BOLD - PJALS

Welcome to Building Organizing Leadership Development (BOLD)!

Join the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane in partnership with Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR), Asians for Collective Liberation in Spokane (ACLS), Nuestras Raíces, Spectrum Center Spokane, and others to learn how racism and economic injustice intertwine to oppress some people and fracture our community, while consolidating power in the hands of the reactionary rich.

Applications now open for Spring 2024 BOLD Academy

5 Weeks | Wednesdays @ 6pm – 8pm

April 3 | April 10 | April 17 | April 24 | May 1

Ready to apply?

What is BOLD?

Spokane County is contested territory – we’re in struggle over who belongs, who’s worthy, who’s seen as a threat, and who deserves to be safe. Just barely under the surface, that’s all about race and class, two topics we’re conditioned to be silent about.

Together, we’re breaking the silence, diving in together, and reaching out to invite more people into community and coordinated action, because we know we can fight back and win! When we come together to reject racism and fear-mongering as weapons of the reactionary rich, we can make sure that our community and our country works for all of us, of every race and color.

If you are frustrated by racism and economic injustice and have already begun the process of learning what to do about it, BOLD is a great next step for you! Together we are taking BOLD action to challenge racism and poverty in Spokane County. Right now is a critical time to build united grassroots power — and we need your voice to be part of making it happen!

The BOLD cycle has two parts

FIRST:

We build a shared analysis of race and class

We like to call this structured learning our “BOLD Academy“. Our BOLD Academy is a 5-week interactive workshop series in which participants learn in a race-based caucus format in order to build a shared understanding of how racism, poverty, and their intersection are weaponized by the reactionary rich to oppress and divide our community.

Here’s what we know: Certain politicians exploit racist rhetoric to divide and distract, while they rig government and the economy for themselves and their big money donors. They get richer, we get poorer—and the power of government is turned against communities of color.

Through our BOLD Academy we learn how we can come together to build cross-race cross-class solidarity and movement that will defeat the divisive, dog-whistle politics of the reactionary rich.

This Academy was originally based upon the Race Class Academy by Ian Haney López. Although the Race-Class Academy remains a large influence to our curriculum, we continue revisiting the curriculum after each BOLD Academy cohort to incorporate new feedback from participants and making changes that reflect our ongoing commitment to deepening our Race-Class Analysis. So – if you’ve been through one BOLD cohort, we encourage you to keep signing up for future BOLD Academy offerings as well! This program is ever evolving and participants walk away with new knowledge and understanding each time!

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss the launch of our next BOLD Academy cohort!

THEN:

We act on what we learned, together.

BOLD Deep Canvassing Volunteers

This is not persuasion work, this is activation work. We can come together to reject racism and make sure our government works for all of us, of every race and color. We can fight back and win!

In order to do that, we need a shared analysis and understanding of race and class oppression. We believe the best way to create a shared understanding is to talk about it – one key way we do this is through deep canvassing. We’re going to talk with thousands of our neighbors about race and class and invite them to join us in action — yes, that is BOLD!

But what action?

The community organizations involved in BOLD are all committed to a race-class analysis of injustice, and fighting that injustice in some way. We hope to connect our community with a variety of opportunities to join that fight. Last year, for example, our community mobilized to defeat Measure 1 – a Spokane County ballot initiative that would have doubled our county carceral system. You can learn more about the campaign at JusticeNotJails.Vote

Voting our values is one limited but important step to shaping the future of Spokane County. We also believe that talking about race and class, two things we are conditioned to be silent about, is revolutionary in itself. Subtle forms of racism and classism cannot thrive under the gaze of a community dedicated to justice.

Graduates of the BOLD Academy will have many opportunities throughout the year to practice putting their Race-Class Analysis into action. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to learn about our next BOLD Academy offerings!