Org Resilience in a Time of Fascism

This was THE BEST way to close out the 5th season of the podcast, y'all. I got to sit down and talk with one of my favorite organizational leaders, Markasa Tucker-Harris. We talk about how her and her team are lingering in their celebrations, resting, and continuing their work to put power back into Milwaukee communities through participatory budgets.

GUEST BIO

Markasa Tucker-Harris is the Executive Director of the African American Roundtable (AART). An award-winning organizer and master facilitator, she is trained in conflict mediation, de-escalation, and circle facilitation. She has a wealth of knowledge related to nonprofit organizational development, infrastructure, and sustainability.  Markasa has a background in media relations and a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communications from Grambling State University, where she graduated Cum Laude. She is the advisory co-chair of the State Voices’ Wisconsin c3 Table, Wisconsin Civic Power Table and serves as a Movement Advisor for Funders for Justice. 

CONTACT GUEST
African American Roundtable Website: https://aartmke.org/

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MUSIC: 22,000 by Spirit Paris McIntyre


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Episode Transcript

UNKNOWN (00:00):
Ah.

SPEAKER_00 (00:42):
Hello fellow weird and wild ones.
It has been a minute.
So much has evolved and changedabout your lovely host and me,

(01:02):
Goddess, and Sunseed communitysince season four of the
podcast.
And I am stoked to share some ofthe dopest folks I've met, and
some of the been in communitywith, and have learned from
along the way in season five ofthe SSC podcast.
So grab your drink, get yoursnacky snacks, and gather your

(01:24):
homies for the end times.
End of what?
I'm really not sure, but Ireally hope it's fascism.
But I digress, differentconversation.
Let's get on with the show.
You are inspiring.

(01:45):
You are inspiring.
You are inspiring at least22,000 times a day.
Keisa Tucker-Harris is theexecutive director of the

(02:07):
African American Roundtable, anaward-winning organizer, yes,
and master facilitator.
She is trained in conflictmediation, de-escalation, and
circle facilitation.
She has a wealth of knowledgerelated to nonprofit
organizational development,infrastructure, and
sustainability.

(02:28):
Marquesa has a background inmedia relations and a Bachelor
of Arts degree in masscommunications from Grambling
State University.
Represent! Where she graduated.
Cum laude.
She is the advisory co-chair ofthe state voices, Wisconsin C3
table, Wisconsin civil powertable, and serves as a movement

(02:52):
advisor for funders for justice.
Ah, Shay.
Hey, you do so much in my case.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for being on theSunseed Community Podcast.
We start this podcast with yourbio, but then a little bit about
you.
So the question, our check-inquestion today is, who are you

(03:16):
bringing into this space withyou today?
Yeah, yeah.
Thanks for reading that bio.
Sometimes, you know, when youhear your bio, it's like, the
things, the things, the things,you know.
And a person, being a person offaith, I have to just remember,
like, these things in my back.
But also this current is like,girl, you are not doing this by

(03:38):
yourself.
Thank God.
Thank God you are not.
So who am I bringing with me tothis space?
You know, goddess, I got tobring in my daughter, Zoe.
She has just been blowing mysocks off, okay?
Blowing my socks off.
This girl is doing so much.

(03:58):
And I've been thinking aboutlegacy and how she is definitely
my living legacy right now.
She did last Friday, it was afour-year-old murdered a couple
of weeks ago here in Milwaukee,a seven-year-old abducted.
And I had just come back from aprayer service and I was sharing
this with her.
And she was like, mom, I feellike God is telling me I need to

(04:19):
do a prayer service.
Like youth need to do it.
And I was like, You know, Idon't know if I've heard of that
here in Milwaukee.
You hear church pastors andpeople like, you know, community
leaders.
But I don't know that I've heardand not to say that young people
are community leaders, but adultcommunity leaders.
But I don't know if I heardyoung people doing it.
And so she organized it in lessthan three weeks, raised over
eleven hundred dollars, did itat a well-known park here in

(04:42):
Milwaukee that has was actuallya part of the site of the
uprising here in Milwaukee.
And she had four or five otherBlack young ladies helping her.
There was a young Black man, buthe ended up having to leave.
And it was powerful.
Powerful, powerful.
She had so many beautiful peopleout.

(05:03):
She gave away free grocery, hada partner doing that.
And just yesterday, someonereached out and was like, hey, I
would love to know.
I know I didn't get to come toyour event.
Media came.
Media came, radio, newspaper.
And they say, hey, we weren'table to come out last week,
Friday, but we want to know whatwas the impact?
How did it go?
And like, what's your plan forwhat's next?
And so that's just a piece ofwhat she's up to.

(05:27):
So I definitely bring her intothis space with me.
I also bring Dontre Hamiltoninto this space with me.
The black man who was murderedin April, 2014, who, when he
took his last breath, I tellpeople I took like a new breath
that brought me more deeper intoorganizing work.

(05:48):
And I bring my mama, my daddy,my niece, my nephew, my husband,
my bonus children, my family, mypeople, the folks in Milwaukee.
I bring them all into this spacewith me today.
Yes.
Oh, that is beautiful.
And like, as you were talkingabout, uh, your daughter doing
this organizing, creating this,I got the tingles.

(06:11):
Okay.
Okay.
Future leader, leader now, noteven future, like in the moment,
like now loving this right now,right now, right now, right now.
Um, ah, I love the continuationof the legacy.
I think for me, I'm actuallybringing in my grandma today.

(06:36):
She did a lot in community backhome in Des Moines, Iowa.
And my family actually, before Iwas born, before I was even
thought about, my family livedin Milwaukee.
And yeah, so for a time.
Yes.
And so, yeah.

(06:57):
Every time I kind of meet withyou, I think about that.
I don't think I've ever told youthat, but yeah, my mom, she was
actually telling me stories lastyear about her experiences in
Milwaukee, going from Iowa toMilwaukee as a young girl.
So I'm bringing bits and piecesof my mom's experience as a

(07:19):
youth in Milwaukee into thisspace, but then also my grandma,
Juanita Slaughter, into thisspace.
So So a little bit of contextsetting.
We actually met at my formerjob, but then we continued to be
in kind of collaboration,working with African American
Roundtable on some safety andsecurity stuff.

(07:41):
And I knew that when I got backon the podcast, like I wanted in
some way you to be a part of it.
I have always been like, amazednot amazed i feel like that's
not the right word because it'snot a surprise but it's i'm just
always so like damn the waymarquesa moves through every

(08:07):
space she's in with like justsuch presence and also rocking a
fit every time i don't know howyou do it every time but like
there is some good i got somegood stylists i got some good
stylists yeah i'm like why areyou shopping but But also just
the way that you are so here forwhatever space you are in.

(08:30):
And whether you're tired,whether there's something
happening, there's a way inwhich you can still hold that
and also be in the space.
That I'm just like, oh, yeah,this is how I want to move when
I'm in community.
So thank you for that.

(08:50):
Yeah.
So I think I wanna start bynaming that although this year
is the worst sociopoliticalmoment I have ever been in in my
32 years, there is somethingabout it that also feels
familiar and not completely likeunfamiliar to me.

(09:11):
Like there's something in my DNAthat tells me like, ancestors
know what's up.
Like they're whispering.
I've been using the analogy of afrog in a slowly boiling pot of
water.
Like we know we're in something.
It's getting hotter and hotter.
What are your thoughts?
Do these times feelunprecedented?

(09:31):
I know like you get in youremails all the time, like, hope
you're doing well in theseunprecedented times.
And I'm like, I don't know ifthey're like unprecedented, but
they are unprecedented.
It's both.
It's both.
so good of a question especiallyin happy black august goddess

(09:51):
happy black august yes and so iwas on a black man build um pe
popular education call lastnight and we are studying um
revolutionary suicide talkinghuey p newton and um Some of the

(10:13):
studies, some of the things thatI read, whether it was the call
before last or this one, waswhen we're talking about Black
August, we're talking about, Ithink, Jomo from Bold talked
about from 1969 when Hooverdecided, oh, these Black folks
are doing too much.
We're going to developCOINTELPRO.

(10:33):
And from 1969, he mentioned to1979 was this moment of
repression.
So when you talk about it notbeing unfamiliar because you're
right.
I believe we have been in thisplace where there was a time
where they were trying to shutus up, shut us down, enclose us

(10:56):
in the fear mongering, thethings that happened to the
Black Panthers and other Blackleaders during that time where
Black August was brought toplay.
Like, oh, we need this.
We need to be reminded to studyto fast and to train during
these times to go back, to readthe Huey Peas, to read the

(11:18):
Malcolm Xs, to bring forwardwhat is necessary to ground us
to move forward in the timesthat seem for some
unprecedented.
But like you said, ancestorshave been there before and some
people currently living with us.
are going through something veryeerily familiar to what we are

(11:39):
seeing now.
I often reference when I cameinto this work doing police
reform, when Dontre wasmurdered, it's like, man, we
wanna make sure that blackpeople are never murdered again
by cops.
What policies do we need tochange?
What cameras do we need toinstall?
So I did that for three to fouryears.

(12:04):
And then I started to think,goddess, this feels eerily
familiar.
My parents are from Mississippi.
They were children when EmmettTill was murdered in
Mississippi.
And so some of the same thingsthat my parents witnessed, went
through, saw, the same thingthat I was fighting against

(12:28):
30-some years later.
These things...
have already happened.
Yes, some of them seem moreblatant, but these are things,
the undertones, my husband callsit white fear versus white
supremacy.
These things have already beenpresent.
They're just manifesting indifferent ways.

(12:49):
And some of them, As people inthe church say, like, you know,
the devil can't do anything new.
Like all the tricks that they'redoing, this stuff is not new.
They just have different faces,a different tactic or a
different spin on it.
But these people have been outhere doing these things to us
since the beginning of time.
Yeah.

(13:09):
And so, yeah, that it does to mefeel familiar.
Yeah.
It looks familiar, smellsfamiliar.
Unfortunately, all of thosethings as well.
Yes.
Yeah, absolutely.
I agree.
So my family is before Iowa.

(13:30):
We were also from Mississippi,like near Biloxi.
Yeah.
we were part of the GreatMigration and there's a reason
why we had to leave.
There's stories of why we had toleave.
And I think for me, the storiesthat I heard both as an adult

(13:57):
and as a child around ourexperiences, like my ancestors'
experiences, feel like they'rejust like having this like
different ring to it right now.
Like in my 32 years, thegovernment itself hasn't
directly attacked in the waythat it is now in terms of like

(14:21):
full frontal assault.
It's been doing it in a wholebunch of other ways, but so
blatantly.
And I think what's coming up forme is like, when my family
decided to leave Mississippi,what was the moment when they
were like, okay, no more, weneed to go?
Like, what will be that momentfor me?

(14:42):
What will be the moment wherethat's what's coming online for
me?
And when I talk to like, youknow, my loved ones, folks with
different backgrounds fromdifferent races, there is a
difference between what peopleof color, like what's coming up
for them in terms of like some,something's in the water.

(15:03):
Ancestors are like, we need to,we need to move different this
time versus like, you know, someof like white bodied folks that
I know, like my loved ones thatare like, this feels
unprecedented, but I don't like,I, What am I tapping to

(15:24):
ancestrally that like is tellingme like something right here?
Like, I'm not explaining thatvery well, but there's just
something here that I'm justlike, my ancestors know this.
and it's gonna get worse so likewhat do like what do I need to
do different how do I need to bebuilding community um in a
different way what do I need tobe talking about with my loved

(15:47):
ones about how we support eachother and care for each other
and protect each other in waysthat we might not have been
talking about before that'sright um Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
So what have you been doing foryourself and for your colleagues
at African American Roundtableto nourish your spirits since

(16:09):
the election?
Yeah, I'll start with what arewe doing here at our...
As I sit in our office, youknow, I remember...
after the election and how wekind of looked at each other.
And one of the things that DevinAnderson, our campaign and

(16:29):
membership director said islike, we're going to keep doing
what we've been doing.
We're going to continue toorganize people.
We're going to continue to buildpower and we're going to, you
know, there's some other thingsthat we thought about, like,
yeah, we have to evaluate.
We have to look to see whatwe've done, what needs to be
sharpened, what needs to bechanged, how, like you said, we
need to move differently.
So, um, Some of the things thatwe've done was just like double

(16:52):
down on our organizing work andlike getting clarity around what
that needs to look like.
He often says, hey, you know, ifwe had enough people, we would
have won by now.
So it's like, what do we need tobe doing to bring in more people
to win, to build power, to winthe campaigns that we need to
support changing the materialconditions on the ground?
And so that's one big thing thatwe've been doing.

(17:14):
And it nourishes us because it'san opportunity to bring other
people in, open up our hands andlike expand our capacity and to
also bring people into alignmentaround abolition facing
lifestyles, you know, and work.
Another thing is, you know, atthe end of every year, we get
about two weeks off and that youknow, is replenishment and

(17:36):
nourishing.
Last year when the RNC was inMilwaukee, we took a week off
and I'm like, you know what?
We're taking a week off againthis year.
And so although that wasn'tafter the elections, it's just a
thing that we have added becauseof the conditions and when the
folks came in and rained down inour space.

(17:57):
And then I would also say, youknow, We continue to encourage
staff to care for themselves.
You know, what does that looklike?
I'm seeing more of my staff takeoff work and seeing more of my
staff do that.
Make requests, you know, I'mgoing to work remote today.
Today is a remote day, eventhough I'm supposed to be in
person, you know, so I'm hearingpeople get clear around more of

(18:20):
their boundaries and theirvalues as well.
And then I would also say ourchaplain, we have an art
chaplain.
Her name is Rhonda Hill and shecomes in and provides cultural
grounding and support.
So we've implemented more ofthat in our organizing space,
staff meeting spaces and othermeetings.

(18:40):
And it's been so delicious.
It's been so delicious.

UNKNOWN (18:43):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (18:44):
And then I will also say some ways that we are
nourishing each other is tocontinue to find spaces not to
work, you know, but still buildand deepen our relationships
outside of work.
Like we're going on a boat ridevery soon together to spend
time, you know.
One other thing that we did thatI think will support our
nourishment is our chaplain.

(19:06):
She came in.
We just launched our youthmembership.
Hey, Shay.
Super excited about that.
And I was like, we need to beturning up.
We need to be celebrating.
Like this is a joyous occasion.
We've been talking aboutbringing youth into our work
since like 2019, 2019.
We've been talking about this.

(19:27):
And so to have the fullmanifestation of not just youth
in our work, but membershipwhere they actually belong to
and have a political home.
And so the art chaplain wastelling us, like I said, you
know, I want to really createlike a celebratory space.
And so she was asking us thesequestions and she said, What
would it look like if we justlingered a little bit longer in
celebration?

(19:49):
What would it look like if wejust paused?
Yeah, because, you know, theculture, you know, around just
like production work, this otherthing, you know, I got so much
to program and got to keepgoing, got to do.
What what does it what can addto us by pausing to linger in
that and taking notice, reallyfeeling how that lands in your

(20:11):
body?
exploring what's happening inyour like psychological nervous
system, like all of these thingsto sit in celebration.
And so I got curious with myAlicia, our program and
logistics person who you've alsoworked with.
How can we add that into ourdream space?

(20:31):
How can we add hitting more ofthose levers around celebration?
Yeah.
And I think that that is goingto be very nourishing, you know,
just again, taking more of thatproductivity and worker bee
mentality and adding some morejoy, the more time to just be
with each other without thatagenda of work.

(20:53):
Yes.
That is really important.
So those are some ways thatwe've been trying to nourish
ourselves.
What have I been doingpersonally?
Yeah.
Creating these spacious timeblocks on my calendar, sticking
to those things.
Like I just went on a restretreat earlier this year and
really bringing those thingsforward, which is just create

(21:16):
some space sometimes where youdon't have an agenda to just be.
Practicing that well for mydaughter.
For other people who arewatching me, the staff, to be
able to model that versus justtalking.
People actually see that this isbecoming your ritual, your
routine.
This is how you move now.
Also, practicing some resiliencyaround just going outside and

(21:41):
looking up.
Looking up, feel the wind,peace, sun, kiss.
Take in, let all your fivesenses be activated.
That's something else I'm doing.
also being in space withbeautiful black women has been
for my girlfriends like it isnecessary for at least me to be

(22:04):
connecting more deeply with ahome girl of mine at least once
every two weeks whether it's atwo one to two hour call because
one hour is never enough rightNo, not with the homies.
Never enough.
In person, a Zoom space, goingfor a walk, all of those things,
like those fill me up deeply,you know, where we're not

(22:27):
talking about work.
You know, we're talking aboutall of the things, but it's not
like this one singular thing.
And if it is, so be it.
Being in space with people inworship, like I haven't been in
the churches where I'm not amember of a particular church
and just recently last year lastjuly i started reinserting

(22:48):
myself in that space good mysoul so that's been really
nourishing and then i last yearstarted to try i started to
learn how to swim and i'm goingto be revisiting that soon so
You know, picking up a newsurvival skill, you know, but

(23:10):
also I love the ocean and Ican't really engage with her as
much as I like.
I don't know how to swim.
Okay.
Have you heard of Ocean SwimSchool?
No.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay, I'm going to send you.
I'm going to send you.

(23:31):
We'll come back to that.
We'll come back.
We'll come back.
That is so beautiful.
And the question aroundlingering in the celebration.
What a juicy question.
And I think that that idea ofjust not only lingering in the
celebration, but pausing Andlike adapting, like knowing,

(23:59):
okay, so, you know, Trump'sbeing elected, we're going to
take a week off.
Like being able to adapt to meetwhat you know is going to be
coming up for your team is apractice.
That is very intentional.
And so I don't want to like, youknow, brush over the fact that

(24:24):
like moving like that in anorganization especially in an
organization that does the kindof work you do has to be so
intentional otherwise it can getmissed and like glossed over and
then we just go into that likeworker bee mentality of like we
gotta go we gotta do this wegotta do this can't stop won't

(24:45):
stop like I truly feel like it'snow is not the time to brush
over what we are moving through.
We need to be like attuned to itand adapting to it.
Cause those are the, those arethe, the, the gifts of what our

(25:08):
body is telling us about whatstate we are in and how we need
to be moving.
Um, and so I think that that islike so vital.
Um, Are there any other ways youwould add that, like, why doing
those things, like lingering inthe celebration, adapting to the
needs of your organization, likethe staff, more specifically the

(25:29):
staff of your organization, isvital to the work?
Because this leads right intohealing justice, like, period.
Yeah, it makes me think ofAdrienne Marie Brown and these
emergent strategies, you know,creating space for the emergent.
Also being attuned enough todiscern what is necessary in

(25:53):
these moments.
And also just slowing downenough to feel you and your
humanity.
What is it that you need?
It's probably not going to betoo much farther from what your
staff needs.
So if you are feeling this asyou slow down enough, if they
can't slow down, you better takesome time to slow down as the

(26:13):
leader of the organization tojust feel.

UNKNOWN (26:17):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (26:18):
what would help us to show up better for ourselves,
for those that we are connectedto relationally, whether it's
staff, family, friends, lovedones, because that all shapes
how we show up in this place,along with what is going to

(26:38):
support the mission and thevision.
That's what we're here for,right?
So it's like, if we're not doingour own oxygen masks first,
checking in on those around us,how we're showing up, impacting
people, and then how thatoverall is impacting the work.
If we don't take those kind ofmeasures and that kind of
intentionality, some of theseorganizations may not be around

(27:03):
for the long haul, right?
And also, what patterns do weneed to disrupt?
What patterns do we need todisrupt to support moving in a
way that is going to carry usthrough some longevity, through
some tough times.
Right.
And I think the working on topof working on top of working is

(27:23):
not going to cut it.
It's just not.
And I believe in rest and I alsobelieve in rigor.
So what is the balance as wellas we ain't going to be laying
down all day.
I believe in Tracy Hersey.
I believe in resting and goingto laying down.
And I also believe in, um,moving in a way that supports
getting what we need, but alsothis revolutionary fight that we

(27:46):
have to be in.
Yes, yes.
And so, you know, we've talkedabout like creating more
spacious timelines in our workso that we have more space to do
this.
And I also recognize and holdthe tension of people are dying
daily.
I hold the tension of thematerial conditions that causes

(28:10):
four-year-olds to be killed,seven-year-olds to be abducted.
And it's like, man, how do weslow down when all of those
things are happening?
And it's a choice that we haveto be in daily because something
emergent may come up and we mayhave to respond with rapid
response.
And then where's the momentswhen we can take a breath and

(28:33):
then allow comrades in thecommunity.
Maybe it's the Office ofViolence Prevention or other
people, CVI workers, to go andrespond to those other things
while we take respite.
You know, it's the ebb and flowsin the community.
Boom, boom, boom.
And so staying true to ourmission and vision is what can
help us to create the emergencestrategies and things that need

(29:00):
to come up in order for us tomove differently to really
support what we need in thesemoments.
It's vital.
It's vital.
Yes, absolutely.
I think, and I'm not going toget into it because there's so
much more we have to talk about.
I think there's also somethinghere about like when we are go,
go, go around the organizingwork that we're doing or like

(29:25):
the work we're, like whateverwork it may be, I find that when
I am so deep in that and I don'ttake time for myself to be with
who I am outside of the work, Ican't apply fully what I'm doing
at my job in my day-to-day life.

(29:47):
And how I want to move, I wantto be able to apply the things
that I'm moving toward assomeone who wants to support
organizers and leaders with umwith and like bringing in
healing justice into their worki want to be able to practice a
lot on my day today i want to dosafety and security plans with

(30:09):
my loved ones and not just withorganizations um and when i'm so
invested in like the work likethe nine to five the thing like
i um I can't linger in what itfeels to embody that in my
day-to-day.

(30:34):
You touching something?
You touching something?
You touching something?
Let me just add one more thingand we can move.
Yes, please.
When I went on my respiratoryand I went through Action Lab in
October to New York, one thingthat I got really clear about
You know, you were talkingabout, I want to be able to do

(30:55):
some of this stuff with otherpeople and not just for
movement.
Movement is deserving, but soare my people, my intimate
circle of people.
And what would it take to getthere?
And one thing that I got clearabout is like spaciousness.
Can you create more space whereyou are right now as the

(31:17):
executive director of anorganization in Milwaukee at
this moment?
I can create some more space,but the space that I'm looking
for, I'm not going to, the spacethat I deeply long for, it can't
be doing this role.
And I've become very, I'vebecome very clear about that.
Am I leaving tomorrow?
No.
Am I leaving next year?

(31:38):
No, I'm not.
But I am becoming more clearabout what it's going to take to
get closer to the deeper thingthat I long for.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
We could go down this path.
Oh, that was...
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Um...
Okay, as people working insidethe nonprofit sector and

(32:01):
philanthropy, we have beenseeing and experiencing how
those in movement are puttingout fires on all fronts.
We've already talked about thisa little bit.
This includes navigating grantcuts and funders going silent,
supporting staff navigatingcrises outside of work due to
increased attacks, and overalltrying to keep the work they are

(32:23):
doing going while navigatingconstant internal organizational
shifts in times like thesewhether it is it easy for us to
forget about tending toourselves and our people just
people seeing people in theirhumanity seeing the divine in

(32:46):
each other um you know people inphilanthropy people in
non-profit these are all divinebeings right You know what I'm
saying?
Like they, they are, they are,there is a sense of God created
in the way that I view the worldis God created all beings on
this planet.
And with that, although there'sbeen a lot of tainting, a lot of

(33:10):
trauma to how these divinebeings show up, everybody has a
need that they're trying to getmet.
And, and within that and all thetrauma and all of the mess and
the flow, laws and all the otherthings, I think that it can also
be easy to forget.
Even though all of thesecircumstantial things, all of

(33:31):
these people with all of thesedifferent needs are around me
and within my spaces, how can Imyself show up in this one space
that I'm in to take care of thisthing?
without having to put out allthe 50 million fires on the
fronts.
We know that the fear mongeringis designed for us to be running
like chickens with our heads cutoff in all of the places.

(33:53):
And like I said, so much is sonecessary.
It's so much is so necessary.
And so I also wonder, do weforget the power in unity?
Like I said, so there can be theebbs and flows.
This organization does this, youknow, the ecosystem of our
communities, of our cities, youknow, have we forgotten that?
what it's going to take toreally get to the place that

(34:16):
we're building, this new world.
Are we thinking about all thetenants that are necessary for
us to get there?
Or are we just in thisreactionary mode?
When can we get more strategic?
Who can pull away?
Who can steal away to do that?
Even if it's within your ownorganization.
Like this is our second timegoing through deep strategic

(34:37):
planning.
We're in year three of the firstone and we're already starting
and preparing for the next threeyears.
It's like, that's the kind ofimportant work that I don't want
us to forget.
The importance of strategy, theimportance of unity, the
importance of not running toevery fire to put out and being
mission aligned.
Being a mission aligned and notdrifting to the 50 million
things that are calling you,which can be very hard, But then

(35:00):
it's like, who can then I can bein community with to do like an
ecosystem map?
How can we be responding?
How can we be responding tothis?
And I even think about with thehat that I was telling you about
before we started, even withresidents like in my
neighborhood, how can I bedeveloping these ecosystems to
not just be thinking about theone foot in front of our other?

(35:21):
I need to be thinking wayfurther down the line with
folks.
And how am I preparing mydaughter who's going to be going
off to college in a differentstate?
How do I prepare her in thesetimes?
So like not forgetting about thetimes that we are in and the
preparation and the work that isnecessary to keep us 10 toes
down with the refreshment,refueling, nourishment to do the

(35:44):
things that this moment iscalling us to do.
Yes.
And how to answer.
Yes.
I want to pause on thisquestion.
going back to what you'retalking about on the ecosystem
of care.
So like not like doing, likemaking sure we're mission
aligned while also creating anecosystem of care so that other

(36:06):
organizations that we arealigned with, we can support
them who are doing work maybe ina different lane, but still
getting to the same.
Can you share more about likewhat you've maybe seen that
looking like or what you hope,like envision that looking like?

UNKNOWN (36:24):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (36:24):
Yeah, I think I have an example around that with the
asset map that we've createdhere at the African-American
Roundtable for the northwestside of Milwaukee where we
organize.
It was birthed from usorganizing around a city budget
and saying like, y'all need todivest from police and put the
money back into the community.
And they were like, so whatparticular?
Who in the community?
What business?

(36:44):
What organization?
Okay, we got you.
So we went and developed anasset map, not just for the sake
of that, but also for the sakeof residents knowing that, there
are things that can support youright here in this digital asset
map.
You can do it from your phone.
You can do it from the computer.
You can share with other people.
And so these are things thatpeople added, gave to us to put

(37:07):
into this asset map that theysaid support the safety of their
community.
So there's healthcare providers,there's beauticians, there are
food places, restaurants,churches, mosques, All of these
places, libraries, all of thesethings that support folks
needing to access things thatare going to bring them safety.

(37:28):
And so I would use that as anexample.

(37:58):
You know, where do you go whenyou need to get, you know, to
buy soap?
You know, you can go to the JBSAfrican store down the street.
So these kind of things I thinkare essential.
And that is just one way that Iwould say that we have shown up
to try to support creating thisecosystem that folks are
familiar with, can easilyaccess, that we're willing to

(38:20):
invest our money in to keep theplatform running and to add to
it and not just let it sit onour website, not to just let it
die, but to continue to bringthis thing out.
to say, this is your asset mapand we make it what it is.
Yes, I love this.
And I don't want to emphasizesome of the things you listed
around, like, you know,barbershops, beauticians being

(38:41):
on the list.
Like, folks might ask, like,what does it have to do with
safety?
And it absolutely does.
There's actually a Black woman,I don't know what state she was
in, but she just opened up abeauty shop that the beauticians
are also mental healthproviders.
Come on! Yes! Double up?
Yes!

UNKNOWN (39:02):
Come on!

SPEAKER_00 (39:03):
Double tap that for me.
Please tell me they takeMedicaid, like, all the things.
Like, I love this.
I love it.
But there is, like, when youknow where to go to, like, get
your hair done, like, that's aplace of building community.
That's where we talk about,like, what's going on in our
lives.
So that is a part of, like,safety networks.

(39:26):
When we know where to buy oursoaps at that actually are good
for our skin, we know whatareas, like, are more welcome of
folks like us it is a part ofsafety it really is and just a
sense of like belongingbelonging absolutely absolutely

(39:46):
so I want to move us into ourfirst commercial break and again
y'all know the drill please donot forward through the
commercial these areorganizations that I love and
support so please check thecommercial out and we will be
back Peace, y'all.
I'm Spirit Pierce McIntyre,Spirit, they, them, pronouns,

(40:06):
and I'm really thrilled to havemy piece 22,000 be the musical
feature for Sunseed CommunityPodcasts Season 5.
In addition to being a composer,I'm also a musician, cellist,
lyricist, vocalist.
I am an artist coach as well asa garment constructor.
So if you want to find out moreabout me, You can check out my

(40:28):
website,SpiritParisMcIntyre.com.
You can also email me directlyif you want to work together,
McIntyreSpirit at gmail.com,M-C-I-N-T-Y-R-E-S-P-I-R-I-T at
gmail.com.
And you can stay up with me onIG at McIntyre Spirit.

(40:51):
Peace, y'all.
All right, so welcome back.
Let's move into talking aboutorganizational tactics.
Some of the work that AfricanAmerican Roundtable really
focuses on in organizingMilwaukeeans to get involved in
their local government.

(41:11):
One way is through participatorygrant making.
Why is it important for us tothink local right now?
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Yeah, you know, while there'sstill some people in places that
can move some things, like, youknow, we know that not
necessarily all skin folks arekin folks, but if you are able

(41:34):
to move some things on theground, those are the things
right now, accessibly, that aregoing to touch your community,
like life.
in real time.
And so when we think about citybudgets, when we think about
county budgets, those are thefolks who are controlling the
resources in our neighborhoods,whether or not your lights are
going to be on on the city, youknow, on the city streets,
whether or not, you know, thebus, the transportation buses

(41:57):
are going to be running, likethose things affect us so much
more closely.
And not to say the things onfederal levels don't, but these
are people who are makingdecisions about your everyday
life right here in yourneighborhoods.
And so when we talk about theparticipatory grant making or
budgeting.
This is a way for folks toreally get involved, not just

(42:19):
civically, but be a part ofdecision-making that supports
what they want to see funded.
It gives them the power topractice governance with each
other, which we know we need tobe in practice around that with
one another.
And it also gives us anopportunity to be in community,
to get excited and see thecreative ideas that people have

(42:40):
that folks do not create spaceto hear what folks actually
believe will support them intheir needs and their community.
And so, The city budget issupposed to be that vehicle, but
that doesn't necessarily happenwhen people, you know, city
departments already have theirlist of all the things that they
want.
And then when residents come totestify at these budget

(43:03):
hearings, they already have alist of all the things they
want.
And so you come in, you tellthem, and then it's like, well,
there's really not no space foryou, Ms.
Johnson, to get this thing.
And so this participatorybudgeting opportunity gives Ms.
Johnson an opportunity to say,hey, Mr.
Willie, I would love to presenta project for a community

(43:24):
library, like one of thoselittle library posts in my
neighborhood, because I seeyoung kids all the time sitting
in this little area, and I wouldlove for them to have books.
You know, this is an opportunityfor her to bring forth that
idea, to write it out, and thenfor her neighbors to decide
whether or not they want to seethat library and to get her
money to support that.
And so what a way to buildcommunity.

(43:46):
What a way to bring to lifeprojects that they truly care
about with the money thatbelongs to us.
The$600,000 that we just wonthrough participatory budgeting.
Hey, yes, people.
Linger in that.
Now we won through fightingthrough our Invest Divest

(44:06):
campaign, Liberate MKE over thelast five and a half, six years.
You know, that's our money.
That was the ARPA money, theAmerican Rescue Plan Act
dollars.
That money was supposed to comehere to do that thing.
And so what a way to come in andjust swoop Take that money on in
and say, all right, people, youall decide what those projects
are going to be.
You all decide how that money isgoing to be split.

(44:28):
You all make those decisions andshow city government what we can
do.
Show them your brilliance.
Show them that you can governyourself and you have the skill
set to decide what is going tobe necessary for your community
and what should be funded.
Yes.
Congratulations.
Have y'all celebrated?
We did.

(44:49):
We did.
We did.
We had a hangout.
My brother owns a lounge.
We did it at his dream lounge.
Social.
Super cute.
And brought all of our friendsover.
But we're still taking moments,like I said, to linger in that
just to...
It's been a long fight.
It's been a long fight.
And so to see that processmoving forward and to be

(45:11):
tracking that implementation inthose dollars, you know, it's
excitement and joy to me all thetime.
And also seeing residentsstarting to get excited is also
just a way for us to keep itgoing.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm sure that you already have,like, beautiful moments of,
like, neighbors coming to youwith, like, I have an idea and

(45:31):
all the things.
Amen.
Was the asset map one of thethings that kind of came as
y'all started to do more workaround participatory grant
making?
Was the asset map something thatcame out of that or was it
something completely different?
Yeah.
The asset map came from the citysaying like, yeah, you guys want

(45:54):
us to divest from police, butwhere, what, where do you want
us to put that money?
And we said, we'll show you thebusinesses, the agencies, the
organizations that are alreadydoing safety work that you can
be supporting.
So there's like communityorganizations that are doing
work, nonprofits, you know, whoare doing work.
And it's like, why can't we putmoney into those places that
also have track records, youknow, um, track records of

(46:16):
actually, um, being reflective,but also being proactive to the
things that we see happen in ourcommunity.
And so the asset map was thatanswer to that, but also again,
to give the community somethingto tangibly have, to see as an
opportunity for them to find thethings because this area where

(46:38):
we are, it's been deeplydivested from.
And so you could look at it fromthe outside and say, there is
nothing over here, but there is,and we call them jewels and
assets.
And so just to be able to liftthose things up has been really,
really awesome.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I'm sure the asset map willactually come in handy as you're
figuring out what to do with theparticipatory grant making money

(47:00):
that y'all did receive.
Like, how do you, yeah, it allcomes, it flows into each other.
So what are some unexpected waysnot having and having
participatory grant making inpublic budgeting can affect
communities?
I think you've listed some ofthem.
Yeah, so You don't get to theheart of what people really are

(47:27):
longing for.
You also miss out on the ideasof people.
You take the process out of avacuum and you broaden and
expand that thing.
I was just listening to somebodytoday on a panel and she was
saying, bring a young person in.
Just bring a young person in.
Tell them what your situation isand just listen.

(47:47):
Listen to the creativity, theideas, the things that our
brains have not thought about,so you miss out on creativity.
And I'm not seeing a lot ofthings, fresh, new ideas emerge,
you know, with some of thepeople who have been in office.
It's the same status quo.
There's nothing new that youguys are producing.
And actually some of the thingscontinue to be harmful.

(48:09):
So it's like, where can wecreate that space?
So it's like, you lose theopportunity also for people to
be civically engaged.
You know, people...
We pay taxes.
I am your boss, Mayor.
I am your boss, Alderperson.
And so it robs folks of theopportunity to be civically

(48:30):
engaged as well.
It also robs the greatercommunity of what could be
birthed from the participatorybudgeting money.
Because again, if you're nothearing people's ideas, that
means you're not creating spacesfor those things to be possibly
funded through this vehicle.
And so our community suffersbecause it misses out on these

(48:51):
things that could be that arenot because you keep spending
money on police.
Yeah.
You keep not listening to thewill of the people, which is
actually, I want more money togo into mental health.
I want it to go into not...
police resource officers inschool but to counselors in
school and so you know you missout on so much creativity so

(49:11):
much newer opportunityopportunities that will bring a
sense of safety thrivingcreativity community and civic
engagement opportunities forpeople to really help to change
the conditions on the ground inMilwaukee yeah Absolutely.
Participatory grantmaking reallybrings out those gems, those

(49:32):
assets that you talked about,and lets the folks shine and be
a part of their community inways that they may be limited
to.
So yeah, absolutely.
Okay.
So this question I've beenreally looking forward to
talking about with you.
Cause I, yeah, I'm just excited.

(49:54):
I was like, maybe we'll get tolike history of Bill Lockett.
How do you think tactics likeparticipatory grant-making
reflect community led powerbuilding throughout our history
as black people?
Yeah.
So, you know, It makes me thinkabout, you know, and I'm not

(50:18):
always, I'm not completelyfamiliar, but when you hear
about like the village, youknow, how we've been together,
come together to do things.
When you think about, when youhear about stories about how
folks moved in Africa, you know,this village mentality, you have
this thing, you have that, oreven Native, right?

(50:40):
Yeah.
indigenous communities whereit's like we have all of these
things that we come and bringtogether to support us around
the decision power decisionmaking that we can make together
what is the thing that we allneed it's coming it's coming
together this unifying thissharing the load you bring your
thing I bring my thing you knowthis mutual understanding and

(51:01):
reciprocity um this practicinggovernance without people
swooping in to do it for you.
That's coming in and capturingfolks and tell you you're bad
and we're gonna put you overhere.
Having those spaces to movethrough conflict generatively as
well.
And also what can come up fromthat in regards to that saying,

(51:25):
we keep each other safe.
having that communal space tomove through things.
It makes me think about evenjust like the maroon space that
we're practicing with the roundtable.
You know, we bring in our ownsafety support.
We consensus basings around likehow we move our budget, how
we're spending money as well,who we're giving to as far as

(51:47):
like community sponsorships.
You know, it reminds me of thespace that we're creating, this
maroon space where white folksare not, hovering over us to
tell us like how to spend money,you know, getting these general
operating dollars and spendingit in a way that supports what
we hear community saying.
Also the joy that comes from usbeing able to move in with this

(52:09):
autonomy and this sovereignty inthis space and what that
reverberates out to ourmembership and how they get to
see how we move and how theyparticipate in that as well.
Because what I'm hearing frompeople, And our community is
like, you know, so muchunlearning when they come to our
space.
Man, you know, it's not how itwas at the one job.

(52:31):
And we didn't get to do thatthere.
And so the joy, the relaxationin your body.
that comes and an opportunityfor more voices to be brought
into it.
The more and more voices that wehear, the more and more ways
we're going to find all of thethings that we need to source
from to get to where we're goingto build the things that we need

(52:53):
necessary.
Like again, just the status quo,the hierarchy where it's only
this many people makingdecisions versus all of these
people to do all of thesethings, I think is really
powerful and also just makes methink about indigenous
community, African communities,and how they have done these
things in the past and how Ilong for us to continue to do

(53:17):
those things moving forward.
Yeah, absolutely.
I think it kind of also speaksto what you've woven in
throughout our time togetherthis far rounds, like listening
to the youth and like listeningto folks of all ages and what
possibilities come out of havingmulti generations, um, coming

(53:41):
together to like pour intocommunity and like build power
within community.
Um, what is possible and, um,yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Um, are there any, uh, I think Ihave this question later, but
now I'm going to ask it.

(54:01):
Are there any folks within, um,milwaukee that you know are near
and dear to your heart aroundlike the the legacy of a black
organizing black leadershipeither they don't have to be
black either but like yeah likewho holds that history for you
and it doesn't even have toreally be in milwaukee yeah some

(54:26):
of those comrades have left buti would i would start off with
my my staff I would start offwith my staff.
We have been building, the roundtable was started in 2012 and I
wasn't a part of that iteration.
So I stand on the shoulders of,you know, those leaders who
helped to create that space forus.

(54:46):
Leaders like AlexisAnderson-Reed who helped to
build the table, Jennifer EppsAddison, Dr.
Biko Baker, Ms.
Anita Johnson, an amazingrespected elder.
Those people, Mike Wilder, whoheld the roundtable for years
until I took it over, AngelaLange of Block, Dr.

(55:08):
Cass Bowers, who leads acommunications-based
organization, but also is a dopeorganizer, Maya Neal, who is
running the Wisconsin CivicPower Table, who is an amazing
organizer.
These are the people, DevinAnderson, our campaign and
membership director, RaishaFarmer, our community program

(55:30):
manager, those are the people.
And then our members, you know,who are helping to carry it on.
So from 2012 to the iteration of2017, when I came on and took it
in, you know, really reshaped itand really expanded it to now we
have staff, seven staff to nowwe're expanding to 80 plus

(55:50):
members, you know, those are thepeople.
Those are the people who Irespect and who I see also, you
know, Metcalf Community Bridges,also some really brilliant
organizers there as well.
Sunseed.
Not Sunseekers, Sunseekers isalso a Black trans organization

(56:12):
doing work here as well, ElHalo.
Just some really amazing folksdoing some really amazing work
in Milwaukee that I hold nearand dear.
M.
Adams, who used to be a part ofFreedom, Inc.
in Madison, but now is a part ofMovement for Black Lives.
These folks, the Denise Perryswith Black Organized leadership

(56:36):
and dignity just this leadershipjust epic center of space for
black people to learn deepembodied transformative work you
know in the organizers that theyare helping to develop across
the country you know how I cameinto that work so those are some
of the people that I think aboutand then you know as like an

(56:59):
ancestor if I can bring thisperson in is Mother Harriet
Mother Harriet you know Therigor that she had to have
around the work that she did,the rest that she did have to
take and make space for to makethose journeys over and over and
over again.
Her deep wisdom, the way shemoved, how she didn't move, who

(57:22):
she did and didn't move with,how she trusted to get to this
place, the place where she, youknow, the thing she risked.
The things she risked, thethings she risked over and over
for not just herself, but forme, for you, for our people.
I bring Mother Harriet, who's atmy back.

(57:47):
I love that she was able totransition surrounded by loved
ones.
There's something about thatthat...
like her rigor throughout herlife and her dedication to both
herself and then her people,like our people, but then being
able to like live the last, youknow, part of her days

(58:10):
surrounded by loved ones.
And it wasn't a home field.
Like it was meant for like tobring in people.
Like she never stopped.
Like- She never stopped.
She never stopped.
Yeah.
It's who she was.
Yeah, it's who she was.
Yeah.
Thank you.

(58:31):
Okay, let me get to these extraquestions I was supposed to be
asking.
We're almost there.
You're doing a great job.
Thank you.
I needed that information thelast 15 minutes.

(58:53):
Okay.
Okay.
So I think I want to bring usback to the participatory grant
making.
What are three things yourecommend people who are just
getting started in participatorygrant making or who are trying

(59:15):
to push for a participatorygrant making they need to
consider or do?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, the first thing I wouldsay is do your research, learn
about it.
Participatorybudgeting.org is aplace that I would suggest
people to learn about, contactthem, get on their newsletter

(59:40):
and become more familiar withthe process, more familiar with
the process and then reach outto other people who've already
done it.
who've already been there andgrab wisdom from them.
And then find ways that you canpractice this.
What are some small ways you canpractice this?
For us, we decided with our owngrant making dollars, our own

(01:00:04):
general operating money to do itourselves.
So when the city said, you know,when we were fighting for this
back in 2019, 2020, we demandparticipatory budgeting or grant
making for residents in the cityof Milwaukee.
And when they didn't do it,they, you know, they, tap danced
around and everything.
So we said, oh, okay, noworries.

(01:00:24):
We got this.
We're going to show you.
And so, yeah, we did someresearch.
We talked to the folks inDurham.
We talked to the people inSeattle.
How did you all do this?
What can we learn from you tobring forward?
And let's do it.
And so we took$40,000 of ourgeneral ops money and we said,
we're going to run aparticipatory budgeting process.
And so that's what we did.

(01:00:45):
And so I would definitely say,Find the people who've done it.
Be at their feet.
Ask the questions.
Get curious.
Where can you practice thisyourself?
Can you practice it with somepeople in your community?
We're going to put aside$50.
We're going to put it in a potand we're going to decide how
these young people want to spendit for this project they want to

(01:01:07):
do.
$1,000 over a year time.
How can we practice this?
We don't have to wait for peopleto do this.
We can do this.
You know how much money is inthe Black community?
Stop it.
We can do this.
We can do this.
And so those would be the threethings that I would suggest as
ways that we can, that folkscan, if they're curious about

(01:01:29):
this, how they can get started.
Yeah.
To tack on to that, is thereanything you would suggest as
folks are getting intoorganizing, like participatory
grantmaking or other types ofwork where you might have
regular contact with local,federal, whatever?

(01:01:50):
Are there ways that you suggestthat they care for themselves
and the folks that they're doingthe work with?
You know...
Don't do it alone.
Don't do it alone.
Be in partnership andcollaboration with people whose

(01:02:11):
values align with yours.
When you're out of alignment,that's going to cause a lot of
disruption.
Emotional, mental, physical,find people.
And even when you are inalignment with people, you will
get some of that too, but you'regoing to get way more.
You're going to get way more.
Also, what tools are youbringing forth as you're in

(01:02:31):
spaces, conversations,disappointments?
What tools are you bringingforth to support you in the way
that things are panning out,whether it's good or bad, you
know, as you may view it thatway?
I would also say...
Yeah, just continue to learn.
Continue to learn.
Who do you need to talk to aboutit?

(01:02:52):
Hey, let me just run this byyou.
Don't be in a silo.
Don't be in a silo.
Talk with other folks.
Hear other people's ideas.
And also take these electedofficials that you may have to
work with with a grain of salt.
Take them with a grain of salt.
step back, take your breaths,you know, because what we're

(01:03:13):
learning and what we know is wehave to be in some type of
relationship with these people.
You know, they hold power.
They have access to resourcesthat we want.
So we got to be putting demandson people and especially folks
with power and taking care ofourselves at the same time.

(01:03:33):
You know, if That thing that youkeep going back to the same
office, you keep talking aboutthat same thing.
Okay, let's go back and figureout some different tactics.
These are not working.
These are not working.
Let me figure out some newthings or you know what?
This action that we did is notcutting it.
What could we have done to beensharper?
Debrief with yourself and withothers and just keep sharpening,

(01:03:55):
keep refining to support thosetimes when you do need to step
back and say, What did I need todo better?
What do I need to do to takecare of myself in these
situations?
But those debriefs are going toalso be a lifesaver as well.
Let's not keep making the samemistakes.
Let's not keep doing that.
That's, you know, that's, that'snot wise.

(01:04:15):
Yeah.
That's my way.
My way.
Well, please tell us about yourcurrent offerings.
What is African-AmericanRoundtable up to and how can we
support your work?
Delicious.
Thanks for asking.
So we, like I said, justlaunched youth membership.

(01:04:40):
Super duper exciting for 13 to19 year olds.
We are offering a political homefor young people to come in, to
learn through skill ups,training, some development for
them to be able to facilitate,bring in their homies to learn
and to grow.
together and to begin to runsome type of campaign next year.

(01:05:04):
I don't know what it's going tobe.
I can't wait to hear what theyoung people are going to share
with us.
And so...
That's one of our current worksthat we're up to creating space
for them for some social.
So if youth organizing is yourthing, you're like, Ooh, I would
love to hear, or, you know,you're curious about it.
You're moving into it.
We love to chat because we loveto learn and we'd love to share

(01:05:26):
what we have learned thus far.
Campaign development andleadership development.
So we are going to be running anew campaign.
We are sunsetting liberate MKE,our invest divest campaign, and
we are preparing to launch a newone.
This one we're, building withour Northwest side leaders.
We have a cohort.
We're teaching them campaigndevelopment, leadership

(01:05:46):
development, conflict skills,all of those things, because we
know conflict will arise.
How do we move through thatwithout destroying the whole
campaign, without destroying theorganization, without destroying
ourselves?
Like we need those tools to keepgoing.
And so we plan to launch a foodsafety campaign.

(01:06:07):
justice campaign next year,sometime in the near future.
So we're doing a lot of goodwork behind the scenes to get
there, having conversations,again, teaching our leaders how
to lead the work.
As we are growing our members,we want them to be leading that
work.
We offer a conflicttransformation series to our

(01:06:27):
members as well.
We were supported by by, I don'tknow how to pronounce William's
last name.
William, there's this toolkit Ican definitely share later, but
really went after ourorganization went through
conflict, came in and reallysupported us in ways and like,
what is your conflict archetype?

(01:06:48):
How do you move throughconflict?
What are the stories that youtell yourself?
And like really giving us somereally awesome tools.
And we found it so good.
They recorded the sessions forus, gave us all the slide decks.
And so we shared that back outwith our members.
And so we've been looking tofind how can we share this with
more people outside our members,because more than our members
need Catholic transformationtools.

(01:07:10):
And so that's something thatwe're thinking about supporting
more widely in our community,these cohort experiences.
So when we run these campaignsor these projects, we bring in
leaders and we allow them in.
to lead those spaces and givethem the training.
You know, we might bring in aconsultant to bring some extra
support in so that we can givethem the tools they need to run

(01:07:32):
the different pieces of the workthat we're doing.
We also, this participatorybudgeting, just one, like I
said, and so we areimplementing, we're watching the
implementation through the city.
So we didn't actually get themoney.
The city of Milwaukee got themoney.
And so we are tracking that.
We want to make sure that whenthe budget is short, nobody goes
and tries to tip their littlefingers into it.

(01:07:54):
We're not doing that.
So we have a cohort of leaderswho are having the conversations
with legislators, you know, withthe, the older people and others
who are supporting around, youknow, the community education.
So we provide these cohortexperiences within our projects
and our campaigns for leadersand residents to shine for them
to lead.

(01:08:14):
We're also doing that throughthe Northwest side campaign that
I just told you about.
And also we'll do that throughour youth organizing, the, the,
The leaders who are within theYouth Organizing Committee,
they're called Activists inResidence, AIR for short.
Our youth organizers came upwith that.
So super dope.
So super dope.
We just saw them facilitating aspace a couple of weeks ago.

(01:08:35):
Amazing.
Amazing.
Talking about mental health, howit affects them, what they need.
Just beautiful.
We also have a lot of deeporganizing wisdom and expertise
around campaigns, also aroundinvest-divest campaigns, working
with city officials.
What does that look like?
And we are a political home inMilwaukee.

(01:08:55):
We are a political home forBlack people, all Black people.
We have a membership model thatwe started in 2022.
People just give.
$60 a year.
It's just$60.
And if they can't afford the$60,we got sponsors.
You want to sponsor any membershere in the city of Milwaukee?
Get in touch with us and you cansupport the work on the ground

(01:09:17):
here in Milwaukee.
We do socials because we're notjust going to do a lot of work.
We're going to play.
And then we have some committeeleadership as well.
So we have some of our membersleading the book club.
We're getting ready to starta...
We do a convening every year forour membership.
So we're having a committee forthat.
We have some members who aregoing to be leading in that
space.
So just the plethora of allthose things.

(01:09:40):
And yeah, I would say that I dohave some fundraising
experience.
I definitely do.
If you want to know or arecurious how I helped to build an
organization from 2017 with nobudget to 2025 with over a
million dollar budget.
Call at me.
How we created infrastructure,the culture that we've built to

(01:10:01):
support leaders, to sustain, tokeep people.
My staff person who's been herethe longest, he's been here
since 2019.
And I would say that that goesto his love for the work, but
also the space that we'vecreated to keep him here.
The benefits that we've offeredstaff to keep them in this
space, I think also speaksvolumes to how we have created

(01:10:22):
this container.
If you're ever interested inwhat it looks like to have an
advisor board.
Talk to me about that.
We went from, you know, aproject and having just advisors
to you guys are an advisoryboard to also what it looks like
to be a fiscal organization.
We are also a fiscally sponsoredorganization.
What does that look like?
What are the pieces, theprocesses?

(01:10:43):
How did you get there, Marquesa?
You know, why did you think thatthat was the right choice over
you being a nonprofit?
Tell me about all of thosethings.
We're here for it.
Yes, and you can learn moreabout African American
Roundtable at aartmke.org.
Please follow Marquesa, followup with African American

(01:11:06):
Roundtable.
As we say goodbye, what is yourheart carrying with you into
this great big wild?

UNKNOWN (01:11:17):
Hmm.

SPEAKER_00 (01:11:19):
Just deep gratitude and appreciation for this space
to be in conversation with youaround these really delicious
questions that you provided toslow down my day and move away
from work into conversation,into sharing, into listening,
into being with you.
I think those are some of thethings that I'm carrying.

(01:11:41):
I'm curious, what are youcarrying?
Oh, definitely gratitude forbeing able to talk with you
again.
And also just hearing about thebeautiful network of people that
surround you in Milwaukee.
And it just, it warms my heart.

(01:12:02):
I always have like a littleplace for Midwest in my heart.
And so I'm carrying that with meand just thinking about the
community building here inColorado and looking forward to
the day where there's all thesenames that I can like list out,
like what you were talkingabout.

(01:12:22):
And also just appreciation forthe legacy of Black organizing
and Black community work,period.
Period.
It is so rich and varied andyeah, yeah.
Just savoring that for a bit.
Saving that for a bit.

(01:12:44):
Thank you so much, Marquesa, forbeing on the Sunsea Community
Podcast.
This has been absolutelywonderful.
Thank you so much for having me.
And thanks to your communitywho's listening.
Really appreciate this timetogether.
So good.
So good.

(01:13:07):
Thank you so much for watchingthis episode.
I love you so much.
I'm kissing.
I'm kissing consensually.
If you want that, I will ask youbefore kissing you.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the podcast.
I encourage you to meander ondown to the description link
below to share this episode, tipthe guests, and follow all the

(01:13:29):
magical folks that made thispodcast possible.
Deep gratitude to all of you.
Even patting my myself a littlebit on the back right now labor
of love labor of love latergator and may you walk with the
ancestors peace out 22,000 timesa day 22,000 times a day