City From Below!

"The city has emerged in recent years as an indispensable concept for many of the struggles for social justice we are all engaged in - it's a place where theory meets practice, where the neighborhood organizes against global capitalism, where unequal divisions based on race and class can be mapped out block by block and contested, where the micropolitics of gender and sexual orientation are subject to metropolitan rearticulation, where every corner is a potential site of resistance and every vacant lot a commons to be reclaimed, and, most importantly, a place where all our diverse struggles and strategies have a chance of coming together into something greater. In cities everywhere, new social movements are coming into being, hidden histories and herstories are being uncovered, and unanticipated futures are being imagined and built - but so much of this knowledge remains, so to speak, at street-level. We need a space to gather and share our stories, our ideas and analysis, a space to come together and rethink the city from below."

THEMES TO BE CONSIDERED

* Gentrification/uneven development
* Policing and incarceration
* Tenants rights/housing as a right
* Public transit
* Urban worker's rights
* Foreclosures/financial crisis
* Public education
* Slots/casinos/regressive taxation
* Cultural gentrification
* Underground economies
* Reclaiming public space
* The right to the city
* Squatting/Contesting Property Rights
* Urban sustainability

Read more - get excited - submit proposals!

More Art

Nick has done it again - made his way into the Argentine press. Read the article and then check out his stuff. I'm a big fan.

Not only because this dude is super talented and amazing, but also because the doll-making project in Providence he talks about was when we worked for English for Action's arts and literacy based child care program, NuestraEscuela! I took the photo above from that day working with kids painting the dolls that Nick had carved. The dolls were later part of a larger exhibition of works. Nick's skinny arms can be seen in the photo.

Word up.

8 Years in 8 Minutes

Is it Tuesday yet?



We've got a mess to clean up, people!

Thanks for sharing, Aaron.

xoxo
Mrs. Olbermann

Oakland Info from Wikipedia

Rand McNally named Oakland as having the best weather in the United States.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Oakland and Long Beach, California are the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States, with over 150 languages spoken in Oakland.

The Black Panther Party was founded by Merritt College students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale as a response to police brutality.

The Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club's Oakland Chapter began to grow into a formidable organization in the 1960s. By the 1980s it was the most feared and respected of all Hells Angels chapters. Its Oakland Clubhouse still sits at 4019 Foothill Boulevard in East Oakland.

The 1970s saw the rise of drug operations topped by drug lord Felix Mitchell, whose activities helped push Oakland's murder rate to twice that of San Francisco or New York City.

In 2008, Carla moves to Oakland's Lake Merritt neighborhood and scores a job waiting tables at Levende East where she hopes to make million selling wine to thirsty people.

(almost all info taken directly from wikipedia)

Maybe I want to love my dream that will never come true...

I'm here in Oakland living with Lily, Kiernan, and Gabriel. The weather is lovely, the hills are hilly, and the excitement is blossoming.

All I need is a job and I will feel a lot more calm. And for my boxes to get here from home (c'mon, mom!).

My neighborhood is called Lake Merritt and reminds me of Pawtucket, RI. There are a lot of working-class families in this residential neighborhood. Corner stores for lottery tickets and 40oz beers. Beware of Dog signs and frontyard vegetable gardens full of tomatoes and lettuces. Kids playing, palm trees, and the occassional street walker or drunk stumbling man. A nice balance of reality and fantastic California imagery. California isn't home, and I don't want it to be. I just want it to be the place where I live for now. Nothing trumps my real home.

Loneliness is a factor here, but as long as I stay busy and put energy into meeting high-quality lovely people, I'll be ok. My father calls me a Friend Magnet. I love friendship, and I live for friendship. (I miss you, Providence people!) Phone calls are very helpful. I am going to try very hard to make my phone calls on a regular basis. Call me, too. I need that. I feel that there is going to be a lot of sifting through of crappy people in this city. But I'll find the good ones.

:: disclaimer - I'm about to get all emo ::

I have also been missing the feeling of being in love for quite some time. I thought I had it, and it passed, then came back, then passed, then came back all of a sudden in the week before I left. I'm pretty sure it's a one-sided unrequited love. I'm pretty sure I'm being used and led on, but like the song says, "maybe I want to love my dream that will never come true."

Maybe it's easier to be hopeful and curious and obsessive about love than it is to actually put in the effort to be in a healthy relationship. I haven't been single for this long since before 8th grade. I'm freaking out. Somebody marry me, FAST! Then again, I don't think I've had feelings this strong in a loooong time. Well, good thing I just moved 3,000 miles away from the person I love. Perhaps this will give me perspective on why it's best not to love someone who can't commit. Or perhaps I should just accept that I want to elope and be a swinger.

In a nutshell:
I'm lonely and happy,
excited and exhausted,
sober and scared,
poor and imaginative.

Come visit me. It's beautiful here.

Love,
Carla

Olneyville Needs You!

Every August I send an ask letter for donations to a specific cause. This year I am asking you to donate to English for Action, a 501(c)3 in the neighborhood of Olneyville in Providence, RI. My birthday is coming up, and I'm moving to California in November. If you were thinking of getting me a gift, please donate to EFA instead.

I have worked at EFA for two full years. I was hired as the coordinator of the arts-based child-care mentoring program (Nuestra Escuela / Our School) for the children of adult English learners. My weeknights for the past two years have been spent sharing wisdom, knowledge, and art with amazing youth in my community. I have never worked in a more peace-filled and imagination-inspired child-care program in my 12 years of experience. It's more than work - EFA is family to me now.

It was recently discovered that the organization was in a serious financial crisis. Federal and State budget cuts to education programs have dramatically affected our income, and the income of our major funders.

With the jarring news that EFA might have to lay off the entire staff and possibly close most or all services, the Staff, Board, and Learner community took immediate action. We did some rearranging of positions and roles. We cut our budget by 1/3. We created clearly defined financial goals for the next year. We rallied the support of our grassroots sister organizations in Providence. We have all been volunteering our free time to ensure that the few paid staff members remaining don't burn out. My new position at EFA is the Interim President of the Board of Directors, and my major duty is acting as a pro-bono Development Director to seek grant money.

While we are all busy working nights and weekends for the financial stability of EFA, we are simultaneously planning for another year of high-quality programming, including Participatory-based adult ESOL classes, arts-based child-care, native language literacy, health services, a food bank, free library, the action committee, and other blossoming partnerships with community organizations. The Action Committee (formally recognized by peer organizations as an outstanding group) recently had a very successful grassroots event to raise money, food, and basic supplies for the families of ICE detainees here in Rhode Island.

Our classes operate evenings at a nearby elementary school which has a beautiful saying painted along the entire exterior wall: "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child." We all know that nobody can truly succeed without love and support from a community of friends and family. The same is true for EFA. We cannot continue our necessary and passionate work without your financial support.

I have a personal goal of raising $1,000 through friends and family by September 9th. This money will go directly to the ESOL program expenses, including supplies, books, trainings, and ensuring that it is staffed. Staff members are dedicated lovers of education who come from all walks of life, and strive to apply the holistic mission of EFA to the ESOL program while constantly improving the measurable outcomes of the program.

Our methods are proven to be effective, and our mission is unique. We are a valued and valuable organization and we need your help!

Please donate via this link, or by mailing a check to the address below.

English for Action
PO Box 29405
Providence, RI
02909

It's Official

I just bought my one-way plane ticket to Oakland, CA.

I'm going to live with my best friend ( and future baby mama ) Lily.

So in between now and then, I'm going to be getting rid of a lot of my stuff and trying to have the most memorable and fun summer / fall in Providence (the city in which I was born and raised).

Your help is needed with all that fun-making!

I'm also planning a giant going away / birthday party for myself with food and drinks and djs and whatnot. It'll be in between my birthday (October 24th) and my departure date (November 6th). You're invited.

I am so full of adrenaline right now!

xoxo
'la

Vaya con MTV

Thanks to the Daily Dose for posting this one. I didn't have cable growing up, but my aunt did at her beach house. My brother and I would be sneaky and stay up late to watch Ren and Stimpy and Beavis and Butthead.

Time to spend another Sunday afternoon at the EFA office. At least there will be food.

xoxo
Sleepy

Linking NAFTA and Immigration (Part 1)

After some immigration debate with my father (the former RISD student and rock musician has matured like most Boomers) over apple pie and ice cream at my regular Doughty Family Dinner last Sunday, I've decided to compile some immigration / migrant worker / remittance / etc information.

As you probably know, I coordinate a child-care program for a non-profit in Olneyville, Providence that (to put it simply) provides English classes for Spanish-speaking immigrants. While my personal politics may differ from many of my coworkers, there are some undeniable truths about our responsibilities to human rights and our responsibilities to recognize our own power and influence as causal factors in this wave of immigration from south to north.

Here's some food for thought.

"During the NAFTA debate in 1993, advocates assured the U.S. and Mexican people that it would greatly alleviate unauthorized immigration by increasing employment opportunities in Mexico and closing the gap between U.S. and Mexican wages. But the promise of prosperity has been a mirage for millions of Mexicans: the value of the Mexican minimum wage dropped 23 percent in NAFTA's first decade; 19 million more Mexicans are living in poverty than 20 years ago, and today, one quarter of Mexico's population cannot afford basic foods."
-Linking NAFTA and Immigration by Ted Lewis for The San Diego Union-Tribune

Today is a conference in DC entitled:
Linking Agriculture, Development, and Migration: A Critical Look at NAFTA, Past, Present, and Future

Global Exchange has done a great job putting this information together, and they have a petition to Congress that you can sign online if you'd like.

Please realize that building a fence is not going to solve our problems.

xoxo
Carlita