“You are Amazing” – Darren “Freedom” Green on Affirming Your Foundation

Darren Green, a Trenton mayoral candidate, blessed us with some grounding words of wisdom during our March workshop. While Organizing Stories is dedicated to sharing community-based, social-justice initiatives, we acknowledge that activists are people first. People thrive off of interpersonal connections, so it is no surprise that Mr. Green stresses the importance of helping people get to know themselves and others better by getting them acclimated with their innate gifts and purpose. In doing so, you will recognize your own invaluable qualities, which is crucial to avoiding the type of idolatry that stifles revolutionary movements through putting certain people on a pedestal. We all have supreme qualities that contribute to our collective advancement.

“When you affirm people to be themselves, they’ll move from being capitalist property to being people. When you move people from being inanimate to animate… you make people them find their humanity. In their humanity, is their sanity. When we find that, we’ll have peace.” ––Darren “Freedom” Green

For Mr. Green, this practice of mutual affirmation begins with crucial internal work. We have to take care of ourselves to care for others. He encourages us to find our faith in ourselves instead of our ignorance. True activist work starts with acknowledging that the people who make this work possible are amazing. It is essential to affirm your foundation, and people are the anchors who bring meaning to activism.

When asked what are some things people can do to nourish their capacity to imagine a world beyond our current circumstances, Mr. Green’s response was simple; Nourishing each other is the way forward to liberation.

Organizing Stories thanks Darren “Freedom” Green for so graciously sharing his insights and experiences with the Princeton community.