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Anti-Hate Fellowship Available Through Western States Center

Eric K. Ward
Western States Center announces a new fellowship program that combines the center's Gender Justice and Momentum program work to equip organizers with the analysis and tools they need to make a difference. Fellows will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the white nationalist movement and its “alt-right” coalition—forces that seek to limit the rights of people of color, queer and trans folks, women, immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized communities.

Based in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain States, Western States Center works nationwide to strengthen inclusive democracy. For 30 years, our work has advanced social, racial, and economic justice by convening, developing, organizing, and supporting the communities most affected by inequities.

"In a moment where our world is continuing to change in unprecedented ways, we have been thinking about how to rise to the occasion and adapt our programming to meet the specific needs of organizers," says Executive Director Eric K. Ward. "The leaders we’ve developed through our fellowships and cohorts now span the country, bringing sharper analysis and new organizing skills to their work."

Drawing from the lessons of Western States Center’s other leadership development cohorts, namely Defending Democracy and We are BRAVE (Building Reproductive Autonomy and Voices for Equity), Defending Democracy, Building Movement fellows will learn how to challenge organized bigoted movements through independent study and collaborative work, guided by leaders in the field.

The ideal candidates will have a commitment to racial and gender justice, some experience in community organizing, and an interest in engaging in anti-hate work. Fellows will undertake organizing projects that speak to a more loving, joyful, and just world, including directly countering white nationalism and other reactionary movements. With support from Western States Center, these efforts will also apply a strategic framework that enables these projects to be part of a larger power shift in fellows' communities.

"Because of the ways that white nationalists not only envision a world marked by misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia, but actively recruit through these hateful ideologies, this fellowship also specifically seeks folks engaged in organizing for reproductive or gender justice," says Ward.

"While this is not a requirement for participation in the cohort, there will be opportunities for smaller group conversations that focus on specific opportunities and challenges around these subjects as well as more general anti-hate work."

Deadline to apply is May 24. Fellows who are participating as individual organizers will receive a stipend of $3,500 over the course of the cohort.The fellowship will begin in June, and end on February 26, 2021. Learn more and apply here.

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