An invitation to support Freedom Inc’s Community Power-Building Coalition
Like many of you, at CORE we have been deeply moved by the unfolding of the movement for Black Lives taking place locally and around the country. With horror and sadness we have watched the videos of the lynching of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake, along with far too many others. We have long valued the work of anti-racism. We have felt humbled by the learning and changing we have done and that we have yet to do, both individually and systemically, to ensure that Black lives matter.
We are grateful for the opportunity to continue this work by following the inspiring leadership of and offering support to organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in the Madison area. One of the BIPOC-led organizations that CORE is honored to be in ongoing relationship with is Freedom, Inc (FI), a key force behind some of the powerful demonstrations this summer and the longer–running campaign to get cops out of schools. FI’s highly coordinated, policy-focused work is the result of years of skilled organizing and community building in the Hmong, Black, and LGBTQI communities. For some glimpses of the history of FI’s visionary and transformative work, watch this moving video from 2014 and this more recent excellent video about their work at the intersections of racial and gender justice.
At CORE we have always believed that the “outer work” of social change requires “inner work” of self-care and healing in order to be sustainable and truly transformational. Freedom Inc. is building an organizational culture where this aspect of change is more and more integrated in their work. We have partnered with them in this development and are learning much from the process.
Freedom, Inc is now poised to build on this historic moment and deepen their community power–building before the November elections. As they are increasingly called on to help with training and logistics around the state (e.g. Kenosha) and with national BLM work, they are adding another organizer to help with building local alternatives to policing and to do election outreach in local disenfranchised communities. In their words, FI “advances electoral justice through creating and fighting for voter access for Black and Brown voters, doing voter education on issues, and helping to build a Black and Brown agenda/platform with the issues that come from our base.”
FI goes on to say that this historic “moment is equal parts inspiring and challenging. Some organizational challenges include managing the influx of new activists, adjusting to the rapidly shifting political terrain, developing and implementing effective and appropriate organizing strategies. Each of the challenges, however, are manageable provided that [FI] has the appropriate levels of capacity. Freedom, Inc. is calling up our capacity to meet the demands of this time, in part by hiring a Community Power Building (CPB) organizer.“
CORE as an organization has supported Freedom, Inc. and we as individuals have also supported FI’s work over the years. We are now digging even deeper to be able to contribute to this CPB position at this critical moment. Now is the time to advance electoral and racial justice for Black and Brown people. We believe the work of Freedom Inc. can help turn the tide. We invite you and your families and communities to be part of this by making any contribution you can to FI for this new Community Power Building position. Your donation will help to build power for the upcoming elections and beyond.
To make your tax deductible donation, go to Freedom, Inc’s Donate page, which offers several options. If you would like to ensure that your donation is directed to the CPB Organizer, please send an email to Nancy Vue Tran (nvuetran [at] freedom-inc.org) the date, amount, and channel (e.g. website, FB, etc.) of your donation.
We look forward to sharing more in the future about other other BIPOC-led orgs we partner with, including GSAFE, Natural Circles of Support, and UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence. Thank you for considering adding your support!
Becca, Julie, and Megan
