Bring Freedom’s Revival to Your People ✨
A note from Mia
Hi friends,
Last week, I was part of a gathering themed around James Baldwin’s seminal work The Fire Next Time. It contains so many passages that resonate deeply today, even though it was published over 60 years ago. But right now I am sitting with this bit:
“I know what I'm asking is impossible. But in our time, as in every time, the impossible is the least that one can demand—and one is, after all, emboldened by the spectacle of human history in general, and the American Negro history in particular, for it testifies to nothing less than the perpetual achievement of the impossible.”
This quote is on my mind because it reminds us of all the impossible progress that’s already been made. It calls on us to make more impossible progress. And it helps us remember that imagination and dreaming are strategic necessities when we are in the throes of relentless upheaval.
Below, you can learn a little about Next River’s Freedom’s Revival offering to strengthen our collective imagination in service of concrete gains. You can also check out some of what is moving and inspiring the Next River team right now, including a baby!
Bring Freedom’s Revival to your people
To support our collective capacity to embody deeper future-facing visions and strategies, Next River is expanding our Freedom’s Revival workshop offerings to organizations, coalitions, collectives, and groups. As people devoted to getting free, we can’t just know we belong to each other, we need to feel it. Yet embodying this in practice can feel out of reach in our current conditions.
Rooted in research, our Freedom’s Revival workshops provide a dynamic and immersive experience of interconnected freedom to reawaken a sense of possibility and shift our thinking in ways that allow us to meet the moment while also holding a vision of the impossible.
We are looking for folks who are interested in bringing our Freedom’s Revival workshop to your organization over the next year.
Doing the work of getting grounded in our interconnected freedom is not a philosophical exercise, but a strategic imperative. Unless we are tapped into the reality of our interdependence, we risk continuing to direct our energies at short-sighted, reactive, and siloed approaches that will fail to bring us any closer to the world we deserve.
This moment demands long-term, future-facing vision and action. This is a moment that calls for Freedom’s Revival. Curious about bringing Freedom’s Revival to your people?
Our modular workshops can be done in-person or online. We are committed to making these workshops accessible in every sense of the word, so please don’t let concerns about budget keep you from getting in touch, and feel free to ask about other accessibility needs.
“I felt validated, inspired, and awakened.” -Freedom’s Revival Workshop participant
We have a new Next River baby!
Our beloved team member Madeline Davis is now a parent! We are thrilled for her and her family. Baby Davis is getting lots of cuddles and love and settling in on 🌎.
Current inspiration
“Grappling With Systems Collapse: How Social Sector Leaders Can Respond”
Next River’s work was cited in the Stanford Social Innovation Review’s May 8, 2025 piece authored by Liz Ruedy and Tom Glaisyer of the Democracy Fund, and Rachel Reichenbach of The Oceanic Partners.
“What if I’m not built for the frontlines?”
We appreciate AJ Hawkins’s take on the ecosystem of roles as we navigate composting a dying world. In this video, AJ calls us to consider the role(s) we can play in this inter-reliant ecosystem: the offender, the defender, the tender, the mender, the pretender, and/or the upender.
What role calls to you in this moment of deep disruption?
Member discussion