On the weekend of March 1st through 3rd, we had the first Core Organizer Training of the year. The 14-hour training was attended by seventeen diverse participants, ages 20 to 60, from different social and economic backgrounds, and from varied organizations such as Occupy Memphis, H.O.P.E., M.G.L.C.C., GrowMemphis, CROW and others.
The experience of participating in the Core Organizer Training is completely different each time. The curriculum doesn’t change, but the knowledge and experience brought to the group by each participant is unique.
The Core Organizer Training has been built upon a method called “direct education.” Direct education directly confronts and challenges the current traditional system where there is evidence of injustice in how people are taught. Rather than accepting traditional education at face value, which gives all the expertise to textbooks and to teachers or trainers, direct education invites the expertise of the people themselves. Direct education is about liberation and empowerment. It calls upon the direct source of wisdom – the group itself!
There is a lot of theorizing in organizing; and people can read book after book, but active exposure in the field – true community organizing – yields invaluable experience.
Direct education also opens a safe space for participants to bring to the circle their knowledge as a human beings, and enables them to take risks. Here, their own life skills are realized and easily applied to the work of organizing. This experiential method of education becomes very powerful for teaching. Participants discover; trust and reinforce their inner power; build confidence in themselves; and experience getting to know a group of supportive people who share that effort.
We believe that every person has a lot of knowledge to offer that is supplemental to their organizing or professional knowledge. The Core Organizer Training offers a space for an individual and group to develop, share and grow such skills.
The topics of the Core Organizer Training are Introduction to Organizing, Organizing your Community, Strategy Planning, Media, Transforming Conflict, Nonviolent Direct Action and Campaign. Each one of these topics are approached in an experiential as well as theoretical way. If you want to make your community a better place to live, or you already are working at organizing your community and will want to learn new tools and skills, this training is for you!
Our next Core Organizing Training will be in Spanish on August, 2013. If you speak Spanish or have friends who speak Spanish let them know about this training. Any cultural experience will also be a plus for this training.
Our next Core Organizing Training in English will be this fall.
Please, if you want to participate in those trainings send us an email or call us to register you in our waiting list.
gio@midsouthpeace.org – 901-725-4990
Upcoming Development Support Workshop
Emotional Support for Men
Men are expected to be self-sufficient and to have all the answers to every problem, which leaves them feeling isolated and alone with their struggles. This workshop will help men to have a safe place to explore past hurts and current patterns based in old hurts, to develop close, healthy relationships with women and men, to become better allies to women and to learn how to interrupt sexism, to reclaim a sense of your own goodness and worth, and more.
When: Saturday, March 16, 1 – 6pm
Where: MSPJC, 3573 Southern Ave. Memphis TN 38111 – wheelchair accessible.
Cost: Sliding scale $25-$50
Registration online or by phone is required, please click here to register.
For more information email at gio@midsouthpeace.org or call us 901-725-4990
Donations for scholarships are gratefully accepted.
Find our events on Facebook at www.facebook.com/midsouthpeace
In late spring of 2012, the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center’s coordinator of the Community-Police Relations (CPR) project conducted over twenty one-on-one sessions with local community leaders, initially asking the question:
CPR is also developing a presentation for the command staff and administration of MPD, and representatives of the Sheriff’s Department, tentatively planned for the end of April. The presentation will be previewed by community leaders and followed by a trial run of the community forum, creating an opportunity for stakeholders to learn more about what the core group has experienced, through various means such as Playback Memphis’ improvisational theater, dialog circles, collective testimony, and sessions to brainstorm solutions. It will also provide CPR with a chance to see which elements work best in the community forums, and which ones need tweaking before we take them out into other areas of the city.
H.O.P.E. is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people who are currently homeless or have formerly experienced homelessness. For over a year now, H.O.P.E. has been organizing and agitating around the issues that are a priority to the homeless community. For meeting times and dates, call 901-300-0006.
A new publication scheduled to launch on March 20th aims to provide a voice as well as opportunity for Memphians with a personal experience of homelessness. 
On November 15, 2012, at roughly 7:15 pm, H.O.P.E. members were departing from a regular weekly meeting at the Manna House (1268 Jefferson) when they were stopped and harassed by two officers who accused them of ‘obstructing the sidewalk.’ Three members received citations to appear in court on these bogus charges. We had our day in court and the charges were dismissed. However H.O.P.E. members are not content to let this issue rest, as we realize that this type of targeted harassment is an everyday occurrence for many of our brothers and sisters on the street. On November 16th, the day following the original incident, H.O.P.E. members filed formal complaints at the Union/Crump Precinct regarding the harassment. Members of H.O.P.E. and witnesses also went to Internal Affairs and filed numerous statements and complaints in order to ensure that this matter was handled properly. After almost four months, we’ve learned a lot about this process and how frustrating going through all the proper channels can be. We plan on following up this investigation to the satisfaction of our members.
H.O.P.E. members have begun to meet every Friday to form a campaign called Street-Watch which will be doing outreach predominantly in the downtown area to document and address instances of police harassment, and will be working with the public defenders office to organize a series of ‘know your rights’ trainings. stay tuned for more details……………
March 30: Confront the Klan by Building Community.
The Memphis Bus Riders Union would like to see you at our 1 year Anniversary celebration!
Memphis Center for Independent Living (MCIL) is excited to announce