For the last several weeks, Team AOC has been out on the streets talking to voters across the district about our upcoming primary election and introducing new NY-14 constituents to AOC’s platform.
Alexandria joined organizers, volunteers, and community members at two rallies this past weekend to talk about the importance of community organizing. Here’s what she had to say:
“We’re collecting signatures to get on the ballot, but what this is really about is about knocking on our neighbor’s doors, or talking to people outside the bodega, bank, or subway station.
The reason why that’s important is because strong communities talk to each other. We say, “Hey man what’s up — let me tell you something that we really need.”
“Today is about collecting signatures, but tomorrow you may be knocking on your neighbor’s door asking them to join a tenants’ union. Or the day after that, it may be about organizing to make sure that we fight for more resources for our schools.
The day after that, it might be because, like what happened right after COVID — knocking on doors to figure out where our seniors were and see if we could get the young people to go to the grocery store for them so they didn’t have to be exposed to needless risk.
That’s community, you don’t even need to pass a law to do that.
But these types of practices and becoming a place where we’re used to engaging in that, is how we build a better, stronger community that can get what we need.
This is a baby step, this is a practice in doing that.
Think of this as just one of many steps necessary to really improve all of our lives.
Let’s get to it.”
Alexandria’s right. Community organizing is how our movement stopped the NRG fracked gas plant from being built in the backyards of Queens residents; it’s how we educated folks on the importance of filling out the census and saved New York a congressional seat; and it’s how we raised millions of dollars for relief when disaster hit our communities — from The Bronx to Texas.
That’s what this movement is about: bringing together the broader community to make the change we desperately need a reality. From the streets to the halls of power.
And we’re doing it one door at a time.
Thank you for being a part of this team,
Team AOC
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