23 March
On
In arouse SOLIDARITY, cultivate TRANSFORMATION, make PROGRESS

This is one of the best articulations of why collaborative systems [re]design work—the better—collabyrinth facilitates is necessary. In Ancestors: Those Who Bless Us, Curse Us, and Hold Us (Broadleaf Books, 2026), William Lamar asserts, “The hand of ancestors in our affairs is undeniable,” by which he is referencing not only family members who have come before us or the Great Ancestor who precedes us all, but also spiritual mentors, community members, civic leaders, even political figures—both those who sought the good of others and those who sought the good of only those like themselves. The following is an excerpt from chapter 8 of his text,more…

31 January
On
In arouse SOLIDARITY, cultivate TRANSFORMATION, make PROGRESS, TNT journey
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Throughout 2022, Collabyrinth partnered with Auburn Theological Seminary to offer a series of accountability circles to, first, state-level justice leaders, then Black men leaders from all walks of life, and finally clergy at historically white settler churches, who are leading their congregations in reparations work. All three circles used the Truth & Transformation Model to frame their bi-weekly digital gatherings for a duration of 6 months. Auburn has been a tremendous partner in field testing the UnLearn InEquity methodology. We also want to shout-out Beautiful Ventures for hosting two of the circles in their gorgeous digital home known as The Dark Tower, a virtual homagemore…

20 July
On
In arouse SOLIDARITY, cultivate TRANSFORMATION, make PROGRESS
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It is at the end of this video that Collabyrinth’s work begins. Otherwise, the self-awareness “breakthrough” that occurs exists only to further serve persons of privilege–as if everything everybody goes through in the video is for the benefit of the white guy.more…

09 April
On
In make PROGRESS

Today Collabyrinth consultant Melvin Bray challenged an elite group of thought leaders and public speakers to be courageous by adopting the use of a “Consciousness Rider” as a way to encourage program organizers to pursue beloved community. Riders are additional stipulations beyond fees for service or property that programmers must meet if they want a speaker, band or artist to fulfill a contract. Producers of public events have no reason to do better, unless talent and consumers insist they do better. This is one way to do so. If you make your living in front of an audience, leave a comment, committing to use themore…

08 April
On
In cultivate TRANSFORMATION, make PROGRESS
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[EXCERPT]–“In war–whether a shooting war or a culture war makes no difference on this point–only some of the battles are carefully planned. Others explode as if from nowhere. A little skirmish or rearguard action can quickly turn into a major collision, a Battler of Gettysburg, for example. “Something like that happened in Indiana during the last days of March. A bill in the state legislature, a mostly sumbolic last stand by routed conservatives opposed to same-sex marriage, triggered a massive response from gay-rights advocates. Governor Mike Pence’s signature on his state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) looked at first like a successful raid on competingmore…

08 January
On
In make PROGRESS
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Collabyrinth consultant Melvin Bray has been engaged by Auburn Seminary to co-organize the Table for Action Project Atlanta, along with professor and activist Letitia Campbell. Table to Action is an opportunity to facilitate conversation between queer social justice activists and Christian clergy, many of whom do not pastor openly affirming churches. In follow-up to an initial gathering of potential lead hosts 9 December 2014, Auburn sponsors Lisa Anderson and Macky Alston and their two local organizers met today to clarify the program’s vision, audience and timeline. As Lisa often says, “How we make change is as important as the change we make.” One of themore…