Week 2 of the EFC’s 2023 Summer Intensive featured a big part of this year’s “deep dive” into activism as the Encampers began creating their own workshops to share at the InterGen program: Using the Arts for Activism; Systems of Oppression; and Gender and Feminism. They worked in small groups and then made their presentation to the whole group as practice and to get feedback. Here are a few peeks behind the scenes from the Using the Arts for Activism workshop.
Finn and Basil describing some photo techniques useful in getting your message out. The images in Basil’s presentation are from https://kwamebrathwaite.com/.
Monica talking about the letter-writing campaign Write4Rights.
Encampers were particularly affected by Johan’s poem and presentation about gun violence and spoke about the traumatic effect of gun violence in their home communities — as Brooklyn said, “People that you know being shot because of the easy accessibility of guns.” Imani added that it is also “heartbreaking to see mass shootings in other places being spread online and nothing being done about it.” Two Encampers from Texas — Max and Johan — referenced the elementary school mass shooting in Uvalde in 2022. Max said he is so angry at his government because “They are building a memorial to the students who were killed in a massacre but not doing anything to stop people having access to the guns that killed the students.” Johan agreed, saying that “the government doesn’t want to infringe on gun owners’ rights but they want to ban drag shows that kill literally no one.” Johan reading his poem about gun violence, leading to an emotional discussion.
Click here to hear Ursa talking about the grief that follows gun violence — “grief that we don’t get to process as a global community…”
EFC staff Evelin Aquino commented: “I appreciate the topic that you chose and the way you put it together and the various ways that activism is done through the arts … art heals but it also teaches, the way you have demonstrated here. The creativity comes through when there are those deep feelings of pain and grief and anger. That allows us to process [our feelings], and there’s power in that.”
Israel Vasquez, a community organizer with farmworkers in Ventura County, shared his work on Language Justice with the Encampers. During COVID-19, he had to get creative with cellphone and video technology that he had been unfamiliar with before so he could to reach people whom he could not meet with in person. This technology has allowed him to reach many more people, especially when he branched out into the Mixteco language that a majority of the farmworkers in Ventura County speak.
Ola asked a question about people who might benefit from this information but don’t have access to digital resources. Click for this question and Israel’s response.
In the afternoon, Israel and EFC staff coached the Encampers as they created public service announcements (PSAs). Click to hear Ursa describing the process. Click for a few of the Encampers describing their PSAs.
The Encampment was privileged to once again journey to Limuw Island (original indigenous name) in the Channel Islands National Park with members of the Barbareño Chumash Tribal Council. Marcus V.O. Lopez, Marcus Lopez Sr., Steven Villa, and Carmali Lopez created an opening circle with traditional welcoming words and songs, and shared some of the history, economics, and ecology of the island that is part of their ancestral homeland. They are not currently able to live on and care for this homeland due to it being a national park — one of the effects of colonialism. Click to hear Finn telling us about the connections he made in this aspect of the trip.
Click for a short video of the welcoming circle.
On the ferry trip to the island, many Encampers saw dolphins and seals for the first time. Click for the ferry ride. The island is home to the island fox, recently back from the brink of extinction and found only on these islands. The Encampers were excited and joyful to be in such a beautiful place with indigenous elders who are connected to the land so deeply. Click to see Ola skipping with joy. Click for the Limuw shout.
Another activity that illustrates the EFC approach to education was interviews with farmworkers Guadalupe and Juan. The group met at the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project/Proyecto Mixteco Indigena (MICOP), a community organizing center in Oxnard.
In their opening circle, Encampers shared their names, ages, where they were from, and what was most important to them — in English or Spanish with accompanying translation. The group then divided into sections and each interviewed either Guadalupe or Juan, who spoke in Spanish with members of the EFC staff or Encampers translating. This was another occasion when language justice was mentioned because Spanish is the second language for these Mixteco speakers. This is not often recognized in materials provided by the government.
Both sessions were heartfelt, with Encampers asking questions that get to the core of the economic exploitation of farmworkers. The interviewees replied in simple, emotionally resonant language about working in extreme weather conditions for eight or nine hours a day — a physically demanding job for low wages that offers no job security. They both spoke of the stress these conditions create in terms of making a viable living and raising a family. They also spoke vehemently about the importance of education for their children so they can avoid this work. Guadalupe expressed pride and appreciation for her daughter Litzy (EFC alum 2014+), who has just graduated from UC Berkeley and intends to become an immigration lawyer. She quoted Litzy as saying that she might not make a lot of money but would work for the people in their community.
Click to hear Quin on his experience of the farmworker interviews.
Click to hear Melanie on her experience of the farmworker interviews.
Our thanks to Adriana Campos-Ojeda (aoc.cinema@gmail.com) for photo and video documentation. Thanks also to Ruth Thaler-Carter, EFC 1970, for her copyediting. She can be reached at Ruth@writerruth.com.