Moving the Movement!

Last night members of Collective Purpose blew the roof off of the Marina Village Conference Center. Ant Black, Kendrick Dial, and Rudy Francisco performed at the Center for Social Adovcacy Annual Dinner before a crowd of about 200 social activists, politicians, public officials, and community members. The performance included You Shoulda Been There, The Movement, and My Poem is Pissed. All three pieces challenge the state of society, the lack of consciousness, and the need for more activism. By the end of their performance the crowd was on their feet cheering and asking for more.

The highlight of the night was Ant Black's dedication of a tribute poem to Ms. Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farmworkers Union. Ms. Huerta, who provided a rousing and challenging keynote address at the dinner, was moved to tears. The poem, which told the story her life through sacrifice, struggle, and hope, came on the heels of her appearance at the Encanto Street Fair in 2007 when Collective Purpose was asked to do an introductory performance on the spur of the moment. Ant Black reported to the audience that he felt like the introduction was not appropriate for the contributions Ms. Huerta made to the movement and American society. He said that this time he wanted to give her an introduction that lived up to her place in history and her contributions to the world. He wrote the poem just before the dinner started. After the performance she embraced Ant Black with a heartfelt hug of appreciation.

The Center for Social Advocacy (formerly the Heartland Human Relations) is the oldest social justice agency in San Diego County. Their focus is on Fair Housing, Immigrant Issues, and Civil Rights.