Save the Date: RootsCamp is Dec 11-12, 2010

[Rodney Nickens]

Hi Rodney, Tell me if this sounds familiar: You joined a campaign and spent months working 80 hours a week for something you believed in. You built a base of supporters, engaged a network of volunteers, developed unexpected alliances, and, finally, wrangled voters to the polls. Along the way, you wrote the proverbial book on organizing in your turf. But after E-Day the campaigns packed up shop, and the people power you built faded like invisible ink. What if you could actually write that book? What if someone had left a guide like that for you? Maybe you're a comms director, and you hit the ground with a press list and notes on how to approach specific reporters. Maybe you're a field organizer and there's a list of volunteer leaders and friendly local businesses waiting for you. You'll still take some knocks and learn new lessons, but what if you didn't have to do all the same work someone else did last year? Yeah, we like that idea too. Want to help us make it happen? Join us December 11-12, 2010 for National RootsCamp, a true election debrief, and help write a guide for future campaigns. Our work is grounded in the theory of Engagement Organizing, and we believe progressive power shouldn't rise and fall with election cycles. Debriefing and evaluating our work are two keys to building and maintaining progressive strength. That's why we hold RootsCamp, a national meeting of organizers. It's not a conference, it's an unconference, led by the people who attend. Participants -- that's you -- set the agenda and lead the sessions. The open format fosters a free exchange of ideas. It's a place to share both the best practices and hard knocks, so that we can replicate one another's successful innovations and avoid repeating epic fails. It's also a chance to unwind and make new allies in the progressive sphere. Participants in the past have come from Australia and Abilene, Ireland and Indiana. They're experienced managers from national campaigns and first-time field organizers from local ballot initiatives. We all come together as equals, because we believe that everyone has something to teach, and that our potential is greater when we learn from each other. Sounds like fun, right? Join us at RootsCamp on December 11-12 in Washington, D.C. We envision a world where organizing infrastructure doesn't collapse after election day. We imagine a progressive power base that's as strong in March of an off-year as it is in the last weeks of a presidential election. There's going to be a lot to talk about after November 2nd. Don't sit this one out - we need your ideas and experience at RootsCamp. See you in December! Judith Freeman Executive Director and Co-Founder New Organizing Institute P.S. Don't forget that there are 25 state-based RootsCamps happening all over the country on November 13-14. Find your state!

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--
Rodney K. Nickens, Jr.
Jordan/Rustin Coalition
Community Organizer
rod...@jordanrustin.org
www.jordanrustin.org
(562) 242-8601 (cell)
(310) 983-2692 (home)

(424) 645-7252 (work) 
www.facebook.com/jordan.rustin
www.twitter.com/jordanrustin

UCLA Graduate Student '11
M.A. Afro-American Studies
rnic...@ucla.edu
www.facebook.com/rknj310
www.rodneynickens.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/rknj310
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rknj310

"And as with so many movements, it was also something more: It was at this defining moment that these folks who had been marginalized rose up to challenge not just how the world saw them, but also how they saw themselves. As we've seen so many times in history, once that spirit takes hold there is little that can stand in its way. And the riots at Stonewall gave way to protests, and protests gave way to a movement, and the movement gave way to a transformation that continues to this day. It continues when a partner fights for her right to sit at the hospital bedside of a woman she loves. It continues when a teenager is called a name for being different and says, "So what if I am?" It continues in your work and in your activism, in your fight to freely live your lives to the fullest."
~President Barack H. Obama