Building the Beloved Community: Practicing & Living a Life of Belonging

Transcription

1 Building the Beloved Community: Practicing & Living a Life of Belonging PRESENTER john a. powell 45TH ANNIVERSARY GALA El Centro de la Raza

2 Reflecting on 45 years: 1. BELOVED COMMUNITY Remembering Our History 2. STRUGGLE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE Local National Global 3. CALL TO ACTION Belonging in a Toxic Reality

3 Fall 1972: BEFORE THERE WAS OCCUPY WALL STREET...

4 "Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives. The problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together. These are the triple evils that are interrelated.

5 Our beloved community in the United States:

6 As diversity grows in the United States...

7 As diversity grows in the United States... so does anxiety and racial resentment: SOURCE: SAMUEL CORUM/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES

8 INCREASE IN DIVERSITY INCREASE IN ANXIETY LOOK TO LEADERSHIP TO SET META-NARRATIVE THAT 1. BRIDGE COMMUNITIES 2. BREAK COMMUNITIES EMPATHY FEAR INCLUSION ANGER BELONGING OTHERING

9 sexua lity y abilit class ne gend o skin t er race rel ethnicity age igio n Othering is a set of processes, structures, and dynamics that engender marginality and persistent inequality across any of the full range of human differences. Othering and marginality can occur on a group basis or at the individual level.

10 Othering in America the perfect storm: CORPORATE RIGHT RELIGIOUS RIGHT ALT-RIGHT

11 Who is in the circle of human concern?

12 Who are the people that make up Seattle?

13 DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS (ALL GROUPS)

14 DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS (LATINOS)

15 DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS ACROSS SPACE

16

17 2. Struggle for Social Justice LOCAL NATIONAL GLOBAL BEACON HILL, SEATTLE MISSION DISTRICT, SAN FRANCISCO

18 2. Struggle for Social Justice A BELOVED COMMUNITY ENSURES EQUITABLE ACCESS TO: EDUCATION ECONOMY TRANSPORTATION FOOD HOUSING HEALTHCARE JUSTICE COMMUNICATIONS

19 2. Struggle for Social Justice OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURES Life changes are shaped by opportunity structures, and those structures are just as important if not more so than the choice that individuals make. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS SOCIAL NETWORKS NEIGHBORHOO DS EDUCATIO N These factors combine to form the web of influences beyond our control that enhance and constrain our ability to succeed and excel.

20 2. Struggle for Social Justice UNDERSTANDING OURSELVES WITHIN STRUCTURES We are all situated within structures but not evenly. These structures interact in ways that produce a differential in outcomes. CULTURAL STRUCTURES PHYSICAL STRUCTURES OUTCOMES SOCIAL STRUCTURES

21 3. Call to Action MOVING TOWARDS STRUCTURAL INCLUSION ] [ [ SEPARATION PERMEABLE CONNECTION Stairs do not work for people in wheelchairs. Steps advantage some and disadvantage others. Acknowledging different groups needs results in unexpected benefits for the whole community. We need to create structures and policies that bridge instead of break.

22 Structural inclusion means to belong Belonging connotes something fundamental about both how groups are structurally positioned within society as well as how they are perceived and regarded. EXCLUSION INTEGRATION INCLUSION

23 Expanding the circle of human concern requires: EMPATHETIC SPACE Focus on terms that unify people, rather than those that divide. Instead of an us/them mentality, focus on a we. UNDERSTANDING OUR LINKED FATE We are inextricably linked. We need to understand the effect structures have on all individuals.

24 Fall 1972: A RESILIENT MODEL FOR BUILDING A BELOVED COMMUNITY

25 THE EAGLE Indigenous communities: wisdom, freedom THE INDIAN SPEAKING Aztec symbol: power of communication THE CULTURE Flute/guitar: maintaining our culture THE WORK Hammer/shovel: right to a job with dignity THE BOOKS Access to education: bilingual & multicultural THE COLORS Red/black: death & liberation, regeneration