This post is written from the perspective of co-leaders. The three of us put our heads together and after lots of discussion managed to synthesize all of our thoughts about some of the events of this last week. Before going any further however, it’s important to remember that our perspective isn’t actually the one that matters. It’s the perspective of this community and the members that comprise it that is most imperative. So, while we feel it is important to put our thoughts down in one place, it’s more important to recognize that the thoughts and feelings of our community far outweigh the significance of our own.
Since its inception, November Project has been about recruiting others to a space and creating a community out of a group of individuals who want to work hard and have fun while doing it. By nature, November Project is a bit awkward at the start: we get close together; we do weird/ridiculous calls and responses; we exchange hand hugs, real hugs and even real sweaty hugs at the end. We challenge those who choose to start their mornings with us to get out of their comfort zones by interacting with each other during the workouts. We would like to think that this awkwardness doesn’t last too long for people – but how long any one person feels uncomfortable is a result of how welcomed they feel by the community.
Over the last few weeks, members of our Baltimore community have expressed feelings of exclusion associated with November Project, that November Project isn’t always the inclusive, welcoming community we always claim it to be. While we don’t want to speak for anyone, we feel it is important to address these concerns because if we as individuals are not welcoming to the new and different faces, then we are not doing our job. If we left these criticisms unaddressed we would not become a stronger community, and while some of those statements hurt, we’re grateful for them. Open conversation allows us to grow. Some of you reading this may have knee jerk reactions to those statements, but we kindly ask you to join us in listening before voicing any opinions.
It’s also important to remember that November Project is something entirely different for everyone. Every morning is different, every interaction is different and our actions are perceived differently based on our audience. Some people just come for the workout, while others draw a great deal of their social life from November Project. Both ends of the spectrum exist, both are valued and both need to be made to feel welcome. There is nothing that says you need to be at every happy hour to be a valued member of this community. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to make all November Project outlets a safe space for everyone.
We (as leaders) have given a lot of thought to this topic, but we certainly do not have all the answers. We are not blind to the structural inequalities that many residents of this city face; in fact, all three of us are in fields that work to address some of these unjust structures. We are not blind to how these inequalities impact who can and cannot show up to our workouts. For three years now we have worked to change those very things, but it’s hard work and change is slow. Know that we speak for November Project Baltimore and Baltimore only, that no one else speaks for us and that we can and will continue to improve all aspects of November Project. But we need your help. Our leadership isn’t what will help us improve, it’s our collective minds, supported by the relationships we have built with one another.
We want this community to know that we wake up every Wednesday and Friday because we love this. We spend hours each week trying to make November Project an enjoyable experience; sometimes we kill it and sometimes we fail. But we’re moving into a place where, because of that love, we need to spend more time thinking deeply (and hearing from our community) about how we can dive deeper to make November Project the inclusive, welcoming space we say it is.
So, moving forward, we want to provide a space where people can offer constructive criticism and suggestions and collaborate on how to create a more inclusive community, where everyone from all walks of life can feel comfortable. We know this conversation is hard, but we are willing to embrace that as we learn, grow and work to build a stronger sense of community for all. From there we hope to work with our collective community to create some tangible action items.
We also recognize that this conversation treads on issues far larger than November Project; but to go back to one definition of community: November Project is “a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.” We want to use our community to positively impact the larger society in which we live.
We created this: https://goo.gl/forms/2BZEhoToD0ebC3uJ3 for anonymous feedback. Feel free to use this space to provide criticism or suggestions on the topic and ways to move forward. We will also be available Saturday, April 15th from 12:00-4:00PM at Handlebar Cafe if anyone wants to come to talk to us in person.
With a whole lot of love,
Nick, Pat & Bryson
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