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create-iconAlong with direct action and other forms of resistance, a transformational movement must also have a constructive program that builds new institutions based on the values that the movement aspires to achieve. These may eventually replace the old systems. From small, worker-owned cooperatives to national advocacy groups, hundreds of thousands of people around the country are working to create democratic and sustainable systems that meet the basic needs of all people.

New Media: African Stream

March 17, 2024 Ann Garrison, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
African Stream was an idea I had after working as a journalist for many years. I was always trying to pitch stories about Africa, and even when I worked for anti-imperialist media, they would tell me, unfortunately, that people just weren’t interested in Africa, that their eyes were glued to the Middle East, North America, South America, and Europe. I've always been passionate about Africa, so I was determined to prove that mantra wrong. I'm an African person, my future, my past and my present are in Africa, and I wanted to create an anti- imperialist platform focused on Africa, but with a global audience, not just Africans.

The Case For Universal Basic Food

March 16, 2024 Emily Settlecowski, Next City. , , , ,
Food is many things in our lives. It’s a cultural connector, bridging relationships with people, places, and our heritage. Food is medicine, providing us with nutrients integral to our well-being. It’s also a renewable resource; the way we grow, transport and consume food directly impacts our climate and local environment. Above all, food is a human right. Yet our food system only values food for one thing: profit. It’s become an industrialized machine that prioritizes cheap production and corporate gains over the well-being of people, local economies, and the environment. In this pursuit of maximum financial gain, food has been reduced to a mere commodity.

If The Workers Take A Notion

March 15, 2024 Matt Noyes, Labor Notes. , , , , ,
“Works for All,” the latest film by Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young, shows what can happen when workers and unions take worker coops seriously. The story is told by the workers and organizers themselves, with minimal narration. “That’s by design,” Dworkin says. “The film is not about us, it’s about them.” From their stories you get a fuller picture of what it can mean to be in charge of your own workplace—from better wages and decision-making power to fundamental respect. In one telling moment, cooperative food hub (distribution center) manager Zeke Coleman talks about his previous job driving a truck for a pork company.

Finally, A Path Toward ‘Modern Housing’ In 2024

March 15, 2024 Katelin Penner, Next City. , , , ,
In 1934, the architectural critic Catherine Bauer published one of the most important books ever written on housing. “Modern Housing,” based on years of research in Europe, recounts the sharp differences between the American and European approaches to the similar housing crises both regions experienced after World War I. Political movements for dignified housing forced many European nations, such as England, Germany and the Netherlands, to invest in what Bauer termed “modern housing”: non-speculative, affordable homes with adequate space, light, ventilation and community space.

Mexico Provides Non-GM Corn Opportunity For US Farmers

March 12, 2024 Ken Roseboro and Timothy A. Wise, Food Tank. , , , ,
United States commodity organizations have cheered on the U.S. government as it tries to get Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn declared in violation of our trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, arguing that it cuts farmers’ export markets and sales revenues. But what if Mexico’s modest restrictions could instead turn out to benefit U.S. farmers who shift to premium non-genetically modified (GM) corn markets as international corn prices fall? It sounds counter-intuitive, but it might just be true. The math is pretty simple.

Funding Opportunity For BIPOC-Led And BIPOC-Serving Composters

March 11, 2024 Najee Quashie, Institute for Local Self-Reliance. , , ,
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is launching a BIPOC Community Composter Mini-Grant Program — funded by 11th Hour Racing of The Schmidt Family Foundation — to support new or existing local community composters in coastal states in New England. Programs seeking funding must be BIPOC-led or BIPOC-serving, in a Native Nation, or working in a historically excluded neighborhood. We will provide $100,000 in sub-grants to selected projects, awarding up to 10 grants with a minimum grant of $5,000 and a maximum of $20,000.

The Story Of Rural Electric Cooperatives

March 10, 2024 Tom Llewellyn, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
At a moment when the world is awakening to the clear and present need to transition our energy system, a hopeful light gleams from the rural landscapes of America. The Rural Power Coalition (RPC), a diverse alliance of US advocacy groups serving rural communities from Alabama to Alaska, has taken another step forward with the release of “Power to the People: The Story of Rural Electric Cooperatives.” This animated short film that premiered today during the annual PowerXchange Conference in San Antonio, Texas, is not just a tale of the past; it’s a clarion call for a greener, more equitable future.

Arizona Using Covid Relief Funds To Cancel Medical Debt

March 10, 2024 Oscar Perry Abello, Next City. , , ,
Arizona has just launched a partnership with the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt to acquire as much as $2 billion in medical debt— and forgive all of it. The program, announced on Monday by Gov. Katie Hobbs, will benefit up to 1 million Arizona residents living below 400% of the federal poverty line or owe medical debts totaling more than 5% of their annual income. At $30 million in funding — out of pandemic relief funds allocated to Arizona under the American Rescue Plan Act — it’s the biggest example yet of a state or local government using federal dollars for massive debt cancellation.

Missing From Biden’s State Of The Union: A Plan For The Rent Crisis

March 9, 2024 Tara Raghuveer, In These Times. , , ,
Demetrius Mosley works on trucks all day, assessing crash damage and fixing brakes on 18 wheelers. He earns $29 an hour. On the first of every month, he purchases a money order from a local Kroger store to pay his rent, the biggest bill in his budget. Mosley moved to Louisville, Kentucky three years ago with his four kids and their mom. The family rented a trailer in Pioneer Acres, a mobile home park. Rent was $885 per month. Since then, the owner has added fees and fines and hiked the rent to $1,100. He couldn’t afford to feed his kids, so he sent them to live with family in Florida.

Stillmeadow Peace Park Is Baltimore’s Tale Of Urban Reinvention

March 9, 2024 Ethan McLeod, Baltimore Magazine. , , ,
In the woods next to the Stillmeadow Community Fellowship church in Southwest Baltimore, Pastor Michael Martin has another sanctuary he eagerly shares with visitors. The church leaders poses meditative questions—”What do you hear?” “What do you see?” “How does it make you feel?”—as he walks parishioners, neighbors, and other participants in Stillmeadow’s “daytime retreats” through the 10 acres of once-neglected, church-owned property overlooking busy Frederick Avenue. Here, freshly planted and fast-growing saplings, carefully carved-out walking trails, and streamside sitting areas invite each person who passes through to pause.

Native Seed Network Takes Root In The Northeast

March 9, 2024 Eve Allen, Resilience.org. , , ,
Land managers and restoration practitioners have long been concerned about the scarcity of native seeds required for restoring ecosystems. Whether sourced from soil seed banks, existing native plant populations or commercial vendors, the demand for native seeds consistently outstrips the available supply. In January 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a 228-page report, underscoring the urgent need to increase native seed supplies to restore damaged ecosystems in the United States.

International Women’s Day 2024: Equality At Work And Democracy

March 8, 2024 International Trade Union Confederation. , , ,
Women face systemic inequalities, including unequal labour force participation, the persistent gender pay gap, overrepresentation in informal sectors and workplace harassment. Moreover, populist movements and authoritarian regimes continue to undermine decades of progress towards equality for women, which has included equitable workplace participation, economic and political empowerment and access to education. ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said: "The path to a truly inclusive, equitable and democratic society is through the relentless pursuit of gender equality at work.

We Won’t Go Back Into Our Cages: Celebrating Women’s Day In Nicaragua

March 8, 2024 Becca Renk, Popular Resistance. , , ,
“We have painful stories, stories of marginalization, a history of being trampled because we are women and even more because we are rural peasant women, campesinas,” says Rosibel Ramos, bright eyes belying her age. “What were women’s spaces?” She asks. “The kitchen, taking care of kids, taking care of everyone else. We were supposed to just sit quietly in a corner.” Rosibel, now in her 60s, is telling the story of the founding of the Rural Feminist Ecological Cooperative “Las Diosas”* which means The Goddesses. The co-op is made up of hundreds of women from northern Nicaragua who grow, process and sell organic and fair-trade certified coffee, hibiscus and honey.  

Other Avenues Grocery Cooperative

March 6, 2024 Storied: San Francisco, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
From a collection of neighborhood clubs called the Food Conspiracy, whose motto was, "If you can't walk to Food Conspiracy, it's time for a new Food Conspiracy," to the People's Food System, which included Other Avenues, Rainbow Grocery, Veritable Vegetable, and other co-ops that don't exist anymore, there's proof all over today that cooperative models work. We like the sound of that, in fact, compared to competitive businesses. Other Avenues' doors opened in 1974. By 1987, a hybrid system of worker and community management was adopted. And the worker-owned model that exists today started back in 1999.

Envisioning A Steady-State Comprehensive Plan

March 3, 2024 Dave Rollo, Resilience. , , ,
”Economic growth” is commonplace in the daily news. We assume it’s a good thing, that a 2–4 percent increase in GDP is beneficial to all. Likewise, we hear that our communities are growing, and we see a 2–4 percent increase in population as reasonable and benign. Meanwhile, visionary community leaders are busy planning for a steady feed of single-digit annual growth. So we’re in good hands, right? But what the news reports miss is that any steady rate of growth is an exponential function that contains within it a knowable doubling time.
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