community organizing

Drinking

Debbie Rasmussen — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:23:42 -0400

Alcohol is a depressant, right? And alcohol use and aggression/violence are related? But isn't it possible to use alcohol as a force of good, as a relaxant, as medicine? Don't we all deserve coping mechanisms?... And who are we to judge?

Warning: Downer alert

Resisting and organizing through creative media

Debbie Rasmussen — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:42:31 -0400

I'm back in Portland, still processing and reflecting on my trip to the Midwest. I'll be posting more about that soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share this video about displacement/gentrification in Detroit, featuring Detroit-based female hip-hop artist, Invincible. It's a beautiful example of how powerful a story becomes when different forms of media are combined.

Trying to keep up

Debbie Rasmussen — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:27:37 -0400

Clearly I'm not one of those people who can keep my blog up-to-the-minute, but I want to mention two more things about my visit to Detroit, even though I'm actually two states beyond at this point.

Before I left town, I had lunch with some staff members of Labor Notes, an incredible and radical organization/magazine that provides a forum for union activists to honestly examine problems within the labor movement (i.e., not just ever-weakening labor laws and employer offensives, but problems like weak unions and union leaders not doing their job). Similar to Bitch, they're a nonprofit organization that publishes a magazine. They also publish pamphlets and books (including one of my favorites, The Troublemakers Handbook: How to fight back where you work and win) and organize a bi-annual Labor Notes conference. I highly encourage everyone to read what happened at their most recent conference in April. There's some f'd-up stuff going on in union organizing these days.

Love for the AMC

Debbie Rasmussen — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:59:47 -0400

If your idea of a media conference includes a focus on social justice, community building, and creative, participatory media, I strongly encourage you to attend the Allied Media Conference. June 20-June 22nd, in the incredible city of Detroit.