This month, we’re talking about South Asian diaspora political education networks, Black August, Black and Indigenous reparation narratives, a cooperative development strategy against authoritarianism, and how you can get involved in a week of action commemorating Hurricane Katrina.
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STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Gulf South Solidarity: Hurricane Katrina survivors are commemorating 20 years since the storm with a week of action to build community power and climate resilience across the Gulf South. Ride the storm with NEC member Taproot Earth to honor and remember the survivors’ ongoing struggle for climate justice. You can walk, bike, run, kayak, or roll the 7 miles with a group or by yourself– just register your ride. If you are unable to participate in this event, consider other K20 actions, and learning more about how rollbacks on The People’s Law could create another crisis like Katrina– take action today.
A Plea for Cooperatives: We are experiencing historical cuts to the social safety-net, and solidarity economists say that workplace democracy can fix this right now and even reweave the United States’ social fabric. This month in Nonprofit Quarterly, Esteban Kelly explained how cooperatives have historically provided benefits to marginalized workers when the mainstream economy wouldn’t, and built social justice movement infrastructure– they just need to be scaled and demystified. Read more about the plan here, and download our Black Co-op History resource list for more case studies.
Black August Study Opportunities: Rooted in Black resistance to anti-Black state violence and systemic oppression, at the warfront of prisons, Black August naturally relates to the work of abolishing prisons, policing, and ending slavery’s pervasive legacies. If the solidarity economy demands we transform the economy for people and planet, we cannot overlook the role policing and prisons play in maintaining the oppressive economy by extracting labor from marginalized communities. Get deeper in your Black August commemoration with community-centered virtual and in-person learning opportunities with Interrupting Criminalization’s Communiversity and Peoples Hub.
This year, the majority of Black Solidarity Economy Wellness Fund rapid response gifts were awarded to justice-impacted Black femmes. Continue to support the well-being of individual activists, cooperators, and organizers who are experiencing the harshest impacts of anti-Blackness in this political climate with a donation to this fund.
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Photo from ‘Resisting Fascism: Lessons from South Asia and Its Diaspora by Maya Bhardwaj on forgeorganizing.org
South Asian Anti-Fascist Networks: What does Hindutva, Christofascism, and Buddhist Sinhala supremacy have in common? They’re being met with organized resistance from local, national, and diasporic networks, interrupting their religious rhetoric that enforces class and caste oppression. These far-right governments from the U.S. to Sri Lanka are leveraging social media to assist their strides toward authoritarianism. Still, these organizers are constructing critical digital and in-person networks delivering culturally relevant and intergenerational political education and direct actions. Learn more about how South Asian activists are building various transnational solidarity networks against fascism here.
“Honduras Resiste: This week, an international coalition including Colombian Congresswoman María Fernanda Carrascal, co-General Coordinator David Adler, and Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Gerardo Torres Zelaya, pledged to convene allies from across the world to contribute to the present struggle for the democratic refoundation of Honduras. This action comes after three days of people’s assemblies against Zones of Employment and Economic Development, which dispossess Hondurans from their land. Learn more about this announcement here.
FEATURES
A breakout session at Movement Finance Forum, photo by Anj Photographer
Five Takeaways from Movement Finance Forum: In June, we helped co-convene the Movement Finance Forum, connecting social movement groups, non-extractive investors, funders, movement lawyers, financial technical experts, and other practitioners. NEC member Center for Economic Democracy anchored the forum, gathering around 130 people, many representing other NEC member organizations. Read our latest blog post to learn how we strove towards a shared understanding of “Capital Strategies” and deeper coordination within and across movement-anchored projects and campaigns advancing a Just Transition.
Read our Five Takeaways from Movement Finance Forum blog here.
For more content like this, be sure to subscribe to NEC’s monthly Funding Solidarity Roundup, a monthly roundup of resources on funding/investing in the Solidarity Economy.
MOVEMENT NEWS
Big Budget Act Creates a ‘Deportation Industrial Complex’ That Will be Hard to Dismantle
Boston Ujima Project Is Investing in a Community Land Trust. Here’s Why It Matters.
Corporations Want to Prevent Workers From Leaving Their Jobs
How Mass-Based Community Unions Could Transform the Country
New Jersey’s Break the Bonds campaign adds pressure on states to divest from Israel
The rise of end times fascism
The Thailand-Cambodia War Was About Shoring Up Elite Power
Tucson City Council rejects Project Blue data center amid intense community pressure
RESOURCE LIBRARY
PODCASTS & VIDEO
Better futures: planning the economy, building cooperatives, KPFA.org
How Puerto Ricans Are Restoring Power to the People, Shareable
Surveillance, cybersecurity, and financial tech for mutual aid with Elijah Baucom and Sarah Philips, Shareable
Trump’s Police State in D.C., The Socialist Program
TOOLKITS & RESOURCES
Fabric of Repair, Blis Collective
CEANYC.ORG | New Website, Cooperative Economics Alliance of New York City
Facing Disaster Alone: FEMA Rollback Threatens to Overwhelm States, Just Solutions
The Menace of Prosperity: New York City and the Struggle for Economic Development, 1865–1981, Daniel Wortel- London
How to Build a Survival Program, Survival Bloc
Political Blackness, Aamna Mohdin
JOBS
Climate Organizing Director, Jobs with Justice San Francisco
Executive Director, Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter
Front Office Communications Coordinator, Soul Fire Farm
Grants Manager, Cooperacion Santa Ana
Human Resources Consultant, Beloved Communities Incubator
Media Producer, More Perfect Union
Sustainable Resource Development Strategist, RiseBoro
If you’re hiring, consider submitting to The Roundup.
For more opportunities, check out this job board from NEC member Post Growth Institute and this one from the U.S. Federation of Worker Co-ops!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Josh Williams, Imam Al-Amin, & Black August: Commemorating and Connecting to Historical and Current Struggles of Black Political Prisoners
Join Peoples Hub online for political education about, and letter writing for, Joshua Williams and Imam Al-Amin in relation to the larger legacy of political prisoners and repression. (Virtual – Aug 15)
Communiversity
Interrupting Criminalization and Women Building Up are partnering to offer an anti-criminalization “Communiversity” series in Brooklyn starting in August and ending in mid-November 2025. People based in NYC are invited to register. We are also offering one full day devoted to youth programming. (Brooklyn, NY – Aug 13 – Nov 15)
AI, Energy Demand, and the Environment: Perspectives on Information Sharing
The Board on Environmental Change and Society and the Societal Experts Action Network are bringing together social science and industry experts to explore: how environmental information sharing may shape corporate and consumer behavior; what drives decision-making around AI use; and how transparency and incentives can help align AI adoption with environmental and economic goals. Join their virtual session to learn more about this topic. (Virtual – Aug 15)
The Black August Art Exhibit 2025
Join Cooperation Jackson for this visual representation of Black Resistance to the forces of exploitation and oppression. Come see the works of local and national artists as they share their takes on the Black August Tradition and the Black Self-Determination (Jackson, MS – Aug 22).
Black Cooperative Histories
Join Cooperate Connecticut for their third and final webinar of the year – Black Cooperative Histories featuring Ashleigh Eubanks with Riseboro Community Partnership, Reggy Saint Fortcolin with the Liberated Land Co-Op, and Steph Wiley with Brooklyn Packers. (Virtual – Aug 22)
Monarch Forum
Taproot Earth will host the Monarch Forum for two days of sharing testimony, lessons, and visions for a future where all people can determine how they move in the face of constant change. As we mark the 20th commemoration of Hurricane Katrina’s impact, we must acknowledge the forced displacement of over 1 million people across 50 borders as a climate migration story. (New Orleans, LA – Aug 25-26)
JTLN Fortify Clinic
Rooted at Taproot Earth, the Just Transition Lawyering Network (JTLN) is offering this 2025 Fortify Clinic to Southern Power Fund partners, members of the Gulf South to Appalachia Formation, and local community-based organizations. To participate, this form must be completed and submitted by 5:00 pm CT, Thursday, July 31, 2025; however, the waitlist is open. (Virtual – Aug 28)
Cosmos Financial Foundations
Get your ticket for this four-part series to develop confidence and clarity around finances in your organization as we build and fight for a just world. (Virtual – Sept – Oct)