Next Up is a program for young adults that explores the intersection of civics and grassroots community organizing. Regular people like you and I fuel both and when done right, we focus on uplifting the most marginalized communities.

Next Up Project:

Movement Strategies & Storytelling

Location: Selma, Alabama
Timeline: 3/1/23 - 4/1/23
Ages: Young Adults (23 - 40)
Objective: Tell whole stories of mobilizing & organizing efforts. Exercise critical listening. Define the story of you and your community.

During the course of approximately 5 weeks, Nside Out will partner with Common Power Studio to take time to critically explore strategies and tactics and experience stories from individuals who witnessed and organized during the height of the Civil Rights movement.

We will spend 5 days in Alabama commemorating the crossing of the Edmon Pettis Bridge more commonly known as Bloody Sunday. Using John Oneal’s story circle method, our goal is to return to our respective communities with the tools to better tell creative multi-dimensional, honest, and whole stories of our experiences; especially as they relate to resisting oppressive social structures. 

The Civil Rights Movement was one of many mass movements in US history but none have been as well documented and celebrated. We’re traveling to the heart of this movement to meet with civil rights leaders, explore the history firsthand, and celebrate the 56th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” - the Selma to Montgomery March.

We’ll engage with this history through the lens of storytelling and three primary questions:

1. What worked/why?
2. What didn't work/why?
3. What patterns do we continue to see in

    contemporary organizing climates?

We hope that by identifying these patterns we may be better stewards of history but also disruptors of tendencies that keep us from building sustainable movements.

Important Dates

All costs for the trip/program will be covered for participants that have been accepted.

Intro Workshop: 2/20/23 || 6pm - 7:30 PST
Second Workshop: 2/23/23 || 6pm - 7:30 PST

Travel Dates: 3/1/23 - 3/6/23

Debrief Workshop: 3/13/23 || 6pm - 7:30 PST
Final Workshop: 3/18/23 || 6pm - 7:30 PST

Registrants must be available for all dates listed.

Registration Closes: 2/15/23

Moments like the Summer of 2020, wake up the masses and leave many wondering what's next…

…Social Justice is more than a moment, it's a conscious decision made on a personal and systemic level, every single day.

Some call it their civic duty or even volunteering, but we refer to this essential day-to-day work as relationship building, community care, organizing.