Southern Movement Assembly Action Packet 2014 Contents: ! SMA Accomplishments & Agreements ! SMA Governance Process : Chart & Description ! Principles of Unity ! Anchor Organizations ! SMA Timeline : 2014 Who is the Southern Movement Alliance?
The Southern Movement Alliance was founded in 2012 by a cohort
of eight organizations after a successful joint organizing drive in 2011 and a shared
leadership institute in 2010.
The We All Count Campaign (Summer 2012) culminated in the first Southern Movement
Assembly held in historic Lowndes County, Alabama on the site of 1965’s Tent City.
Over the course of 2012 and 2013, the Southern Movement Alliance has expanded,
connected to the deep roots of Southern movement legacy, and taken up the charge of
regenerating the Southern Freedom Movement in the 21st century.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2 YEARS:
70 Weekly Leadership Calls
to strategize, share, and plan for action
3
Southern Movement Assemblies
to converge organizational and frontline forces
3 Collaborative Organizing Drives
the We All Count Campaign, Peoples First 100 Days,
& Freedom Summer 2013
50
organizations have participated
in the assemblies, organizing drives, actions, &
education efforts
4 Simultaneous Southern Actions
1
N7, MLK Day, Love in the Streets, & Day of Dignity
Across 12 states & engaged over 20,000 people
Rapid Response Organizing Campaign
The Walk for Dignity responded to the Zimmerman verdict
CORE ORGANIZATIONS
WITH THE SOUTHERN
MOVEMENT ASSEMBLY
Alternate ROOTS, Atlanta GA - Regionally-based arts and cultural organizing group that supports artists in the South to
work directly with community members to enhance organizing efforts. Coordinates annual retreats for over 500 artists and
community workers to share and develop their work.
Crescent City Media Group, New Orleans LA - Organizes with young people to teach video advocacy and filmmaking
skills. Produces community education videos to support movement work across the Challenges re-districting and the
de-population patterns that have decimated the culture and people of the Gulf Coast since 2005.
Georgia Citizens’ Coalition on Hunger, Georgia Statewide - Organizes unemployed people to develop income alternatives, cultivate urban farm projects, and challenge voter suppression. The Coalition provides over 5,000 families with
food and basic need assistance annually, and the Georgia Human Rights Unions has initiated a Jobs Campaign to generate employment trainings and opportunities in South Atlanta.
Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, Slidell Louisiana - Challenges re-districting that further displaces voters from the
gulf region. Provides legal advocacy to the growing population of immigrants in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as
well as those affected by the last seven years of eco-disasters. The center won over $1 billion in community claims resulting from the BP oil spill.
New Jim Crow Movement, Jacksonville Florida - Supports families affected by the incarceration and criminal justice system through grassroots organizing and legal advocacy. Recently won a victory that reversed the guilty verdict of
Marissa Alexander, a domestic violence survivor who was sentenced 20 years for firing a warning shot against her abuser,
though no one was injured.
Project South, Atlanta & Regional - Organizes locally with Black youth to support and advance the National Student Bill
of Rights through youth-led actions and voting. Project South develops and provides comprehensive political educational
tools to organizations, schools, and programs around the country. Regionally, Project South provides strategic coordination to Southern-wide campaigns and organizing drives and anchors the Southern Movement Assembly.
Southerners On New Ground (SONG), Regional - Organizes with multiracial base of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer) people for racial and economic justice in NC, VA, GA, SC, and AL. SONG recently initiated a
campaign to support education justice and reduce violence in schools. The group organizes massive local, regional, and
national pressure to stop ICE deportations and detention practices that unjustly separate families.
Southwest Workers’ Union, San Antonio, Texas - Organizes public and domestic workers, youth, and immigrants to
challenge environmental injustices and develop community-based solutions. SWU supports community-based agriculture
and collaborates on regional and national campaigns.
The Ordinary Peoples Society, Dothan, Alabama - Organizes across Alabama with formerly incarcerated people, families, and young people to challenge disproportionate sentencing and to ensure fair voting practices. TOPS provides over
300 meals a day to families living in poverty, provides re-entry support through transitional homes for men and women
getting out of prison, and intervenes on police violence with transformative solutions combined with legal advocacy.
University Sin Fronteras, Atlanta, San Antonio, & Detroit - Facilitates courses for community members on three anchor campuses Political education is practiced as a vehicle for social movement development. Emancipatory education
is informed by the wisdom of our communities to which we are accountable and ensures continuity of histories, cultural
traditions and legacies.
Women Watch Afrika, Clarkston Georgia - Organizes African immigrants to navigate legal and social services. Coordinates and facilitates community assemblies and spaces with youth, elders, and Latino immigrants to bridge cultural
divides and advocate for progressive immigration reforms across the South.
SOUTHERN FREEDOM
MOVEMENT RISES IN
THE 21st CENTURY
ORIGINS: FORMATION UNDER FIRE
2005
Gulf Coast crisis shapes generation
of Southern leaders
2006
1st BAM Institute
Southeast Social Forum (Durham)
2007
US Social Forum (Atlanta) converges movements
Peoples Movement Assembly begins
2008
Financial crisis exposes relationship between
governance & finance instiutions, deepens poverty
2010
4th BAM Institute: Southern Leaders under 40
US Social Forum (Detroit) converges 25,000
100 Peoples Movement Assemblies
2011
Southern Movement partners meet & launch
Organizing Drive to train new organizers & build
community base
SOUTHERN MOVEMENT ASSEMBLY III
Dothan.AL a August.31.2013
SOUTHERN MOVEMENT ASSEMBLY II
DAY OF DIGNITY
Jacksonville.FL a April.27.2013
SOUTHERN MOVEMENT ASSEMBLY
WALK FOR DIGNITY
Lowndes County.AL a September.22.2012
LOVE IN THE STREETS
MLK DAY
Movement
is King: Actions
UNIVERSITY SIN FRONTERAS
ORGANIZING INTENSIVE
5 semesters of community-based
courses provided political education
to over 250 student organizers over
1 year
Skill development for
multigenerational organizers in
action sites around the South
WE ALL COUNT
June a August.2012
Southern organizations launched first shared campaign
to confront attack on voting rights - 25 Action Sites
organized for voter registration, education, & activation.
N7 Public Actions
engaged 5,000
people on the day after the elections
Valentines Day Actions
in 12 sites, 100s of Video
Valentines online, Caravans
through communities, & block
parties engaged 10,000
lifted up Southern
Movement &
engaged 3,500 in
11 sites
PEOPLES FIRST 100 DAYS
November.7.2012 a February.14.2013
First SMA launched P100 Days Campaign that touched over 20,000
people in simultaneous creative actions, deepened collaborations,
built communication systems, & expanded our collective reach.
OSCAR MICHAUX
INSTITUTE
Communications & Media
Training to build Southernbased film, radio, and
communications
infrastructure
6-Day Walk from
Jacksonville to Sanford
as a Rapid Response
Organizing Drive after
Zimmerman Verdict
- 100 walked, thousands
engaged
Actions & Assemblies in 9 states
@ 7 State Capitols
- San Antonio TX, Jackson MS,
Montgomery AL, Frankfort KY, Atlanta
GA, Tallahassee FL, Slidell LA, New
Orleans LA, Columbia SC
FREEDOM SUMMER 2013
June.2013 a August.2013
Freedom Summer built liberated education spaces,
innovative communication infrastructure, and organized a
rapid response campaign to confront & transform crisis.
Anchor Sites
We All Count Action Sites
P100 Action Sites
Day of Dignity Action Sites
SMA Sites
Participated in SMA
Walked for Dignity
Collective Agreements & Affirmations
(so far):
 10 Principles of Unity that describe our shared political values were collectively
developed, discussed at SMA III and finalized by the Governance Council.
 A governance process was affirmed in November 2013 to reflect the basic
operational and organizational roles, with a commitment to evaluate and revise the
process based on practice, year to year.
 The Southern Movement Assembly is an organizing process and a convergence
space that centers the voices and experiences of grassroots leadership. The
Assembly is a movement governance process that is a combination of political
education, discussion, planning, and synthesis.
 Characteristics of the Southern Movement Assembly:
 multiracial; multi-generational; multi-gendered; intersectional & multiideological; multi-lingual; global in scope with relation to the local;
multiple strategies & tactics
 6 Basic Action Strategies have been affirmed and practiced within the framework
of dismantling oppression and building liberation – including:
 Organizing and base-building to grow our numbers & leadership
 Creating liberatory education
 Creating new communication infrastructure
 Facilitating community, local, and thematic assemblies
 Building & cross-pollinating our relationships for greater impact
 Increasing capacity for and testing collaborative rapid response to crisis
and opportunity
 Fundamental Strategic Values
 Collaboration – We are stronger together than we are separate
 Convergence – We fortify our movements by gathering, sharing, learning
 Self-determination – We honor the autonomy of organizations
 Innovation – We learn from history and we take risks
 Decentralized Coordination – We reflect bottom-up movement building
Basic Framework of Governance Process Affirmed at SMA III Southern Movement Assembly Movement Governance Process, Roles, & Responsibilities Representation and participation in governance is based on work, commitment to shared principles, and participation the Assembly process. Organizations self-­‐determine which role they want to play as: Southern Movement Anchor Organization: OR •
•
•
•
•
•
Anchor a geographic site AND/OR an assembly process (front, region, or group) Committed to Principles of Unity Provide facilitative leadership towards collective goals Provide resources (skills, time, etc.) to make sets of work happen Participate in projects, campaigns, and assemblies Facilitate Work Teams and participate in Work Teams Southern Movement Participating Organization: •
•
•
Committed to Principles of Unity Participate in projects, campaigns, and assemblies Participate in Work Teams to move projects, campaigns, and assemblies forward Governance Council WHO: Anchor organizations working the process RESPONSIBILITY: Develop Vision and Make Decisions, overall strategy and planning MEETS: Weekly, Monday mornings CRITERIA: Organizations have the option to have representation on Governance Council after participating in one cycle (Assembly + seasonal drive, or seasonal drive + Assembly) Movement Council WHO: representatives of organizations and fronts participating in the Southern Movement Assembly (Anchors AND Partners) RESPONSIBILITY: to bring ideas, analysis, and recommendations into the Assembly & to develop the synthesis of that Assembly MEETS: At the Southern Movement Assembly Work Teams WHO: Organizational members, leaders, staff, and community members RESPONSIBILITY: to develop work plans and implement strategies for projects (ie: South to South website), campaigns (ie: Peoples First 100 Days), or assemblies (ie: SMA or focused assemblies). Work Teams include Communications Team, August 28th Organizing Team, Rapid Response Team, etc. MEETS: As determined by the facilitating anchor organizations Southern Movement Assembly Governance Process
Governance representation is based on work, commitment to shared principles, and consistent participation
in the Assembly process to regenerate and advance the Southern Freedom Movement in the 21st century.
BEFORE & AFTER Assemblies:
Representatives from Anchor Organizations
meet weekly to develop overall strategy,
vision, and decisions for action, based on
the synthesis of the assemblies & mandate
from the Movement Council.
Rising Movements
on multiple frontlines
YOUTH MOVEMENTS
ANTI-POVERTY &
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
QUEER LIBERATION
WORKER & MIGRANT JUSTICE
Southern
Movement
Assembly
Movement
Council
Governance
Council
FORMERLY INCARCERATED
PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS
Coordinated
actions to
advance:
Southern
Freedom
Movement
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
EDUCATION JUSTICE
CLIMATE JUSTICE
RACIAL JUSTICE
Anchor Organizations &
Participating Organizations,
converge periodically to
determine shared actions.
DURING the Assembly, representatives of
organizations & groups bring ideas, analyses,
and recommendations into the Assembly and
participate in developing the synthesis of that
Assembly.
Work Teams:
Volunteers from organizations
can join Work Teams like
the Communications Team,
Organizing Team, Rapid
Response, & other teams as
needed. Teams coordinate with
Governance Council.
Working Document Amended & Affirmed at SMA III
Southern Movement Assembly
Principles of Unity
The principles that connect the members of the Southern Movement Assembly reflect many years of
organizational partnerships and a synthesis of ideas based in collective practice and historical example.
The principles serve to name who we are, what we believe, and our purpose for working together to
regenerate and advance the Southern Freedom Movement in the 21st Century. Affirming these
principles affirms the foundational belief that we are stronger together, and we do not want to do this
alone. To work and be together is a political decision; we are not doing it for either comfort or
practicality. These principles will be evaluated & evolved periodically.
1. We believe remembering and regenerating our movement history is critical. We recognize
the long-term legacies and the most recent work that led to this moment.
2. We value and practice transparency. We strive to distinguish between perception and
reality.
3. We respect and support locally-based leadership. Place & space matter, and we recognize
the unique histories of the South and local sites.
4. We create spaces to assemble so that people can voice our truths and bring our whole
selves. We stand against criminalizing our people in any way.
5. We recognize and respect the self-determination of each organization and strive to engage
in principled dialogue when disagreement or conflict is a barrier to collective action.
6. We believe political direction is determined by big picture analysis grounded in struggle to
dismantle white supremacy, economic exploitation, and colonialism while simultaneously
building decolonization processes for liberation of all people.
7. We believe no one should be excluded from any form of governance that makes decisions
about their lives.
8. We believe in and respect the diversity of tactics and strategies as we are working for
liberation. We believe there are many ways to do this work. We respect the different organizing
choices and traditions of our member organizations.
9. We recognize and value the skills, contributions, and resources that each community,
individual and organization brings and will prioritize Collective Accessibility in how and where
we assemble and share information. We commit to maximizing those contributions for our
collective goals.
10. We will defend the ground we have gained through struggle, and we will create and
practice new forms of participation and governance that include and serve all of us.
TIMELINE FOR SHARED WORK
2014 at a glance
Ongoing
• Weekly Leadership Calls connect representatives from 20 Anchor Organizations
• Work Teams made up of people from Anchor & Participating Organizations form
Communications Team, Organizing Team, Childrens’ Assembly Team, etc.
JANUARY – MARCH : SYNTHESIS
Establish working Anchors and Participating Organizations
Develop Organizing Plan for Communications, Education, & Assemblies
APRIL – MAY : PLANNING
& EXPANSION
& PREPARATION
Meetings with SMA partners and governance council
Trainings for communication, education, facilitation, and organizing
JUNE – AUGUST : SOUTHERN ORGANIZING DRIVE
Unite to Fight 2014 – Summer Project for Southern Movement Power
Local, Community, & Frontline Assemblies
SEPTEMBER : SOUTHERN MOVEMENT ASSEMBLY IV
Convergence of anchors, participating organizations, and representatives from assemblies and action sites
Delegations are prepared to co-create a working platform for Southern Freedom Movement
OCTOBER – DECEMBER : HARVEST & PROPEL
Collect documentation, film, radio, and print from assembly & seasonal work
Synthesize lessons & evaluate process
Determine strategies and direction based on synthesis and political forecast
unite to fight
southern movement summer organizing drive
We are stronger together.
When we come together we are powerful, and we can chart a new
course for liberation. We draw from the legacy of 50 years ago to
regenerate the Southern Freedom Movement in the 21st century.
Organizations working on the frontlines of poverty, violence,
deportations, mass incarceration, ecological justice, labor,
and education are coming together to build our numbers and
coordinate our strategies.
• Organizing Institute: June 18-23, Atlanta GA
education, skills, organizing, & communications training
• Collective Action: July 25-28, Jacksonville FL week of actions to Free Marissa Alexander at her new trial
• Community & Local Assemblies: throughout the summer
• Southern Movement Assembly: August 22-23 delegations converge to determine action plans
JUNE - JULY - AUGUST 2014
Join the Unite to Fight Summer Organizing Drive!
southern movement caravans * local actions * community assemblies * capacity-building
organizing trainings * university sin fronteras * national student bill of rights * convergences
Let’s connect the work we are
already doing to build collective
Southern power!
CONTACT:
Ash-Lee Henderson
Project South Regional Organizer
[email protected]
404.622.0602
www.southtosouth.org