As many of you have come to know from different emails that have been sent out to our community, 350 Seattle is reducing its staffing by two people this Fall, and I am one of those two people. This was neither a desirable, nor an easy decision to make, and it was an even less easy decision to propose. 350 Seattle, the Staff Collective and the Board have been diligently working over the last couple of years to prevent crossing the unfortunate threshold of needing to reduce staffing to reach a more sustainable funding level. However as is clearly evinced by the transitions currently taking place, we were unable to stave off this eventuality.
This is a sign of the times. 350 Seattle is not the only organization that is confronting budget cuts, deficits, or defunding. In fact, it is part of the fascist-agenda of the current regime in power to target, defund, and dismantle the institution of the LEFT. In some circumstances they are attacking leaders in the movement, like David Huerta of SEIU in LA when ICE invaded the city, they levied conspiracy charges against him. Or like the way the trump administration is weaponizing the terrorist laws in the U.S. Code via executive orders and national security memoranda to label and treat activists and organizers, as well as entire groups as “domestic terrorists” for exercising supposedly unalienable rights and for self-defense against a tyrannical regime. Yet, while somber as it is for 350 Seattle and our community to be losing two vital and powerful members of the Staff Collective, as it is for the other groups and organizations facing similar situations, it is also quite revealing as to how effective and how powerful we actually are because if you ain’t got haters, then you ain’t doing enough.
I do not believe that difficult or stressful times are a cause to isolate or to devolve into more fierce competition with one another, but rather to get closer to each other, to strengthen our bonds, and to collaborate cooperatively with one another to achieve our aims. This may be easier said than done because when foundations and philanthropy tighten the belts on their coffers, when inflation and recession loom on the horizon because of wars and other poor decisions made by a failing empire, and when climate and justice organizations are singled-out as unsafe investments for philanthropic endeavors shrinking the pool of money; it can appear that isolation and fighting for scraps are the only options available to us. I encourage us to see this as the opportunity it is for us to unite and to push back against the hegemonic agenda of our capitalist overlords.
My departure from 350 Seattle is not an isolationist pursuit, it is but a necessary step to ensure that 350 Seattle may continue its mission, of which each and everyone of you is part. “We work toward climate justice by organizing people to make deep systems change, resisting fossil fuels, building momentum for healthy alternatives, and fostering welcome, resilient, and just communities.” 350 Seattle has deep roots in direct action, coalition building, solidarity, and policy making. 350 Seattle is an open door for people who have never been politically active, the same as it is for those who have been doing organizing and activism for forty years. It is a common ground of experience, exposure, and experimentation with a foundation of continued collective learning and experimentation with a track record of winning. And 350 Seattle is an essential conduit between and among groups, organizations, individuals, and institutions that fulfills an invaluable role in our ecosystem of and struggle for justice in our city and our region. 350 Seattle must continue. For that to happen, it is incumbent upon us to reduce our financial extension. My departure is a necessary step to ensure the mission lives on.
I came to 350 Seattle February 1, 2021 on the coattails of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the George Floyd Uprising with a fair amount of experience and passion. Since then, I have been afforded many opportunities and made or deepened many relationships through multiple campaigns and bodies of work. I spent five years on the Board of 3350 Seattle as the Staff Collective representative and helped to develop and implement some revolutionary strategic planning for the organization which helped to guide it towards focusing 75% of its energy on “YES” fights and building the future we all deserve, and 25% of its energy on “”NO” fights resisting and destructing the harmful and unjust aspects of our society. This was the period of time when we transitioned from an almost exclusively direct action oriented organization into one pursuing Green New Deal priorities. One of our most well known campaigns that I was part of in 2022, was the Healthy Through Heat & Smoke campaign, when we won the funding for climate change resiliency upgrades for all twenty-six of the community centers in Seattle. Then from the Winter of 2022 until the Spring of 2026, I devoted the bulk of my energy to the Seattle Solidarity Budget fighting to win and keep essential services and resources for the members of our community. Resources and services that should they be fully funded, would make the police obsolete, and for which the disparity is the result of historic and current structural abandonment of racial-capitalism, i.e., the same hegemonic despots responsible for the climate crisis. And while doing all this, I have been able to be a community resource for groups and movements in and around Seattle doing direct actions, marches, rallies, and protests helping to provide technical, tactical, and educational support.
The legacy I hope to leave is one of value and integrity. At 350 Seattle, we believe that what we do is as important as how we do it. At the core of everything we do are our relationships. Our strength comes from our relationships which, include you and all the people on each of the many teams and in the several campaigns that make up 350 Seattle, as well as our partner groups and organizations, the Members of 350 Seattle, our funders, our comrades in Labor, and our political allies in office and in departments. It is my hope that the manner in which I have accountably held relationships with humility and integrity will continue on with the people I have had the opportunity to work closely with. It is also my hope that you will all support the final project I have had to work on at 350 Seattle, the Data Center Resistance campaign and the team carrying that work forward. Data Centers and Artificial Intelligence will quite likely be a defining issue of our generation because they sit squarely at the intersection of nearly every fight for justice and equity we can think of and they pose an existential threat to our survival. Join, support, amplify, and / or fund their efforts. This is not a fight we can afford to lose.
I am not sure what comes next for me. I do not have a plan yet. I trust that whatever the next chapter of my life will be, though, that it will entail something meaningful and impactful. I also know that this is not goodbye, but see you later. What I have learned through this transition is that I am unequivocally an organizer, through and through. So, I will be in this fight and I will be in it with you all. However, if you are interested in finding me before circumstances create situations of shared space and time, then two great mediums to follow are:
www.instagram.com/renaissance_evolutionary/
ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE
~ renaissance
