All Power to the Imagination

We will have a table set up where you can register. We will help you with housing and other issues during that time.

The conference organizers will introduce themselves and the conference. This will be followed by an open mic in remembrance of people such as Howard Zinn.

Featuring: Alex Cline, Physical Plant, Dewars, and SNAPM

Wake up! Regina Willis will lead us in breathing and stretching exercises before the presentations begin!

Alachua Committee Against Police Brutality

Lynne Purvis will give an overview of the Anne Braden Program, a anti-racist, anti-capitalist training for white social justice activists, and strategizing for anti-racist action in Florida.

This talk will relate some work in philosophy by people like Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, Foucault and Mark Lance’s own work, some central ideas from the history of anarchist thought and some concrete organizing issues that confront those working according to anti-authoritarian principles in the midst of a capitalist, imperialist, sexist, racist, and heterosexist society.

Jessica Anne Wheeler will focus on bridging theory and practice in the discussion of racism. Her project will move from theory (positionality as used by Linda Alcoff, with discussions of her work and the work of Henry Louis Gates), as well as the essays by Tim Wise, to a in-depth examination of her own failures to overcome racism and her day-to-day efforts to "re-contextualize" herself in order to approach understanding of actions and reactions as a result of racism.

A FREE vegan lunch will be provided

Joshua Stevens

Our group focuses on achieving comprehensive immigration reform as well as a community education. Right now we are engaged in a massive movement (Trail of Dreams), however, we still have local actions (Know Your Rights workshops). We would like to inform people hopefully inspiring them to action. In our presentation we will cover what immigration challenges face our country now, what our group does and what people can do to help.

This presentation and discussion will introduce participants to the history and practice of the Movement for a New Society and draw lessons from the experiences of that organization with the intent of facilitating more effective anti-authoritarian political activism in the contemporary period.

Stephanie Midler presents part two of a workshop series focusing on the work being done by African people around the world to reclaim their land and resources and to provide solutions and a future for themselves. And how each of us can participate in the "Africa's Resources in African Hands!" campaign. If you have ever wondered why African people, no matter where they live throughout the world, suffer such intense poverty, while Africa itself is the richest continent in the world, you need to attend this workshop!

This will be an open forum on queering activism and politics. This isn't referring to sexuality and gender so much as the sort of nebulous use of queer as a verb in the realm of theory. We want to explore the practice and possibilities of non-normative and novel forms of political expression, activity, and mobilization. In what ways can radicals be creative and find practical, advantageous ways to sidestep dominant modes of discourse by embracing their inner fabulousness?

Members of IAS will dialogue about their presentations.

Adam Roca explores the question: What does it mean to be an anti-racist white ally to a POC-led organization?
But within that question, there are many big issues bound up in it:
What is white privilege, how does it work, and how do we work to undo it?
How do white folks fit into the struggle without perpetuating unequal power relationships?
Are all-white spaces even a good idea in the first place? Aren't they racist and exclusionary?!

FREE Dinner

Come perform, or watch students and other conference-goers!

Come hang out after the Open Mic. There will be food and drinks!

Wake up!

Women's reproductive health has been a site of oppression and resistance for millenia. In the last 300 years,forces as diverse as the industrial revolution, the scientific method, big Pharma, colonialism, feminism and the Internet have all forced humanity to confront the relationship between individual bodies, freedom, and political action. Drawing from sources as varied as medical manuals, history books, zines and anarchist publications, she will examine how Western radical movements (and some non-Western radical movements) have dealt with autonomy, gender and reproductive health, and how those perspectives have changed over time. Finally, she will use her background in a women's health work to both applaud and critique the radical women's reproductive health movement in the United States, presenting concrete ways for all activists to be better stewards of their bodies, the planet, and one another.

The purpose of this is to help facilitate participants in figuring out what he calls 'healthy movement dynamics'. The whole goal is to come up with ways to organize that foster community-building, self-empowerment and positive group interactions that push the movement forward and invigorate us individuals. More than merely looking at things like radical mental health, what causes burnout and alienation in movements, and the importance of consensus decision-making and good facilitation techniques, we are going to explore how to build successful community-organizing and activist communities that best reflect the society and world that we want to live in.

She will bring information about the alternatives to disposable tampons and pads for collecting fluid lost during menstruation. These include but are not limited to: menstrual cups, sea sponges, and washable/reusable homemade or store bought pads. This presentation may also cover other interesting devices made especially for women, such as the "go girl" or "pee-style" devices that allow women to pee standing up more easily. Men and women are both encouraged to attend. (A note to the boys: although you might not think these issues affect you, be aware that your opinions can make a difference to the girl or girls in your life. Your openness about alternatives can help inspire openness in others.)

Bridges Across Borders works to dissolve the imagined and imposed borders between us. We work on the borders of Colombia, Panama, and Mexico.

This weekend we are presenting with Debora Barros Fince, Indigenous Wayuu from La Guajira, Colombia. In 2004, her clan suffered a massacre at the hands of Colombian paramilitary. Bridges Across Borders has brought Debora here to speak at the SOA demonstration and we have collaborated to bring attendees to their annual Yanama, a gathering and return to the massacre site to continue to lay claim to their land.

A FREE vegan lunch will be provided

Andrea and Meltron will host a conversation on how to use popular education and critical pedagogy models to create and develop effective and reflective social justice collectives. Looking at education as a tool for liberation rather than "the great equalizer," we may begin to think critically about how we teach, learn, and experience our world and our relationships.