BRIDGING SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIVIDES Life in Cooperative Culture Spring 2018 • Issue #178 CLASS, RACE, and PRIVILEGE Barriers to Diversity White Bias, Black Lives Class-Harmony Community Confronting Cultural Appropriation Combating Racism, One Community at a Time FIND YOUR PURPOSE FIND YOUR PLACE In One of Over a Dozen Rural and Urban Communities Across North America Lifesharing communities www.camphill.org Lifechanging service 3 COMMUNITIES Number 178 Issue #178 Spring 2018 CLASS, RACE, AND PRIVILEGE 6 Our Commitment to Social Justice Publisher’s Note by Sky Blue 7 Communities: An Experimental Shift to Gift Economy and Open Source Information Accountant’s Note by Kim Scheidt 8 Undressing and Addressing the Elephant in the Room Notes from the Editor by Chris Roth 10 Beauty and Brokenness: Digesting Grief into Gratitude for Justice Ridhi D’Cruz A child of the Indian middle class immerses herself in the grassroots sustainability movement in Portland, Oregon and shares lessons learned on her journey. 13 Moving Beyond Diversity Towards Collective Liberation: Weaving the Communities Movement into Intersectional Justice Struggles Deseree Fontenot The co-organizer of the People of Color Sustainable Housing Network shares strategies for deepening your community’s work on issues of race, class, and privilege. 15 On “Waiting” for People of Color ON THE COVER Michael Brickler On the land where his grandfather was born a slave, the founder of a nascent intentional community reflects on the challenges of attracting people of color, and the project’s next steps. 17 Moving Beyond White Fragility: Lessons from Standing Rock Murphy Robinson Bonded by a shared mission, indigenous water protectors and their white allies find a safe space for giving and receiving honest feedback about white privilege and unconscious acts of racism. 19 Barriers to Diversity in Community Crystal Farmer An organizer of Charlotte Cohousing in North Carolina offers several ways intentional communities unintentionally exclude her fellow people of color. Children at play at Sunward Cohousing, outside of Ann Arbor, 20 Growing Inclusivity in Cohousing:Stories and Strategies Rosemary Linares Michigan. The com- Familiar with both privilege and marginalization, a queer Latina cohouser shares munity’s struggles with experiences and perspectives on confronting racial and ethnic homogeneity. unconscious bias are described in Katy Mat- tingly’s “White Bias, 24 Bridging Social and Cultural Divides in Cohousing Alan O’Hashi Black Lives: When A Japanese-American Baby Boomer reflects on how cohousing can confront privilege Unconscious Bias and prejudice, instill cultural competency, and increase diversity in its population. Affects Your Commu- nity” on page 23. Photo by Claire Maitre. 25 White Bias, Black Lives:When Unconscious Bias Affects Your Community Katy Mattingly Members of Sunward Cohousing recognize and attempt to transform their community’s differential treatment of white-skinned and dark-skinned neighborhood children. Spring 2018 • Number 178 COMMUNITIES 4 28 Reflections on Class from a Newbie at Rocky Hill Cohousing Jennifer Ladd A cohousing project’s budget can help address class and classism—but the community also needs to articulate and explore its culture’s underlying or hidden rules. 31 I’m Not a Racist, But Racism Is in Me—and in My Community Joe Cole Predominantly white communities are going to stay that way until they acknowledge and address racism. Here is some guidance for doing that. 36 Can We Have Communities without Gentrification? Perspectives from the Ecovillagers Alliance Eve Bratman, Brandy Brooks, Taylor Mercedes, Josh Jancourtz, and Joel Rothschild The first step to recovery is admitting that our problem is systemic, a product of colonialism. The next step is changing that system. 40 Conversations on Class at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage Sasha Adkins Are ecovillages inherently elitist? Members of one share their thoughts and questions. 42 Class, Race, and Privilege in Intentional Community Kara Huntermoon A co-owner of Heart-Culture Farm Community explores ways to use her privilege to help create a society where people are truly equal. 45 Why Diversity Is Good for Intentional Community Kara Huntermoon A diverse community gives us better opportunities to challenge systems of oppression that operate within ourselves, in our circles of relationship, and throughout the larger world. 47 Combating Racism, One Community at a Time Jenny Truax Catholic Worker communities throughout the Midwest examine themselves, make changes, and reach out in an effort to overcome the insidious influences of white supremacy. 52 It’s Not Just the Curtain: Crossing the Class Divide at the Bloomington Catholic Worker Laura Lasuertmer Distinctions and boundaries between community members and their homeless guests can be problematic sometimes, but they are also what allow the sharing and caring to continue. 55 Grief and Re-Membering: The Spirituality of Confronting Privilege, Entitlement, and Cultural Appropriation Christopher Bowers We are tasked with fixing the human quilt by tenderly sewing the historical rips made by violence, patriarchy, and white supremacy. 60 Multicultural Hippie Roots and Spiritual Foundations of The Farm Community Douglas Stevenson At The Farm, the hippie culture’s voluntary step away from privilege and wealth shaped not only its demographics but also its mission to lift up the less privileged. 63 Class-Harmony Community A. Allen Butcher Most types of intentional community are difficult for working class people with children to join—except for this one. 66 REACH 76 A Network of Ventures for Community Resilience Melanie Rios Interconnected initiatives in and around Portland, Oregon contribute to a web of emergency resilience efforts informed by social justice, earth protection, and community-building perspectives. Spring 2018 • Number 178 COMMUNITIES 5 COMMUNITIES Publisher’s Note by sky blue Life in Cooperative Culture EDITOR Chris Roth (Lost Valley/Meadowsong) ART DIRECTOR Our Commitment Yulia Zarubina-Brill BUSINESS MANAGER Christopher Kindig TO SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVERTISING MANAGER Gigi Wahba WEB SUPPORT Pavan Rikhi (Acorn) CIRCULATION MANAGER McCune Porter (Twin Oaks) SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT Thomas Vecchio (Twin Oaks) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT Kim Scheidt (Red Earth Farms) Kim Kanney Sky Blue (Twin Oaks) EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD Marty Klaif (Shannon Farm) ntentional communities are intrinsically idealistic. They’re based on a radical analysis of social Parke Burgess problems and are an attempt to address them. They represent a personal desire to live in a way Valerie Renwick (Twin Oaks) that feels more satisfying, but also the desire for a better society for all people. They are a recog- Inition that some of the essentials that make community what it is—mutual support, love and car- Communities (ISSN 0199-9346) is published quarterly ing, sharing lives and livelihood in a meaningful and satisfying way—are lacking in the world. Not by the Fellowship for Intentional Community at 23 Danc- all intentional communities share the same political or social views. Some mirror the trend towards ing Rabbit Ln. Rutledge MO 63563. Postmaster: Send address changes to Communities, 138 Twin Oak Rd, Louisa isolationism and protectionism we see in politics today. But most value, at least in theory, diversity, VA 23093. Indexed in the Alternative Press Index. equality, and sustainability, and want to help create a world that works for everyone. We live in a world fraught with injustice and inequality. In the US in particular, we live with SUBSCRIPTIONS: $25 US, $35 outside US for four issues a legacy of slavery and genocide that affects the opportunities we have regardless of when our via periodical/surface mail. Single copies are $8 US, $10 outside US. All payments in US dollars. Available ancestors came to this land. We all live with the effects of racialized, gendered, and classist soci- from Communities, 138 Twin Oaks Rd, Louisa VA 23093; ety. These are core issues that need to be addressed if intentional communities are to fulfill their [email protected]; 800-462-8240; ic.org/subscribe. potential as models for a better way of living. If we want to create models for how to live that address the problems in society, it’s crucial that we BACK ISSUES: 23 Dancing Rabbit Ln. Rutledge MO 63563; [email protected]; 800-462-8240; ic.org/back-issues. hold central the perspectives and issues of those most affected by those problems. Certain people are more likely to have access to the resources to buy land, build buildings, and start businesses. Unfor- EDITORIAL OFFICE: Chris Roth, Editor, Communities, tunately, when they do, they’re going to create communities with cultures that are less comfortable 81868 Lost Valley Ln, Dexter OR 97431; 541-937-5221; [email protected]. for people who are not like them. There are systemic economic and cultural barriers to living in and starting intentional communities, both from external forces and from the unintentional perpetuation © 2018 by Fellowship for Intentional Community. All of oppression and privilege by intentional communities themselves and the people who live in them. rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Opinions expressed If we think about racism and classism not as personal failings but as a system in which we are by authors and correspondents are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. privileged or disadvantaged, then those of us who benefit from this system have a responsibility to work to change it. Intentional communities are a means to the end of making a better world, FELLOWSHIP FOR INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY: 23 but they’re also an end in themselves, of creating a way to live right now that’s better than what Dancing Rabbit Ln. Rutledge MO 63563; [email protected]; 800-462-8240; ic.org. the mainstream has to offer. It’s a privilege to live in and start intentional communities, and we have a responsibility to help extend the opportunity to everyone who wants it. REPRINT PERMISSION: Community groups may The FIC is recommitting to our organizational value of social justice, particularly in the realm reprint with permission.