Gabbi Zurlo

I was asked to share my recent experience at Highlander Folk School, but I hesitated for fear of being dismissed as a SC Progressive Network fangirl. Maybe that’s true, but the more I reflect on it, maybe that’s okay. There’s so much to be proud of — and to fight for — in South Carolina.

A few months ago, with no real organizing experience, I left my hospital administration career, graduated from the Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights, and joined the SC Progressive Network staff. Just weeks into the job, Network Director Brett Bursey suggested I apply for the LIFT fund’s leadership pipeline annual convening at the famed and fabled Highlander Folk School (now known as the Highlander Research and Education Center).

Though brand new, I was accepted. And as other’s excitement for me grew, so did the looming sense that I was depriving more deserving organizers from this opportunity. The Law of Abundance meant that in this I was not only abundant in support and opportunity, but in fear. What if my ineptitude embarrassed the Network? Who was I to be among those hallowed hills in Tennessee, where Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and my personal hero, Septima Clark once gathered?

Ideally, once I arrived I would have felt a sense of purpose and belonging. For those three days, however, I struggled to make sense of what I could possibly offer the others. They were leaders of their unions and worker centers across the south, many knowing each other for years. But I stayed determined to harvest whatever I could despite the anxiety.

We spent hours huddled in the small room scribbling the essence of our individual organizations on giant sticky notes for the rest to review and question. The purpose of this convening was to identify our “needs” and “dreams” — of the movement, of our organizations, and of ourselves.

As these seasoned leaders and activists shared their dreams, I sat back in shock. They were dreaming of citizenship schools, inter-generational support, a community space for art and events, analyses on class consciousness and working outside of the capitalist system, for time and space to dream. These dreams were my dreams too — but they are also my reality.

Those three days were educational and inspiring, not because they were teaching me new things, but because I was awakened to the true marvel of South Carolina. In the Modjeska School we were warned that South Carolina is like no other state. For all of the horrors that comes with that, so too comes hope, because the Network is already manifesting what many activist organizations in other states are only daring to dream of.

So, when I think of my needs and dreams as an organizer, I dream of remembering this gratitude. I need the daily phone calls with Brett and Becci Robbins. I need the fear and anger – the thrill of still having so much to learn. I need dancing with Femi at GROW’s Jazz Nights, and I need the 50 years of activism behind me so that I can do my part for the next 50 years.

And if I come across as a fangirl or acolyte, then so be it. We have work to do. The Network allows me to fulfill the needs and to dream my dreams; and whether or not you know it, we’re working for your needs and dreams, too.

Read more about Gabbi Zurlo in an earlier blog post.