lqb2weekly #185 (11 may 2023)
hey,
starting this one of with a personal share: i took a trip to paris and berlin for my 34th birthday… and it was incredible!!! it was my second trip to paris (tryna get my james baldwin on) and my first to berlin.
some highlights:
getting to attend the adult baptism of one of my closest and longest standing friends
getting to spend five days with a romantic partner in a cute AF paris apartment
visiting berlin for the first time
getting visit my beloved soul sibling, emet, in berlin
doing a great job unwinding from work and then easing my way back into work at the end
anyway, if you wanna some photo highlights, here they are. what a time to be alive!
anywho, fun announcement here: as of 7 may 2023 there are 500 PEOPLE SUBSCRIBED TO LQB2WEEKLY.
that. is. WILD to me. this lil fun project i started back in jan 2017 during my annual retreat because i wanted to share in a more streamlined way what i was consuming with my peoples. i experimented with a daily thing that was automated on mailchimp (and that eventually got my email address flagged as a spam account which was v bad). and then i started over on tinyletter (1st newsletter here!) with 20 subscribers. when i left tinyletter i had 260 subscribers and now here on substack there are 500+ ppl reading this. WIIIIIILD.
so, combining the birthday topic with that fun announcement: here’s an ask. i only do one ask like this per year and i time it with my birthday: if you dig this newsletter, send me coooooins by upgrading to paid. your $$$ helps me pay my friend leo who formats all the content of this newsletter and, you know, like my dream is to have enough monthly flow to do less project/gig/consulting work and more slow writing work. we’re not close to that yet but every step is a step, ya know? anywho, so yes, upgrade to paid if you’re down to share resources to this queer black man survive late-stage capitalism. also you can gift a subscription to someone else! (ps - if you’re already paid, consider bumping up a level if you really dig the newsletter. pps - i promised yall AMAs and i have NOT been doing them but the first one is this june so look out for a message about that soon 😅)
phew! ok some other updates:
the UFI seedling sale is this friday. come get some plant starts from a black-led urban farming org in boston. it’s v helpful and you can meet the team, too
one of my beloveds, sol, has launched their coaching practice in a big and beautiful way. check them outttttt:
i totally forgot to say a public thx to paige (of black ecologie hilarity) for the invite to write a piece on men’s work for the ujima newsletter. if you didn’t get a chance to read it, it’s here. i’m v proud of it!
my friend, sandra, and her crew are doing a fundraiser. check out the wildseed gofundme
my friend nadav has a longtime prison penpal, tori. tori is selling poetry… so like… buy tori’s poetry
i recently heard about this course on Finance for a Regenerative Economy. i’m not gonna do it cause i’m full but it seems interested!
this BIPOC Mindfulness Retreat is the first Plum Village tradition BIPOC Retreat in New England! i wish i could go but since i can’t, go in my stead?
i’m gonna be at the annual SOULstice Party via soul fire farm this summer. come join?
charles knight is a friend and collaborator in men’s work. his son, jonathan, had a film screening last week. the film is about doing ancestor work as a white person and connecting with the family of the folks his ancestors owned. obvi it’s too late to go but check out the deets about the film if that’s your thing.
ok! i burned up ALL my energy writing this intro so the content below is a lil sparse. #LeShrug.
on to the things!
(!!) pick of the pack
writing
some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:
Apr 26, 2023 | revolutionary uncle manifesto (v2)
quotes
there is nothing new under the sun. also, full transparency, many of these quotes come from james clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter (which i love).
“Make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.” — buckminster fuller
“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.” — james baldwin
poetry
the mother — gwendolyn brooks
reads
some things i’ve read since the last newsletter:
What's The Deal With These Giant Misshapen Oranges? | delish
Floating eggs: a bad egg, or just buoyant? | Egg Safety Center
#MensWorkEdition | Ujima Wire (! this one is me!)
Poppers (Amyl Nitrate): How Neurotoxic Are They? | San Diego Addiction Treatment Center (because the people need to know)
listens
some audio and/or podcasts i’ve listened to since the last newsletter:
watches
some videos i watched since the last newsletter:
n/a
jams
some things i’ve been (aurally) enjoying since the last newsletter:
jobs
now formally co-hosted with my friend, nadav david.
national
Adamah: On Campus Student Organizer - $55-60k (link)
Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100): Interim Managing Director, Organizing Director, Communications Director, Chapter Organizer, Movement Archivist Fellow, Communications Manager - $71-95K (link)
Climate Justice Alliance: Black Membership Organizer and Our Power Loan Fund Project Steward - $60-74K (link)
If Not Now: Communications Director, BIJOCSM Organizer, Donor Organizer - $45-59K (link)
Jewish Voice for Peace: Senior Fundraising Campaigns Coordinator - $60k (link)
Contracted Positions / Request for Proposals
New Economy Coalition: Request for Proposal, Contract to manage development of Funders/Investors Database - $5-8K (link)
for more national jobs, see nadav’s full list here
For even more movement jobs, visit New Economy Coalition’s monthly newsletter (link)
local
MA Bail Fund: Finance Manager - $70-75K (link)
Neighborhood Birth Center: Manager of Communications and Engagement (link) and Manager of Sustainability and Operations (link) - $70k
City Life/Vida Urbana: Bilingual Community Organizer - $50-60k (link)
Community Servings: Volunteer Coordinator - $65k (link)
I Have a Future: Co-Lead Organizer - $65k (link) and Admin Organizer, $21/hour PT (link)
for more local jobs, see nadav’s full list here
upcoming events
i should have included the events from the newsletter opening section but i didn’t sooooo scroll back up plz :D
$$ (fun-raising)
other opportunities
PROTECTING YOUR STORYTELLING POWER — Strategies For Black Artists
Arts & Cultural Organizing Member Team: Micro-Learning Pod Facilitator 2023
Making it Public: for MA Artists, a free 5-week online training for artists of any discipline who would like to expand their tools to respond to Public Art Calls.
Nominations open: 2023 Newell Flather Award for Public Art. This award honors publicly nominated leaders with $5,000 of unrestricted funds for their contributions to the field.
newsletters
black ecologie: earth day is christmas for crunchies
emet ezell: Father Throat. Mother Tongue.
building belonging: We need to talk about leadership
solstice newsletter: newsletter #5: apocalyptic alchemy
right now i’m learning…
that spring is officially my least favorite season. i still like it. but it’s my least favorite now.
mood
