Let’s Talk About Class

Posted on August 17, 2016 by burninggold

If we are going to change the world for the better, we are going to need strong groups and powerful movements that are good at including people from all classes. This is a workshop for working-class, middle-class, and owning-class people who want to work together for an equal and just society. adjustable-wrench

Different class backgrounds give us different ways of looking at the world, and different strengths to help change the way things are.

This workshop is inspired by the work of Class Action, especially their work on Activist Class Cultures. An interview with the wonderful Betsy Leondar-Wright of Class Action is here, and some of her thoughts on ‘calling out’ and ‘calling in’ are here.

Workshop facilitated by Peace News editor, Milan Rai, who is attending a Class Action training of trainers in Seattle in late August.

Entry by donation

2.30pm-5.30pm

Saturday 10 September
Friends Meeting House
South Terrace (behind Priory Meadow)
Hastings TN34 1SA

More info: 07980 748 555 (after 1 Sept)

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There’s a Plan? Strategies for Winning Social Change

Posted on March 9, 2014 by burninggold

Burning Gold public workshop

It was the first time Henry had heard an activist lay out a strategy for achieving social change

It was the first time Henry had heard an activist lay out a strategy for achieving social change

If we don’t think and act strategically, we can end up taking actions that undermine our goals rather than advancing them. We can waste time, energy and resources on activities that don’t go anywhere.

This participatory workshop will explore theories of power and social change, and introduce strategic ideas and tools that have proven useful for activists and campaigners.

2pm-5pm
Sunday 30 March
Friends Meeting House, South Terrace, Hastings TN34 1SA

Burning Gold is a nonviolence study/action group in Hastings, East Sussex.

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2015 Workshop: Let’s Talk About Class

Posted on September 30, 2015 by burninggold

Let's Talk About Class - A customer tries on a new hat, watched by a shop assistant, in the millinery department of Bourne and Hollingsworth on London's Oxford Street in 1942 - via Wikimedia Commons.

Working class, middle class, owning class. It can sometimes feel difficult to talk honestly about class and money, even though these things make a big difference to how we live and how we work for change.

Different class backgrounds give us different ways of looking at the world and different resources we can use in the struggle for a better world.

This workshop is a chance to talk with people with similar class stories to our own, and to find the strengths and difficulties that come with our particular class backgrounds.

Let’s Talk About Class is an opportunity to

  • think about how our class backgrounds are affecting our lives,
  • to get better at communicating across the boundaries of class,
  • and to strengthen our commitment to economic justice.

People of all class backgrounds, however complicated, are all welcome at this workshop.

Let’s Talk About Class is an introductory three-hour workshop led by Peace News editor Milan Rai. It is inspired by the work of Class Action in the US. This workshop may lead to an ongoing monthly Cross-Class Dialogue Group in Hastings.

Let's Talk About Class - Mr Hamid, from India, discharged from the British army on medical grounds, inserts a thermocouple into molten metal, waiting for the thumbs-up signal from his colleague, as she lets him know that the correct temperature has been reached. They are working on a Merlin engine at a Rolls Royce aircraft engine factory in 1942 - via Wikimedia Commons

More info: 07980 748 555.

Hastings Friends Meeting House is a step-free venue with a wheelchair-accessible toilet.

1.45pm-5pm

Saturday 17 October 2015

Friends Meeting House, 5 South Terrace, Hastings, East Sussex, UK TN34 1SA

 

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Seeking Liberation

Posted on October 4, 2014 by burninggold

An Anti-Oppression Workshop for People Committed to Social Change

Reaching out for collective liberation

Reaching out for collective liberation

A participatory workshop for people who want to challenge and overthrow all kinds of oppression – both in society at large and in our movements for social change.

This workshop is for working-class, middle-class and owning-class people; for people of African, Asian, European, Latin American and of mixed heritage; for lesbians, gay men, bisexual folk, trans people, and heterosexuals; for Muslims, Buddhists, Christians – for people of all religions and none; for activists and for people who don’t use that label for themselves.

Not a lecture, but a chance for us to explore and increase our own power to make change.

Led by Milan Rai, Gabriel Carlyle, Emily Johns, of the Burning Gold nonviolence study/action group. Contact: 07980 748 555 / 01424 719 570.

Sliding scale: £1–£10

7.30pm-9.30pm

Thursday 30 October 2014

** CHANGE OF VENUE **
The Masonic Hall/The Assembly Rooms, East Ascent, St.Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN38 0DR

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Communicating Nonviolently

Posted on January 18, 2014 by burninggold
Sergeant Paul Nixon, drill instructor, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, gives a poolee some added incentive to do what he’s told. Approximately 400 future Marines gathered May 7, 2005 at Fort Indian Town Gap, Pennsylvania, for Recruiting Station Harrisburg’s Annual Future Marine Challenge. The purpose of the event is to familiarize the future Marines with boot camp and to allow them to learn about teamwork and camaraderie. (original caption) Date07.05.2005 Sourcewww.usmc.mil images AuthorStaff Sergeant J.L. Wright Jr. via Wikimedia Commons

Communicating nonviolently?

‘Communicating non-violently’

Do you find it easy to express your feelings and thoughts?
How easy is it for you to discuss difficult or delicate topics?

This session will introduce the methodology of nonviolent communication (NVC), and invite reflection, practice and adaptation of NVC tools in ways that suit you.

The second Burning Gold public workshop will be led by nonviolence trainer Denise Drake on Sunday 9 February, 2pm-5pm, also at the Friends Meeting House, South Terrace, Hastings.

 

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On Anger

Posted on January 11, 2014 by burninggold

‘On Anger – an introduction to nonviolence’

Sunday 19 January, 2pm-5pm
Friends Meeting House, South Terrace, Hastings, East Sussex, England TN34 1SA

As the government marks the First World War centenary by celebrating nationalism and military values, a new study/action group in Hastings will be examining the power and complexity of nonviolence.

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On Anger – a talk by Barbara Deming

Posted on January 11, 2014 by burninggold

On Anger

Barbara Deming

I think there is clearly a kind of anger that is healthy. It is the concentration of one’s whole being in the determination: this must change.

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