UNTIL WE ALL ARE FREE
As we continue to witness political, social, and religious divides widen, we are reminded that this country was birthed out of tension. After all, it was founded on freedom and built on the institution of slavery following the mass erasure of indigenous peoples. As we work for liberation across Massachusetts through the grassroots faith and values based organizing of our eight affiliates, we aren’t just talking about freedom for some of us. We are working for it for all of us, because the impact of oppression isn’t always seen; and living with certain privileges does not provide immunity.
Our work is led by those most impacted by the issue areas selected within each of our affiliates. While this leads to a number of focal points for our work across the Commonwealth, including education, immigration, community safety, and economic development, the issue of housing has been front and center in 2024. From rent control to accessible dwellings and new units for low income residents to maintenance of existing state owned housing, we have witnessed the power of our network from the Berkshires to the North Shore as well as in Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, Springfield, and Worcester.
MAKING AN IMPACT
United Interfaith Action held housing actions in June with elected officials in New Bedford and Fall River.
This spring Berkshire Interfaith Organizing powerfully organized in support of mobile home residents fighting to minimize rent hikes and helped to block a proposed 230% rent increase in West Stockbridge. On the North Shore, Essex County Community Organization leaders made an impact locally through the passage of local ordinances including the apportioning of 10% of new construction around MBTA transit developments to affordable housing in Gloucester and Rockport; the broadening of Lynn’s standard of what incomes qualified for affordable housing funds; and an increase in Salem’s ARPA housing funding to $9 million from a proposed $2 million.
And while early June saw the Massachusetts House of Representatives passing a five-year, $6.5 billion housing bond bill, we’ve been at this work too long to know that we can’t take a step back. In fact, our grassroots mobilization for housing equity in all of its forms is just getting started to make sure that promises made convert into just policies and transformative action.
TRAINING
In order to strengthen our statewide impact, we are pouring into our people by investing in our training programs. Over the last year we trained 375 leaders and organizers, who then went into their communities to train others. We held our second Train The Trainer (TTT) three day event in March and will hold our third annual School of Liberation (SOL) at the end of August.
At the local level, affiliates in Boston, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, the North Shore and Worcester have held School of Prophetic Action (SOPA) trainings for 166 community leaders as an on ramp experience to learn how to step into one’s power and disrupt the status quo through community organizing. Using their SOPA training, leaders at Prophetic Resistance Boston worked with organizers to create several short term employment opportunities at the organization specifically for returning citizens. These positions allowed those impacted by the criminal justice system the opportunity to proactively address the grassroots challenges they and others face once home.
We are also witnessing the power of youth training in our affiliates. Youth SOL leaders of Brockton Interfaith Community having been speaking out in the wake of well publicized failures of the public school system there. PVP Youth Voices leaders of Pioneer Valley Project have appeared frequently through the spring in front of City Hall and inside school committee meetings on issues of school safety, personal privacy, and the need for transparency within the selection of a new school superintendent. And our youth affiliate in Boston, I Have A Future, is training youth to develop solidarity economy models to transform individual lives and collective livelihoods.
GROWTH
The work of liberation has its joys and its challenges AND we keep going and growing. We have now welcomed Berkshire Interfaith Organizing on board as our eighth affiliate and we have brought Second Chance Justice (SCJ) on as a campaign at the statewide level. SCJ first worked to bring home William Allen two years ago from a life without parole sentence. Our network is rolling deep in voter engagement work, which is understandably critical at all levels in this election cycle. Come our next update, we will share about a new way for voters' voices to be mobilized for change.
As always, we invite you to step into your power and liberation journey with us as we remain grateful for your investment in this powerful work across the Commonwealth.
MCAN Executive Co-Directors
Janine Carreiro & William Dickerson II
