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In this week’s roundup, we’re sharing some case studies from our members. Among them, PolicyLink’s interview with Cooperation Jackson about their work in an increasingly hostile political climate; and the work of Project Equity in helping boomers convert their businesses into worker-owned co-ops.
We also want to thank NYC new economy builders for a successful “We Are The Warmth” fundraiser we co-hosted with NEC member Cooperative Economics Alliance of NYC last week. New Yorkers kept it lit as we continued to create the warmth to resist the cold and push back the night. View photos by Branden Neubauer and Mario Rubén Carrión here!
Lastly, we'll be participating with our partner The Media Consortium for a small gathering after their Transformative Media Conference this Friday, March 3rd at Bossa DC with Dissent Mag and the Society of Professional Journalists. DC friends – join us! Details here.
Stories from the Field
Organizing for the Long Term: As progressive advocates across the country brace for increasing austerity under Trump, organizers in the South bring a wealth of wisdom and experience dealing with the challenges to come. In this piece from PolicyLink’s newsletter “America’s Tomorrow”, NEC member Cooperation Jackson’s co-director offers some advice to grassroots organizations around the country about how to both survive short-term threats and lay the foundation of long-term sustainability.
No ICE: In Santa Ana, CA, a coalition of immigrant rights groups proclaimed success after convincing the city to limit its support of ICE and immigrant detention, leading ICE to terminate its detention contract with the city. Read how they did it here.
Buying Boomer Businesses: In the Bay Area, Baby Boomers own nearly half the privately held businesses that have employees. And at the rate they’re retiring, there might not be anyone to take over the employees. That’s why some small businesses, with the help of groups like NEC member Project Equity, are selling their businesses to their workers and adopting shared ownership. Read about it here.
Sanctuary Legacies: Wondering if there’s any hope for sanctuary cities and public demonstrations? Here’s a case study in the power of resistance from 1850 when Boston decided to disobey federal statutes to recapture runaway slaves. In the words of one protester: “We went to bed one night old-fashioned, conservative, Compromise Union Whigs and waked [sic] up stark mad Abolitionists.”
Solidarity Economies Abroad
Up-Cycling Housing: Several European cities are “up-cycling” their old industrial housing into co-housing units in which residents trade and share space and resources, depending on their needs. Read about the project here.
A Community Bargain: The city of Vancouver just signed a lease with a community land trust for a $25 million plot, through which the trust will pay only $10. The deal emulates the social-housing systems that exist in many European cities where social-housing organizations are sometimes the biggest developers in a city, as a result of the land and capital they were given by governments after the Second World War to replace decimated housing stock.
France’s Future Co-ops: The upcoming presidential elections in France have a lot at stake for the country’s 21,000 co-ops. A number of candidates have stated plans to grow the social economy while the more conservative candidates argue for less regulation of business.
“The stronger the sense of community, the more we are willing to share. Beyond our households and neighborhoods, we need to scale up the lessons to every level of governance.”
— Karen T. Liftin in an interview on her book Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community.
Movement News
Resistance News:
- Enlisting Millennials for the Resistance
- Nader Calls For A Different 1%
- Standing Rock Legal Coalition: The Frontlines Are Everywhere: Protect Yourself, Your Comrades & the Movement
- The “Indivisible” Movement’s Key Strategy: Focus on Your Own Members of Congress
- Inside the Scientists’ Quiet Resistance to Trump
- Webinar: 'Learn Globally/ Resist Trump Locally: Lessons from Global Resistance
More Reads:
- Trump is Bullying Transgender Kids Because He Thinks He Can Get Away With It
- Launching a Cooperative Isn’t Easy: Here’s A Resource To Get You Started
- Bay Area Restaurants Register as Sanctuary Businesses
- Under Mr. Trump, Private Prisons Thrive Again
- 5 Years After His Death, Trayvon Martin Still Impacts the Future of #BlackLivesMatter
- Why You Can’t Understand Black History Without a Critique of Capitalism
- Do We Have a Population Crisis or a Consumption Crisis?
- In Solidarity with Standing Rock, Santa Monica Moves Forward to Cut Ties With Wells Fargo
- The Sharing Economy: It Takes More Than A Smartphone
- Black Land And Its Role In The Liberation of Black People
Job Board
Organizer (3 positions), Liberty Tree, Flexible Locations
Intern, Institute of Policy Studies, Washington D.C.
Program Manager, Community Economics Alliance of NYC, New York
Director of Online Media and Engagement, New Dream, Remote
Director of Operations, NASCO, Chicago
Accounting and Operations Manager, Corporate Accountability International, Boston
Publications Manager, Corporate Accountability International, Boston
Communications Director, Social Movement Technologies, Washington D.C.
Upcoming Events
#Vision4BlackLives Webinar Series
Movement for Black Lives will be hosting a six month educational webinar series based on the different demands in the Vision for Black Lives platform. Each month, starting in February, we will be elevating a different category of the platform, and hosting a webinar about that topic. The webinar series will kick off on Wednesday, February 8th at 7pm(est) with a conversation about Political Power. Tune in March 8th for a conversation on economic justice. (Online, February 8- July 12, 2017)
Cooperative Economies Workshop Series
For both organizations new to and currently involved in cooperative development, this series will build community, deepen knowledge of and engagement with the solidarity/cooperative economy, strengthen cooperative outreach and buy-in strategies, and enhance popular and democratic education techniques. (Brooklyn, NY, February 16- June 27, 2017)
Black Art Is. Black Art Ain’t.
This series explores and unpacks the assumptions viewers and sometimes artists themselves tend to place on Black Art. (Dorchester, MA, March 3, 2017)
Tellus/SCORAI Colloquium Series on Post-work/Post-consumer Futures
The SCORAI Board and Tellus Institute are pleased to announce plans to host a Winter/Spring Mini-Colloquium Series on Post-work/Post-consumer Futures that will delve into issues at the interface of digital automation, technological unemployment, worktime reduction, consumption, and lifestyle innovation. (Boston, MA, February 16- April 20, 2017)
Capital Shifts for a Regenerative Economy
Inevitable shifts in capital are well on their way. From millennial wealth transfer, increased capital controlled by women, and shifting demographics of racial and geographic makeup across the globe, a new distribution of money is coming. Join us for an evening with leading thinkers and practitioners to discuss the responsibility and opportunity for next generations in responding to this new landscape. (Berkeley, CA, March 2, 2017)
A New Social Contract: Guaranteeing Dignity in a Precarious Economy
Join the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative for a conversation exploring the pros and cons of a universal basic income, baby bonds, reverse income taxes, and other bold ideas to rewire our inequitable economy. (New York, NY, March 6, 2017)
#RevolutionOfValues Day of Creative Action
A call for artists, creative organizers, concerned citizens, and all community members to join together on April 4th, 2017, to draw inspiration from and breathe new life into the prophetic words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., strengthening our commitment to speak truth to power and sparking creative action in the year ahead. (Multiple Locations, April 4, 2017)
View all NEC member events on our website »
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