"Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doing it." -James Baldwin
SUCCESSFUL MEETING #1 DOWN
Work got done, thank you Kafre and Cleon!
Though enthusiasm was present, as always the case among our passionate kind, we still managed to boil our public approach down to two initiatives and have secured two nominations for our board of directors. How's that for a start?
Shooting from the two agreements that #1 We can do this and #2 We should and must do this, we had a healthy discussion upon #3 How we should do this in regards to engaging the public into our program. Those of you here who have volunteered your assistance to the production of this idea may be ready for it, but are our audience (Black LGBT Atlantans) ready for The Baldwin Project? Putting all expectations aside, where are they in their readiness, so we may meet them there, and start there? Approving of The Baldwin Project idea is not readiness. Wanting something like The Baldwin Project is not readiness. Readiness is measured in how close you are to pulling the trigger on the very ACTIONS which are going to make The Baldwin Project real and bring its promises into fruition. Putting readiness in this perspective, we are not quite sure how ready our community is for us. So far, 3 people are ready by taking action on baby step #1: Attend Meeting 1. Like when coming to pick up a friend, they're either ready or they're not. When skydiving, you'd like for your parachute to be ready for use, don't you?
Following sage agricultural principles, if the field is not ready for your crop, before planting the first seed, you must get it ready to be fertile soil for your ideas. You get your field ready by tilling an aerating the soil. We are going have to do the same thing ahead of publicly unfolding our program. We must begin breaking up the old dynamics, paradigms and social structures which are going to be resistant and non-receptive to a program like The Baldwin Project leading it toward failure. We must begin stirring up and aerating the social climate with ideas, inspiration, galvanizing decisions and hope.
How is the current field not yet fertile for The Baldwin Project?
1. (LACK OF COMMUNITY IDENTITY) Black Gay Atlanta is not yet fully aware of itself as a real and distinct community separate from White LGBT Atlanta with our OWN organizations, businesses and leaders, our OWN history, home district and culture. -Kafre
2. It has only been within the last 3 years that we have been headed in that direction with the many separate cliques now consolidating due to the uniting factors of SOCIAL MEDIA, The changed sociological focus of ITLA over the recent years, though they are failing this year, and The Gentlemen's Ball giving Atlanta's Black Gay Men something to be proud of. Though we have some more miles to travel before we are a true community -Branden
3. (THE CLOSET) We are still largely closeted. Whenever a 54% Black City puts on a Gay Pride overwhelmingly attended by Whites and still outperforms in numbers, attention and economic stimulus a Pride dedicated to our people, we have to be still a sleeping GIANT. We can blame The Old Homophobic Black Church dynamic still strong here. The inspiration of Marriage Equality is helping with this. -Cleon
4. (LACK OF TRUST) Black Gay Atlantans do not trust one another. Our life experiences are one largely leaning toward hurt in dealing with homophobia, racism and the compounding system of self-hatred from other Black Gays. We're mean to each other. Some of us are so beaten down and broken from all directions that we fail to even trust ourselves. Without self-trust, and self-acceptance, integrity is unnatural. -Cleon
5. (LACK OF HOPE) Our community has seen lots of failures due to lack of follow-through on initiatives, lack of integrity (see #4), flakiness and infighting caused by ego-clashing and elitism resulting from want of importance and self-worth. The final result is the hope for new initiatives are at a low. -Cleon
6. (LACK OF QUALITY) The Black Gay Businesses we do have are not known for producing quality products at a reasonable price and are known for poor customer service. -Cleon
7. (OTHER PRIORITIES) HIV, Poverty/Homelessness/Unemployment and Underemployment, lack of Career establishment. -Kafre
8. (COMPETITION) We struggle to achieve unity because of #1: We fail to see ourselves as one community. We operate selfishly and see each other as rivals instead of partners. Therefore our talent is out to destroy and defeat each other due to insecurity #2. Collaboration and Cooperative economics struggle because of this factor.
There you have it, 7 challenges facing The Baldwin Project before we even get started. What do we do about this? Well, in Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step in confronting and dealing with a problem is to first bring ACKNOWLEDGEMENT to the fact that it is a problem and what it is costing. We're going to need to create an AWARENESS program. We can do this in 2 steps:
1. Using the SOCRATIC method (Teaching by questions leading to awareness of the answer.) We can create a survey which will #1 get people to thinking about the problems and #2. provide us conclusive data on the real climate out in the field, the real challenges we face and perhaps ideas we have not yet considered.
2. From those we engage in an online survey, capture their email addresses and invite them to a forum to discuss the problem and think tank what exactly we should do about it while presenting the Baldwin Project as one possible solution. We must have an Awareness + Solution focused discussion. They must at this time see The Baldwin Project in development and not just merely a great idea to increase their hope. We must make The Baldwin Project real to them.
NEXT STEP:
Between now and our Meeting #2 scheduled for Saturday, September 12th, we are going to shape this online survey and take it from there.
Please help by fielding me great questions in the comments section which will:
1. Give us a clear understanding of the readiness of our audience or field for The Baldwin Project.
2. Stimulate awareness and contemplation on whatever the challenges might be and what might happen if we don't do something like The Baldwin Project soon.
3. Stimulate interest in The Baldwin Project.
Are there any other challenges, I have not listed?
BOARD DEVELOPMENT:
We are adding 2 more roles to our board:
Dean of Education (Director of Education)
Publisher (Director of Magazine/Business Directory)
We are now taking nominations for all roles. Once we have at least one nominee for all board positions, this Founders group will vote in the Official Founding Executive Board of Directors.
So far we have two volunteered to be nominees:
Executive Director: Branden Mattox (me)
Deputy Director: Cleon Thelton Day III
These nominees are not official until voted in. To get the best team of directors we are capable of having, please lets have multiple nominees for each position to choose from, at least two. While I bring many strengths and talents to the role of Executive Director with a 16 year background in law, political campaigns, personal finance and community organizing and activism, if there is someone out there who can do it better than me, I pray that they show themselves and I will be fine with taking another role for which I am suited or none at all resigning to simply Co-Founder with all of you. They will have my vote.
Read the new adapted Executive Board List HERE. (You are able to comment on it if you have suggestions.)
If there is someone you can think of who would be a perfect fit for any of these roles, please put us in contact with them to see if they are interested in being nominated for a role. All that we ask is that they are Black, LGBT, are identified with Black Gay Atlanta as a community and live within the Atlanta Metro Region (Within 1 hr drive of Downtown Atlanta).
So until September 12th, we've got some work to do! So let's go in and let have!
TAKE AWAYS: (These Materials are for your study between now and the next meeting.)
SUCCESSFUL MEETING #1 DOWN
Work got done, thank you Kafre and Cleon!
Though enthusiasm was present, as always the case among our passionate kind, we still managed to boil our public approach down to two initiatives and have secured two nominations for our board of directors. How's that for a start?
Shooting from the two agreements that #1 We can do this and #2 We should and must do this, we had a healthy discussion upon #3 How we should do this in regards to engaging the public into our program. Those of you here who have volunteered your assistance to the production of this idea may be ready for it, but are our audience (Black LGBT Atlantans) ready for The Baldwin Project? Putting all expectations aside, where are they in their readiness, so we may meet them there, and start there? Approving of The Baldwin Project idea is not readiness. Wanting something like The Baldwin Project is not readiness. Readiness is measured in how close you are to pulling the trigger on the very ACTIONS which are going to make The Baldwin Project real and bring its promises into fruition. Putting readiness in this perspective, we are not quite sure how ready our community is for us. So far, 3 people are ready by taking action on baby step #1: Attend Meeting 1. Like when coming to pick up a friend, they're either ready or they're not. When skydiving, you'd like for your parachute to be ready for use, don't you?
Following sage agricultural principles, if the field is not ready for your crop, before planting the first seed, you must get it ready to be fertile soil for your ideas. You get your field ready by tilling an aerating the soil. We are going have to do the same thing ahead of publicly unfolding our program. We must begin breaking up the old dynamics, paradigms and social structures which are going to be resistant and non-receptive to a program like The Baldwin Project leading it toward failure. We must begin stirring up and aerating the social climate with ideas, inspiration, galvanizing decisions and hope.
How is the current field not yet fertile for The Baldwin Project?
1. (LACK OF COMMUNITY IDENTITY) Black Gay Atlanta is not yet fully aware of itself as a real and distinct community separate from White LGBT Atlanta with our OWN organizations, businesses and leaders, our OWN history, home district and culture. -Kafre
2. It has only been within the last 3 years that we have been headed in that direction with the many separate cliques now consolidating due to the uniting factors of SOCIAL MEDIA, The changed sociological focus of ITLA over the recent years, though they are failing this year, and The Gentlemen's Ball giving Atlanta's Black Gay Men something to be proud of. Though we have some more miles to travel before we are a true community -Branden
3. (THE CLOSET) We are still largely closeted. Whenever a 54% Black City puts on a Gay Pride overwhelmingly attended by Whites and still outperforms in numbers, attention and economic stimulus a Pride dedicated to our people, we have to be still a sleeping GIANT. We can blame The Old Homophobic Black Church dynamic still strong here. The inspiration of Marriage Equality is helping with this. -Cleon
4. (LACK OF TRUST) Black Gay Atlantans do not trust one another. Our life experiences are one largely leaning toward hurt in dealing with homophobia, racism and the compounding system of self-hatred from other Black Gays. We're mean to each other. Some of us are so beaten down and broken from all directions that we fail to even trust ourselves. Without self-trust, and self-acceptance, integrity is unnatural. -Cleon
5. (LACK OF HOPE) Our community has seen lots of failures due to lack of follow-through on initiatives, lack of integrity (see #4), flakiness and infighting caused by ego-clashing and elitism resulting from want of importance and self-worth. The final result is the hope for new initiatives are at a low. -Cleon
6. (LACK OF QUALITY) The Black Gay Businesses we do have are not known for producing quality products at a reasonable price and are known for poor customer service. -Cleon
7. (OTHER PRIORITIES) HIV, Poverty/Homelessness/Unemployment and Underemployment, lack of Career establishment. -Kafre
8. (COMPETITION) We struggle to achieve unity because of #1: We fail to see ourselves as one community. We operate selfishly and see each other as rivals instead of partners. Therefore our talent is out to destroy and defeat each other due to insecurity #2. Collaboration and Cooperative economics struggle because of this factor.
There you have it, 7 challenges facing The Baldwin Project before we even get started. What do we do about this? Well, in Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step in confronting and dealing with a problem is to first bring ACKNOWLEDGEMENT to the fact that it is a problem and what it is costing. We're going to need to create an AWARENESS program. We can do this in 2 steps:
1. Using the SOCRATIC method (Teaching by questions leading to awareness of the answer.) We can create a survey which will #1 get people to thinking about the problems and #2. provide us conclusive data on the real climate out in the field, the real challenges we face and perhaps ideas we have not yet considered.
2. From those we engage in an online survey, capture their email addresses and invite them to a forum to discuss the problem and think tank what exactly we should do about it while presenting the Baldwin Project as one possible solution. We must have an Awareness + Solution focused discussion. They must at this time see The Baldwin Project in development and not just merely a great idea to increase their hope. We must make The Baldwin Project real to them.
NEXT STEP:
Between now and our Meeting #2 scheduled for Saturday, September 12th, we are going to shape this online survey and take it from there.
Please help by fielding me great questions in the comments section which will:
1. Give us a clear understanding of the readiness of our audience or field for The Baldwin Project.
2. Stimulate awareness and contemplation on whatever the challenges might be and what might happen if we don't do something like The Baldwin Project soon.
3. Stimulate interest in The Baldwin Project.
Are there any other challenges, I have not listed?
BOARD DEVELOPMENT:
We are adding 2 more roles to our board:
Dean of Education (Director of Education)
Publisher (Director of Magazine/Business Directory)
We are now taking nominations for all roles. Once we have at least one nominee for all board positions, this Founders group will vote in the Official Founding Executive Board of Directors.
So far we have two volunteered to be nominees:
Executive Director: Branden Mattox (me)
Deputy Director: Cleon Thelton Day III
These nominees are not official until voted in. To get the best team of directors we are capable of having, please lets have multiple nominees for each position to choose from, at least two. While I bring many strengths and talents to the role of Executive Director with a 16 year background in law, political campaigns, personal finance and community organizing and activism, if there is someone out there who can do it better than me, I pray that they show themselves and I will be fine with taking another role for which I am suited or none at all resigning to simply Co-Founder with all of you. They will have my vote.
Read the new adapted Executive Board List HERE. (You are able to comment on it if you have suggestions.)
If there is someone you can think of who would be a perfect fit for any of these roles, please put us in contact with them to see if they are interested in being nominated for a role. All that we ask is that they are Black, LGBT, are identified with Black Gay Atlanta as a community and live within the Atlanta Metro Region (Within 1 hr drive of Downtown Atlanta).
So until September 12th, we've got some work to do! So let's go in and let have!
TAKE AWAYS: (These Materials are for your study between now and the next meeting.)
- Initial Illustration Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-tbo33BMb6zQp2c06tUNJTeZ3SfMYzW9Y8jT6ecCTKM/edit?usp=sharing
- New Adapted Proposed Design for The Board of Directors: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dG7pTayt-P-9dgmaVMoDGc7YBLgiRrNDqLT4XnN1VsE/edit?usp=sharing
- For your Personal/Professional/ Business & Educational Development: "The Science of Getting Rich" written in 1910 (take notes for sharing during our 10-15 minute ice breaker.)
As always:
I look forward to working with all of you on this important endeavor!
Yours in love for the cause of brotherhood,
Branden G. Mattox
404-492-4197
