“Don’t mourn; organize!” is a paraphrase of the farewell message that labor organizer Joe Hill sent to Big Bill Haywood, leader of the Wobblies, in 1915 as Hill was preparing to be executed for a murder that he probably didn’t commit. It has since become a powerful slogan for changemakers on the left in America. It saw renewed popularity after the 2016 presidential election, and its hour has come around again.
On Monday, November 11, Mohonk Consultations sponsored its annual fall conference at the Mohonk Mountain House, titled “Thriving Together: Strengthening Community in a Time of Rapid Change.” The choice of topic could not have been more prescient, for a convocation occurring when the Election Day shock waves had not yet had time to dissipate. Hundreds of representatives of public agencies, not-for-profit organizations and socially conscious businesses gathered in the Conference Center to discuss ways forward, and the main takeaway was that everyone here was already poised not to mourn, but to organize.
Few words were wasted on what might have been, or on brokenhearted feelings. Sleeves were being rolled up for the battles ahead, with a particular eye toward outreach and being empathetic listeners to those who might be viewed as adversaries. Sharing stories of what strategies had proven successful for them in flexing the power of collective action, panelists evoked an aura of hope and determination in what is bound to be a highly challenging time for social activists.
Following an inspirational song from Betty Boomer and Steve Stanne and words of welcome from Mohonk Consultations board members Louisa Finn and Cara Lee, a historical and socioeconomic context for the discussion was provided by Elka Gotfryd, director of the Center for Housing Solutions and Community Initiatives of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. Using a rapid-fire slide presentation, Gotfryd traced the timeline from the Divine Right of Kings to the “binary” scientific approach of the Enlightenment to a more holistic contemporary view of complex systems and what keeps them dynamic and healthy. The “window of vitality” sweet spot, she explained, lies somewhere at the midpoint between efficiency and resilience.
Gotfryd, an urban planner by training, also addressed the harmful tradeoffs demanded of people by the systems entrenched in American culture that emphasize competitive individualism over community or “thriving together.” With alarming statistics compiled by Patterns for Progress on the growing gap between earnings and housing costs in the mid-Hudson Valley (a link to the latest report can be found at www.pattern-for-progress.org/portfolio/outofreach2024), she introduced a topic much on the minds of conference participants: gentrification, or the “G-word” as some referred to it.
The rest of the day was devoted to panel discussions, interspersed with roundtable discussions and questions from the audience. The first panel, “Stories in Place,” was moderated by Brian Mahoney of Chronogram and included Becky Collins Brooks of Hilltop Farm, Joe Concra of the O+ Festival and Victoria Messner of Coalition of Forward-Facing Ellenville (COFFE). Collins Brooks invoked the growing need, as socioeconomic structures and family roles change, for “third places” where people can gather and interact between home and the workplace, as she described her experiences of dealing with a customer base that spans the political spectrum. Concra spoke of O+’s successes in fostering a “culture of care” in Kingston that addresses shortfalls in healthcare via a barter economy. Messner painted a hopeful picture of diverse Ellenville residents coming together to organize a variety of community revitalization projects.
Gotfryd returned to the podium to moderate the second panel, “Building Resilience,” which included Rebekkah Smith Aldrich of the Mid-Hudson Library System, Corey J. Allen of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh and Colleen McMurray of the Pine Hill Community Center. In describing the challenges encountered in their work, all three noted that not-for-profits are increasingly being called upon to fill roles that rightly ought to be done by government. McMurray spoke of leveraging volunteer labor for the purpose of “becoming that government that we need to see” in a hamlet so tiny that it falls off the radar when it comes to funding sources. Both Smith Aldrich and Allen noted that libraries have become sources of shelter, warmth in winter and cooling in summer for the homeless. “Food insecurity issues landed on our front porch. We ended up installing a community refrigerator” at one library, Smith Aldrich reported. Gotfryd observed how using only an “investment” model for viewing housing, instead of seeing shelter as a necessity and a human right, has fed gentrification and homelessness by pooling wealth rather than having it flow.
The third and most diverse panel, “Balancing Self and System,” was moderated by Erica Brown of Radio Kingston and included Shaniqua Bowden of Tilda’s Kitchen & Market and the Kingston Land Trust, Duane Martinez of the River Cities program at Scenic Hudson and Phoenix Kawamoto, Community Wellness officer for the Town of New Paltz. While discussing their work, all three panelists discussed the stresses involved in having to mask, practice hypervigilance and “code-switch” in their interactions with very diverse constituents and collaborators. Various strategies for self-care become essential for people doing such demanding community work, especially if they’re not white, male, heterosexual, cisgender and native-born, with English as a first language.
All three also emphasized finding fuel in the positive outcomes of their work – in Martinez’s words, “what’s already good and working well…pulling in hope and centering aspirations.” Kawamoto described looking within each group of community partners, even those less inclined to be cooperative, for the “imaginal cells,” like those that trigger a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly. “What about just spreading joy and love?” Bowden asked. “All the different people in this room – we all have a resource of some kind. What if we could share it?”
The day ended with more roundtable discussions and feedback from conference participants, who praised the speakers for their commitment to their work and their frankness in sharing the challenges they face in doing it. And then they headed back to their communities, reenergized and brimming with workable ideas for how to carry on in a weary and divided society, leveraging the power of people in groups with a common goal.
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