FIERCE Blog

Justice Committee: Statement In Solidarity with the Family of Kimani "Kiki" Gray and the East Flatbush Community

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:42:00 GMT

Last year, the NYPD stopped and frisked over half a million people, almost 90% of who were Black and Latino/a and almost 90% of who were found to be doing nothing wrong. The NYPD also killed 21 people, robbed 21 families and communities of cherished members. In the courts, on the steps of City Hall and most importantly, in the streets of our neighborhoods, New Yorkers are standing up to say, “Enough is enough!” However, like their predecessors, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly continue to disregard the overwhelming community outrage at countless incidents of harassment and violence at the hands of the NYPD. The recent uprisings in East Flatbush are a direct result of their failure to acknowledge and rectify the abuse. The on-going indifference by the Mayor and Police Commissioner only fuels tensions, resulting in further erosion of community-police relations and an inherent mistrust of the governing body of the City of New York.

It is impractical to think that New Yorkers will continue to live silently with the daily physical and emotional impact of all forms of police violence – from Stop, Question and Frisk to verbal abuse to unwarranted assaults to unjust killings. As Martin Luther King said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” We must understand that resistance in many forms is a natural reaction to extreme oppression and is necessary for change.

New Yorkers must also demand accountability from officers who kill and brutalize our loved ones. The millions of tax dollars the City pays to settle police violence civil suits each year do not erase the scars left, nor do they it bring back those unjustly taken from us. Too often, the family members of those whose lives have been lost to the NYPD are re-victimize when the District Attorney’s Office fails to indict or lackadaisically prosecutes their killers. We must understand that police violence is not an issue of a few bad cops, but a systemic problem that is perpetuated by the criminal legal system and some of our elected officials. We must come together to address this problem and we must do it now.

In memory of Kimani “Kiki” Grey and all those who’s lived were stolen by the NYPD, we call on all New Yorkers to stand together to demand justice and police accountability. Please join us! One way to do this is to come out May 10, the Friday before Mothers Day for the Mothers Cry for Justice action at One Police Plaza. (See: http://goo.gl/Q00Me). Please also look out for information from us on how you can support the demand that all charges of the Cop Watchers and community members who were arrested on March 14 be dropped.

Email info@justicecommittee.org for more information about how you can get involved!

http://justicecommittee.org/Home/Home.html

FIERCE Workshop at Creating Change 2013

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:39:00 GMT

Attention young people! Does fundraising baffle you?
Scare you? If you’ve answered yes, then perhaps this
workshop will help. In this workshop FIERCE will lead participants in an interactive workshop on youth-led grassroots “fun”-raising. W e’ll help you take steps to overcome fundraising challenges by sharing with you how grassroots fundraising can support your organizing work while also empower you to raise money for your organization. W e’ll share how FIERCE integrated member led fundraising into our organizational culture . This workshop would also great for you if your not so scared by fundraising but want to learn how to incorporate youth led grassroots fundraising into your organization and explore the importance of youth led grassroots fundraising has not only for our organizations but also for our constituents and ally communities.

Connecting Our Roots

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:25:00 GMT

A major event that we have been organizing is our second national LGBTQ Youth of Color organizing summit entitled Connect Our Roots. The summit, which unfortunately had to be postponed due to Hurricane Sandy, will now take place February 15-17^th in Chicago, IL. We are excited to be bringing together over 40 LGBTQ youth of color, representing 13 cities from across the country for a three-day grassroots summit where participants can network, share skills and organizing strategies, and envision together how to build power through LGBTQ youth organizing. We are very enthusiastic about what will come out of the summit, and can’t wait to meet all of the fabulous organizers who will be attending.

This Fall, we also conducted our first-ever webinar in which we shared our leadership development model and aspects of our forthcoming youth organizing toolkit. The webinar also gave us an opportunity to share personal stories about being youth organizers at FIERCE. Click here to read more about the Webinar!

In addition to the summit and webinar, we also launched a follow-up LGBTQ youth needs assessment survey and mapping project to see what LGBTQ youth need across the country, learn about new organizing work that’s happening, and if any of the main struggles facing LGBTQ youth have changed since 2009. We are still collecting survey responses and want to hear from you! Click here to take the survey! We are hoping to have preliminary results from the survey in January of 2013.

Being able to meet, organize and share with inspiring folks from all over the country is what motivates us to continue to build strong, sustainable LGBTQ youth networks that are for us, by us. As we move into the New Year, especially with eagerness looking forward to the National Summit in February, we continue to gain momentum for our National Program, knowing that with each step, we come closer to seeing the full potential of our power.

Wanna be in a FIERCE Zine?

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:09:00 GMT

And here's the full information:

Content Guidelines:

Can be anything in print form with which you want to express yourself, share experiences, or spread knowledge (this can include poetry, an opinion article, artwork, political education, a comic strip, a story, a cut-and-paste collection of things, etc.)

Should fit in a 4.25" by 5.5" space (half of a piece of printer/letter paper folded in half), or able to be put on multiple pages of that size, or able to be resized

Can be up to 4 pages (4.25" by 5.5" each) long
Should not use any oppressive language (unless in the context of a story or referring to an incident in which oppressive language was used)

Should preferably be related to topics such as FIERCE's work, activism, organizing, oppression, social/economic justice, political education, your experience as an LGBTQ youth of color, etc.

Please note that we may or may not be able to put all the submissions in the final publication of the zine (depending on the amount of submissions), so we will prioritize submissions that highlight FIERCE's work (ex: Pier 40, Know Your Rights, police reform, leadership development, etc.)

The final zine will most likely be in black and white so keep that in mind

Submission:

If it is writing, submit it in plain text by emailing mackenzie@fiercenyc.org or submit it in person (does not have to be typed, written submissions are accepted too) to Mackenzie or Manny.

If it is artwork or anything else, you can scan and submit it electronically to mackenzie@fiercenyc.org or submit it in person to Mackenzie or Manny

With your submission, include your name and whether or not you want to be credited for your submission in the zine (it's okay if you want to remain anonymous)

Feel free to submit multiple things to be in the zine.
The deadline to turn in zine submissions is November 30th, 2012!

Community Love in a Time of Need

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 12:21:00 GMT

In the face of all this hardship, we also want to lift up the incredible grassroots work that’s been happening to meet the immediate needs of impacted communities. Our allies at CAAAV, GOLES, and ALP have all been opening their doors these past several days to provide supplies and organize supporters and volunteers to reach out to community members. We’re also excited to hear thatProject S.O.L., The Hetrick-Martin Institute, and the Door, are reopened as well. Additionally, Queer for Economic Justice, located in our building (147 West 24th St.), is also open!

FIERCE is also happy to let you know that as of today, our doors are also open! We’ve amended our drop-in schedule to accommodate longer hours when possible and have pooled together some resources to support not only our membership, but our constituency of LGBTQ Youth of Color, with warm meals. We have power. Our phones and computer labs are fully functional.

FIERCE is located at 147 West 24th Street, 6th Fl, New York, NY.
F, 1, E, R, C - to 23rd Street.

HERE IS OUR AMENDED SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK:

+Monday, November 5th, 2012
Open to all LGBTQ Youth of Color
Drop-in: 4-8pm
Hot Dinner @ 6pm

+Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
FIERCE MEMBERS ONLY DAY!
Drop in: 2-8pm
Membership Meeting 4-8pm

+Wednesday, November 7th, 2012
Open to all LGBTQ Youth of Color
Drop in: 2-6pm
Hot food @ 3-5pm

** We’re planning to close @ 6pm because of Nor-Eastern front. Will keep people updated as things progress.

+Thursday, November 8th, 2012
Open to all LGBTQ Youth of Color
Drop-in: 2-10pm
Hot Dinner @ 6pm

+Friday, November 9th, 2012
Open to all LGBTQ Youth of Color
Drop-in: 2-10pm
Hot Dinner @ 6pm

FIERCE Webinar!

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:23:00 GMT

During the presentation I had the opportunity to share my personal experiences of the different levels of ELP and the benefits that came from the participation. We discussed why leadership development is so important for young people especially young LGBTQ people of color and how it can truly be beneficial to an organization.

The webinar was a great way for us to spread the word about our toolkit and start the initial conversations of building together with different organizations and figure out how to support each other in the work we do. This webinar was part of our National Program which aims to create a network of support for organizations nationwide doing LGBTQ youth of color organizing so we can all share, learn and vision together. I’m truly appreciative for the people who attended our webinar and their lovely words during the checkout.

Turning Back the Clock:

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 07:07:00 GMT

While the changes being proposed by HRPT on Tuesday may sound like a great solution for generating income for maintaining the park, we know that putting profit before people will never yield positive outcomes. To contemplate such ideas without weighing the price that users and the community surrounding the park would face, is a huge detriment to any community development process and often has devastating impacts on the lives of community members.

In 2008 when Related Companies proposed to build a mega-entertainment complex on Pier 40, we saw the West Village community unite against big private development. We saw business owners, families, LGBTQ youth, residents, and park-goers demand that community voices and needs be at the center of what happens on Pier 40. Related Companies’ proposal failed due to their inability to work within the limits of a 30 year lease, as decreed by the Hudson River Park Act, and their failure to produce a proposal that supported community building, prioritized public space and ensured accessible to all members of the community.

Residents and community members in attendance at the recent CB2 meeting brought up several concerns: timing and desire to have a longer process that would allow for more discussion and deeper understanding of the impacts changing the Act would have, wanting a process that would allow for community participation in brainstorming what development opportunities might be available, and exploring alternative solutions that could generate income for the park. At the meeting, HRPT admitted that they began organizing the committee that would create these new amendments in October, yet they only started discussing this with the public a few short months ago. Furthermore, in the feasibility study they conducted to explore various development options, they looked exclusively into what income hotels, residences and retail would generate if built on Pier 40. They did not explore schools, cultural space and medical facilities, development that the community stated they wanted and needed in years past.

Even more troubling, when concerns were raised at the meeting, they were either met with silence or defensiveness. In one particular incident, residents were asking for more time to review the proposed changes and to not make a hasty decision on amending the Act. The Hudson’s River Park Trust current CEO and President Madeline Wils remained silent and Arthur Schwartz, Chair of the Waterfront Committee, stated, “I bet if we have this conversation a year from now we’d still have people who wanted more time.”

This blatant disregard for the necessity of a longer, more public process, points out one of the key flaws to the current HRPT Act—that it does not contain measures of accountability to ensure community decision making in the process. At the moment, HRPT does not seek meaningful council and feedback from the public, but does hold the power to ultimately make final decisions. This is made obviously clear through the recent example of the Spectra Gas Line project. HPRT did not consult the community or the public on their thoughts and opinions on allowing a gas pipeline to run through the Hudson River and under the park, which has been a highly debated issue which large amounts of organized opposition. HRPT does not have plans for a public dialogue on the approval of the pipeline, evidenced by the fact the board is meeting on Monday 6/18 to vote.

If the Hudson River Park Trust is serious about opening the Hudson River Park Act, they need to be serious about ensuring that the needs of the community are met and that community stakeholders are part of the decision making process. FIERCE’s White Paper Policy “Expanding Access to Public Space at the Hudson River Park” outlines two solutions for the Act that would help ensure this:

1) Expanding community access to public space and increasing quality of life for adjoining communities, including having more public space determined by the community, expanded community uses, public management and no extension on the 30 year lease term, which would ensure that private development is limited.

2) Community Involvement in Decision Making about the park, which would allow for increased community representation on HRPT’s Board, who is the ultimate decision maker on the park. This would also give the larger community broader voting power and veto power in decisions about the park.

It is imperative that HRPT prioritize the voices and needs of the community. We all want a safe, accessible, and stronger West Village where community members, residents, students, families, LGBTQ youth, community organizations and local business can thrive. HRPT must put the West Village community before profit margins and mega-development. As community members, FIERCE is ready to engage in this process. HRPT, how about you?

--Krystal Portalatin, Co-Director, FIERCE

FIERCE is a community-based organization building the leadership and power of LGBTQ youth of color in NYC. Since 2000, FIERCE has organized campaigns to keep the West Village a safe space for LGBTQ youth. FIERCE is also a member of the Hudson River Park Trust Advisory Council.

FIERCE Launches Queer Pier, 40 Years Website

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:19:00 GMT

Launched to coincide with FIERCE’s 10^th Anniversary, Queer Pier, 40 Years was an arts-based initiative connecting LGBTQ youth of color and queer artists in documenting our communities’ histories, cultures and future visions for queer liberation through arts and media. The project was an incredibly rich experience that provided new avenues of exploration and insight into FIERCE’s history and the broader history of LGBTQ movement building in NYC and beyond. Last year, FIERCE wrapped up the project with creative and educational workshops led by inspiring queer and trans artists of color and a youth-led Journey to the Past event with current FIERCE members and alumni.

Throughout the process, FIERCE built new relationships with LGBTQ artists, archivists, media-makers and organizers. Together, we hosted community events and coordinated amazing art projects with artists such as Randal Wilcox from the Alvin Baltrop Trust, Parallel Lines, Ginger Brooks Takahashi and Victor Tobar & Kay Barrett. And, thanks to the support from NYU Fales Library and Special Collections, we started building FIERCE’s archive and are exploring more ways to share our history with others.

View complete details of the project at www.queerpier40years.org!

As FIERCE continues to move into the next decade of LGBTQ youth of color-led organizing, we remain committed to fostering powerful community building that is rooted in the stories, work, struggles and celebrations of our past, while encouraging revolutionary, fabulous, and fierce visions for the future.

FIERCE with Bob Kohler & Sylvia Rivera.
(from FIERCE archive, copyright FIERCE)

Queer Pier, 40 Years was conceived and organized by FIERCE’s Art Crew, a group of FIERCE members, board, and staff, along with artists, activists, educators, allies and cultural workers.

FIERCE sends a special thank you to members of the Art Crew, our allies and supporters for dedicating your time, energy, work and ideas to this project. Thanks also to Shawn Salgado for designing a beautiful website commemorating the Queer Pier, 40 Years project and providing a means for us to share this important work with others. A special thank you to the Documentary and Photography Project of the Open Society Foundations and the Arcus Foundation for providing funding for this project.

LGBTQ youth of color interrogate equality and how we create change

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:16:00 GMT

In 2009, FIERCE held the first LGBTQ Youth of Color Organizing Summit as part of Creating Change’s then racial and economic justice day-long institutes. This year, we organized a media justice workshop and youth of color caucus to connect with LGBTQ youth from across the country and talk about the issues facing our communities and the solutions we are creating to address these issues.

Since 2000, FIERCE has been organizing LGBTQ youth of color in NYC to lead campaigns against policing, gentrification, and violence that routinely impact our communities. Today, LGBTQ youth of color face targeting and harassment from NYPD policing tactics, such as ‘stop, question, and frisk’ and racial profiling—the same policing strategies and tactics that are exported to train police departments across the country and around the world.

SOLIDARITY: AN ESSENTIAL VALUE OF LIBERATION

Through our work, we draw direct connection to and solidarity with queer and trans people of color in the U.S. and around the world who are fighting for liberation. We know that the systems that detain, abuse and deport immigrants in the U.S. are the same systems that target and lock up low-income and homeless communities of color in the U.S. We know that Palestinian and Iraqi struggles against occupied and militarized land is directly linked to police states in the U.S. that nurture gentrification and displace low-income and homeless communities.

It is this exact juncture – of acknowledging interconnected oppression across identities and borders – that moved us, as young queer people of color, to use our collective voices to speak up for liberation, and in doing so, question the “LGBT Agenda of Equality” so prevalent at Creating Change. We did so by organizing a People’s Mic at the Task Force’s Friday morning session, “The Obama Administration and the LGBT Community.” Footage of our Mic Check and a full account of it can be found here: http://bit.ly/yEpSic.

By interrupting the panel, we took a space that was never intended for our voices nor the injustices we wanted to talk about as LGBTQ young people of color. We demanded that our voices be acknowledged, and though there have been individuals who have reached out to us since we organized the People’s Mic, by and large, our action has still only played a small role in the historical retelling of the session by the Task Force. Immediately following the session, there was no mention of the action and though we did receive a brief mention in the conference wrap up blog—“Fierce NYC Mic checked the panel, you can watch it here”— the content and importance of our message has yet to be acknowledged by the organization. Until the writing of this blog, we have remained silenced and erased.

ACCOUNTABLE LEADERSHIP: BUILDING ACCESS FOR MARGINALIZED VOICES

The terms “silenced” and “erased” may seem like strong words to describe the Task Force’s actions, however as young LGBTQ people of color, we can’t help but to ask:

What are the repercussions of WHO is talking, WHO is listening, and thus WHOSE equality is being promoted?

These vital questions make it evident that the notion of silence and erasure as “too strong of a description” for what happened, becomes a soothing excuse for those not only included in, but in control of, setting the “LGBT Equality Agenda.” Indeed, for LGBTQ youth of color, the silence feels really loud.

If we are truly building a movement where we have the opportunity to engage our country’s political leaders and elected officials, we must create space to hold the depth and breadth of a movement that encompasses much more than marriage equality and the right to serve in the military. We must build an agenda that acknowledges the limitations of equality—how equal access to unjust systems that are embedded in racism, classism, ableism and sexism, only grants relief for a few, not liberation for all.

Undeniably, the Task Force has a lot of power to get the ear and presence of the White House and that too as representatives of the LGBT movement. Given this power, how is the Task Force accountable to the broader movement, to the needs and voices of the most oppressed communities? How is the Task Force using their power to elevate folks on the ground doing grassroots LGBTQ organizing from a racial and economic justice lens?

The White House choosing to highlight LGBTQ youth homelessness at their National Conference on Housing and Homelessness in Detroit is an important step forward in bringing awareness to this issue. However, if we are to truly address issues impacting LGBTQ youth, it is crucial that LGBTQ youth have a seat at the table as key leaders and experts who hold the power and knowledge to put forth impactful and sustainable solutions.

Our experience at the panel and at the conference overall, makes us truly question “How does change happen?” As queer and trans youth of color, we believe we have the power to meaningfully shape and lead an LGBTQ movement for transformation, liberation and revolutionary change. The LGBTQ youth movement is a crucial piece of the broader LGBTQ agenda, and we need more spaces at Creating Change and in our mainstream movement to step up and build our power. And when we do step up, like we did with the People’s Mic, our voices, viewpoints and issues should not only be acknowledged but also treated and respected as integral leadership in this movement.

SHIFTING RESOURCES, SHIFTING POWER: HOW CHANGE HAPPENS

While Creating Change helps provide access to space where we can meet other LGBTQ youth and work with other organizations, we know that there is much work to be done to make Creating Change a conference that creates space for meaningful and authentic participation and leadership by LGBTQ youth, especially youth of color. We spoke to several youth at the conference who stated that while Creating Change did a good job of providing space for LGBTQ youth to hang out, have fun and meet each other, there weren’t many workshop spaces centered on youth leadership development, youth experiences or spaces where young people felt like their ideas and contributions were taken seriously.

As the Task Force plans for Creating Change in 2013, we ask that critical changes be made and actions taken to make the conference both accessible to LGBTQ youth and one where LGBTQ youth don’t just try to fit in but play a key role in shaping the conference.

We ask the Task Force:

1) Waive registration fees for low-income LGBTQ youth and provide substantial monetary support for food, housing and travel for LGBTQ youth of color to attend.

2) Create a Youth Organizing Track and/or have 30% of all workshops be by and for youth.

3) Prioritize day-long institutes and workshops on LGBTQ youth organizing from a racial and economic justice lens (i.e. not have Campus Organizing be the dominant or only space to highlight youth organizing)

Similarly, as the conference will take place in Atlanta, we know that the South is an incredibly under-resourced region, powerfully altered by both slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, and home to the most military bases in the country. We stand in solidarity with organizations like S.O.N.G. and Project South that have been organizing LGBTQ Southern people and creating models that grapple with what does it mean to be Queer and Trans in the South.

We ask that the Task Force use their role in the movement to support grassroots work already being done by those of us who are creating models, building leadership, and leading campaigns. We must forge strategic alliances between grassroots and national organizations to shift power and strengthen our movement.

What we say and what we do ultimately comes back to us, so let us own our responsibility, place it in our hands, and carry it with dignity and strength.
– Gloria Anzaldua

My Creating Change Experience 2012

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:05:00 GMT

During my stay in Baltimore I roomed with Evonna, Tiph, Anna, Donita and Sofie in a Hilton which was a great experience because they were all very open minded and accepting people who were easy to feel conferrable around.

The first and honestly the only workshop I attended besides FIERCE’s was, Queers for Economic Justice’s day-long workshop on Thursday. I fell in love with the organization because they were for all the things I’m for: ending racism, ageism, classism, ableism, sexism, transphobia and homophobia. I loved the wheel of oppression they used in the workshop. They had an activity were the whole room split up into different groups and they had to share why they were interested in attending the workshop. Most people in my group said that they wanted to learn to support others that weren’t as fortunate as them. One woman even said that she was part of the 1% and wanted to learn about people who weren’t.

As more people said that, I felt more and more uncomfortable because I was not only coming from a very poor family but I was also the youngest person attending the workshop. Later on I realized that the only people who weren’t of upper class came to creating change with either an organization or with their college because the cost of creating change excluded people who weren’t rich. Hopefully not on purpose.

Kenyon Farrow at QEJ's Day-Long "Class More Than Ever" Institute

The most memorable part of my week was the trans pool party that happened on a Friday night. I’ve gone to the dyke march before but had never felt comfortable enough to take off my top. What made this party a safe space for me to do this was knowing that I wasn’t going to find a picture of it the next day on the internet and if anyone did take pictures, it wasn’t to sell them online as child pornography. When I entered the pool, a female bodied youth called out “FOR GENDER EQUALITY!” and took off her top and others joined cheerfully. Now I feel comfortable enough to go topless at the dyke march because I feel I need to make the statement: All bodies are equal! Stop sexism!

The biggest highlight of Creating Change 2012 for FIERCE members who attended was calling out Obama’s administration on Saturday morning. I was extremely tired from the night before but forced myself to get up that morning because Tara thought it was a good idea to go and that we had to mic check them for all of the wrongs they had been doing. I didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity for my voice be heard by people who have power because as a youth of color my voice is always silenced in the media so it never reaches the people who actually can do anything about it. When I walked in the room I realized how much of a big deal this was going to be because the room was really small and the only people there were mostly white and dressed up. I came in wearing a tank top, jeans, and rain boots which out-casted me from the group of people already there. I came out of the room to make myself coffee and over heard a white man saying in a snobby voice “I wonder where the 99% is” and I half awake turned to him and said, “I am!” Later on I discovered that he was a part of the Obama’s administration. During the whole time I was there I kept a close eye on him because I’d already made an opinion about him and it wasn’t a good one.

The Obama administration representatives introduced themselves then asked if there were any questions. No one raised their hands so then they continued rambling about how great they were and the good things they were doing. Then as planned, Tara interrupted and called out “MIC CHECK!” and everyone in the room turned around to view the row of the only youth of color in the room in complete embarrassment. I started to feel a little embarrassed too and felt a bit of doubt but then I felt a little betrayed by the LGBT people in that room. I soon found myself feeling above the people who were staring at us like that because they were not standing up for their rights and letting their voices be heard. All they did was try to fit in and suck up to the White House reps by trying to act and seem heteronormative. They were probably people who spent all of their lives trying to prove to the straight community that they were just like them so that they would feel accepted and unalienated in their everyday lives. I understand why they act like that on a regular basis. It is their survival mechanism but with in the walls of a LGBT friendly space called ‘Creating Change’ it is a loss of opportunity to act as if they would be in danger if stepping out of the status quo.

FIERCE Preparing for the Mic Check.

The next day Tiph, Ana, Donita, Evonna, Dulani, Tara and I met up for lunch at Panera to brainstorm possible ideas for a blog post on the event that had happened the day before. Everyone had a lot to say about what had happened and were really passionate about getting our message out to others. Dulani scribed while every one went around in a circle describing their experience being a youth and person of color at creating change. We wanted to get the message out to everyone at creating change so we planned to post a blog by that night . We also planned to interview lgbt youth of color and ask them about their experience. While interviewing I noticed that most people said the same thing. They didn’t feel ignored but they also didn’t feel very welcomed to participate and raise their hands in the workshops. They were silenced by ageism and one person’s excuse was “well, the other people seemed more knowledgeable and like they had more experience” which at a place like creating change should not matter. Every one has their own experience that is worth sharing.

Since this event I’ve had a really easy time networking by using it was a starting point for conversation. People get really interested in hearing about FIERCE’s work and tell me that “FIERCE is a really dope organization!” So far the video of FIERCE challenging Obama’s administration has only gotten around 3,000 views in the 1st week but I have confidence that it will get to a million views by the end of February and continue to go viral.