Southern Girls : Houston Indymedia

As attendees walked down into the courtyard of the University of Houston’s University Center, it was easy to spot the Southern Girls even before the many pink signs announcing their presence were visible. Their avant-garde hair cuts, political t-shirts, and the marked absence of men set them apart from the other small groups milling about the student center. These were the Southern Girl’s that the convention’s moniker referred to, and aside from a few men sprinkled here and there, the only ones who attended. But it quickly became evident that the convention spoke to a much larger audience.

On the first day of the convention, a self proclaimed Bible Belt Christian offered a lecture entitled: Miseducation of Carceral Christianity: Just a Southern Thing? Robin Mitchell Stroud’s conventional haircut and dress stood in stark contrast to the political statements that her youthful audience made with their hair and attire. Like most of the speakers, this was her first Southern Girl’s Convention and while she may not have shared all of the political or religious beliefs (or lack thereof) of most of the participants it immediately became clear that both teacher and students had a lot to learn from each other.

Having been to their fair share of lectures, the audience settled into their seats and prepared to be lectured at. She began in a traditionally academic way. Using Foucault as a framework on which to build her concept of carceral Christianity she illuminated the similarities between modern prison systems and certain brands of Christianity. But, after putting her theory on the table, the traditional teacher/student dynamic that most have been taught is the only way to learn anything disappeared.

She put away her materials and explained that she was really here to dialogue. Although she was coming from a specific perspective, even those who did not grow up in traditional carceral Christian households learned a lot from her radical ideas about imprisonment and its effects on the psyche. Eager and ready to exchange ideas with other organizers, before she called on the first person, she smiled excitedly saying “wait a minute; let me get out my pen.” It was grass roots at its best and the rest of the conference offered more of the same. Everyone who attended came there to learn from one another; to share ideas and bounce them off of other people whose opinions they respected.

Anyone interested in grass roots organizing had a lot to learn from the Southern Girl’s Convention. It was a feminist convention, but it was also much more than that. It was an idea share focused on grass roots organizing and Do-It-Yourself activism. There was a feeling of communal ownership. It was organized by the community for the community, and its success was evidenced in all of the serial attendees who had come from places like Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma to take part in the 8th annual Convention. It was a rare opportunity, an open dialogue, a chance for activists to learn from one another.

From topics like Popular Education in Action, and Organize Your Own Non-Profit Film Festival to Do-It-Yourself How To’s like Yo Mama Makes Paper! the Southern Girls Convention had something to offer everyone. It was about revolution in everyday life, and learning from the people that you share this city, this planet with. Gandhi said be the change that you want to see in the world. The Southern Girl’s convention illuminated the small but revolutionary changes that can be made in your everyday life that really make a difference. It was the embodiment of grass roots activism.

One of the limitations of the activist community is that it tends to function as splintered, loosely connected parts of a whole. It is easy to get caught up in your personal struggle and miss yourself reflected in others. While it was marked by its dialogue of ideas and progressive thinking, the Southern Girl’s convention was also marked by the absence of outsiders. Most activists who do not identify themselves as feminists do not think that a radical feminist convention has much to offer them. Just because they’re women’s rights, or minority rights, or homosexual rights, they are all still rights and we are all fighting for the same thing. These are just focal points through which to see the larger picture of the social justice movement. The topics were centered around women’s issues, and issues that relate to southerners and those are issues that affect us all.