We’re All In This Together

Like the title says.

Really, this is just the name of a song Old Crow Medicine Show plays.  I’ve never written about song lyrics before.  Perhaps it’s a little cliche to do so, but the title is so true that its hard not to write about.   This simple phrase is what I’ve been trying to keep in mind for the past month, as I’ve struggled with questions and assumptions around race recently.

My wallet was stolen and my nose was broken on a Sunday afternoon last month, fairly close to my house.  The muggers were people of color, and despite my most sincere attempts to shake it off, I become tense and afraid nearly everytime I am near someone resembling the folks that attacked me.

So while I struggle with the difficulty of shaking racist assumptions in my own life, it is helpful for me to remember - “We’re all in this together.”  American Empire and Capitalism cause poverty, competition, and individualism.  We’re all stuck in this shitty system, and some of us are affected in much harsher ways than others - which in turn cause harsher reactions.

The only way out is to find a way towards collective liberation, towards a world where we are all free from the insitutional oppression that affects all of us.

We’re all in this together!

Diversity of Tactics?

Out of context, the term ‘diversity of tactics’ seems reasonable. I support the use of a variety of different tactics, depending on both their effectiveness of accomplishing concrete goals and the scenarios in which they are used. But, when put in the context of the current movement against capitalism, particularly in the United States, ‘diversity of tactics’ represents nothing but the antithesis of long-term movement strategy.

Why is it that so many anti-capitalists insist on using tactics that, in the scenarios that they’re repeatedly used, are completely ineffective in moving our movements forward - both in terms of numbers and public opinion? Smashing windows and throwing rocks - in many cases, the use of these tactics seem like expressions of anger against capitalism and the State. Instead we should collectively be deciding the most effective ways to accomplish our goals in the long-term, bearing in mind the need for mass public support and participation in our movements in order to win.

I believe we should be concerned about building strong, lasting movements counter to the oppressive systems that we all are part of now, so that years down the road we’ll have the capacity to build something new.

Moving and Motivation

I moved out of my parent’s house approximately two weeks ago, and into my friend Matthew’s house in Lancaster. Here the rent is cheap and the people are nice. Not that my parents weren’t kind - but it’s been a welcome change to be living with people I can more closely relate to - both in politics and age.

One of the reasons that I moved out of my folks’ house was that I’ve been struggling to stay motivated in the organizing I’ve been doing in Lancaster. While it’s true that my new house is in a much more convenient location for me than my old one, I’ve come to the realization that my lack of motivation is stemming from a lot more than living in closer proximity to where most of my organizing occurs.

For one, I’ve realized that I’m slightly burnt out from the intense organizing I did this summer - especially the SDS action camp. The wonderful thing about the action camp was that most of the work I did was logistical - and so it was very easy to see the direct results of the effort I put into making it a success. Much of the organizing that is currently going on in Lancaster SDS is based in the long-term.

Additionally, I haven’t found myself particularly attached to or excited about the many campaigns we’ve begun this semester. Don’t get me wrong - I think they are all very important, relevant, and strategic. For the most part, I think my lack of motivation is mostly due to the fact that I’m no longer in school, and can’t play an active role in organizing.

Despite all of this, I’m very excited about what’s to come in the next few months. I will soon be joining the organizing task force for the War Resisters League, and hope to play much needed support roles for the Iraq Veterans Against the War. I expect the coming months to be a tremendous learning experience for me as a young organizer.

Students for a Democratic Society: National Convention and Action Camp Reports

Published in Left Turn Magazine

By Nick Martin (Lancaster SDS), Madeline Gardner (University of Minnesota SDS), Daniel Tasripin (Hunter College SDS) and Beth Blum (Philadelphia SDS)

Published on: November 01, 2007

Following a year that witnessed a new generation of young organizers adopt the name and legacy of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), chapter members from around the country converged upon Detroit for our second national convention. The convention was to deliver upon the commitment made at last year’s inaugural convention in Chicago—the new SDS would become a real live organization. The modest task at hand: agree on a vision, officially endorse national actions and campaigns, and start instituting a viable national structure.

Since its inception in early 2006, SDS has grown to more than 100 active chapters and thousands of members at high school and college campuses all across the US. The organizations’ founding tenets of participatory democracy and multi-issue youth organizing has caught the imagination of activists from coast to coast.

Heading into Detroit, organizational structures have primarily been defined on the local chapter level, with varying degrees of communication between different regions. The second national convention would bring together over 50 SDS chapters, representing a multitude of political philosophies and ideas for the best ways of moving forward. We learned that at times decision making would be tedious and tense, but always lively. Principled compromise would be the order of the day.

Long-term vision

As a new, broad organization on the left, SDS seeks to root itself in a solid anti-oppression framework. We prioritized this at the convention by spending much of the first full day in five caucus sessions organized along race, sexuality, class, gender, and age lines. Each was paired with its corresponding privilege working group. Caucuses reported back to the larger assembly and outlined some specific cultural, and political changes needed within the structure of SDS to ensure its continued growth and effectiveness.

The initial vision documents adopted by the delegates affirmed the need for SDS to be relevant to a larger audience, learn from past social movements, and be accountable to the communities we organize in or are otherwise a part of.

At the heart of the organizational structure debate was how much power any national body should hold and how to keep that power accountable. We finally decided on a (provisional) federated structure with a national delegate system. This national body will have a mostly “soft” power, such as oversight of working groups, dealing with emergencies and vetting proposals for ratification to each individual chapter.

It is now up to the chapters to choose whether to ratify the decisions made at the convention. A foundation for our organization was put in place, and it was created entirely by us. We left the convention with a strong sense that we had accomplished something to be proud of—the creation of a national organization from the ground up.

Action camps

Two weeks later, from August 13-16, SDS held its first “Action Camp” in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The four-day camp was designed to provide SDS chapter members with the skills needed to be effective organizers for the long haul.

The camp curriculum focused on grounding ourselves in organizing frameworks and an analysis of collective liberation. Workshops ranged from chapter development to media skills, meeting facilitation and movement strategy. A special emphasis was put on the role of SDS in doing anti-racist work. Trainers from organizations such as Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Catalyst Project, Beyond the Choir, RANT, the War Resisters League, Rainforest Action Network, and of course SDS, led workshops. In shared tents, around campfires, and over late night snacks in the barn, bonding and networking among the 50 SDS participants created even stronger links as we prepare for the fall semester.

At the camp, there was lively debate regarding the process of designing the curriculum and level of participant input. In the absence of a national structure, national organizing has been initiated and carried out largely by individuals and chapters. Limited experience and capacity continue to be challenges. Informal leadership, accountability, and participation are always hot topics in SDS. The camp gave us an excellent jumping off point for an honest discussion about the wide variety of needs in SDS given the wide array of experience levels and opinions. Most of us are new to organizing—we are making mistakes, learning, and growing.

Attendees observed a need for more training on direct action skills. Local trainings with chapters will be continuing throughout the fall. In addition to student mobilization for national actions, chapter level campaigns will focus on anti-war, tuition freezes/accessibility of higher education, and labor solidarity to name a few.

Though both of our national summer projects were ambitious to say the least—SDS is nothing, if not ambitious. Changing the world is always an ambitious task and we wouldn’t be in this business if we didn’t intend to win. The time for action approaches as the semester begins. SDS is clearly emerging from the summer stronger, and poised for the months ahead.

For more information about SDS, see studentsforademocraticsociety.org.

Out of Community and Love: Lancaster SDS

So this is it. We’ve managed, in a couple of years, to create a multi-issue student group with hundreds, thousands of members across the country. We’ve got a national structure and one hundred active chapters. We want revolution, we want systemic change, we want a better world - another world. A more participatory, just, equal world. And we think we can do it. But do we have what it takes?

I’d been following SDS, mostly through online news stories, for a few months prior to starting our chapter in Lancaster. SDS stood out to me as something new - something that the movement needed, but it didn’t have. A student movement for participatory democracy, framed exactly as such. I’m an anarchist that doesn’t like to call himself one. The word anarchism carries a lot of baggage with it. By the time I’d heard of the new SDS, I had figured out that any group that defined itself as explicitly anarchist would have an immensely hard time with movement building.

Those of us that started Lancaster SDS have been friends for years – most of us have grown up together, and attended the same Mennonite church since we were little. We’ve had a community from the beginning—known what it was like to grow up in a setting where we were supported and loved in the decisions we made.

In that way, among many others, we are privileged.

Lancaster County is an interesting place. It is known for its considerable old order Mennonite and Amish population, and is also considered a conservative stronghold by those on the right. Lancaster, however, also has a very unique progressive movement. It differs from many other places in that much of the activism that occurs is based out of local peace churches and religious organizations. Progressives in Lancaster are fairly united when compared to many other cities. Lancaster, as a whole, is a very different community, but it is a community that those of us in Lancaster SDS have tried to embrace, instead of reject.

We started Lancaster SDS in February of 2007. For the small core of us that started the chapter, SDS quickly was absorbed into all aspects of our lives. We thought, dreamed, and breathed SDS. And continue to do so, now. For the past 6 months, Lancaster SDS has been in the forefront of our minds all of the time. Constantly. In school, at work, when we’re together, and when we’re not.

We’re all best friends—the core group. It makes organizing exceedingly easy as well as exceedingly difficult. We hang out together regardless of whether we’re doing SDS work or not. Inevitably, almost every social get-to-together turns into an impromptu, informal SDS meeting.

I love it! I want to be an organizer for the rest of my life, and it’s the most amazing feeling to be around best friends who are just as dedicated to building a new and better world as I am.

While our group grew to about 30 members during the spring, it fell back down to about 10 people—all close friends—for the duration of the summer. We didn’t take the time to stop and think about why this happened. We were too busy planning the national action camp in August. The first weeks in August were the busiest weeks of my life. I’d never been under so much stress. Luckily, all of us had each other to fall back on. I’d never known the true capacity of our group until the week of action camp. That’s when I first realized the true potential of Lancaster SDS, and especially of the core group of us that have been doing much of our chapter’s organizing.

I was amazed at how well we learned to work together. We cleaned the kitchen when it needed to be cleaned, we emptied shit buckets when they needed to be emptied, we rubbed each other’s backs when they needed to be rubbed. We had nightly meetings—just to check in to make sure everyone was doing fine. If there were problems, we brought them up, and we tried our hardest to resolve them. Sometime during that week, I realized that this was a glimpse of the society I’d been working so hard for. I realized that our chapter truly may be something special. Partly because we’ve come from some special circumstances, but also because we’ve all realized that we’re more than a political organization. We have vested interests in each other.

It was also at the action camp that many of our worst group dynamic issues finally emerged. A few of our members expressed to the group that they were extremely unhappy with our organization. They were upset with both the insularity of our group, and the amount of informal leadership within our chapter. When we were most exhilarated, most excited about Lancaster SDS, and SDS as a national entity, we were forced to put our feet back on the ground and look reality in its face.

I feel like we’ve come a long way since action camps. Through some fairly intense and frequent meetings about group dynamics, we all learned a lot about our downfalls, and have been working to fix them. None of us realized that the intense amount of dedication we have to SDS can in some ways detract from our organization. We’d quite literally been scaring people away from joining, simply because they felt worthless when they couldn’t contribute as much as we could. Additionally, the core members the ones who had been most involved with SDS from the very, very beginning received a necessary wakeup call.

We were all asked to be more conscious about our position as informal leaders—a position that we, for the most part, hadn’t even realized we’d been occupying. Since that time, more experienced members have been working to provide ample space for newer members to grow and learn. We’re doing our best to assume positions of support, so that when inexperienced members feel they would like to play a more active role in the chapter, we can help provide them with the skills they’ll need to be good organizers.

I think its working. Already, younger students have begun playing a bigger role in our chapter. They’re taking on bigger workloads, facilitating more meetings, making more of the flyers, and making more of the phone calls. Our chapter is growing in healthy, new ways. Had we not also dealt with our group dynamic problems in the open and democratic way in which we did, I am positive that Lancaster SDS would not be as strong an organization as it is now.

Our passion for justice, combined with a background deeply rooted in a loving, supportive community has helped us immensely when it comes to organizing actions and events. As a preface, we have had no successful campaigns to speak of. We haven’t done a sit-in, or even a walk-out. None of the actions we’ve done as of yet have produced the political results we’d like them to.

On the other hand, we have had picnics and sing-alongs. We’ve worked for hours in a local community garden. We’ve never shut down a recruitment center, but we’ve had some awesome chapter dance parties. We have a study group that helps us to learn about history, about politics, and about one another. Our meetings are fun and relaxed.

Looking Forward:

I think the future is pretty bright for Lancaster SDS. We just had our first event of the year—a back-to-school picnic. Forty Lancaster youth, including the ten or so of us currently involved in Lancaster SDS showed up. I would identify an overwhelming majority of them as women. Many of those in attendance are active in school sports teams, are members of student council, or are in their school’s band or orchestra. I was exuberant that so many different students felt comfortable enough to meet together for one of our events. This leads me to believe that we’re doing something right. It affirms my belief that we’ve been successful in shaking so many of the stereotypes that come with being anti-authoritarian youth on the left.

And, of course, we’re nothing close to being perfect. We’re still mostly white, and mostly middle class. We still haven’t accomplished much—outside of movement building. But who says that can’t change? We’ve set some big goals for ourselves this year. With some dedication I think we can achieve them.

Did I mention we’re all high schoolers?

Expect some good things from Lancaster SDS in the near future.

Love,
Nick Martin
Lancaster SDS
717.413.0782
nickersmartin@gmail.com