start the future
let’s build a cooperative, step 3: consolidate a clear vision
do you see what i see?
josh martinez
i have always loved trying to understand systems, and the systems that built those systems. i spend a lot of time thinking about how to get there from here. I own/consult at futureemergent.com.
working
what you leave behind
As I get older, I’ve become more conscientious about the footprints that I leave behind. For example: I started letting my hair grow longer recently and needed a new comb. I bought one made from bamboo instead of plastic. Every time I handle something made of plastic, I fret
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on time
My extended family was very social when I was growing up. The Sri Lankan community in Austin, Texas is one of the largest outside of the island itself. Once or twice a month someone in the community would throw a dinner party at their house. These were nothing like the
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narrating future
I’m busy with work and life this week. No new essay today as I try to stay caught up with my assignments. I have been working on something special, though! I started narrating some of my favorite posts from be the future. There’s an embedded recording on each
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don't look away
I’ve been thinking about Nat Turner’s Rebellion for the past week or so. Imagining the sticky late summer of 1831 in Virginia, an hour’s drive west of Virginia Beach. Learning more about Nat Turner and the brave people who joined with him. How he struck out against
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evolving our DNA
How do organizations change? Why is it that most organizations can set goals for racial justice and then never achieve them? What’s so difficult about doing things in different ways? Equity filters can be clunky. They can be hard to integrate into an existing decision-making process. I want action
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just once
Last week I was in Yakima for the annual Washington Food Coalition conference. I spent three very full days learning, talking, laughing, and (of course) eating well. On the last day, I ran into a friend/former coworker of mine. I think of him like a little brother in the
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catching up
So many people want to do the right thing. With enough awareness, we start to see the world of injustices embedded around us. We might think, “all I need to do is get a bunch of friends together and we can change the system!” Lots of people, including me at
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the preacher and the choir
It’s not easy being among the workers angry about the decisions people at the top are making every day. Some leaders think that decision-making at a nonprofit can be hard to understand. Often the people protesting their decisions do understand. In fact, they are often protesting because they understand.
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after the pilot
In 2003, the TV miniseries Battlestar Galactica premiered in the united states. Battlestar Galactica is a gritty science fiction series set in a politically complicated universe. The concept of the show comes from the 1978 TV series of the same name. Here’s a quick summary: billions of humans live
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power and the harm of “we”
Another heatwave hit Seattle last week. It was mild compared to so many places in the world. I complained as the heat and smoke descended, a regular marker now for the end of summer. But we were fine. Around the united states, people felt temperatures well into the 100s (+37℃
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how do we learn?
Last week, wildfires swept the region of Maui known as Lahaina. This is a place of great significance to kama’aina, or Native Hawaiians, everywhere. Before the u.s. government conquered and colonized the Kingdom of Hawai’i, Lahaina was their capital. Hurricane winds fed by climate change gave strength
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