🌱 Ubuntu & Other Lessons from Black Liberation

Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼

To lift up Black joy for one more week, we reflect on Ubuntu and other lessons we can learn from Black Indigenous culture and the long history of Black organizing. Plus listen to our latest podcast with Get Free to organize during the 1st 100 days. Read on for more...

In Case You Missed It: 
🌱 for activists: 🌱 They Not Like Us | Art as Movement Resilience
📚 for communicators: 🌺 [Members Only] Re-Envisioning Goals vs. Big Tech Government

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• 📉 Trump's Polling Dump - Shocker! The public hates what this administration is doing. They just wanted egg prices to go down! The phone lines in congress are ringing off the hook from outraged constituents. Never forget that this was not a mandate. (watch video)
• 📚 Weaponizing User Data for Gun Lobby - Who remembers Cambridge Analytica? Yep, they're back! Pro Publica has another explosive story about how the NRA and gun lobbyists used digital data and advertising to manipulate voters. Stay tuned, Joe & I will definitely be talking about advertising and the origins of our manipulated politics.
• 📚 Deb Holland for New Mexico Governor! - 🤩 In some good news, Deb Holland, the former Interior Secretary and only native person to ever hold a cabinet seat has announced her run for governor. She has already proven she can be a steward for the entire country's land, it's only fitting for her to lead in her home state during this moment. (join her team)
• 🎬 Turn the TV to Organize - 🤓 Josh Johnson's comedy has been a helpful salve for me this year. His take on the Super Bowl is spot on and exposes more layers to Kendricks performance. He also calls for us to get off the couch and organize. (watch elite capture)
• 🍿 Remember the Titans? - 🤓 I watched the Denzel Washington drama of a Virginia high school football team integrating during the Civil Rights era. We can get our learning not just from the news. It's a good reminder of the stories we have already told as this administration attempts to strip us of our history.

🍿 Don’t forget to scroll to the end and watch our weekly video for activists where we dive into on a weekly news topic.

We're trying something new! We have too many resources to just feature one each week so we'll start sharing a list of resources from the roots of change agency and our community of activists, organizers, and communicators. Stay tuned for an option to submit your own resource to be featured!

• 🎙️ Actions for the 1st 100 Days - 🤓 I spoke with Get Free, the youth-led organization to "repair past harms, remove ongoing barriers to equality, and realize a future where freedom is for all." They share how to get involved.
• ✍🏼 Sign the Get Free First 100 Day Pledge - 🤓 Get Free's recommended action is to start by signing the pledge and plug in to pressure your local representatives.
• ♿️ Inclusive Language Trumps Ableism - 🤓 I've been hearing A LOT of ableist language when talking about the new administration. Many media personalities are decrying how "insane" and "crazy" his actions are. This is an opportunity for progressive organizations to build better practices around inclusive language. Catch up with our 30-minute Set Yourself Up training from June 2024.
• 🎟️ Brush Up on Bystander Intervention - 🤓 One of the most critical skills to have in this moment of division is bystander intervention training. I took Stone Cairn's training last year and it has changed the way I use my privilege in the world. Register for Sunday March 2, 2025 on Zoom

🌱 Seedling Member Zone

Ubuntu | Growing Our Collective Knowing

Part IV: Radical Black Joy & Resistance (See Parts I, II, III, IV)

Over the four years that I've been writing this newsletter, the social fabric has always been a central theme. The pandemic was roaring when I wrote the very first monthly series on community vs. individualism in January 2022.

The pandemic had reshaped our world where many were leaning into community care that could lead to a different way of orienting society. It was clear the ways of individualism were harming even the gruff cowboy that pretend to be so independent. (I saw Brokeback Mountain. That's a documentary right?)

Sadly, it wasn't so clear to everyone.

Many saw the pandemic as an opportunity to pounce and "get theirs," which is of course peak individualism that harms everyone. We saw fist fights on airplanes and fraud from the small business loan programs. Above all of that was the largest hoarding of wealth in U.S. history.

Hmm...maybe I wasn't being clear enough. I just had to say it again, but differently. Then everyone will get it! So I wrote about community care vs. capitalism in March 2023. And that was supposed to solve it right?

We Will Because We Are

Sadly, that's not how change works. If only my words were so powerful! But what is powerful is the collective. Our collective ability to stand up and make change no matter who sits at the Resolute desk (or pretends to).

In our latest podcast, I spoke with Anthony Torres (he/him) and Nicole Carty (she/her) from Get Free, a youth-led organization building organizing action for collective liberation. Both Nicole and Anthony reminded us that this is not the first time in history we've experienced these forces. Since our conversation, I have kept Anthony's quote in mind: "We did, we can, and we will." (watch the clip)

Thriving through the Gifts of Ubuntu

This week's newsletter reshare is the first of our March 2023 newsletter series. My pastor first introduced me to Ubuntu when discussing Jesus' teachings. What I love about spirituality is there are so many threads and stories across all of our societies that show we yearn for connection as humans. If we learn anything in 2025, I believe this is the most revolutionary act to learn. How to be together. (watch & listen - I hope you enjoy the zebra butts! 🦓)

"There is an Ubuntu saying, “I am because we are”

When you say hello in Ubuntu, you say “I see you” with the response “I exist.”

How profound is that?

You see me and therefore I exist. I exist because you exist.

Our western culture has separated us from connection. Capitalism asks us to rush through life, work a 40+ hour work week, and prioritize only ourselves or our nuclear family.

But living in this way separates us from so much of what makes us human."

Read the full series:

Community Care vs. Capitalism

🌱 ‘I Am Because We Are’: Prioritizing Community Care

Part I: Community Care vs. Capitalism

🌱 the roots of change agency 📚Sam Chavez

This year, I'll be re-recording my newsletters from the past and publishing on YouTube and sharing via this newsletter. I know we're all busy, because of the previously mentioned video game! So these videos are a way to download on historical and current events while you're doing whatever it is that you do. Take our newsletter on a hike 🥾 or watch while you're in between meetings (I won't tell your boss 🤫).

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Joe Cardillo and I talk about our tech experience, what the heck is going on right now in the US, and what it means for our organizing and communications. Find our latest videos on our 🎬 Quick Bites page.

And that's a wrap on this week’s newsletter! We hope you found this helpful in your work. Forward this to a friend and help democratize communications! If you have any topics you want covered, questions, or curious about our Assist an Activist program, please reach out and let me know.

In Solidarity,
Sam Chavez
the roots of change agency

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