I’m writing to ask people to support an organisation that is one of the few near and dear to my heart: Chicago Freedom School. On November 6, 2014, CFS will be hosting its Moments of Justice event, in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
CFS models itself after the Freedom Schools established in 1964, whose curricula were specifically designed to combat the racism and the erasure of Black history from American textbooks.
The mission of CFS is no less urgent today, with an educational system that touts the virtues of diversity and multiculturalism but which, in cities like Chicago, demonise youth of colour and ensures that the school-to-prison pipeline remains the most predictable marker of a public school system that is otherwise barely funded and supported.
CFS has taken on a difficult mission: to ensure that youth access resources and support in a way that does not simply turn them into “clients” whose numbers bring in revenue from the state, and to do so in a way that advances a truly radical, liberatory way in the world.
I know CFS well, in several different capacities: as an independent and freelance writer and journalist who writes on social justice issues, I know that CFS is one of the most trusted organisations in the city. As a grassroots activist, I have been involved, with fellow activists, in work that often lacks the material and conceptual tools with which to sustain ourselves while doing work that is often unfunded or under-funded. Over and over, CFS has reached out and ensured that we survive, offering both a physical space and massive amounts of material and immaterial support.
I’ve been to CFS presentations, and I can attest to the fact that they are uncompromising, in the best possible way, in their commitment to a world that is truly radical and truly just. The youth they work with are empowered not simply to parrot talking points about justice but to take charge and demand and get it. CFS does the kind of work that takes months to build up and sustain, and the results are not always apparent till years later. For that reason, lacking the flashy results and media spectacles of market-driven justice projects, it’s harder to see the excellent work CFS does. But it does, and it’s the kind of work that needs our support.
CFS founders include the indomitable Mariame Kaba, and the staff includes Naomi Millstein, Tony Alvarado-Rivera, and Xavier Danae Matra. Yes, they really are that small, and they do incredible work with a focused staff and resources.
I know that many of you will be surprised to see this from someone who is sharply critical of the non-profit world; I hope you will read this, then, as proof of my very great support of CFS and its deeply important work. If you don’t know them already, please visit their website and find out more and support them, either by buying tickets to the event or by making a donation (or both, if you’re able). If you know them already, please support them. Either way, please keep them on your radar as an organisation worth supporting. They are small but mighty in their reach and their work!
Don’t plagiarise any of this, in any way. I have used legal resources to punish and prevent plagiarism, and I am ruthless and persistent. I make a point of citing people and publications all the time: it’s not that hard to mention me in your work, and to refuse to do so and simply assimilate my work is plagiarism. You don’t have to agree with me to cite me properly; be an ethical grownup, and don’t make excuses for your plagiarism. Read and memorise “On Plagiarism.” There’s more forthcoming, as I point out in “The Plagiarism Papers.” If you’d like to support me, please donate and/or subscribe, or get me something from my wish list. Thank you.
