Sessions and Workshops

Session and workshops are listed below. (Updated  July 31, 2012.)
Download our initial block schedule for the overall flow of the event.

Sessions

Anarchism and Christianity Primer | Katie Klein and Mark Van Steenwyk
What is anarchism? Can a Christian be anarchist? How can these two concepts fit together? Explore the connections between anarchist ideology and practice, and Christian faith. This session is ideal for who the intersection between anarchism and Christianity is a relatively new idea.

Jesus as Black Panther: a Radical past/future imperative | Ashanti Alston
Inspired by my readings of BLT’s Christological & cultural/historical interpretive lens, as well as LT’s continued commitment to radical, fundamental world/local change via self-determination, I want to share my evolving secular & religious understanding of the BPP with this Insurgent Palestinian Jesus & his teachings in our present-day fight against the U.S. “Roman Empire” and for that “kingdom” of GOD. Why does Race/white supremist empire-making, radical engagement & freeing the captive/political prisoners continue to be hauntological ghosts damning all our righteous efforts to change the world?

Pedagogy of the Poor: Building the Movement to End Poverty | Willie Baptist and John Wessel-McCoy
At a time when economic realities are worsening for the poor and increasing sections of the middle-income strata, when social services, education, and vital safety nets are being cut, many of our nation’s most vulnerable seek new models for change.  Asserting that the polarization between wealth and poverty is the defining issue of our time, Willie Baptist & John Wessel-McCoy will suggest that the solution to the economic crisis and growing poverty and inequality is building a broad based social movement to end all poverty, led by the poor as a united and organized social force.  This vision to re-ignite Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign means to unite the poor across racial, gender, religious and geographic lines.  Drawing lessons from his more than 40 years of experience organizing amongst the poor in the United States and his current work coordinating the Poverty Scholars Program of the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary, Baptist will speak to these lessons and to his recent book, Pedagogy of the Poor: Building the Movement to End Poverty published by Teachers College Press.

Quakerism, Solidarity, Property Destruction and Arm Struggle | Anthony Nocella II
As a nonviolent social justice pacifist I will take on the difficult task of arguing in this session that to end racism, poverty, homophobia, speciesism, sexism, ageism, and elitism, those that are pacifists must not perpetuate white supremacy, homophobia, patriarchy, or any other form of oppression and domination by being against social justice activists or groups that conduct an act that appears violence. I will argue that violence is the act of destruction or abuse and not an act of life, healing, protection, and love. Therefore, to end rape, slavery, torture, or other forms of abuse through physical means is not violence, but self defense. Malcolm X once said, when speaking about the oppression of people of color, “I don’t even call it violence when it’s in self defense; I call it intelligence.” Gandhi stated that, “Between violence and cowardly flight, I can only prefer violence to cowardice. In this hopefully rich engaging session, I will speak about personal experiences and conflict when being in solidarity with other movements and struggles, while also learning from them. Moreover, this interactive workshop will have participants engaging in group dialogues and activities. I will provide historical and current examples of how pacifist organizations have been in solidarity, protected, and supported armed struggle groups and groups that have conducted property destruction. This session will also talk about the difference between restorative justice and transformative justice and how you, has Howard Zinn once stated, “Can’t be neutral on a moving train.”

Spiritual Sustenance for Justice Making | Nancy Ellett Allison and Dian Griffin Jackson
Description forthcoming…

EcoJustice Panel | Monica Embrey, Justin Jacobs and Todd Zimmer
Description forthcoming…

Creating.Healing.Community. | Amy Cantrell and Be Loved House residents
Description forthcoming…

Workshops

Nonviolent Direct Action Training | Todd Zimmer
Description forthcoming…

Just Sex: An Ethics, Consent, and Power Primer for Radical Christians | Hillary Brown
In a rape culture, no one is immune from perpetrating or experiencing sexual violence. As radical Christians, we have a responsibility to stop sexual violence in our communities by developing a non-violent, holistic sexual ethic and a desire for authentic sexual consent. In this workshop, we will discuss how to develop a sexual ethic that goes beyond rules about the type of sex people have into the quality of sex people deserve, what authentic consent is and how to practice it, and what role power plays in our sexual relationships.

Anarcho-Dis-Ability Quarkerism Workshop | Anthony Nocella II
In this interactive engaging critical workshop participants will be involved in collaborative discussions and activities that will challenge the concept of being an individual, normal, dominant, and right. I will argue that anarchism, dis-ability liberation, and Quakerism have many things in common, but most importantly – fighting systems not people, looking for the good within all people, challenging all oppression and domination, respecting difference and diversity, valuing consensus decision-making and interdependency, and promoting social justice, equity, and inclusion of all. This intersectional workshop will engage with discussing causes and movements from dismantling capitalism to abolishing the prison industrial complex.

The Human Right of Drug Users and Sex Workers to Boogie | Robert Childs and Leilani Attilio
In an era of the war on drugs and sex work, we will discuss the human rights of people who use drugs and perform sex work. We will dispel myths about these marginalized people, who are extremely vulnerable to stigma, disease, physical and spiritual violence, and incarceration. We will furthermore discuss the harm reduction approach and risk minimalization to these social realities. Through this popular, evidence-based approach, we will bring the audience one step closer to understanding the basic human needs of a highly stigmatized population.

Art and Resistance/Zine-Making Workshop | Katie Klein and Ellen Morey
Description forthcoming…