Our training this weekend was pretty good despite the last month's stress and drama. The students were hungry to use this training to grow. We were mostly able to adapt the training on the fly despite our exhaustion.

The person who brought me out wants to reach out to you again. A lot of exciting things are happening in Chicago: Martine and Amika recently started teaching GSW response trainings like yours, We Charge Genocide is collecting stories of racist police violence to take to the UN, and FLY is protesting the closing of the U of C trauma center on the South Side and the increased mortality from GSWs that has resulted.

Before I cautioned you before about disorganization and lack of transparency that drove me crazy. My attitude has changed a little bit, and those involved learned some from the mess this time.

The big things that would have made everything cool:

• If the training was formally sponsored by FLY or We Charge Genocide
• If the sponsoring organization committed their time, rep, and resources to making it happen
• If leaders from the sponsoring organization worked with us on content and structure to make sure the training met the needs of their membership.

I had asked for all these things in advance, but ended up just working with a well-intentioned white gatekeeper -- without whom the training would not have happened, who busted her ass, to whom I'm grateful -- but who still should have made direct connections between trainers and community leaders as her first priority.

I think that you might not face the problems I faced. Some reasons: everybody would rather have black trainers building with black communities around issues caused by racism, some people involved with this weekend's training learned the damage the gatekeeping caused, and it is way easier to find space, students, and food for a 1 hour to 1 day training than for a 20-hour, 3-day training.

Just a heads-up. If she reaches out, I think Chicago would love you and you would love Chicago -- if it is done correct.