It's a great thing to roll through small towns where people actually know their neighbours. In Floyd VA we were put up in a wonderfully small and warm 2nd floor cafe and bookstore called Black Water Books. That night we stayed with our friend Tree who's living in a small cabin next to a stream on land that was an infamous commune starting in the 70s. We curled up around the wood stove, enjoying the light of oil lamps and lack of electricity, and chatted about Black Mesa and indigenous solidarity work, shared stories and drank tea.
In the morning we hung out with her awesome son Jonah, reading story books, playing with animal friends, jumping on the trampoline, floating dandelions down the stream, and fishing for humans from the loft. Before saying our goodbyes (it's always too short! onward to the next stop, always onward) we met the horses and planted potatoes and kale in Tree's garden. Nothing can get me more grounded than sticking my hands in the dirt!
BLACKSBURG
Saying goodbye after goodbye is hard, but there's always another brilliant person waiting at the next stop to say hello to. In Blacksburg our friend Erin welcomed us with a veggie stew, homemade kimchi, and a full on salad. With full bellies and high spirits we rolled into what is perhaps our best shindig yet. A number of local groups had come out and helped promote the event, and despite being booked in a college most of the room was community members. We've been working at breaking outside of the alienated confines of young white environmental/activist spaces and this show was the best we've seen in terms of attracting a range of people. This is something we've talked about a TON, both in terms of how messed up and segregated the white activist scene is, and also how most attempts to break this down can slip into "inclusion" and "diversity" and other problems mirrored in the dominant culture. We also had someone from a carbon trading company come along.. and folks there telling of students at the college working on carbon sequestration - both false solutions we attempt to debunk.
The most exciting thing about this presentation was the willingness of people who came to talk broadly and connect climate change with other issues. In the lengthy discussion at the end we covered everything from local bike co-ops to solidarity with Palestine and the connection between Mountain Top Removal and the prison boom. We got into discussion prison abolition work, rural and city divides and potential solidarity, public transportation and classism, ended with an in depth conversation on tactics for direct action and effective strategy. It was an incredible evening, thank you to all who came!
Oh, and on top of it all, it snowed during our shindig, with a soft blanket covering Burt the Bumble Bus outside. Hard to imagine that just 3 days earlier we were in shorts and tshirts on top of a mountain cliff, basking in the sun!
- Julian
