spring 2025 events
Navigating Conflict, Deepening Solidarity: Lessons for Collective Liberation
Gopal Dayaneni
MCC Theater and Lounge
Join longtime educator and organizer, Gopal Dayaneni, for a conversation about the opportunities and challenges of organizing for Collective Liberation and Ecological Justice during these particularly tough times. Organizing broader alliances for collective action requires us to build meaningful relationships; engage in principled struggle; learn to navigate conflict with care; and engage in loving accountability. How can this look in practice? How do we distinguish between “in-fighting,” “principled struggle” and “drama?
Guest Bio: Gopal (he/him) has been involved in working for social, economic, environmental and racial justice through organizing & campaigning, teaching, writing, speaking and direct action since the late 1980’s. He is a co-founder of Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project, which inspires and engages in transformative action towards the liberation and restoration of land, labor, and culture. MG is rooted in vibrant social movements led by low-income communities and Black, Indigenous & communities of color committed to a Just Transition away from profit and pollution and towards healthy, resilient and life-affirming local economies. MG is a founding member of the Climate Justice Alliance. Gopal teaches courses in Climate Justice, organizing, and social movements at San Francisco State University in the Race and Resistance Studies Department.
Music Performance
Building Solidarity through Artistic Activism: a Multimedia Concert and Artist Talk with Gizelxanath Rodriguez and Benjamin Barso
Gizelxanath Rodriguez and Benjamin Barson
MCC Theater
Join vocalist/guitarist Gizelxanath Rodriguez and saxophonist/composer Benjamin Barson for an evening of musical performance, social movement histories, and reflections on years of arts and activism. Barson and Rodriguez will be performing both original work and that of revolutionary composers from Latin America and New Orleans. From collaborations with water defenders in Kurdistan and Sonora, to multimedia projects that highlight suppressed histories and forgotten struggles, these two musicians will share some lessons on the importance of and possibility afforded by the arts in struggle for a world where many worlds fit.
Guest Bios:
Gizelxanath Rodriguez is an internationally renowned vocalist, cellist, guitarist and educator. Her musical work spans a range of styles and cultures. Gizelxanath has led several bands with her partner, Benjamin Barson, including the Afro Yaqui Music Collective, Insurrealistas, and Latin Sway. These projects have been presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., by the ASCAP Jazz awards in Los Angeles, and many other leading national venues.
Gizelxanath has produced three solo albums and continues her life as an educator. She has been an artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020 and has taught music throughout various private and public schools in the Pittsburgh and upstate NY areas for a period of ten years. Rodriguez was the Interdisciplinary artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020, where she taught “Artivism: Decolonizing Performance through Intercultural Solidarity.” She has performed at social movement gatherings in Kurdistan, Iraq; Veroes, Venezuela; and in Puerto Rico. She currently teaches voice at Bucknell University.
Benjamin Barson is a saxophonist, historian, radical educator, and organizer. He is an assistant professor of music at Bucknell University. He received his PhD in Music from the University of Pittsburgh and recently completed a Fulbright Garcia-Robles postdoctoral fellowship at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Mexicali, Mexico and a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University’s Africana Studies & Research Center. Barson has performed with luminaries including Fred Ho, Arturo O’Farrill, Craig Harris, and Geri Allen, and at a wide range of national and international venues, including the Kennedy Center, the Guggenheim Museum, CECUT in Tijuana, and the Mesopotamian Water Forum – an event organized by ecological activists in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan. He is the winner of the 2018 Johnny Mandel Prize from ASCAP for his composition “Insurrealista,” and was a member with the Afro Yaqui Music Collective when the group was named Pittsburgh’s “Best Jazz Band” by the readers of the Pittsburgh City Paper in 2018. Barson is also an activist, and was a cultural organizer in the campaign to free political prisoner and Black power activist Russell Maroon Shoatz. He currently works closely with a group inspired by Maroon’s legacy named Ecosocialist Horizons.
A Look Back and Thinking Ahead: MCC's Holistic Safety Plan
In collaboration with the MCC Council, JS Interns, and MCC Student Teams
MCC Lounge
Cap off the end of the academic year at the MCC as we reflect on the strides we've made with our Holistic Safety Plan and honor the valued community members who helped bring it to life! We'll highlight upcoming projects, resources, and approaches, all guided by our commitment to physical, spiritual, and emotional safety—featuring insights on Restorative Justice, Trauma-Informed Care, and Disability Justice. Join us for an engaging discussion, meaningful connections, grounding activities, and a shared meal. It's a wonderful opportunity to reflect, connect, and grow as a community.
