Partnership for Working Families
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John,
I'm going into this year feeling so proud and inspired by what we accomplished together last year, and even more determined to build the biggest, most inclusive, "we" that we can envision.
We have a long road ahead of us. We will have to continue to confront the anti-democratic, white supremacist, authoritarian forces in our country. Our most effective strategy is to organize working people, tenants, residents, community members; we must organize a large massive cross section of society who is committed to multi-racial feminist democracy.
People across the world, in large and small ways are showing that we can thrive and survive together.
This past year, we saw a glimpse of what’s possible when we organize together for an inclusive and authentic democracy. While we were physically isolated because of the COVID pandemic, we were more connected than ever, and an increasing number of people demanded a voice in the decisions that affect our lives.
We have the power to create the local democratic processes we deserve. In cities and towns across the country, many of us already are.
Collaborative and inclusive democracy looks like local budget discussions and city council meetings on Zoom - where we’re seeing kids as young as 14 years old sounding off on local policy.
It feels like running meetings centered on community care, and dancing in the street with your neighbors.
It can mean spending your evening on a phone bank where you connect for deep conversations with folks in your region about the future you want to see.
Combined, all of these practices help us build a practice of listening to each other to find the strategies and practices that allow all of us to thrive.
We are seeding a future where our collective knowledge and wisdom is wielded for common good and not individual wealth amassment. While a relative handful of wealthy politicians spent 2020 holding our federal government hostage with gridlock and corruption, the rest of us survived by collaborating for social good. We rallied together as mutual aid networks and benevolent associations - each contributing what we could to our neighbors through community fridges, community bail funds, and networks of love, care, and solidarity.
Our affiliates across the country are spearheading opportunities to democratize democracy, for real community building, and helping all of us build the muscles to know that our voices can change the landscape of our communities.
Our Pennsylvania affiliates contacted hundreds of thousands of voters and held deep conversations about shaping democracy in 2020, and they took to the streets to demand that every vote be counted. CASE helped lead non-partisan GOTV efforts in Arizona, where voters approved a 3.5% tax surcharge on high-income taxpayers, and Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund made over 85,600 calls and canvassed over 4,400 voters. In Georgia we saw, in the incredible turnout of voters of color in the face of challenging conditions, the results of decades of work by Georgia STAND-UP [[link removed]] and partners, who worked together to make sure that every voter had their voice heard.
Moving forward, we will continue to invest in our network’s capacity to develop community driven policy and build strong bases as a counterpoint to the corporate takeover of our democracy.
To support this work, I ask you to make a meaningful contribution [[link removed]] - for a future that we can all be proud of working towards together.
In Solidarity,
Lauren Jacobs
Executive Director
Partnership for Working Families
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Partnership for Working Families
1305 Franklin St.
Suite 501
Oakland, CA 94612
United States
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