At a standing room only summit on June 13, elected leaders expressed new support for policies championed by more than a dozen progressive partners and allies including CPDA, CPD’s sister organization. We The People 2018 was an historic summit to advance an agenda of racial, environmental, and economic justice in conversation with five U.S. Senators and Members of Congress. The summit featured the faces and voices of members of grassroots community based organizations around the country. Community members and leaders directly impacted by the issues took the opportunity to directly address their elected officials, making clear the case for bold and progressive policy change. In their answers, electeds expressed new support for policies like Medicare for All and the Financial Transaction Tax. We The People was covered in USA Today, MSNBC, The Washington Post, CBS News, The Hill, and Common Dreams.

As a network of people’s institutions, it was imperative to hear Congressional leaders speak productively on issues central to CPD’s work, and to project a bold and transformative vision rooted in multi-racial, pro-worker, and progressive populism. We The People elevated the core issues the CPD Network cares about, changing and grounding the national conversation in the values held, and the lived experiences of, our affiliates and their members.

Ana Maria Archila, Co-Executive Director of CPD Action and Heather McGhee, President of Demos Action, facilitated the day, which included speeches from leaders like Senators Booker, Warren, Sanders, Gillibrand and Harris and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Luis Gutierrez. The Senators each took multiple questions from activists in the room on key topics including Wall Street reform, healthcare, race, mass incarceration, workers’ rights, unionization, money in politics, immigration, reproductive rights, voting rights, and climate.

The organizations involved included Care in Action, Communication Workers of America (CWA), CPD Action (CPDA), Demos Action, Faith in Action Fund, Indivisible, MoveOn, People’s Action, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Sierra Club, United We Dream Action, Working Families Party (WFP), 32BJ SEIU, and 350 Action.