ocean's posts

Traces of the Trade is a deeply moving film about a family that discovered roots, many generations ago, linking them to one of America's largest slave trading operations.  Twelve courageous family members went on a journey to Africa, retracing the key points in the slave trading history, looking at how that legacy affects the family members today, and at what responsibility comes with that legacy.  It's a powerful and deeply honest journey of truth and reconciliation.  The film, which we have shown at two Leveraging Privilege for Social Change Jams, was aired nationally on PBS.  Holly Fulton is one of the family members in the film, and when I heard about what she's doing now, I wanted to share it.

Please contact her directly if you are interested in knowing more, or in being involved.

— Ocean Robbins

*******************

Center for Transformative Change is hosting the pilot session of its first fearlessYOGA Teacher Training (fYTT). 

Training Dates: April 2-28, 2010

APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 19 but first come, first served

In this exclusive strategy-building pilot training, GENEROUS scholarships and

work exchange are being made available for folks to help both workshop the 

training and hold positions to reduce costs to a bare minimum. This means they

will be in the process of helping to create the materials, give feedback, compile

curriculum and hold positions and tasks during the training that will be

staffed in the future: cooking, cleaning, living yogic style.

This opportunity is exclusively for activists, allies and agents of social

change that will commit to bringing fearlessYoga to their colleagues,

consitutiences and communities with a social justice framework and analysis.

We're especially looking for folks that will be at and be able to teach at the USSF.

It is also a rare opportunity to train directly under the founder and

A few years ago, I stood in a circle of people from many different walks of life.  Our group ranged in age from 20 to 70, and included people from diverse class and race backgrounds.  The leader of our gathering asked for volunteers to make statements that were true about themselves and step into the center. Then she invited anyone else for whom the statement was also true to step in to join them at the center.  This activity, called ?Common Ground?, was being used as a tool to explore diversity and commonalities within our group.  The statements ranged from lighthearted things (such as ?I love to eat?) to more serious ones (such as ?I sometimes try to control what I do not understand?).  In each case, a mixture of people, of varied colors and ages, seemed to be stepping forward.

Last month, four young immigrants began walking 1,500 miles, from Miami to Washington, D.C, to demand solutions to our country's failed immigration system.1

After walking 600 miles, Gaby, Carlos, Juan and Felipe are now entering hostile territory in the Deep South. Last weekend they encountered an anti-immigrant rally led by the Ku Klux Klan.2 And this week they will enter Gwinnett County, Georgia -- home of Sheriff R.L. "Butch" Conway, who is notorious for his anti-immigrant policies.3 According to Georgia immigrant rights leader, Adelina Nicholls:

"Sheriff Conway is one of the most dangerous figures in Georgia, who has turned Gwinett County into a place of fear, racial profiling, arrest, and deportation."

NBC News and theGrio.com have chosen YES! Jam Alumnus Omo Moses, Founder and National Director of The Young People's Project, as one of the "History Makers In The Making," celebrating 100 African-American history makers and industry leaders.

theGrio's.com honors Omo's leadership and innovation in the fields of Education and Activism, trumpeting The Young People's Project's national math literacy work and Quality Education as a Constitutional Right initiative. "theGrio's 100:History Makers in the Making" selected 100 individuals, each with their own path to success, from 10 fields including business, education, sports, science and the environment, media, service and activism, politics, health, pop culture, and the arts.

We work with many young people who are working to help the people of Haiti.  Please find some information below that deals with some of the less mainstream groups and organizations that are working with Haiti, as shared with me by Malika Sanders.  The explanatory letter last, explaining the context in which they send this information, and the information first for easy access.

With love and best wishes,

Ocean

ASSISTANCE FOR HAITIANS IN AMERICA

Contact the Haitian Embassy at 202.332.4090

or the nearest Haitian Consulate office in your area to locate your loved ones.

ASSISTANCE FOR AMERICAN CITIZENS ABROAD

(How to trace family members in Haiti) 

Call 888.407.4747 Department of State (US)

ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT WITH MONEY & RESOURCES

I. Yele

Founded by famed Haitian-American GRAMMY Award winning rapper/musician Wyclef Jean (formerly of The Fugees). Visit www.yele.org for more information. Text “501501” then type “Yele” to make a $5 donation ASAP.

II. Haiti Support Project

YES! Alumni Wahleah Johns and Enei Begaye are leaders in Black Mesa Water Coalition, a program that YES! has fiscally sponsored and supported for many years.  They just won a major victory!  The story is below.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Hopi and Navajo Residents Stop Peabody’s Coal Mine Expansion on Black Mesa

Department of Interior Administrative Law Judge Vacates Mining Permit for Peabody’s Black Mesa Mines

BLACK MESA, Ariz. —Peabody Western Coal Company’s Black Mesa Coal Complex has suffered a major setback as an Administrative Law Judge for the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) vacated a permit for the massive coal mining complex. The judge vacated the permit in response to one of several appeals filed by Navajo and Hopi residents as well as a diverse coalition of tribal and environmental groups. The permit, issued by the DOI’s Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), allowed Peabody to operate and expand the Black Mesa mine and the Kayenta mine under a single permit.

This was a keynote address I shared with the Peace Alliance national conference in Washington, DC on March 20, 2009.  It just went live on Vimeo. Ocean Robbins Keynote

I never thought I'd be publicizing anything put out by Pepsi, as I am not a fan of the impact that sugary sodas have on people's health, on communities, or on the planet.  That said, this is an interesting and seemingly well-intentioned potential funding opportunity for good  projects.  Pepsi is giving away millions of dollars each month, and the intended recipients seem to  be up to good stuff.  Part of the process is a voting process, which no doubt means that a lot of the cool projects will be expected to promote the awards in trying to secure votes -- and thus to promote Pepsi in the process.  That said, if you are part of a project that you think might benefit from being involved, you might want to check it out.  This is not an endorsement, but it is some information.

Oh yes, and the song in the promo video they put together includes the words: "Forget all that evil, that evil that they feed ya / remember that we're one people".  Nice song, and I wonder if the writer had Pepsi in mind with that first line?

Anyhow, check it out if you like.

I found this article, which recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal, gave some practical and useful tips for more vibrant and effective philanthropy.

— Ocean Robbins

Click to read “What’s Wrong with Charitable Giving – and How to Fix It”