“and if ever i touched a life i hope that life knows
that i know that touching was and still is and will always
be the true
revolution.”
―Nikki Giovanni
As I sift the meanings of Rockwood at 25, I think of the words of our great ancestor Nikki Giovanni. I have returned to her words so often over the years. And as we wade through the pain and sorrow of recovering from the Eaton fire in Altadena, these words remind me how important touching is to healing our pain. This feeling of connection is one I felt with my Rockwood cohort in 2009. That cohort wrapped me in their arms and held me and I am so grateful these many years later that I still get to be held and touched and supported by this community.
And I know that kind of touching is also a form of revolution. These are tough times personally and they are made worse by the fascist attempts to reduce the meaning and power of our community. I know this moment is just the blink of an eye, but it could be the urgent seeding of generations to come in love, movement and practice. That’s why I am spending my time in our little community of Altadena organizing and building power with family, neighbors, friends, local groups and our kid’s school community.
I need these touches as my family moves through the sorrow and tries to recover from the devastation. Organizing our way through the pain and challenge of rebuilding and envisioning a new way forward helps but it doesn’t take it away. The pressure and uncertainty is constant for so many of us. Am I the parent my young one needs right now? Will the practices I have tried and tested through years work now, too? All I know is the practices, the community and vision that Rockwood nourished in me are what I turn to through all the devastation and despair.
Many of you know that Rockwood started with a call to environmental groups 25 years ago and today, in partnership with you, we have supported the evolution of our movement for climate justice. We have grown to support thousands of leaders who do important movement work everyday. Our 25th anniversary year provides a crucial moment to reflect on this founding, to reset, and move forward even more decisively to ensure the next 125 years are strengthened by people being in right relationship with each other, the planet, and all our kin. Rockwood has a small place in the matrix of action we must all take up in order to make real a very different future than the times we are living in today.
I know we will only make it through these times together. That’s why we are holding a celebration – 25 years of Transformation – on October 15 in New York. Join us in community as we reclaim our power and our joy! And keep an eye out for some other 25th anniversary offerings, including special guests for our Community Calls and exciting guest bloggers in our monthly newsletter.
The power of Rockwood is borne out of a love for community, transformation, the power of fellowship and breaking isolation, and a centering of accountable, collaborative practice. This is the love we must spread now for successive generations. As we show up for each other, share power, and confront unjust institutions with everything we’ve got, let’s remember – “touching was, still is and will always be, the true revolution.”
Darlene
CEO, Rockwood Leadership Institute
