Popular education is the process of bringing people together to share their experiences, build collective knowledge, and strategize about how to improve our circumstances. Also referred to as political education, the idea behind this process is to develop a shared analysis of of the structures that oppress us and identify ways to overcome them. The experience of popular education helps people to articulate their own understanding of how the world works and to work in community towards realizing a shared vision of freedom.

At SMG, popular education is foundational to our approach to queer freedom because:

• We want build a world that does not reproduce the systems of oppression against which we are fighting.

• We know that as colonized people, we must decolonize our understanding of freedom and community to gain liberation.

• We recognize the need for a shared understanding of freedom amongst our diverse membership.

• We understand education as a practice of freedom that helps structure our imagination of what is possible.

As a member of SMG, you can take part in our popular education sessions through facilitated virtual members-only meetings, where we engage in dialogue, share stories, deepen our learning, develop organizing campaigns and strategies, and build community.

Non-members will also have opportunities to engage in SMG's popular education sessions through in-person and virtual public events.