So We Turned to Noam

Before I came to the United States, I knew of Noam Chomsky’s reputation as a formidable critic of his country’s policies toward Latin America. Arriving in Boston and getting involved with solidarity activism and pro-immigrant work, I was surprised to find that local activists had such ready access to him. Not only was he someone that they could turn to as a thinker and as the conscience of a nation, but he was also accessible in ways that mattered for activists. He was always ready to join a rally, speak at public events, and sign onto many petitions and public calls to action. For a project that I have helped build since 2006, encuentro5, a multi-organizational collaborative space for organizing, debating, and base of operations right in downtown Boston, this was a matter of life and death: late in its first year, struggling to pay the commercial rents that our city’s landlords demanded, we had reached a crisis point—not enough money to make rent and not much more predicted to come in over the next few months. So we turned to Noam. He readily agreed to speak at a public event—one for which we could solicit donations from the attendees. The event attracted the predictable hundreds of participants, some paying $50 to attend a pre-event reception for which Noam also generously gave of his time. By the end of the event, our organization was solvent for many months to come. Nearly every year thereafter, Noam spoke at a large public gathering that we helped organize and that benefited our organization and the scores of other organizations that now use our space as an organizing platform. After each event, we’d send Noam a brief thank you and a note about how much we raised, how many people attended, and the results of our activist “asks.” By the next morning, a simple reply would follow to the effect of, “I am glad that the event worked out for you.”