How do we grow?

One of the most present and pressing questions for us right now is how do we practice change in this space in between. How do we hold space between where we are coming from and where we are going.? How do we divest from an extractive economy while we are immersed in it? How do we experience freedom from inside systems of control and oppression? How do be well in a toxic world?

But the contradictions of our condition don’t leave use hopeless, they make us human and inspire creativity. How we hold this transition - to ensure that as systems collapse around us we do our best to reduce harm and mitigate suffering, to heal from the collective wounds of our past and to imagine beyond the world we have inherited - will determine who we are and what is possible.

The lessons of our interdependence are coming at us fast and furiously. As we navigate a wounded past and an uncertain future, we will need the depth of our courage and the breadth of our collective. "Practicing Change, Shaping Futures” is an invitation to meet this moment and show up for the future that we all deserve.

Join us for a virtual gathering September 1 - 4 as we gather in shared practice and action around shared healing and possibility.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @ctznwell

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1. As families try to recover, can kids grow from the difficulties they’ve faced? Post traumatic growth and how we can help children grow in the wake of a crisis. [click to tweet]

2. Black women talk about how student debt has impacted their lives and what cancellation would mean for their futures. Freedom dreams and why debt cancellation matters. [click to tweet]

3. Imagine a future in which American identity is untethered from white supremacy — neither white supremacist nor centered around resisting white supremacy. Reframing the prevailing American narrative for 2052. [click to tweet]

4. Hustle culture is dead. Did American women’s drive go away, or has it morphed into something new—and maybe better? Ann Friedman on what comes after ambition. [click to tweet]

5. Many of us know it is time for harmful systems to collapse and die. What is harder to discuss is where challenging destructive show up in our spaces of divine collective practice. adrienne maree brown on how breaking is part of healing. [click to tweet]

Debt has long been a tool of profit-making, social control and racial domination. And that certainly goes for student loans (Astra Taylor). Cancelling student loan debt would help millions of student borrowers, narrow the racial wealth gap and make college more affordable. Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, while insufficient, is a step in the right direction and would not have been possible without the legacy of organizers who have been pushing on this issue for decades. Here’s how you can you can help close the gap.

#CANCELALLSTUDENTDEBT: 10k in debt relief is not nearly enough. Nor is it comparable to the egregious bail outs that corporate America has received throughout history. Sign the petition.

READ CAN’T PAY, WON’T PAY. A book that makes the economic case for economic disobedience and debt abolition.

JOIN THE UNION: Join a growing union of debtors organizing to abolish debts and build financial and political power.

Art by @bydivya

The programming line-up for this year’s Practicing Change, Shaping Futures summit is 🔥!!! Led by movement leaders Dr Jasmine Syedullah, Dr Sará King, Rae Leiner, Nicole Cardoza, Frank Escamillo, Kerri Kelly, Kennae Miller and more, we will be gathering in shared practice and action as we prepare ourselves for the work ahead. Here are some of the themes we will be exploring:

• The Practice of Liberating Survival 

• The Science of Social Justice

• American Detox 

• Heart-Centered Organizing 

• Magic and the Power of Possibility

• Honoring the Sacred

You can check out the full line-up here. Note, we’ve structured registration on an equity scale to reflect your social location and financial abilities (no one will be turned away). All sessions will be recorded. Look forward to being on this journey with you!

In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write to a famous author & ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond. His reply was a doozy.

✨TRAINING OPPORTUNITY✨

Is your organization interested in learning how to ensure comprehensive safety and security practices, rooted in the values of abolition? Applications are open for the third cohort of Vision Change Win’s National Community Safety and Security School. Check out this free open house on August 25 from 5 - 6:30 pm EST to meet program trainers and ask questions!

CTZNWELL is community powered and crowd-sourced. That’s how we keep it real. Please consider joining us on Patreon for as little as $2/month so that we can keep doing the work of creating content that matters for CTZNs who care.

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