with Kali Akuno (USA)

In this fifth session we will discuss this moment in the USA, and global significance, challenges and critical pathways that exist that can support the potential for radical transformation of society at every level. We will share the experience of Cooperation Jackson, an eco-socialist organizing to create a new society and economy from the bottom up.

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The Global TapestryThe weaving of networks of Alternatives of AlternativesAre activities and initiatives, concepts, worldviews, or action proposals by collectives, groups, organizations, communities, or social movements challenging and replacing the dominant system that perpetuates inequality, exploitation, and unsustainabiity. In the GTA we focus primarily on what we call "radical or transformative alternatives", which we define as initiatives that are attempting to break with the dominant system and take paths towards direct and radical forms of political and economic democracy, localised self-reliance, social justice and equity, cultural and knowledge diversity, and ecological resilience. Their locus is neither the State nor the capitalist economy. They are advancing in the process of dismantling most forms of hierarchies, assuming the principles of sufficiency, autonomy, non-violence, justice and equality, solidarity, and the caring of life and the Earth. They do this in an integral way, not limited to a single aspect of life. Although such initiatives may have some kind of link with capitalist markets and the State, they prioritize their autonomy to avoid significant dependency on them and tend to reduce, as much as possible, any relationship with them. stands with the Black Lives Matter movement in resisting racism and fighting for equality across the US and globally. We have invited Kali Akuno, co-founder and co-director of Cooperation Jackson for our fifth webinar on “People's strikes, Floyd rebellion and resistance”. Cooperation Jackson is an emerging vehicle for sustainable community development, economic democracy and community ownership based in the US. Kali will be sharing experiences of the current resistance struggles and solidarity mobilization in the US.

The webinar took place on 16 June which is a symbolic day in anti-racist struggles, commemorating the start of the Soweto uprising in South Africa in 1976. In echoes from the past, the South Africa Students Movement supported by the Black Consciousness Movement marched to protest the apartheid education imposed within the Bantu Education system. We remember the Uprising as a turning point in the struggle against the apartheid state and against racism.

Recommended reading materials and sources:

• https://www.genstrike.org/
• http://www.coronastrike.us/
• https://darajapress.com/2020/04/12/covid-and-racism-in-usa-and-organising-in-the-time-of-covid-19
• https://soundcloud.com/user-92939733/call-for-a-general-strike-beginning-may-1st