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Chapter Eight WORKOFTHESPIRIT A Conversation with an Austin Project Elder This chapter emphasizes the spiritual aspect of the work of the Austin Project. A partial transcript of a group conversation with a spiritual elder, the chapter offers an opportunity, through raúlrsalinas’s insights, to consider the interactions of art, activism, and spiritual practice. raúlrsalinas (March 17, 1934–February 13, 2008) Xicanindio elder, poet, and human rights activist raúlrsalinas was the executive director of Red Salmon Arts and founder of Resistencia Bookstore—a literary venue and community center for aspiring writers in Austin, Texas. raúl conducted intensive creative writing clinics locally and throughout the country with disenfranchised youth.These clinics were held in conjunction with a variety of arts organizations, correctional facilities and social service agencies. raúl’s work with various political movements earned him an international reputation as an eloquent spokesperson for justice and advocate for the challenges and struggles of youth. Through SOY (Save Our Youth), raúl reached countless marginalized young people and trained other members of the Red Salmon Arts collective to continue this invaluable work nationally. He worked extensively with the American Indian Movement and the International Indian Treaty Council. raúl was the author of four books of poetry (Viaje/Trip, East of the Freeway, Un Trip Through the Mind Jail, and Indio Trails), as well as three spoken-word CDs (Los Many Mundos of raúlrsalinas, Beyond the BEATen Path, and Red Arc). Most recently the University of Texas Press published raúlrsalinas and the Jail Machine: My Weapon Is My Pen, a collection of his essays, newspaper 344 articles, and letters. Beginning in 2001 he was an adjunct professor at St. Edward’s University teaching classes on incarceration and media studies. raúlrsalinas is also the recipient of numerous awards: the Louis Reyes Rivera Lifetime Achievement Award presented by La Causa and the Dark Souls Collective at Amherst College in 2003; the Martin Luther King Jr./Cesar Chavez/Rosa Parks Visiting Professorship Award given by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 2003; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture in 2004; Con Tinta, a coalition of Chicana/o and Latina/o cultural activists and writers honored raúl with the Veterano Writer Award in 2006, and finally the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation Award in 2007. raúlrsalinas served as a beloved mentor to many artists, writers, and scholar-activists who sought to make a difference beyond the academy. What follows is an edited transcript of a conversation between raúlrsalinas and the Austin Project, facilitated by René Valdez and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones. Speakers are identified in italics. Omi Osun Joni L. Jones: This year it is clearer to me that the Austin Project has a spiritual base. It doesn’t have to be a particular spiritual base at all, but my own spiritual practice is Yoruba. There is a lot of Yoruba flavor in the things that we do. Yoruba is my life, but what is important about the Austin Project is that is that there is a spiritual reality that undergirds it. I didn’t acknowledge that, wasn’t clear about that, when I started this in 2002. So it’s exciting that today we kind of sit right up in the middle of that awareness, the spiritual nature of the work that we do. Activism, art, fully being ourselves—those are phenomenal acts of love that spirituality, for me, rests on. So it’s great that all these things have come together. RenéValdez:Iwanttothankeveryoneforcomingtogether.Iwanttothank Sharon Bridgforth and Omi for organizing this important conversation. I also want to thank those of the Austin Project that came early this morning to help, and those who brought the treats and the food and the nourishment, thank you for your hard work. Just a brief introduction of our elder, mentor, and teacher, raúlrsalinas. I know many of you know of him, or know of his work, specifically his art, poetry, and activism. Today we are going to have him speak a little about how spirituality ties into his work and informs his art and activism. So a lot of us haven’t had the privilege to lay out how spirituality works with activism and art, so we look forward to hearing what my elder has to say about such things. So I would like to present raúlrsalinas. raúlrsalinas: I am just going to try...

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