Hello,

This is my third year writing to all of you and I’m stoked to be back.

I’m Charlie Dolman. I’ve been Burning Man Project's event operations director since 2012 (which, trust me, makes me an accidental expert in all kinds of things!). For the past two years, as part of Project Citizenship, I’ve sent out emails to help everyone headed (home) to Black Rock City be better prepared. I’ve learned harnessing everyone’s pre-playa energy into action now can really make a difference in bettering our on-playa experience later. 

This is the first of four emails I’m sending you in 2019. But before I get into the meat of this one, I want to send out a huge thank you. Thank you to everyone who took my messages from last year and the year before to heart and really made an effort to be an excellent Black Rock Citizen. I see and appreciate you.

Moving forward

So, Burning Man is steering the ship to correct the cultural course but, and I cannot emphasize this enough, we cannot do any of this without you. Meaning, there’s always more work to be done because, honestly, not everyone “gets it” like you and I do.

Whether this is your first visit to Black Rock City or your tenth, you should know our culture works differently than in the “default world.” To guide us, we have our 10 Principles. Today I’m going to focus on Radical Inclusion, which reads:

Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.

If you’ve ever looked at #burningman on Instagram, you might think the Burning Man event is a ‘just a party’ and is solely for young “influencer” types. Well, guess what? It’s not. 

Our community is for anyone willing to step up and be part of it. We recognize Black Rock City itself has barriers to entry but we became a nonprofit in part to make the spirit and culture of Burning Man accessible to more people, in more places, more of the time and are actively nurturing opportunities to do just that.

Ben Baity attended the Burning Man event for the first time in 2018 thanks to the Burning Wish program. He had hoped to bring his children to experience it with him this year but passed away in March of esophageal cancer.

Radical-Radical Inclusion

Ok, but what does this principle look like in practice?

Well, let me share a story with you.

Aaron Muszalski (aka Slim) is a 24-year veteran of Burning Man. Asa member of DPW’s Man Krew and for more than 10 years, he has helped design and build the Man. In 2016, Slim was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. He underwent extensive treatment and now, in his own words, he is “not just surviving cancer, but surpassing it.”

Last year, just weeks before the event, he launched Burning Wish, a program that gifts free Burning Man tickets to cancer patients and their caregivers. It was wildly successful. Donors gifted 13 tickets, $8,000 for expenses, and an RV for a lung cancer patient who couldn't inhale the desert’s fine alkali dust. Slim is not only continuing the program in 2019 but is in the process of making it a nonprofit so it will operate for years to come. In short, this group of folks wouldn’t have been able to come to Burning Man on their own, but were able to participate because of one man’s dedication to radically include them.

Ok, maybe that’s an extreme example. I know not everyone is going to be able to do what Slim did. But, there are things you can do. Radical Inclusion can mean many things. Let’s say your camp is hosting a party. In this case, it might mean ditching the “guest list” to let in strangers instead of creating barriers to exclude them. Welcome them. Embrace them. Guest lists, VIPs, and velvet ropes are common in the default world but are not cool on playa.

Or, let’s say you have access to a Mutant Vehicle (lucky you!), well, have some fun with it. Try picking up folks wandering the playa and gift them, and yourself, an adventure. The possibilities to include, rather than exclude, are endless. 

Mobility Camp’s circa 1941 “Green Machine” is purposely built to “radically include.”

The good kind of enablers

If you want another source of inspiration, look no further than to what Mobility Camp has accomplished to bring Radical Inclusion -- through radical accessibility -- to the playa. To start, this long-running camp provides wheelchair-accessible camping (complete with electricity to power a variety of medical devices), as well as convenient transportation on the playa for those who cannot bike or walk. They’re also behind the accessible performer ramps on the Center Camp stage, and the event’s first wheelchair Lamplighters! And, in the spirit of this principle of inclusivity, they also invite able-bodied Burners to camp with them.

In 2017, they crowdfunded their own Mutant Vehicle — a vintage green-and-yellow tractor, outfitted with a shaded 23-foot trailer accessible to those with mobility challenges. The “Green Machine” heads out four times daily to give alternatively-abled participants the chance to experience the Man, the Temple, and the art. 

The Los Angeles Times recently interviewed Dani Moore, the leader of Mobility Camp, “I want to dispel that you can’t do Burning Man if you’re disabled. Yes, you can. You just have to know how.”

Your mission, should you choose to accept it….

Burning Man gives you ample opportunity to be your best self. If you’re reading this, it’s because our community has made welcoming, and respecting, the stranger part of our DNA. How you bring radical inclusivity specifically to Burning Man is up to you, but do bring it. Keeping an open mind and being curious about people who you might not otherwise ever get a chance to meet is a great start.

Hey, before you go… 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our Communications Manager Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley’s new, and most excellent, Journal series on Radical Inclusion and diversity. 

Burning Man is for everyone. 

Just 33 more days until the Man burns,

Charlie “Louder!” Dolman

P.S. Look for my next email soon-ish. 

**My playa name is Louder! Charlie because they say I speak quietly. ;)

Thanks to Slim and Dani/Rat Lady for their kindness and wisdom (and use of their photos).

You are receiving this because of your interest in and support of Burning Man Project.
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Burning Man Project • 660 Alabama St. San Francisco, CA 94110 • 415-865-3800
Burning Man Project is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, tax ID 45-2638273.
All contributions are fully tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.