The Vanguard

Black people who have experienced stable housing, steady income, regulated psychological and emotional response, and reliable community support for a minimum of six consecutive months are encouraged to join the vanguard.

The vanguard is made up of five collectives; Ministry of Cohesion, L1, L2, L3, and L4. People placed within the Ministry of Cohesion provide administrative support to the federation’s Ministers of Cohesion. The L1 Collective is responsible for propagandizing revolution and engaging in tactical destabilization of systems of oppression. The L2 Collective is responsible for creating and implementing systems and procedures that support the collective mandates of MOC, L1, L3, and L4 collectives. The L3 Collective is responsible for the development of 400+1’s L3 villages infrastructurally, politically, culturally, and economically. The L4 Collective is responsible for grassroots organizing that radicalizes the masses, familiarizes the masses with 400+1, and primes the masses for divestment from systems of oppression and investment in the alternatives being developed by the federation.

There are three types of vanguard membership. Inactive, Probationary and Active.

                 + Inactive members of the vanguard are required to go through a 3-18 month process to achieve probationary status.

                  + Probationary members are required to go through a seven year process to achieve active status.
 

THOSE PROCESSES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Step 1: Application

Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
 
Our process begins with a comprehensive application that analyzes lived experience,
assesses skill level, checks for value alignment and indicates readiness to join 400+1's next cohort of vanguard members.

Step 2: Interview

400+1's Ministers of Cohesion visit applicants in their home cities for a two-step interview.  This allows us to share space, determine energetic compatibility and begin the process of forming intentional community.

Step 3: Month-Long 2:1 Study Intensive

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400+1’s vanguard will live in the home cities of applicants for four weeks to better get to know them, ensure their understanding of what 400+1 is, and gauge their compatibility with 400+1’s framework and membership. During this month-long stay, applicants will meet with members of 400+1’s vanguard six times. The first five meetings are facilitated by Ministers of Cohesion and the last is facilitated by current inactive vanguard members, During the initial four, applicants can expect to study a text, a film, an album, and a visual exhibit. During the fourth week, applicants will also meet with non-MOC members of the vanguard for a social.

Sessions will be recorded for 400+1’s “Will They or Won’t They: Finding the Vanguard” podcast. 

Step 4: Orientation

400+1's Ministers of Cohesion will guide new members through an orientation. (1-4 weeks) Orientations are quartered and facilitated either daily or weekly to ensure complete comprehension of and enthusiastic consent to the process that follows. At the end of orientation, MOCs will host an orientation retreat that takes place over a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday that both parties are available in the applicant’s home city.

During this retreat, applicants will take a quiz that they’re expected to pass with an 80%.

Step 5: Vetting Vist

 
Once an applicant has passed their quiz, MOCs will visit their home city once more to interview people in their community who can act as character references. Applicants will also undergo a physical, mental health, and personality assessment.

Step 6: Preliminary Matriculation

Inactive Member Status Achieved

If everything goes well during the vetting visit, new recruits will join 400+1 as inactive vanguard members. This will entail moving into the vanguard house, the location of which changes every 1-10 months. Matriculation is a 3-18 month process, depending on your assigned rank. During this time, inactive members will receive a monthly basic income, have access to a health care fund, benefit from subsidized food, and attend class once to twice per week. 

Step 7: Praxis: A Phrontistery for Black Revolutionaries

Probationary Status Achieved
 

After graduating from preliminary matriculation, probationary vanguard members are officially assigned a collective and rank within the vanguard. During this time, probationaries will alternate between study intensives and practical application of 400+1’s movement theory for 7 years. This alternation takes place in over 50 locations around the world; making beauty, travel, cultural exchange, and true internationalism more accessible to Black revolutionaries. 

During Praxis, probationary members are expected to declare a specialization and project over which they will have full control during their time as Praxis students. Praxis is a seven year institution founded to help Black revolutionaries develop theoretical and practical skills with which to pursue liberation. After graduating from Praxis, members are welcomed to active vanguard duty.

FINAL STEP: 
Assignment & Active Duty

Active Status Achieved

Vanguard members are assigned specific roles within their collectives and enjoy a greater level of autonomy in their work.