“I would hope that, well, for one thing, [children using R.U.B.A.R.B.’s bike shop] will know how to fix bikes. Which, it’s a simple technology that’s not going to go away. You could destroy every computer circuit and you can still ride a bike anywhere you want to. That’s very, very useful and important. And beyond that, just the generalizability of kids realizing that, that when something is not working right in their world, they can figure it out. Or at least for a bike, which hopefully is generalizable, like, “OK, this thing isn’t working right; let me go back and check everything that I did to put it together.” You know, just framing how they can view the world…So that’s also a useful hopefully life-skill, is patiently assessing what needs to be done and figuring out how to do it, correctly.” — Matt Robinson
Matt Robinson first became involved in cooperatives and collectives while working at a collectively-run bookstore in Chapel Hill, and living in a cooperative house in Carrborro, North Carolina. In this audio clip, Robinson discusses his decision to move to New Orleans, volunteering with the volunteer-run Common Ground to assist with rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and joining Rusted Beyond All Recognition Bikes, R.U.B.A.R.B., a collective bike shop and community space in the Ninth Ward. Robinson describes the community bike shop’s beginnings, a typical work-shift, and the complicated racial and class politics of being a white R.U.B.A.R.B. volunteer in a predominantly black, working class neighborhood. Finally, Robinson analyzes the potentially transformative social and political implications of community organizing.
You can read the full transcript of Matt Robinson’s interview here.
Anne Gessler 