What does it mean?
For a number of years now I've been sought out by younger social justice activists of many kinds, who want to learn something from me, want my guidance to figure out tangled issues,or inspiration in the face of discouragement, or clarity where they feel confused, or just my particular perspective which they have found in my writing. This year I took a consulting position with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice in New York, to play a role in their strategic visioning process, and help them think big and bold in several specific areas of their work. My job is not to plan the particulars, or develop the concrete work. It's to ask the right questions, hold out for the big picture, bring historical precedent to their discussions, and my particular brand of political insight.
For me, the work of an elder is to build strong relationships with the young in which their fresh, passionate ideas and questions meet my long view, accumulated wisdom, and historical experience. It's about asking questions that will catalyze interesting discussions that lead to new ideas, more creative and powerful strategies, a more sustainable pace of work.
I once wrote that I was born between three fires: social justice, art and ecology.
Everything I do springs from those three flames. Everything I do is rooted in my legacy of multi-generational activism in many different movements. Everything I do is rooted in the ground of my Puerto Rican and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors and all of it is expressed through art and through ecological principles.
This is what I bring. What it looks like in action depends on the needs of the people who call on me. What exchange of resources we agree on is also flexible.
For me, the work of an elder is to build strong relationships with the young in which their fresh, passionate ideas and questions meet my long view, accumulated wisdom, and historical experience. It's about asking questions that will catalyze interesting discussions that lead to new ideas, more creative and powerful strategies, a more sustainable pace of work.
I once wrote that I was born between three fires: social justice, art and ecology.
Everything I do springs from those three flames. Everything I do is rooted in my legacy of multi-generational activism in many different movements. Everything I do is rooted in the ground of my Puerto Rican and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors and all of it is expressed through art and through ecological principles.
This is what I bring. What it looks like in action depends on the needs of the people who call on me. What exchange of resources we agree on is also flexible.
Vision "A big goal is like a star map, unchanged by wind and rain. Each time the clouds clear, we can check our positions against that reliable point of light and correct course as needed. If the big picture is a constellation of stars by which we plot our course, the coyuntura is the muddy ground we stand on while we stargaze. The bloody, difficult present..."
from "Bigger IS Better" in Medicine Stories: Essays for Radicals (2017) |
Story
Use storytelling to find the core of activism.
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MentoringPractice inter-generational learning. Pass on wisdom, harvest passion, hold history, renew enthusiasm, generate nuanced and sophisticated understandings.
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