COCo's Commitment to Building Anti-Oppression Capacity

One of the six strategic directions COCo introduced in 2011 is aimed at increasing anti-oppression capacity within community groups (including within COCo). 

To that end, COCo worked with 20 community groups on an anti-oppression capacity-building project entitled Just Practice, C'est Pratique. We designed a 2-day training to build skills around:

- Conflict Prevention (interpersonal communication skill building, active listening , etc.),
- Conflict Resolution Basics (skills to help us intervene in times of organizational conflict, conflict related to issues of oppression, etc.)
- Anti-oppression (thinking systemically about preventing oppression through policies and other measures, awareness raising, addressing bias and power imbalances in our orgs, etc.)

The workshop was an inspiring moment that highlighted the interest from various communities to do this work and stay connected. We successfully developed and nurtured a respectful and sharing environment that allowed for building solidarity and coalitions rather than increasing guilt and paralysis. The effectiveness of workshops of this kind is dependent on a group’s capacity to be open and grounded in order for people to be able to discuss the difficult and complex issues embedded in power and privilege.

Groups and individuals who participated met to exchange these transferable skills - skills that help address communication obstacles, encourage accessibility and anti-oppression practice in our organizations. COCo facilitators and participants worked together to build on their learnings and take some kind of action within their communities.

Doing this work was not without challenges, and raised some really important questions that communities need to address. For example:

1. Developing and using accessible and inclusive language:
Ironically, the term “anti-oppression” is not always known or used in many historically “marginalized” communities. At times, this term has been a strong mobilizing tool for
these very communities. It encompasses much more than managing or encouraging “diversity”, and evokes a critical analysis of power imbalances on interpersonal, organizational, societal, institutional and
other systemic levels.

2. Implementation on an organizational level:
Many Just Practice participants were super interested and motivated to start building anti-oppression practices and principles into their work and communities. Some
individuals within organizations are strong advocates of this work, while their organizations may not have formalized their commitment to anti-oppression practices. Also, many groups committed to social justice work and who maintain a critical view of power and privilege are under resourced. How then can organizations implement this work when they are often scrambling to simply “stay afloat”?

3. Beyond “training”:
People often tend to respond to the need for anti-oppression practices and principles by providing training. Although training and working discussions can be very helpful and assist in critical reflection, it may not leave a lasting impact within an organization. For anti-oppression work to be genuinely meaningful and sustainable, it must be implemented into practice - into individual, interpersonal, structural and and organizational practice. This can be developed through organizational policy and recommendations for addressing organizational gaps - keeping in mind that policy will not have a transformative impact unless an organization commits to a genuine critical analysis of power and privilege within their communication, the unspoken and the application of discretionary power.

In December we held a wrap-up session whereparticipant groups shared their planning, strategies and challenges, and waysin which they can keep these connections alive. This project has demonstratedthe interest from various communities to do anti-oppression work and stayconnected! 

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Meanwhile, this year at COCo we have undergone our own internalanti-oppression needs assessment, working sessions and training with the wonderful Jenna Peters-Golden from AORTA (Anti-Oppression Resource Training and Alliance: http://aortacollective.org/). We are also in the process of finalizing our own Statement of Anti-Oppression Practice, which we hope to share online soon.