March
2018—The “Old and New” declaration was originally drafted in the Fall of 2013.
It then circulated for a few months, gradually gaining endorsements. In January
2014 those who had signed on did an assessment and felt that while we were at
the initial target number that had been set for launching a website, there was
not yet a sufficient diversity among us. We decided to continue reaching out
until we could present a list of at least ten signers with no more than
one-third white men. As you can see we ultimately surpassed that threshold. The
project was, therefore, publicly launched on September 19, 2014.
In
late 2017 we began a discussion about trying to establish Old and New as a
functioning political collective which would attempt to contribute to the
formation of the “next new left,” pursuing the goals stated in the founding
declaration but also engaged in active work focused on the liberation and
self-determination of oppressed peoples. We set ourselves the goal of becoming a
majority people-of-color and POC-led group. To that end we have established a
“Transformation Committee” the members of which are listed on the home page of
our website. The transformation process is still a work in progress.