Though the national political situation seems bleak, and our state government is deadlocked by corporate interests, people power is winning on local levels, from $15 minimum wages to fossil fuel divestment. That’s the groundwork for a bottom-up movement that can achieve real progress toward a just world. A gathering Saturday, May 6, the Community Power Summit, aims to build people power movements in Seattle. It will take place from 1-4:30pm at All Pilgrims Church, 500 Broadway E, on Capitol Hill.
The Community Power Summit brings together some truly dynamic local activist groups, which will offer ways for people to become engaged on crucial issues facing Seattle, the nation, and the world. Ximena Velazquez-Arenas of the Neighborhood Action Coalition will give the keynote, Building an Intersectional People Power Movement. Presenters include:
- Got Green and 350 Seattle on green jobs and energy systems that meet our climate goals and provide a just transition for workers
- Puget Sound SAGE and Tenants Union on combatting displacement with affordable housing under community ownership and control
- One America on protecting immigrant and refugee rights,
- Transit Riders Union and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways on moving beyond car culture with transit, bikes and walking.
- Trump-Proof Seattle Campaign and Seattle Education Association on Just Taxation and Education.
The conference is sponsored by The Stranger, and is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
This is not the time to huddle in a defensive crouch. We have to regard the critical national situation as a call to rise for the kind of changes we want in our community and in society. It is time to join grassroots forces emerging to fight for justice and sustainability, and to create unified, place-based movements that build the power we need to transform our communities, our nation, and our world. We can begin right here where we live. Come out to the Community Power Summit May 6 to learn how.
Registration is open. Donations are accepted, based on personal capacity. Free childcare is available. Facebook page here.
