Bay Area Solidarity Summer (BASS) is a 5-day political action camp to cultivate South Asian American activists, ages 18–23.

It runs from Wed, Aug 7 to Sun, August 11, 2024. Applications are now closed.

Questions? We're on  Instagram and Facebook, or contact us here.

Afghanistan • Bangladesh • Bhutan • Burma • India • Maldives • Nepal • Pakistan • Sri Lanka • Fiji • Diaspora

1. What is BASS?

Bay Area Solidarity Summer, or BASS, is an annual 5-day training program specifically for emerging progressive South Asian American activists and organizers, ages 18–23. (We explain “South Asian” below.) The training is low-cost or free, and includes curriculum, readings, and access to mentors and a network.

Launched in 2011, BASS is open to participants from across the U.S., with priority given to people from the San Francisco Bay Area or West Coast.

Applications closed on April 15.

2. Why should I attend BASS?

BASS will help strengthen your skills as an organizer working for a just, equitable, and sustainable world:

• learn concrete skills for creating real-world change
• sharpen your analysis of race, gender, and power
• explore the 100+ year history of South Asian activism in the U.S.
• connect with a multi-generational community of peers and mentors

3. When and where is BASS?

BASS 2024 will run from Wednesday, August 7 to Sunday, August 11, 2024.

It will be held online, with a potential optional in-person meetup. If accepted, we expect you to be with us all five days to gain the full experience. Please contact us if you have questions.

4. Should I apply?

Here's what we’re looking for: people who are excited to build movements for justice, interested in learning, open to receiving mentorship, and with at least some prior experience around activism or organizing. You don’t need to know social justice vocabulary, or have a fancy resume.

And yes, we absolutely want you to apply, even if you don’t always feel comfortable in South Asian spaces, or maybe feel impostor syndrome in activist spaces.

5. Who will I meet at BASS?

At BASS, you might meet a Sikh feminist working for climate justice, a Bhutanese refugee community organizer, a South Indian computer scientist challenging ICE,  a queer Bangladeshi activist taking on Islamophobia, or a mixed-race international student tackling racism back home. You'll have opportunities to connect with a multi-generational community of activists, and maybe leave with new friends and mentors.

6. What will BASS be like?

Alumni often describe the program as a life-changing experience. Recent participants have said:

• "I'm SO excited to have a new, caring network of folks to work with for years to come. Practical organizing trainings, trauma and healing, and multiracial organizing! So concrete AND agitating in the best way!"
• "BASS gave me skills, network, and inspiration…Without BASS, I wouldn't be a community organizer."
• "We all cared so much for each other…I never felt any aspects of competition for who was the most woke, etc."
• "Nepal and Sri Lanka…Foster Farms and the Jakara Movement…I loved the way the sessions integrated storytelling with skill development."
• "I really liked getting the chance to speak to so many organizers and activists…that I had sometimes heard of or read…and learn from their experiences."
• "I learned how to take care of myself mentally and address many of the feelings that come up during this work. I don't have to feel guilty about working for-profit and doing organizing after my day job."
  
• "Spending that entire time in a pandemic, it's been really hard to feel motivated to learn…This [helped] bring me back to my childhood excitement about learning and growing."
• "I grew up in a community that did not have South Asian organizations or even really POC people, so it was amazing to awaken to all the South Asian history, organizations, tactics"

7. What do you mean  by “South Asian”?

When we say “South Asian,” we mean people with roots in places like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and related regions that can't be defined by national boundaries. Our community includes immigrants from the global South Asian diaspora (from Fiji to Trinidad, Italy to Malaysia), as well as people who are mixed-race, transracial adoptees, international students, and third culture individuals.

8. Do I have to be from the Bay Area?

BASS is open to participants from across the United States, with some priority given to people from Northern California or the West Coast.

9. Can I afford it?

We will ask you to put in at least $50, but we want to make sure nobody gets turned away because of inability to pay. If you have financial need, just indicate that in the application form where it asks about your ability to manage housing and transportation.

10. How will you handle COVID-19 safety?

If you choose to participate in an optional in-person gathering, we may ask you about vaccination, testing, and/or masking. We will adjust our plans based on the current public health situation. Contact us if you have questions.

11. What if I have access needs?

We will do our best to accommodate your health, religious, or technology access needs. Please contact us for details.

12. Who runs BASS?

BASS is organized by a core group of volunteers who spend nine months every year organizing the program. We typically have at least a dozen more South Asian and POC organizers come in as trainers or mentors, and get a lot of help from a loving community of volunteers, donors, alumni, and former core. BASS is a project of ASATA, the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action.

13. Why does BASS exist?

BASS was founded in 2011 by South Asian organizers committed to supporting and mentoring the next generation of South Asian organizers, building on the legacy of earlier programs like Youth Solidarity Summer, Organizing Youth, and Rad Desi Summer.  We hope BASS will:

1. expand the network of organizers in the South Asian community fighting for justice and working in solidarity across movements and communities
2. build a cohort among participants and create lasting relationships between mentors and youth
3. create a forum to innovate and share political strategies for a just, equitable, and sustainable world

14. Are there other options?

BASS is part of a larger ecosystem. Some other programs our community members have recommended include Chicago Desi Youth Rising, the Seeding Change fellowship, the Lavender Phoenix summer organizer program, the Toronto Area Solidarity Summer Alliance, the DRUM summer youth organizer program, the Asian Refugees United camp for emerging Bhutanese leaders, and the South Asian American Digital Archive fellowships. Specifically for people under 18, there's the South Bay Youth Changemakers, and the South Asian Network youth program. If you're looking for something local, there are South Asian American and gender based violence groups across the country, each running their own programs and campaigns. If you're in the Bay Area, consider joining our parent organization, the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action.

15. I have another question!

You can email us, or send us a quick DM on Instagram or Facebook.