Movement Building
Catalyst Project actively works in social justice movements to support the development of dynamic activists, organizers and leaders working in organizations at the grassroots. We provide political education, leadership development, strategic planning support and organizational development support.
Our movement building work is guided by three goals. First, support revolutionary politics and organizing that advances concrete short term goals with a long term systemic change vision and strategy. Second, to support effective, dynamic and strategic white anti-racist leadership and organizing. Third, to support effective, dynamic and strategic multiracial alliances priortizing the leadership of working class people, people of color, women, and queers to build our movements.
We prioritize struggles and organizations that have strategic potential to build the movement and where we have been asked to support their work.
Anti-War Movement Building Program
Catalyst Project works with the War Resisters’ League to support their organizational development and counter-recruitment organizing. Catalyst is on WRL’s National Committee, the guiding body of the organization. WRL is an 85 year old New York City based peace institution with over 10,000 members around the country. We serve on the task force of the Youth and Counter-Militarism Program. The program builds strong and effective national coalitions, prioritizes on the ground organizing work and develops resources to empower the emerging generation of youth leadership.
Catalyst Project works closely with Courage to Resist and Iraq Veterans Against the War to support the growing G.I. resistance movement. We were part of the founding of the Friends of Family of Lt. Watada committee that launched a national support campaign for the first commissioned office to publicly refuse orders to fight the Iraq war. We believe that anti-war soldiers, veterans and military families are key to build powerful movement not just against this war, but against U.S. imperialism.
www.couragetoresist.org
www.ivaw.org
New Orleans Solidarity Program
Catalyst Project worked closely with the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Coalition in New Orleans. PHRF is a multiracial, Black-led, grassroots coalition of Gulf Coast organizations working to build people’s power to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Catalyst Project worked to support the organizing of Lower 9th Ward residents in New Orleans to develop a reconstruction plan for their neighborhood and begin work on their homes.
Catalyst Project also worked closely with the Common Ground Collective. Common Ground is a community-initiated volunteer organization offering assistance, mutual aid and support. Under the call for “Solidarity Not Charity” tens of thousands of out of town volunteers have come to New Orleans to support working class and poor communities of color to rebuild their city. Young white people make up the majority of CG’s volunteer base.
Catalyst worked with New Orleans based anti-racists and CG volunteers to create the Anti-Racism Work Group of Common Ground to forefront anti-racist political education for volunteers, support anti-racist leadership development in CG and support multiracial alliance building. The work group initiated the Community Voices program that brought volunteers together to learn from racial and economic justice activists and organizers in New Orleans. The work group also led caucus sessions for volunteers of color and white volunteers to develop their understanding of white supremacy and anti-racist practice.
Catalyst worked closely with the New Orleans based People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, who led their Undoing Racism workshops with thousands of volunteers.
www.commongroundrelief.org
www.pisab.org
Movement Generation
Movement Generation is a strategy training program for younger generational activists and organizers in the Bay Area. MG brings together leaders from community-based organizations working for economic, social, environmental and racial justice. The majority of these organizations are working to build power in working class communities of color. MG also brings together left training centers and intermediary organizations that support movement building. Catalyst Project served for two years on the planning committee and continues as a participating member in the program.
Read Movement Generation article…
Colours of Resistance Network
Colours of Resistance is a grassroots network of people consciously working to develop anti-racist, multiracial politics in the global justice movement. COR is committed to helping build an anti-racist, anti-imperialist, multiracial, feminist, queer and trans liberationist, anti-authoritarian movement against global capitalism.
Catalyst Project co-founded the COR network and website along with Helen Luu and Pauline Hwang in 2000 as a resource for organizers of color and white anti-racists in the global justice movement.
Click here to read about past Catalyst Project movement building work.