a project of the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
about THE
Movement Schools
The Movement School for Revolutionaries is a political education and strategic orientation workshop for activists in radical & progressive movements who are 'revolutionaries' - who recognize the imperative to restructure society to meet human needs and address the dire social, economic, and ecological challenges facing our world.
Every Movement School workshop is custom-designed to meet the particular needs of each community and the goals of local organizers, based on a core curriculum intended to help revolutionaries in radical & progressive groups and party organizations:
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Understand the larger social & historical context of our current social/ecological/economic crisis & political realignment
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Collaborate with fellow radicals & progressives across party lines
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Build a united front of the Left to fight back against both neoliberalism and neofacism
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Develop strategies for engaging elections - and prepare to take
and exercise state power
KARL MARX
11th Thesis on Feuerbach
Philosophers have interpreted the world...the point is to change it
Movement School Core modules
towards a unity of theory & praxis for 21st century radicals
The Movement School's core modules cover the social & historical context essential for a big-picture understanding of the political challenges and imperatives for progressives and the Left in our current moment, and provide an accessible introduction to the analytical tools & methods of revolutionary theory - not as abstract philosophical ideas, but in applied ways that enable and empower organizers to develop effective, innovative approaches to near- and long-term political strategy.
We work with local activists, party organizations, and communities to custom-tailor each of these basic modules, as well as the overall workshop schedule, in accordance with their local organizing context and political/electoral objectives.
CHECK OUT OUR 2018 CORE CURRICULUM
When a conjuncture unrolls, there is no 'going back'. History shifts gears. The terrain changes. You are in a new moment. You have to attend, 'violently', with all the 'pessimism of the intellect' at your command, to the 'discipline of the conjuncture'.
guiding stars
for our times:
STUART HALL
Bourgeois society is at a crossroads:
between
and
Socialism
BARBARISM
guiding stars
for our times:
ROSA LUXEMBURG
meet the facilitators
"I do this work because
my conscience won't let me do
anything else in this moment but speak up
& organize as effectively as I can, because our
planetary destiny is literally in our hands. No more
heroes or saviors. All we have is our deep & abiding
human solidarity. The way we get out of this is together.
I'm playing to win because I can't imagine the future
that unfolds if we don't. The good news is : I see so
much hope, especially among youth, that just refuses
to die. I'm giving my all to help us find that hope
in each other, put it together & turn it into
the power to save ourselves."
mel
figueroa
MELEIZA FIGUEROA is a PhD Candidate in Geography at UC Berkeley, former Press Director for the
Stein/Baraka 2016 Presidential campaign, & a member of the Campus Antifascist Network. Her experience in progressive media includes over a decade as staff producer for Pacifica Radio, lead researcher for the 2005 documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of LowPrice," and Executive Producer of the Green News
Network. She is a correspondent for Free Speech TV’s
“Rising Up With Sonali,” and has contributed to
The Nation, Truthdig.com, Against the Current,
and New Politics. She has been a longtime political
educator & organizer in a wide range of movements
for social and environmental justice. She is currently a Fellow with the Liberty Tree Foundation for the
Democratic Revolution.
"I do this work because
converging social, political, and
economic crises means we are experiencing
the beginning stages of actual systems collapse.
If we do not provoke -- and win -- a peaceful
democratic revolution, we will witness full-fledged fascism in this country.
As we say where I'm from, I'm "all in" for a
peaceful revolution, and the Movement
Schools are a way to win that revolution."
david
cobb
DAVID COBB was the Green Party Presidential
Candidate in 2004, Campaign manager for the
Stein/Baraka 2016 Presidential Campaign, and a
founding member of Cooperation Humboldt.
From campaigning for Democratic presidential
candidates Jesse Jackson and Jerry Brown in the
1980’s, to civil disobedience protesting the denial of 3rd party candidates in presidential debates,
and spearheading the campaign for a
Constitutional amendment limiting the power of
corporations, David has been in the trenches and
a leader in grassroots organizing. He is currently
a Fellow with the Liberty Tree Foundation for
the Democratic Revolution.
Coming to a city near you...
movement school
for revolutionaries
Are you a social change agent who's ready
to play to win? We work with activist groups
and political organizations to custom-tailor
Movement School workshops that focus on
local political or organizing concerns.
sign up here!
Keep scrolling down within the embedded frame below until you answer all questions, then click "Submit."
Our team will follow up via phone or email to discuss your request and work out further details. Thanks!
looking ahead:
upcoming events & featured projects
MOVEMENT SCHOOL ROAD SHOW 2018!
Revolutionaries all over the country are signing up for Movement School workshops, skills training, strategic planning, campus talks & more! We'd love to connect with you to educate, agitate, and organize together for the world we know we can win! Click below and sign up to bring the Road Show to your town!
host a movement school workshop in your town!
MOVEMENT SCHOOL archives
news, views, lessons, and dispatches from the conjuncture: revolutionary moments that power cannot allow you to see
"We are going to inherit the earth.
There is not the slightest doubt about that.
The bourgeoisie may blast
and burn its own world
before it finally leaves the stage of history.
We are not afraid of ruins.
We who ploughed the prairies and built the cities
can build again, only better next time.
We carry a new world, here in our hearts.
That world is growing this minute."
- Buenaventura Durruti
Footnote: the road not taken
on theory and the conjncture
ON THE UNITED FRONT
THE LYONS THESES (1926)
It is not necessary to believe that the party can lead the working class through an external imposition of authority…the capacity to lead the class is related, not only to the fact that the party “proclaims” itself its revolutionary organ, but to the fact that it “really” succeeds, as part of the working class, in linking itself with all the sections of that class…
guiding stars
for our times:
ANTONIO GRAMSCI
The theoretical & strategic approaches presented in the modules for the Movement School for Revolutionaries are grounded in the unfulfilled promise of two revolutionary ideas - which began to develop at the cutting edge of socialist thought in the world-changing struggles of the 1920s, but were tragically cut short as fascism rose to power in Europe. Antonio Gramsci's "philosophy of praxis" was born in the crucible of struggle against fascism in Italy, and refined in his Prison Notebooks during his final years in a fascist prison. The second idea was the remarkable collective product of the leading strategic and military minds of the international workers' movement in their quest to build a "united front" of the Left against fascism in the 1920s - a project prematurely relegated to the dustbin of history by Stalin's regime.
These two ideas represent a critical "road not taken" during the last great capitalist crisis, when the world last stood at the fateful crossroads between socialism and barbarism. Our world is now approaching a similar crossroads; and the political circumstances are ripe to rescue these ideas from academic & historical obscurity. Continuing the work of developing these ideas in and through active, real-world political struggles - adapted, of course, for our contemporary context - does justice to the spirit and intent of revolutionary theory, and lights a possible path to hope in our dark times.
I can't be a pessimist, because I'm alive.
To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter.
So I'm forced to be an optimist.
I'm forced to believe that we can survive whatever we must survive.
James Baldwin
reading room &
reference library
Coming Soon
SUPPORT OUR WORK!
We are honored and excited to offer the Movement School for Revolutionaries for free to campus organizations, activists, community coalitions, and radical/progressive groups around the country.
As working-class grassroots organizers, we also recognize that the ability to travel frequently and devote time to projects like these is a privilege that does not always come easily for us.
If you appreciate our work and wish to see it grow, please consider helping in one of the following ways toward covering our operational needs.
You can also download our Donor Kit and pass it on to friends and colleagues who you think may be able and willing to contribute towards supporting our project.
thank you!
