This month we’re talking about the growing momentum of the Land Back movement, a new magazine just in time for Co-op Month, human-generated knowledge vs. AI, youth organizing for a Free Congo, calls to stop arming Israel, the youth-led protests shaking cities all around the world, and more.
Stories from the Field
Photo: NDN Collective’s Land Back Resource Library
Land Back on the Rise: This Monday marked Indigenous Peoples’ Day — a reminder that every day is a good day to return land and sovereignty to Indigenous communities. Though there’s a long way to go, the Land Back movement is gaining momentum. A recent study that mapped the return of stolen lands from 1972-2023 found that the rate of land return has rapidly increased in recent years. Learn the stories of land return from the territories where you reside, support NDN Collective’s LANDBACK Action Network, and check out the Seeds of Land Return Toolkit, created by NEC member the Sustainable Economies Law Center in collaboration with Sogorea Te’ Land Trust for legal tools to liberate land and return it to Indigenous stewardship.
Co-op Month: Every October, we celebrate co-ops as building blocks of the solidarity economy! This year, we are loving the new issue of NEC member organization Boston Ujima’s Fortunately Magazine, which explores the connections between cooperatives and all kinds of different social movements and sectors. Read about the role of worker co-ops in prison abolition, how Detroit People’s Food Co-op is building Black food sovereignty, and how Subvert Co-op is bringing the Mongragon model to the music industry. Check out the full issue of Fortunately and join the launch party in Boston on October 16.
Ask a Human: As AI infrastructure wreaks devastating ecological, economic, and health impacts on our communities, the artists and organizers at Creative Wildfire are reminding us that human knowledge will always be irreplaceable. Their new show, Ask A Human, invites brilliant humans to answer questions often posed to AI. Their first question: “what is love?” Hear Alexis Pauline Gumbs and NEC staff member Donnay Edmund share their answers at the Solidarity Economy Assembly for Our Futures back in July.
Solidarity Economies Abroad
Photo: The Basandja Coalition of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for Sustainable Management of the Congo Basin.
Youth Organize for a Free Congo: October 18-24 is Congo Sovereignty Week, an international week of action to support the Congolese people’s right to control their own land, resources, wealth, and future. Tune in on October 23rd to hear from young Congolese organizers about their work to achieve a liberated and sovereign Congo, and support organizations like the Basandja Coalition and GOVA that are building networks for local economic governance and mutual aid.
Mass Protests Worldwide: From Brazil to India, Colombia, Mexico, France, Spain, and beyond — cities around the world have been rocked by massive grassroots mobilizations in the past few weeks, led in large part by youth and students. Millions have taken to the streets to protest the rise of the far-right, austerity policies, and mass disenfranchisement, and to demand basic rights like clean water, housing, and education. Despite repression and state violence, these mobilizations show the power of collective action and organized communities.
Stop Arming Israel: October 7th marked three years of Israel’s current campaign of genocide in Gaza. Despite the so-called “ceasefire” instituted over a year ago, Palestinians continue to face near-daily military strikes, land theft, and humanitarian blockades. Support local mutual aid projects, keep taking action to call for an end to the genocide, and show solidarity with the unions and dockworkers organizing to stop the flow of weapons into Israel.
Features
Our hearts have been heavy the past weeks, as we feel the loss of three dear comrades and pillars of our network and the US solidarity economy movement: Brienne Colston, David K. Cobb, and M. Felix Macaraeg.
Brienne was a healing justice practitioner who served as the Co-Director of Community Healing and Transformation at NEC member organization the US Department of Arts and Culture. Bri served on the steering committee of our Arts, Culture and Care in the Solidarity Economy working group and always helped to infuse our budding cultural organizing work with so much sweetness, vision, and rigor.
David was a key organizer with the People’s Network for Land & Liberation, and NEC member organizations US Solidarity Economy Network (USSEN) and Dishgamu Humboldt. Our organizing was sharpened by David’s participation in NEC’s 2024 delegation to Rising Majority’s Movement Congress, deep discussions around the strategic relationship between USSEN & NEC, and many other spaces before, after, and in between.
Felix was a long-time labor, immigrant rights, and mutual aid organizer who served as organizing director of NEC member organization Beloved Community Incubator. Felix’s clarity around solidarity economy ecosystems as vehicles for building popular power has been so influential to our network strategy, and will continue to shape our work moving forward.
The loss of these three incredible humans, organizers, and community members in just a matter of weeks is being felt far and wide across our movements, and we hold their memory and legacies close to our hearts. We send our love and deepest condolences to Bri, David, and Felix’s families, closest kin, and communities. If you’re able, please support Bri, David, and Felix’s families at this time.
Movement News
- “Block by Block”, NYC’s New Housing Plan
- Announcing Cooperative Futures: A Guaranteed Income Program Rooted in Community Power
- Collectivize LetterBox
- How the war in Sudan is teaching society to govern without the state
- Indigenous Community Quickly Mobilized as Fire Raged on Oregon Reservation
- Lahaina Community Land Trust to steward Kainehe, ʻāina momona that once fed Lahaina people
- Media Workers of the World Unite
- Penobscot Nation regains 11,297 acres in first phase of major land return
- Solidarity is a place: How Right To The City is bringing non-extractive investment into the fight for housing justice and community ownership
- South Bronx Building Once Home to Young Lords’ ‘People’s Detox Center’ to Get New Life as Arts & Wellness Hub
- The Black Panthers at 60: You can jail a revolutionary, but not the revolution
- The Economic Crisis in Black America
- The Wiyot Tribe Opened its New Affordable Youth Housing Complex
- These Tenants Got Rid of Negligent Landlords. Now They Want To Own Their Building.
Resource Library
TOOLKITS & RESOURCES
- Because We Need Each Other Zine – Convergence Magazine
- Opportunity to Own Report – COWOP & Center for Economic Democracy
- Solidarity Economy Arts Directory – Art.Coop
- The Queer & Trans Land Map – The Queer Freedom School
PODCASTS & VIDEOS
- Own the Block – Transform Finance Podcast
- How Seed Commons Practices Non-Extractive Lending – Reimagine Wealth Podcast
- The Joy of Land Return – Sustainable Economies Law Center
Jobs
JOBS WITH NEC MEMBERS
Senior Manager of Capital for Just Futures, Muslims for Just Futures
Co-op Organizer, Boston Center for Community Ownership (BCCO)
For more rad movement jobs, check out The Rad-ish Jobs List, which has 100+ social movement & nonprofit jobs. Plus, see this job board from NEC member Post Growth Institute, the lqb2 movement jobs board, and this one from the U.S. Federation of Worker Co-ops!
Events
New York Cooperative Summit
The New York Cooperative Summit brings together people and organizations working to build a stronger cooperative economy across the state. The goal is to strengthen the relationships, infrastructure, and shared strategy needed to grow democratic ownership and community-rooted economic power across New York. (Oct 17 – Schenectady, NY)
Mamdani’s Housing Agenda: Early Lessons From New York City
In this 90-minute Shelterforce webinar, we direct Shelterforce’s national housing and community economic development lens to the Big Apple. Hear about the effort to promote housing justice also involves tackling other challenges, including enforcing tenant protections, promoting alternative ownership models, and supporting greater housing production more broadly. (Oct 21 – Online)
Power Tools for Artists: Internal Governance
Join us for a year-long series of monthly events pairing training (rotating between legal, cooperative development, and culture and governance topics) with technical assistance provided by lawyers, cooperative developers, and Art.coop staff. The next session is focused on Internal Governance with Alex Glancy of the Artist Legal Cafe. Issues discussed will include: Decisionmaking, distribution of power, Boards, membership, and more. ( October 22 – Online)
Research Tools for Organizers
Research into the relationships between powerful people, corporations, and institutions – aka power research – is essential if we want to know who we’re really up against in our fights for justice. Research Tools for Organizers is a training curriculum designed to help you incorporate practical research techniques and a corporate power analysis into your campaign development. (Oct 22, Nov 19, Dec 10 – Online)
GEO Journal Release Party
Join the GEO Collective to celebrate the release of the latest issue of the GEO Journal! We’ll be exploring and expanding on this quarter’s theme: Union Worker Cooperatives. (October 26 – Online)
The Next 25: Movement Investment Prospectus Webinar Launch
We invite you to register for the virtual webinar launch of the Next 25: Movement Investment Prospectus. This webinar will follow after our in-person Convergence 2.0: Futures Free of State Terror, which brought together 123 organizations and movement leaders at the 25-year mark of the War on Terror. (Oct 29 – Online)
The People’s Economy Academy
The economy we need is closer than we think. Hosted by RMEOC, the People’s Economy Academy is an introduction to economic democracy, the social and solidarity economy, and community wealth building. Over the eight months of the Academy, participants will hear dynamic presentations from leading practitioners in the field of solidarity economies. (Monthly Sessions Nov 2026 – May 2027 – Online)
A Bookkeeping Cooperative Fall Workshops
Finances are an important site of power in our organizations and everybody has a role to play. Come hang out and learn with A Bookkeeping Cooperative Fall Workshops in their upcoming workshops: Financial Foundations; Building Shared Futures: Planning with Cash Flow, Reserves, and Savings; Balance Sheet FUNdamentals; and Spreadsheets! Basics of Building Budget Templates. (Nov-Dec – Online)
Building a Disability Politic & Access-Centered Cultures Group Training
Access is a practice, culture, and value. Not a destination. For groups ready to deepen their approach to access and disability, we offer a customized version of our public series “Building a Disability Politic and Access-Centered Cultures” to strengthen practices and understanding. PeoplesHub is accepting applications from groups for 2027 and approving up to 8 groups. (Apply by Dec 11 – Online)
Assembly of Assemblies
The Assembly of Assemblies is a convening of representatives from organized bases working on critical frontlines toresist fascism and transform our world. A national effort led by Southern organizations, rooted in Black Radical Traditions, and in practice with the ten K20 Movement Agreements. (April 8-11, 2027 – Tunica, MS)