Building Community in a Time of Crisis
by Sahar Driver
How to write about the work of Color Congress when all that I can think about is Gaza? How to dream of visionary futures when the climate crisis has brought forth the hottest month on record, extreme and unpredictable weather, and a looming global water crisis? How to mobilize when our government is increasingly militaristic and hostile to representative democracy, and when media consolidation feeds political polarization? My heart is breaking.
What a tremendous shift from the joy my heart carried after last month’s Color Congress National Convening. Over the 2.5 days that our members spent together (now 93 organizations strong), we listened to each other; we celebrated each other; we moved each other; we rolled up our sleeves and we got to work. Over the last year and a half, we have slowly shifted from a disconnected collection of organizations focused on our own work with our own communities, to an increasingly connected community of organizations who recognize the commitments that hold us together and who have a stake in each other.
This work of building community across difference is never easy. Even in our moments of togetherness and joy, we are called to attention by one another. And when we are, we must turn with both shoulders and listen. Our National Convening was no exception. At different moments of excitement about one idea or another, members stood up to remind us to notice the intersectional identities we all hold, and to notice which communities are not present (considering religion, age, class, ability, nationality, language, gender, and sexual identity), to notice the language we use, to remember our commitments to build in right relationship with each other.
In a moment of crisis like we are in now, it is the networks of relationships that I am a part of that I lean on the most. It is the people in my web of relationships that I check on. And it is this web of relationships that will hold strong when everything else falls apart. This is why Color Congress is an ecosystem-builder first and foremost.
What is ecosystem-building?
An ecosystem is a system of relationships, dependencies that reinforce one another. A healthy ecosystem is one wherein each member of the ecosystem can thrive and contribute to the stability of the broader system. So “ecosystem-building” is about ensuring the stability of these relationships and the internal and external factors that influence them. As a people of color (POC) documentary ecosystem builder, Color Congress has been doing this work by:
Strengthening understanding and relationships between member organizations so they can begin to influence and strengthen each other;
Fertilizing member work with resources and support to stabilize them so they can continue their work of nurturing creative talent/stories, audiences, and leaders;
Providing the infrastructure and funding necessary for members to collectively address the structural barriers they face in the documentary field.
Why are we organizing the documentary sector?
Increasingly, social issue documentaries are a central way people learn about history (Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story, The Space Race, El Equipo), about some of the most complex issues of the day and the good work people are doing to change the world (Sanson and Me, Lakota Nation vs. United States, Boycott). And sometimes they provide a mirror for a community to truly see themselves on screen (unseen, After Sherman, Freshwater). Documentaries are so powerful in fact, that it has inspired many traditional journalism outlets to direct more resources to short and long-form nonfiction storytelling. This is why the documentary form has quickly become America’s social studies and history teacher. And who tells those stories has power.
Independent documentary filmmakers are often driven by a desire for change. I am hard pressed to think of another time in recent memory when we’ve needed films like this more. But it’s no secret that the film and media industry is in crisis. Not only has the commercialization of the industry led to a glut of entertainment focused films about sports, celebrities, and true crime, it has also destroyed the market and independent distribution. This has meant that while documentaries have long been one of the most trusted sources of information among audiences, the documentary sector has work to do to remain a medium that can reflect the realities of this country.
That’s why the POC documentary ecosystem we serve is getting organized.
Where are we headed?
In September 2023, our Color Congress membership gathered in person in Atlanta to determine what we want to do together to strengthen the power of the documentary field and this ecosystem. Over 2.5 days, we whittled down a list of 21 ideas for interventions that various members had put forth for consideration to 8 priority ideas that they want to invest their time and energy in shaping. This is the work we are undertaking over the next few months and in early 2024, we’ll determine which of the ideas are most viable and the highest priority to implement first. We’ll use the $300k we have raised thus far in our Field Building Fund to resource this idea.
But as with any ecosystem, our movements and relationships are not fixed, therefore Color Congress’s programs and shape will also evolve to move in response to the changing landscape and the needs of our members. The Field Building Program, which is member led, will always be responsive in this way and will define what shape we take and where we move as a Congress.
Our opening speaker at the National Convening, Emery Wright of Project South, gave me my new mantra. Quoting Liz Sanders of the Appalachian delegation speaking to the first SMA in Lowndes County, Alabama on September 22, 2012:
We can’t do it alone, and we don’t want to.
I have been saying this to myself under my breath ever since.
We can’t do it alone, and we don’t want to.
We can’t do it alone, and we don’t want to.
