This workshop explores those questions, examining how politically aware individuals cross the line into active participation and how we can support others on that journey. Drawing on examples from Revolutionary France to the social movements of the 1960s, it invites participants to discover the sparks of activism and contribute their own stories.
Led by Robbie Orr, socialist and author of Crashing Into America, the workshop blends history and autobiography to trace the arc of radicalization. Orr’s memoir chronicles his life as the son of a Christian missionary, raised in India, and arriving in Iowa amid the Vietnam War, showing how war, rebellion, and cultural upheaval shaped his path to activism. This is not a lecture but a collaborative space to share experiences, learn from the past, and build the skills needed to foster movements capable of challenging destructive systems.
CRASHING INTO AMERICA offers a unique perspective on how war, protest movements, and cultural rebellion transformed the life of one Christian missionary's son. It explores the radicalization of an American who grew up in India and landed in Iowa when the US was in the throes of the Vietnam War.
Robbie Orr grew up in India to a Scottish mother and American father who were medical missionaries. When he moved to America for college in 1970, the country was in the midst of a revolution: women's rights, Black power, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and a generational and cultural shift. He quickly became radicalized and spent years underground in a political movement, also working in cooperative bakeries, grocery stores, and childcare centers, He served as the Co-Chair of the Twin Cities chapter of the National Writers Union and on its Executive Board and organized with Veterans for Peace and Democratic Socialists of America. He has written for numerous magazines, newspapers and poetry journals.
3128 Greenmount Avenue
Baltimore, MD
Tuesday-Saturday 9AM-9PM
Sunday 10AM-4PM
Email: info@redemmas.org
Phone: (410) 601-3072
If you'd like to propose an event, please fill out this form. If you have questions, email us at events@redemmas.org.
