07.10.2016

NEW YORK – In the wake of a devastating week of police killings, a Supreme Court decision to freeze an executive action that would have helped five million immigrants, and racist attacks from leading Presidential candidates that have spurred many to violence, more than 1,500 organizers, community leaders, and elected officials from around the country gathered at the Center for Popular Democracy’s People’s Convention to assert their power and celebrate the power of organizing and diversity.\

The gathering brought together some of the most prominent community groups around the country, including Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, and One Pittsburgh for a weekend dedicated to amplifying their growing power. Forty organizations from 25 states will be joining the event. In the past year, these organizations have won protections for millions of people that would have been unheard of even a decade ago, including higher minimum wages, paid sick days, and reforms to policing and our criminal justice system.

The centerpiece of the event was a massive march of thousands down the streets of Pittsburgh, stopping in front of some of the city’s most criticized institutions, including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Pittsburgh Fed and the office of U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, a champion of anti-immigrant policies.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rev. William Barber II headlined the event. Other speakers included: Linda Sarsour, Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York; Heather McGhee, President of Demos; social activist Dorian Warren; and Center for Popular Democracy Co-Executive Director Ana Maria Archila. The weekend also included performances by artists committed to social justice such as Jaziri X, Tef Poe, and W. Kamau Bell. It culminated with the signing of a People’s Agenda celebrating justice, equality, and opportunity.

The Convention took place alongside a convening of Local Progress, a nationwide network of elected officials committed to creating progressive change in cities across the country.

The event was modeled on similar People’s Conventions that have been milestones for the progressive movement in the past, including the First National Black Political Convention and the National United Farm Workers Convention. The city where it was held, Pittsburgh, is a cradle of the American labor movement, home to a slew of labor heavyweights such as the American Federation of Labor and United Steelworkers.

Ana Maria Archila, Co-Executive Director of Center for Popular Democracy, released the following statement on the event:

“The rising hate and its painful expression in violence directed at communities of color that we’ve seen over the past year weakens us as a country and undermines the values that define us. The only way to defeat hate is with love. This weekend lets thousands from all over the country unite and dream of an alternate future, one defined by opportunity, justice and community. We must come together, rise up, and fight for our dignity and our future.”

Erin Kramer, Executive Director of One Pittsburgh, also released a statement:

“Pittsburgh has a long and storied history as a city where people have succeeded by working together, and we could not think of a more apt setting to accelerate the growing power of working families. We are proud to be part of a gathering that stands for so many of the values we need more of today: fairness, diversity, and unity.”

Rev. William Barber II made the following statement as part of his remarks at the event:

“The same groups fighting immigration reform are fighting labor rights. The same people who are promoting xenophobia and Islamophobia are against the LGBT community, are against criminal justice reform and voting rights. If they are cynical enough to be on the same side, then we sure enough have to be smart enough to be together. It's time for fusion politics. We need a moral revolution in the public square. These are times we need to come together and organize from the bottom up.”

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) made the following statement as part of his remarks at the event:

“We are going to fight for a progressive America. We are outraged, we should be outraged but we have to have solidarity, we have to stay together. This election is not the end of anything, it is the beginning of something else.”

 

Participants at the event included:

Action North Carolina

Action Now (Illinois)

Action United (Pennsylvania)

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

Arkansas Community Organization

Center on Policy Initiatives (California)

Central American Solidarity Association (Maryland)

Common Good Ohio

Community Labor United (Massachusetts)

Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement

Faith Action for Community Equity (Hawaii)

Flint Rising (Michigan)

FRESC (Georgia)

Good Jobs Now (Michigan)

Living United for Change in Arizona

Make the Road Connecticut

Make the Road New Jersey

Make the Road New York (New York)

Make the Road Pennsylvania

Maryland Communities United

Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (Missouri)

Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (Minnesota)

New Florida Majority (Florida)

New Virginia Majority (Virginia)

New York Communities for Change (New York)

Ohio Organizing Collaborative (Ohio)

One Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)

Organize Now (Florida)

Rise Up Georgia (Georgia)

SPACEs (Washington, DC)

TakeAction (Minnesota)

Texas Organizing Project (Texas)

Vermont Workers’ Center (Vermont)

VOCAL-NY (New York)

West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition (West Virginia)

Wisconsin Jobs Now (Wisconsin)

Workers Defense Project (Texas)

Working Partnerships USA (California) 

 

www.populardemocracy.org

The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.

 

Contact: 

Asya Pikovsky, apikovsky@populardemocracy.org, 207-522-2442

Anita Jain, ajain@populardemocracy.org, 347-636-9761