Hi John,
A month ago, we saw an enormous show of solidarity and power. In cities all across the country, people took to the streets to push back against corporate authoritarianism and to fight together for workers’ rights, safety for our immigrant and trans communities, and a future that prioritizes the needs of everyday people over billionaires and their profits.
May Day showed that we are powerful together, that we will show up for each other, and that every action we take counts.
Take Chicago, where a few weeks ago the City Council passed the Green Social Housing Ordinance! This is an enormous win that residents, our Chicago affiliate Grassroots Collaborative, and the Illinois Green New Deal Coalition have been working towards for years. The ordinance will create housing that is permanently and deeply affordable, environmentally sustainable, and governed by tenants. This is not only a commitment to making sure folks in Chicago are housed, but a case study in how our solutions can help push back against authoritarianism. We can build new public structures and institutions that give our people the chance to govern themselves and our shared resources.
The Trump regime is cutting funding for affordable housing programs, and the real estate industry continues to jack up prices. Meanwhile this ordinance, through its very existence, is pointing us towards a very different future: one where our homes are protected from the whims of private equity, where our infrastructure is built with the climate crisis in mind, and where people are governing their land, homes, and public goods.
The Chicago ordinance is the culmination of a multi-year campaign, and shows the importance of building power for the long term. Corporate dominance of government and authoritarianism keep us on the defensive and reacting day-to-day. We will have to resist, block, and thwart the policies of the Trump regime, but we must also shift our timeframe beyond one, two, or four year cycles. The fights that reduce the power of corporations over our lives, that put us in community with each other, and that win concrete and visionary alternatives are part of what will help us defeat authoritarianism.
|
