Power of the People is a series of educational sessions that aim to increase self awareness, understanding of historical and contemporary systems, and skills to support Black & Indigenous organizers to more effectively engage in social and political action. Each session is 2 hours long and will be led as a lecture by 1-2 presenters.

Primary Organizer, Melissa Charles (pronouns: she, her, hers) is an educator, facilitator, writer, organizer, scholar and activist.  She began her professional career as a community organizer in Charleston, South Carolina.  Melissa’s passion lies in intentional, proactive pro-Black activism rooted in love (agapé) which highlights multiple voices and provides a radically multipartial lens to policy, law and education. I believe in abolition.  I believe in storytelling.  I believe in relationship building and being politically educated to organize strategically for change.

The series will be offered between Saturday June 13th and Thursday June 25th, 2020.

Cost: Sessions are free for participants who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or Palestinian. Other participants must pay to attend and will receive venmo information from organizers following registration. Session fees are on a sliding sliding scale, $5-$500 USD per session based on your personal giving ability.

After careful consideration, the organizers of this event would like to allocate proceeds to the following organizations (of which we are not formally affiliated, but whose work we believe in and would like to uplift):

*30% to People's Breakfast Oakland Twitter @PEOPLESBREAKOAK Instagram @PEOPLESBREAKFASTOAKLAND
*20% Marcus Books Oakland Twitter @MarcusBooks
*20% Transgender Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project http://www.tgijp.org/ 
*No more than 30% of money raised will go to the series organizer & presenter(s) for their time and labor.

Contact:Email agapemvmt@gmail.com with inquiries

Accessibility: Sessions will take place via zoom link which will be provided upon registration.  Email agapemvmt@gmail.com with accessibility requests.

1) Blood at the Roots: Knowing our Hxstory**
This session will provide an introductory hxstory to the United States -- from capitalistic colonialism to the onset and legacy of policing in the United States.  Session will also serve as a foundational introduction/common language to various systems of oppression and the ways in which they operate in our world.  Guided Readings: A People's History of the United States; We Demand

2) Relationship Building**
This session will provide context to the importance of radical relationship building and trust building as a foundational element of organizing. Guided Readings:

3) Bay Area Black Social Movements
This session will highlight various Black-led social movements in the Bay Area.  This session will bring in the learnings and teachings of Bay Area organizers.

4) Analysis of Social Movements
This session will present a series of case studies analyzing the successes and downfalls of various social movements.  Emphasis will be placed on US-centric movements with a few global examples.

5) Power Mapping & Strategy
This session will break down the process of power-mapping and building a strategy for measurable progress in organizing spaces.  Emphasis will be placed on city-level organizing and organizing within higher education spaces. Guided Readings: Naming the Enemy; The Routledge Companion to Decolonization

6) Narrative Violence & Activism
This session will highlight the vital role of narratives and voice in political movements.  Participants will learn about the ways in which narratives can be violently co-opted and shifted during and post-activism.  It will emphasize the importance of ongoing storytelling and narrative sharing from the people and the power storytelling holds.  Guided Readings: Silencing the Past; Cultural Studies Theory and Practice. Session will be co-lead by Laxmi Shastry.

7) Abolition & The Black Panther Party's 10 Point Program for Self-Defense
This session will center abolition and visioning as the primary goal for organizing.  Using the Black Panther Party's 10 Point Program, participants will be exposed to ways in which we can continue to build on the work of our ancestors towards liberation for all.  Guided Readings: Freedom is a Constant Struggle

**Attendance at sessions 1 and 2 is required before accessing sessions 3-7. The first two sessions will be offered twice to accommodate schedules

The sessions are sequenced and build on each other.  They also assume a shared language/knowledge around history and the ways in which systems of oppression operate.  That said, It is highly recommended that participants plan to attend each session in sequence, however we will accept folks into later sessions as long as they have completed the foundational requirements of sessions 1 & 2.  

Please select all sessions you plan on attending