Grace Paley Organizing Fellowship-- Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Grace Paley?
Grace Paley z”l (1923-2007)was a long-term JFREJ member and 2006 Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Risk-Taker Award recipient. Paley was a political writer, activist, organizer and teacher whose life-long activism focused on feminist, anti-nuclear, and anti-war efforts. She was a founding member of the Greenwich Village Peace Center, participated in the Women's Pentagon Action and was the first official New York State Author. Paley mentored generations of students, writers and activists through her career as a teacher at Columbia, CUNY and Sarah Lawrence and through her participation in local, national and international organizing and activism.
How much does it cost to participate in the Fellowship?
There is no cost to participants to participate in the Fellowship.
What is the time commitment?
The Fellowship runs for six months, from September 2008 to February 2009. There are two weekend retreats (Friday pm to Sunday pm) and four day-long Sunday sessions as well 16 hours a month of organizing with JFREJ.
Who are the mentors?
The mentors are seasoned organizers and activists that are expereinced in supporting emerging organizers. Fellows will be matched with mentors based on the Fellow's particular interests and skill-set.
Who will be facilitating the trainings in general?
Each session will be lead by a different trainer who is skilled in the particular issue or topic we are engaging with that week. Through the Fellowship, participants will be exposed to leaders from various organizations and fields of Jewish and non-Jewish social justice movements and communities in NYC and beyond.
Who will be leading the hevruta (paired) study for the Fellowship?
Each session of the Fellowship will be lead by a different rabbi, educator, or organizer. Throughout the Fellowship we will study with rabbis, rabbinical students, and educators from various Jewish communities, from Orthodox to Humanist, Reconstructionist to Secular.
What are the goals of the Fellowship?
- Build the organizing skills, political analysis and practical experience of 12-18 JFREJ leaders
- Engage the skills of expert trainers and mentors in the JFREJ community
- Influence, support, and strengthen racial and economic justice movements in NYC through a more trained, radicalized and committed majority white, anti-racist Jewish group.
- Strengthen JFREJ’s capacity to develop, run and win campaigns for racial and economic justice in NYC.
What will the program include?
•Organizing Skills: Fellows will build their skills in organizing and increase their ability to be effective organizers for justice. Sessions will include solidarity organizing, base-building, leadership development, campaign development, coalition building, creative action and more.
•Mentorship: Fellows will be paired with activists and organizers who are doing social/racial justice work. Mentors will meet with participants to discuss the campaign work and the Fellowship program, and to generally support the development of the Fellows throughout the fellowship.
•Analysis of Systems of Power and Oppression: Program participants will undergo an intensive education in understanding systems of power and oppression, including Jews and Class, Imperialism and White Supremacy, Anti-Jewish Oppression, and Gender and Sexuality.
•Jewish Histories of Activism and Organizing: The Fellowship will include study sessions about the rich history of Jewish organizing and activism in the United States and throughout the world. We will also look at traditional Jewish religious texts and investigate those for questions, clarification, and inspiration.
• Putting skills into practice: Fellows will spend16 hours a month working on JFREJ Campaigns.
• Grassroots Fundraising: Participants will develop their skills with grassroots fundraising, which sustains JFREJ and is central to the capacity of social justice movements to build collective power for systemic change.
• Guest Trainers and Educators: Local organizers and activists will routinely present on certain pieces of the curriculum. This will be an opportunity to connect lessons learned from the curriculum to present social justice struggles and strategies for movement building.