On March 27, the Center for Popular Democracy and Action for the Common Good were proud to host our first joint Gala, and it was a tremendous success!

Over 300 people – supporters and friends from our partners, organized labor, and allied organizations – came together at the National Education Association’s beautiful headquarters to celebrate with us. We are grateful for the enthusiasm, energy and generosity.

When we started the Center for Popular Democracy, some of you asked us, "What exactly does ‘popular democracy' mean?" To us, popular democracy is about building power from communities up, empowering people to participate fully in their democracy. We were proud to unveil our new video, "What is Popular Democracy?" at the gala, and we hope you'll take a look:

We were also proud to honor Mary Kay Henry, President of SEIU, and Tefere Gebre, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President. Mary Kay was joined on stage by Kenya Baker and Susana Fragoso of SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana, who spoke powerfully about the struggle to make ends meet in a prevailing low wage culture, despite working full time jobs, and of their fight in Illinois to increase the minimum wage. And we were inspired by Jennifer Epps-Addison, Executive Director of Wisconsin Jobs Now, who accepted an award on behalf of all our state core partners.

We would like to thank the National Education Association for hosting us, and the many members from our core partner organizations who joined us, including members from Our DC, CASA de Maryland, Maryland Communities United, CASA de Virginia, Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement, New York Communities for Change, Make the Road New York, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, and Wisconsin Jobs Now.

It is wonderful to have so many friends stand with us in our pursuit of a more popular democracy.  

View photos from the event here.  

Thank you for your support!