I must admit my first (2) week(s) at Interfaith Workers Justice National headquarters was pretty interesting. While I was under the impression that I was at a “one of a kind” of an internship, I was shocked but RELIEVED my first week of interning was the stereotypical, copying, printing, stapling, ect. Things that I know I already know how to do and things I could easily blame on someone else if I messed them up. Just kidding, I took full responsibility for my mistakes including wasting 200 pages of paper when the printer cartridge ran out...so technically that was not my fault.
Oh! But to expand on why I was doing such “boring and redundant” tasks my first week: the office was actually planning a National Conference! The first one they have hosted since 2011. Affiliates and various organizations from all over the country came to Chicago to experience this conference in order to learn how to build “a just economy”. The conference started on Sunday for 3 days and took place at DePaul University, IWJ also partnered with SCUPE, and organization focused on Urban Ministry for the conference. I met a very diverse group of people during this conference, from different areas of the country, difference races, ethnicities, religions. It was really the most diverse experience I have had the pleasure of helping with. What fascinated me the most about the conference was how mobilizing faith can be in terms of justice.
There so many great speakers and stories that I literally could dedicate atleast 3 more blog posts writing about how I was so inspired by them but that would get a bit boring. One speech that will definitely stick with me in my experience in organizing is Kim Bobo’s plenary that took place on Sunday night. The speech compared organizing and working for social justice to as an act of singing. The analogy was so incredibly mind-blowing, I almost cried. Singing sometimes is not everyone’s forte or people are very scared to sing, but it is those that can really sing that can help others find their voice. Much like organizing, there will always be faces to movements but these faces have an obligation help others come out of their shells in order to come together and fight for what is right. This was the underlying theme in Kim’s speech and at the end of it, do you know what she made us do? She made us sing, quite literally. It was beautiful.
While the conference had many delightful workshops and speakers, one of the things that actually gave me anxiety and made me very nervous was the planned action that took place on the last day of the conference. The action was supposed to be a rally at the Chatham Walmart located in the Southside of Chicago. Like almost every Walmart store, the Chatham Walmart had a bad history worker mistreatment, including a case of firing a worker when she requested to take time off when a TV fell on her on her day off in that same store. This worker was also pregnant and still runs the risk of a miscarriage. There are so many stories like this amongst various cooperations such as Walmart and if you have any ounce of compassion in you, your heart breaks little by little, story after story.
However, before the rally, I was assigned to a delegation-taking place at the Lakeview Neighborhood Wal-Mart. At the Lakeview Wal-Mart, workers were worried about the status of their jobs after organizing to fight for their rights. I will admit, I wanted to soil my pants in approaching this delegation; I had no idea what was going to happen at this delegation, whether or not it was going to go smooth or if someone was going to call the cops. Luckily, I was at a delegation that went surprisingly pleasant. We got to talk to the assistant manger and expressed our concerns and our stance of solidarity with the workers when they pursue their rights in the workplace. Unlike other delegations, the cops were not called and we were not shooed away or given numbers to cooperate headquarters. When we left the store, we were actually greeted by media/press where one worker bravely expressed his views about the justice Wal-Mart workers deserve.
We then headed to Chatham and rallied. The atmosphere here was unreal. I had never been to a rally before and the songs, the chants, the speeches, the signs, were all so touching. People who were of various faiths, backgrounds, and races coming together in solidarity for a fight that has been going on for too long, the fight for a just economy.
I have been to my share of conferences in 20 years I have been alive but really the IWJ conference is one I will not forget. It was an honor to help organize such a powerful event. I hope that I can pursue a career where I organize for events as powerful as the IWJ conference.
Stay tuned to hear about my upcoming projects at IWJ. They are all pretty cool and will be even cooler if you keep up with my blog.
Thanks for reading!
KK
Oh! But to expand on why I was doing such “boring and redundant” tasks my first week: the office was actually planning a National Conference! The first one they have hosted since 2011. Affiliates and various organizations from all over the country came to Chicago to experience this conference in order to learn how to build “a just economy”. The conference started on Sunday for 3 days and took place at DePaul University, IWJ also partnered with SCUPE, and organization focused on Urban Ministry for the conference. I met a very diverse group of people during this conference, from different areas of the country, difference races, ethnicities, religions. It was really the most diverse experience I have had the pleasure of helping with. What fascinated me the most about the conference was how mobilizing faith can be in terms of justice.
There so many great speakers and stories that I literally could dedicate atleast 3 more blog posts writing about how I was so inspired by them but that would get a bit boring. One speech that will definitely stick with me in my experience in organizing is Kim Bobo’s plenary that took place on Sunday night. The speech compared organizing and working for social justice to as an act of singing. The analogy was so incredibly mind-blowing, I almost cried. Singing sometimes is not everyone’s forte or people are very scared to sing, but it is those that can really sing that can help others find their voice. Much like organizing, there will always be faces to movements but these faces have an obligation help others come out of their shells in order to come together and fight for what is right. This was the underlying theme in Kim’s speech and at the end of it, do you know what she made us do? She made us sing, quite literally. It was beautiful.
While the conference had many delightful workshops and speakers, one of the things that actually gave me anxiety and made me very nervous was the planned action that took place on the last day of the conference. The action was supposed to be a rally at the Chatham Walmart located in the Southside of Chicago. Like almost every Walmart store, the Chatham Walmart had a bad history worker mistreatment, including a case of firing a worker when she requested to take time off when a TV fell on her on her day off in that same store. This worker was also pregnant and still runs the risk of a miscarriage. There are so many stories like this amongst various cooperations such as Walmart and if you have any ounce of compassion in you, your heart breaks little by little, story after story.
However, before the rally, I was assigned to a delegation-taking place at the Lakeview Neighborhood Wal-Mart. At the Lakeview Wal-Mart, workers were worried about the status of their jobs after organizing to fight for their rights. I will admit, I wanted to soil my pants in approaching this delegation; I had no idea what was going to happen at this delegation, whether or not it was going to go smooth or if someone was going to call the cops. Luckily, I was at a delegation that went surprisingly pleasant. We got to talk to the assistant manger and expressed our concerns and our stance of solidarity with the workers when they pursue their rights in the workplace. Unlike other delegations, the cops were not called and we were not shooed away or given numbers to cooperate headquarters. When we left the store, we were actually greeted by media/press where one worker bravely expressed his views about the justice Wal-Mart workers deserve.
We then headed to Chatham and rallied. The atmosphere here was unreal. I had never been to a rally before and the songs, the chants, the speeches, the signs, were all so touching. People who were of various faiths, backgrounds, and races coming together in solidarity for a fight that has been going on for too long, the fight for a just economy.
I have been to my share of conferences in 20 years I have been alive but really the IWJ conference is one I will not forget. It was an honor to help organize such a powerful event. I hope that I can pursue a career where I organize for events as powerful as the IWJ conference.
Stay tuned to hear about my upcoming projects at IWJ. They are all pretty cool and will be even cooler if you keep up with my blog.
Thanks for reading!
KK