Life moves fast and technology over the years has helped to make life move even faster and, while much of today’s technology has added to our lives, the uncomfortable truth is that it has also taken away from our lives.
In the last 20 years, we have become a society where information is literally at our fingertips. We carry smart phones with us that give us more information than our minds can possibly process at the speed at which we receive it. As a result, we have become a culture that skims information and, while skimming has its purposes, information overload in a culture of skimming can also make us quite cynical.
We live in a day and age when seeing is no longer believing. When what we see, hear, and read can be manipulated in such a way that it appears real but isn’t. Especially as so much of what we encounter online is designed to evoke emotions and it has become increasingly difficult to determine what’s real and/or sincere or just generative AI and/or bullshit.
I must confess that I recently found myself unsure of a local Maine group that uses social media to promote its work. On the surface, the group’s work seemed straightforward: a local mutual aid project created by local immigrants and asylum seekers of African descent designed to serve their community.
Project Relief started several years ago and uses Facebook and Instagram to raise funds to support their community. Community needs have ranged from providing shelter for new asylum seekers who were literally sleeping on the streets to helping with utility payments, food, school supplies, and other essential needs. The group also calls out local racist activity and, since the return of the old guy in the big white house, they have been sharing sightings of ICE activity.
All good stuff, but the group is run by young people with no institutional backing. At times their efforts have been clunky to the point that some in the community, including myself, have wondered about the legitimacy of the group. Were they activists or anti-racist content creators looking to hustle folks?
In recent months, as Project Relief ramped up its daily asks for support, I started to hear more people wondering about the group, especially in the current climate. As all activist groups and non-profits are struggling in this climate. I often thought about reaching out to see if I could talk with the group, since I had met the group’s founder, Hamdia Ahmed years ago when she volunteered on the Bernie Sanders campaign. But I never quite got around to it, until recently.
Several weeks ago, Project Relief reached out to me to ask if I would share their work on my platform—having recently hit two million views a month on the BGIM Facebook page, my platform has grown. In the last year alone, I raised thousands to help send some delegates to the Democratic National Convention (since they have to pay their own way) and in local circles, it is rumored that if I promote a cause or person that needs funds, funds are raised. While that is true, I am extremely cautious about how I use my platform; I will only offer my platform and ask folks to support people or causes that I can personally vouch for. Which meant that when Project Relief reached out asking for help, I found myself in the awkward position of having to say that I couldn’t because I honestly wasn’t comfortable endorsing them unless I could talk to them.
Long story short, I had a chance this week to sit down over Zoom with the founder of Project Relief, who was gracious and patient in explaining their operation as well as their goals and fears.
Fam, what they do is truly mutual aid in the truest sense.
They work within their community because even though there are larger official organizations that work with the immigrant and asylum communities in Maine, they were seeing too many of the members of their community falling between the cracks and not getting the support they needed.
This group is fueled by young people—young people who want to create a better world. Young people who, because of what their families endured in their home countries and in arriving in this country, believe in inherent dignity and worth and who believe that support should not require hurdles. Young people who because of the systemic barriers that exist within the larger nonprofit sector, and cultural differences, are working outside of those systems to provide direct assistance and asking us and people who care to support their community.
Hamdia walked me through their expenses, and we talked at length about ways they can look to collaborate with others, if and when possible. Right now, they need to build up their financial support because even with the donations they receive, members of the group are still using their own personal resources more often than not to meet community needs. They also need professional support—if anyone can donate web design and hosting services, it is a critical need. Unfortunately, a New Hampshire white nationalist group that has harassed them in the past (I have also tangled with them) took the domain name they had hoped to purchase but we talked about other names. If they can get a website, it would be great if a local designer can design a logo as well.
What Project Relief does is vital. They provide culturally responsive support without barriers to immigrants and asylum seekers of African descent. Beyond that, they assist with local advocacy on behalf of community members who are not always comfortable speaking up. Hamdia shared that many of their community members are living in substandard housing conditions that aren’t safe. I knew she was involved in that work from one of my staff members who is part of a local racial justice group that has been assisting. I could honestly go on about how much our talk humbled me and reminded me of the importance of connecting—the importance of relationships and building—and I truly hope that our talk becomes the first of many as I do all that I can to assist them.
Our talk was also a powerful reminder of the limitations of the online world. It isn’t always possible to get the full story from a social media post. Part of my decision to write this isn’t just because I want you to support Project Relief, but I also want to acknowledge that sometimes even well-meaning folks can become cynical and not see what’s really present. We are inundated with information and requests daily and it can be easy to decide something isn’t quite right without looking any further, especially if we unintentionally fall into the standards of the culture of whiteness.
As a career non-profit person, I admittedly questioned why they weren’t a fiscally sponsored project or 501c3, given that they have been doing this work for some years now. Turned out, some of the information they had wasn’t fully accurate about being fiscally sponsored or a non-profit organization and after our talk, I hope they do consider some of my suggestions since I would like to see them gain a larger base of support.
Friends, I am asking you to support this work that is helping to meet immediate needs in a vulnerable community, I am also asking you to never stop taking a beat to connect with others when the opportunity presents itself. For months now, I have talked about the importance of community. Community doesn’t mean simply people we like; it is the people in our various communities, whether they be geographic, identity, or familial based. The world is crumbling and we need each other now more than ever and while our instincts are to give less in times of crisis, our giving today may be the giving we need down the road.
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