The Radical Mapping Project
Donation protected
The Radical Mapping Project (RMP) sprouted out of conversations between friends, Nazareth Velazco, Hannah Labonte, Madeleine Keller, and V Plotkin in the spring of 2017. As young adults who were all soon to graduate in fields of social justice we wondered what our lives would look like upon re-entering into the "real" world, one of utter political devastation. We tried to imagine how our social justice work would manifest or take shape, and if this work would even be sustainable in this day and age. More pointedly, we wanted to know how to maintain our radical beliefs (beliefs founded in principles of freedom and justice outside of capitalist/oppressive systems) while still managing to support ourselves. We wanted to know how to not only survive but thrive, spiritually, politically, and emotionally as activists and as people who identify as queer, trans, brown, and disabled.
Most importantly, we wanted to find people who were doing just this. We wanted role models to look up to who were living radical lives and existences; people who are working for justice freely, uniquely, and bravely. People whose identities and life stories are complex and who journeyed to be where they are now. We wanted to discover who else was out there so that we could know that living radically is not just a idealistic dream but a tangible reality. Finally, we wanted to share these lives in the hopes that others like us could be inspired, create their own spaces, and grow into radical role models themselves.
RMP has developed into a fieldwork journey and social justice networking project. September 2017 marks the beginning of a three+ month road trip around the US (Turtle Island) to visit spaces, activists, and organizations that participate in socially transformative work - especially those centering LGBTQ+ folks and POC in their leadership. Through conducting interviews, blogging, and photo documentation RMP will record the lives of activists today - their struggles, visions, needs, and victories. From worker-owned cafés to free schools, housing co-ops to feminist libraries, the project will focus on people and spaces that are facilitating new ways of connecting to each other and the earth that live out the values of sustainability, justice, and grassroots power.
Our GoFundMe campaign is meant to ensure we have the funds to carry out the project, which includes the research portion (Sept 1st through mid-December) and the project synthesis (completed by December 2018). We have been working hard and saving everything to embark on this journey. Extra support from others will help us ensure we have a safe place to stay, food to eat, and money for gas and car maintenance. We also hope some of this money can go towards project materials for the creation of our final project constructed from all the interviews and other ethnographic data we gather along the way. All funds gathered will be used for the completion of this project, which is intended to help bolster the radical activist community in the U.S., the strength of which is needed more than ever.
We also want to acknowledge that we have already been helped tremendously by our friends and families in order to get this far. We could not even dream of this project without the vast constellations of support we recieve from others, and we are so, so grateful for any and all contributions toward this end. If you want to support us, anything is welcome. You can see more about the project at our website , keep up with us on Facebook , and read our blog to learn our thoughts on the project as it unfolds.
Artwork used with permission from artist Sybil Lamb.
Most importantly, we wanted to find people who were doing just this. We wanted role models to look up to who were living radical lives and existences; people who are working for justice freely, uniquely, and bravely. People whose identities and life stories are complex and who journeyed to be where they are now. We wanted to discover who else was out there so that we could know that living radically is not just a idealistic dream but a tangible reality. Finally, we wanted to share these lives in the hopes that others like us could be inspired, create their own spaces, and grow into radical role models themselves.
RMP has developed into a fieldwork journey and social justice networking project. September 2017 marks the beginning of a three+ month road trip around the US (Turtle Island) to visit spaces, activists, and organizations that participate in socially transformative work - especially those centering LGBTQ+ folks and POC in their leadership. Through conducting interviews, blogging, and photo documentation RMP will record the lives of activists today - their struggles, visions, needs, and victories. From worker-owned cafés to free schools, housing co-ops to feminist libraries, the project will focus on people and spaces that are facilitating new ways of connecting to each other and the earth that live out the values of sustainability, justice, and grassroots power.
Our GoFundMe campaign is meant to ensure we have the funds to carry out the project, which includes the research portion (Sept 1st through mid-December) and the project synthesis (completed by December 2018). We have been working hard and saving everything to embark on this journey. Extra support from others will help us ensure we have a safe place to stay, food to eat, and money for gas and car maintenance. We also hope some of this money can go towards project materials for the creation of our final project constructed from all the interviews and other ethnographic data we gather along the way. All funds gathered will be used for the completion of this project, which is intended to help bolster the radical activist community in the U.S., the strength of which is needed more than ever.
We also want to acknowledge that we have already been helped tremendously by our friends and families in order to get this far. We could not even dream of this project without the vast constellations of support we recieve from others, and we are so, so grateful for any and all contributions toward this end. If you want to support us, anything is welcome. You can see more about the project at our website , keep up with us on Facebook , and read our blog to learn our thoughts on the project as it unfolds.
Artwork used with permission from artist Sybil Lamb.
Organizer
RadicalMappingProject Collective
Organizer
Santa Cruz, CA
