Seabeck Conference 2015 – Workshop Descriptions
1 – 10 Ways YOU Can Advance a Sustainable Planet that Uplifts All Rights for All People! Whether it’s our full time job, a group to which we belong, an activity we do occasionally, and/or the way we live our lives, we all have a role to play in creating and sustaining an equitable and sustainable planet. This workshop will provide guidance on large, medium, and small ways we can each contribute to the society in which we want to live, including sharing examples of ways that communities, groups, and individuals are already executing these roles and activities! Jacqueline Patterson
2 – The Gospel Is Not a Neutral Term. How can people of faith radically oppose the systematic oppression of infrastructural racism? How do we spread the gospel of disruption and resistance while relying on a deep abiding love for our fellow man within brutal – often lethal – structures of institutional racism? The Rev. Osagyefo Sekou will explore concepts of liberation theology and the practicalities inherent in siding with the oppressed, positing we follow Jesus’s role as a non-violent revolutionary.
3 – Artful Activism & Creative Tactics. Explore ways that creativity can be integrated into your activism to grow your group, mobilize your community, earn media attention, and build power for a society that honors humans, community, nature, and our obligations to future generations as sacred. You will get hands-on experience with materials and equipment used to make giant banners, do light projections, and make identity building art. Bill Moyer co-founded Backbone Campaign in 2003. After studying music as a percussionist and sound designer, the G.W. Bush administration inspired him to apply lessons of the arts to social change. He designs and produces creative political actions and provides trainings in grand strategy and creative tactics around the country. Visit their website at backbonecampaign.org to see the scope of their work.
4 – Love Wins: Lessons in Grand Strategy for Nonviolent Social Movement. There are lessons from the study of conflict which we can directly apply to nonviolent movement building. This workshop is an interactive presentation on Grand Strategy, moral conflict, and application of lessons for nonviolent social movement from classic text The Art of War and its reinterpretation by Col. John R. Boyd. We will explore the diverse manifestations of agency and how they are all essential for shifting “political” calculus” and movement power for a paradigm that honors humans, community, nature, and our obligations to future generations as sacred. Lisa Marcus and Bill Moyer. will present.
5 – Seizing a Hopeful Nonviolence Moment. Will we grasp the huge opportunity in the ‘Campaign Nonviolence’ goal of 500 nonviolent actions nationwide in Sept. 2015? In this session, we’ll share and discuss amazing stories, brief videos, and creative insights from 2014’s FOR-supported 238 nonviolence actions and record-shattering climate change march. We’ll brainstorm ways to use this moment to build nonviolence skills and action, connect the dots, and strengthen FOR. Glen Gersmehl has sparked dialogue and action on nonviolence, justice, and climate change through 450 workshops, hundreds of articles, and 80 interviews (e.g. NPR’s “All Things Considered”). Resources, leaders’ guides, and computer activities written by Glen have been used by a million people. He’s led many nonviolence projects, played a key role in passing major peace legislation, and served as U.S. delegate to UN Decade for Peace planning meetings held in India.
6 – Got Privilege? Come join in this courageous conversation. We’ll use a powerful dialogue process to create a supportive environment to explore white privilege: how it shows up in our world, our experiences and feelings around it, how to use it to be active, effective, anti‑racist allies – and how to bring the conversation to other white friends. Everyone is welcome to this workshop. You will be guided by Susan Partnow, Co-Founder of Conversation Café, Global Citizen Journey and Seattle Restorative Justice, seasoned Sr. Facilitator of Compassionate Listening.
7 – Idle No More ~ The Seventh Fire. This workshop delves into the Natives connection with the land, environment, and Spirit. Explore how to incorporate ‘Spirit’ into the activism we do. We will learn about Native perspectives, beliefs, and offer some suggestions on how to be a good ally and form partnerships with the traditional stewards of this land. We are at a pivotal point in our history that has been prophesied by many indigenous people – that we must work together to ensure a better world for us and the next 7 generations. Discuss how to start organizing nonviolent direct actions that are Spirit-led instead of ego/mind-led. Sweetwater Nannauck: Sweetwater is an Idle No More activist that advocates for the protection of the fragile environment of the Northwest Coast, for tribal sovereignty rights, and the traditional way of life of Native people. She is a long-time community organizer, activist for police accountability, and for Native artist’s rights.
8 – Poems in Pursuit of Justice. Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, said ’”Words are as strong and powerful as bombs, as napalm”. Poetry can be especially powerful in the pursuit of justice. During this workshop we will look at several approaches to writing poetry. We will write some poems and for those interested, I will follow up during the following few months to critique and encourage more poems. Our goal will be to write enough poems to create a book that can be printed and sold as a fund-raiser for WWFOR. Larry Kerschner, until recently the editor of WWFOR’s newsletter Pacific Call. Larry has self published two books of poetry “Grave Lines” and “Rimed Love”
9 – Integrating Mind, Body and Community: and Manifesting Creative Fun. We will stretch and honor our bodies and voices as important threads in the tapestry of sustainability. Through guided exploration of easy, accessible movement and vocal play—alone, in dyads and groups-new connections emerge. An experiential workshop that will, at the outset, establish safety and trust, and lead to deeper “in-body-ment” and expression of self within community, reflecting the themes of this conference. D’vorah Kost is currently retired from 30 years as a Clinical Social Worker, D’vorah is still working as a Yoga Instructor, her avocation for 44 years, along with Performance Art and Community Building. Since childhood, she has studied, and/or taught a variety of movement arts to all ages. She has co-created and performed mime and choreo-poetry addressing such themes as the nuclear arms race and Middle East peace. Since Mar 2014, she has been on 2 medical missions, serving Syrian refugees in Jordan, and Palestinians in Gaza.
10 – Songs of Labor, Justice & Peace If you like to sing, this is the workshop for you! Lou will provide lyrics and information about each song. Lou Truskoff has been a labor and justice activist in the Seattle area for the past 40 years, with a special interest in the songs of those movements. He is a founding member of the Seattle Labor Chorus
11 – Empire As A Way Of Life – Economic Exploitation/Expansion, Ecological Destruction, Oligarchic Governance, Built on Genocides With Impunity The primary meme of US culture: Profits for a few (mostly men/patriarchy) through expansion at ANY cost = empire.
Our national origins derive from forceful dispossession of others with total impunity (genocide #1) justified through a myth of exceptionalism, setting in motion a pattern of a Pretend society, built on lie after lie, from Manifest Destiny to Full Spectrum Dominance. The past is never in the past, as its features always remain present in the psyche.
Long patterns of plundering without accountability lead to delusions of grandeur and obsessive narcissism. As a species we are now on the eve of a very painful era of accountability (correction) after milleniums of grotesque entitlement. The question is whether we can access our deeper ancient archetypes of cooperation, mutual respect, local community, and fairness and experience an evolutionary, radical shift (healing) from an epistemology rooted in separation from and domination over nature, to one of integration with and embracing nature. Our survival is dependent upon practicing a turn toward a local, bioregional cooperative food and simple tool economy. Thus, we become part of our own and the earth’s healing even while the inevitable correction mechanisms of the Gaia become evermore apparent as inevitable collapse of industrial civilization speeds up.
S. Brian Willson is a Viet Nam veteran, trained lawyer and long time activist advocating for domestic and global justice. He has been a tax refuser since 1984. He is the author of “On Third World Legs” (Chicago: Charles Kerr, 1992); “Blood On The Tracks: The Life and Times of S. Brian Willson” (Oakland: PM Press, 2011). His essays can be found at brianwillson.com
12 – Military ‘Solutions’ Are Really the PROBLEM. Choose humane, sustainable ways for TRUE Security. In our daily lives, we know better than to think violence solves problems, but at the national level the U.S. government routinely threatens and uses military violence all over the world. Militarism makes problems worse, so why does the government keep using militarism? Who benefits from this? We could achieve more profound, holistic “national security” by renouncing violence and promoting peace and fairness. This highly participatory workshop will encourage participants to share their information and insights. Glen Anderson has worked consistently for many issues related to peace, social & economic justice, and nonviolence since the 1960s. He engages people to help them think creatively and organize at the grassroots.
13 – Undocumented, Detained, Deported and Resisting Learn from undocumented, detained and deported leaders, how they resist the U.S. detention and deportation machine, and the intersection of this important movement with the criminalization of people of color in the U.S. Maru Mora Villalpando and Mele Morales.
14 – Trade Agreements: Moral, Social, Political Documents The US Constitution expresses the moral, social, and political values of the 18th Century, emphasizing individual rights, separation of powers, and checks and balances. The word “corporation” doesn’t appear once in the Constitution. That document determined how life was organized in America for generations. We will explore how trade agreements express a different set of moral, social, and political values as well as these trade agreements will determine how society is organized in 2050. Gillian Locascio is Campaign Coordinator for the Washington Fair Trade Coalition. She lived in rural communities in Central America, where she also served as a human rights observer. Stan Sorscher is President of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition, and is on staff at SPEEA, the engineering union at Boeing.
15 – Interfaith Work for Justice and Peace in Washington State & the Middle East” Carol will discuss the work of the Faith Action Network, a statewide 501(C)(3) interfaith organization involving thousands of persons and 90 faith communities in advocacy for the common good. Ron will discuss work with Jews, Christians and Muslims for Mideast peace. Rev Carol Jenson and Ron Young – Carol is a long time peace organizer. She is a founder and Co-Chair of the Faith Action Network, and Pastor of St. John United Lutheran Church in Seattle. Ron and Carol lived in the Middle East 1982-85, and regularly visited Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Ron’s led a dozen interfaith trips to the region, and currently is Consultant for 35 Jewish, Christian and Muslim national religious leaders working together for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Ron was FOR’s National Youth Secretary 1965-72. Ron’s memoir, “Crossing Boundaries in the Americas, Vietnam and the Middle East”, was published in October.
16 – Organizing for Living Wages from SeaTac to Seattle. Discuss the lessons learned from SeaTac to Seattle living wage campaigns including research to frame our messages, faith, community and small business organizing to pass local policies. Engage in group exercises to develop strategies for planning economic and racially just campaigns. Nicole Vallestero Keenan is Policy Director at Puget Sound Sage and worked on 2013 SeaTac living wage campaign research, message framing and small business organizing. In 2014 she served on Mayor Murray’s Income and Inequality Task force. Claudia Alexandra Paras is Lead Organizer at Puget Sound Sage and organized faith, community and small businesses for 2013 SeaTac living wage campaign. Currently she staffs the Interfaith Economic Justice Coalition which comprises of leaders and members from different faith communities in King County who are committed to standing with workers in their fights for dignity, respect, and living wages.