I attended the Left Forum last weekend in NYC and was fortunate to be presenting on a panel discussing study groups and their role in social movements. I was glad to be presenting with my crew of folks from Rev and Ev, but beyond that I was unsure how the panel would turn out; it didn’t seem like the most pertinent issue to be dealing with these days. But it turned out to be a really important experience for me, one day after my 26th birthday, when the conversation turned to the question: “What does revolutionary leadership really look like and in what structures will it exist?” We had a long discussion, anchored by a impromptu presentation by Grace Lee Boggs, that raised more questions than answers. While sometimes I feel this is the neverending plight of the Left–so good at questions, not always so visionary in our answers–I was inspired by the depth of the questions being asked, and the fact that all four study groups on the panel had embarked from very different starting points but came to very similar conclusions–er, questions. Coming out of a sea of these questions; a history of movements, instructive in their victories and defeats; the current crisis of world affairs that makes revolution necessary for human survival; the energy, hope, and creativity brewing in those who are paying attention; it feels like the beginning of a very tangible organized movement(s) is rising closer to the surface, ready to be materialized.
At the end of our presentation, I talked with Grace about the questions. She smiled and told me that it was exciting to her that the questions they were dealing with decades before were the same questions we were dealing with now. When she first told me that, I wondered why in the world that would make her smile. Sounded like we were moving in circles to me. But on further reflection, I wonder, maybe it’s because she’s sensing that we might be closer than ever to coming up with the answers?
I’ve written a lot about Detroit in this blog. It is where I’m from and is my spiritual and political home. Seeing Grace last weekend, as well as other friends from the D, I know that it will continue to be so, and I will be returning there in the not so distant future. The work happening in Detroit is so instructive; it’s a manifestation of the incredible capacities of human endurance and creativity to confront problems that can seem hopeless. There’s a long way to go, but the transformations occuring are enough to, as my friend Jenny says, “smite the unbelievers”. And while I can’t quite put it into words yet, Detroit is key in understanding what’s needed for the next American revolution.
The post below is the speech given by Grace Lee Boggs at the Left Forum last Sunday. It definitely gives more rich analysis than the Obama speech, and distills many of the things that I’ve been thinking about and posting about–leadership, America, and where the real impetus for change is emerging–into coherent thoughts. That impetus is definitely not comig from a politician. It’s definitely not just one person. It is the collective spirit and work of those who understand the complexities, challenges, and possibilites in this country (and planet) and are not afraid of the work it will take to make it a reality.
