy the Hood
 * No update on internal discussion
 * In email: Occupy the Hood would like to ask people to endorse electoral candidates
 * Questions about relationship between Occupy Boston and Occupy the Hood
 * is it an event or a working group?
 * it looks like it is an ongoing group
 * Centrally controlled group, mainly around Jamal Crawford
 * Term has roots in NY (Malcolm X … Center)

Anarchist Caucus
 * Concern expressed over people always wearing masks…
 * it is a tactic that may loose its effectiveness
 * people wearing masks may not identify as anarchists
 * hierarchies in media group
 * Moving to other spaces
 * privately owned or foreclosed spaces
 * legality of these things

People of Color
 * to ally with Occupy the Hood or not?
 * have had 4 meetings
 * working towards statement of purpose
 * homelessness issue

Community Organization group Still being discussed
 * Monday meetings in the past
 * Next meeting Tuesday November 1
 * Purpose of group: possibly moving in direction of becoming more action-oriented

Statements of purpose
 * formed to be the group to work on an Anti-Oppression statement of purpose
 * take ‘skeleton’ of ideas they have come up with, and discuss them with other groups.
 * have Saturday and Sunday meetings in the future
 * once Statement of Purpose is completed, the group plans to dissolve

Transparency Group
 * from emails: having meeting Tuesday (we think)
 * trying to figure out regular meeting times for groups and possibly posting them somewhere else

Queer/ Trans Caucus
 * working on putting up Anti-Oppression signs up around camp
 * this group is meeting now… Can anyone fill in?

Allies against racism, White Allies
 * Question over the existence of group

Occupy Racism conference call
 * anti-racism work at occupations
 * messy at most other occupations … but everyone is doing work!
 * developing email/ resource sharing page
 * wants to stay connected to Anti-Oppression group

National conference call: Action about Foreclosures
 * Occupy folks and community groups
 * Two calls so far
 * City Life has been on this call
 * Seems that people are using City Life model without talking to City Life first
 * Possible Day of Action Nov. 21, 22, 23
 * national calls about coordinating actions…
 * possibility of elite group arising that
 * how do people find out about these calls?

Youth Group

Choosing Direction (30)
 * 4 broad categories of what this group could be …. ??
 * Network group
 * increase transparency of anti-oppression group
 * increase visibility of work being done (by many groups) around anti-oppression
 * empower accountability at camp
 * offer AO training & facilitation
 * offer a safe space
 * Coordinate between AO working groups (internal) and reach out to other groups (external)
 * what can we do for anti-oppression now?
 * doing actions we think are needed
 * posting anti-oppression ground rules on your tent
 * there is a Protest-Chaplan group
 * are we going to ‘put out fires’ at camp?
 * hopes that Safety group does not mirror oppressive ways of this country’s police force
 * leadership in dealing with urgent issues as well as developing long term strategy... as a group, we want to do both
 * we are meeting people and creating relationships throughout this process

Message for Reps (20)

Choosing Reps (5)

Closing Out (10) Go-Round of thoughts
 * there are real emotions at stake
 * learning from these meetings and shaping interactions
 * here to contribute b/c I cannot be on the ground that much
 * questions about if groups will stay together after this; not feeling excited about doing task-oriented stuff at occupy, but want to work towards it
 * made a lot of connections, hope to keep them over time
 * oil-can with dynamite flying through space… will not last forever in this form
 * grateful for this group as a space for reflection; movement moment: need to deal with fast-paced work here
 * commitment to this, very involved in on the ground work and it is tiring but I am going to continue
 * urgency.. need to not worry about outcomes and just do my work
 * we have won so much already! Claim our victories, reflection time, and take care of each other
 * I appreciate that this group exists. ?s over long term strategy
 * Learning space, want to contribute
 * gentle entry into this movement

Next meeting: Saturday 10/5