A Time to Think Differently
— Lucinda J. Garthwaite, Director
If there was ever a time we needed to think differently, to reimagine ideas, relationships and approaches to change – it’s now.
That's why this week’s newsletter is different. The news this week is of a critical turning point for the Institute for Liberatory Innovation, and an invitation for you, our readers, to help us make that turn.
When the concept of the ILI occurred to me in early 2020, Elizabeth Minnich was the first person I called, because I knew she would think hard with me about the idea. Elizabeth is a good friend, and also a widely and well-regarded public philosopher. I can count on her to, as her mentor and teacher Hannah Arendt wrote, “remain true to reality in [her] search for the root of the matter.”
Recently, Elizabeth brought that particular line to my attention, in which Arendt suggested an important distinction between what she called, “the radical, who always remains true to reality in his [sic] search for the root of the matter, from the extremist, who single-mindedly follows the logic of whatever ‘cause’ he [sic] may espouse at the moment.”
I choose the radical. I choose to search for the root of the matter, though that hasn’t always been so. I have in the past resolutely followed the logic of causes, bought whole cloth whatever ideas about change prevailed among those with whom I agreed or thought I should. Company is affirming; and certainty is a comfort.
But prevailing ideas clothed in righteous certainty have many times ushered tyranny through the door, from all parts of the political spectrum.
Elizabeth also reminded me of Arendt's thinking about natality: the human condition is constantly disrupted by the fact of birth, of new beginnings, as well as the fact of death. It cannot stay the same for long.
Change is inevitable, yet people of all political stripes resist it with certainty or denial, almost always tinged with some degree of fear. All of that hardens into deep division, which no amount of insistent convincing, and certainly no amount of violence, will change.
That can’t possibly lead to a better world; we have got to do things differently. That’s why the ILI matters.
Change requires a constant return to learning, re-imagining old strategies, generating and implementing different approaches. That’s what the ILI does. Our whole purpose is to be on the lookout for possibilities of pursuing social equity and nonviolence in different ways. We dig deep, think hard, pull in and synthesize myriad perspectives. Then we get busy applying what we learn to driving change.
The ILI doesn’t follow the logic of causes. We know certainty won’t serve change well. Elizabeth reminded me of this last week as she affirmed the urgency of the ILI’s particular work.
And it has been hard work. We started the ILI in a profoundly challenging time, on financially precarious ground. But help has arrived when we needed it, and our progress in less than two years has been remarkable:
Our first fully-formed innovation is working; the Equity Scholar in Residence model is making a difference in one Vermont school district, and we’re ready to widely expand its impact.
We’re on the cusp of practical insights, based in the wisdom of multi-racial families, about dismantling racism through relationships.
We’ll soon release a breakthrough model for leveraging organizations in the service of liberatory change.
We’ve accomplished this primarily through volunteer time, mine and others’, with the good company and support of our donors, board and advisors, and new friends in foundations, non-profits, business and education.
The ILI has been a scrappy start-up. Now we know our core work of learn-innovate-implement will drive change in new ways, and we’ve developed a strong financial model to sustain that work well into the future. It’s time to make the turn from scrappy to sustained, and we’ve got to prime the pump.
We urgently need to accomplish four things before the end of the year:
Ensure a steady monthly income to cover our basic operating costs;
Add at least $30,000 to our accounts so we can begin compensating our staff;
Grow our subscriber’s list by two hundred or more.
Identify five new members of the Board of Stewards who will bring the skills and capacities we need to stay sturdy into the future.
Here’s how you can help:
If you haven’t already, become a sustaining donor with at least $25.00 a month, or whatever you can afford. We run lean: 100 monthly donors giving an average of $25.00/ month would cover our basic monthly expenses before compensation.
If you are able, become a major 2021 contributor with a one-time gift of $1,000 -$5,000. Just twenty donors contributing an average of $1500 each would cover our compensation costs for the first quarter of 2022, giving us time to realize the results of an aggressive grant-funding effort, and “start the engines” of two more revenue-earning strategies. Please reach out to me if you would like to talk over your gift, including gifts of over $5000.
Encourage at least 2 friends to subscribe to this newsletter. Intersections is how we get the word out about our work, and how we sustain ongoing thinking-together with a broad and diverse community of readers.
Let me know if you or someone you know may be interested in joining our board. Our Chair, Erin Gravelle, and I are eager to meet potential new colleagues.
If you’re a Facebook user, please check out our Facebook page and consider sharing with friends and colleagues who may be interested in our work.
Thank you for considering all of these possibilities.
I’ll end where I started: We are living in a time of critical transition, a unique opportunity to change and dismantle systems that serve so few and hurt so many, to make it possible for more people, and the planet, to thrive. If there was ever a time we needed to think differently – it’s now.
Your gift to the ILI will help ensure that we keep learning and creating innovative strategies for a more equitable and nonviolent future. However you can help at this critical time for the ILI, we’re grateful.