We will start by moving outdoors, where Tera John (member of the Grand Traverse Bay of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians) will open with smudging and a water song. After moving back inside, Laura Valencia and Jerrod MacFarlane (Resource Generation) and Jesse Carr (Ginsberg Center) will share about the purpose of this conference and our collaboration. Then, led by Sheri Wander (Peace House) and Yodit Mesfin Johnson (NEW), we will turn to Reckoning and Remembering. We will learn about the dynamics of the economic divide in Washtenaw County through stories of their work. We will close with a Ritual for Transformation offered by Sherina Rodriguez-Sharpe and Chace Morris from The Tetra. After, we will have 5 mins of quiet time before moving forward.

Important: Participants are requested to arrive early for breakfast. Participants are requested to move in the session with reverence and solemnity, so we can activate parts of ourselves we do not always relate to.

Join us for our opening plenary session! We will be welcomed by Resource Generation Michigan and the Ginsberg Center. Then, we will ground ourselves in the context of our building together and what we mean by 'solidarity economy.' Speakers will include Sheri Wander from Peace House, Yodit Mesfin Johnson from Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, and Jesse Carr from the Ginsberg Center.

Join us on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94607301050

At the beginning of your Solidarity Economy journey, and curious where you fit in? Join this beginner-friendly and interactive space where you'll explore what the solidarity economy is all about, how it connects to your personal experiences, why it’s a critical part of building new worlds and you can tap in! This workshop is facilitated by Prerna, a co-op housing organizer with economic democracy project Cleveland Owns and further informed by their experience facilitating and building autonomous political education.

This workshop is for members of mission-driven student and community groups to dive deeper into fundraising and resource mobilization. Members of Resource Generation from Michigan and Ohio will share nuts-and-bolts skill building as well as theoretical frameworks that move us from transactional fundraising to transformative donor organizing. This workshop will include break-out spaces for people with different class backgrounds to talk about how our own money stories influence our fundraising approaches, and a real play' where participants will see live-action fundraising that moves actual money. This workshop is organized collaboratively by Resource Generation chapters from across the Midwest and will feature facilitation and case studies from RG Ohio's partnership with Dayton Unified Power.

“You don’t go into coalition because you just like it. The only reason you would consider trying to team up with somebody who could possibly kill you, is because that’s the only way you can figure you can stay alive.” - Berniece Johnson Reagon

Coalition-building is crucial to social change but, as Bernice Johnson Reagon reminds us, it's not always easy or comfortable. Along with Detroit City Council Member for District 6, Gabriela Santiago-Romero, this workshop invites participants to reframe internal disagreements about strategy and values as paths toward stronger relationships and more effective organizing. Participants will explore approaches to navigating difficult conversations with both internal and external stakeholders, from the standpoint that conflict itself is neutral and unavoidable – but the ways we encounter it can make or break our movements. What would it look like to hold each other accountable without resorting to discourses of blame and shame? How can we resist divisive narratives, and instead create our coalitions using frameworks of mutuality and growth? This topic was selected by popular demand during our pre-conference workshop.

Directions to Session: 

The session will be held in one of the University of Michigan's Multicultural Lounges, Abeng Multicultural Lounge in East Quadrangle. The address for East Quad is 701 East University Ave in Ann Arbor. To get to the room, enter East Quadrangle (EQ) from its main entrance at 701 East University Avenue, using either the steps or ramp. The Abeng Multicultural Lounge is located on the first floor next to the East Quad community center desk.

At the beginning of your Solidarity Economy journey, and curious where you fit in? Join this beginner-friendly and interactive space where you'll explore what the solidarity economy is all about, how it connects to your personal experiences, why it’s a critical part of building new worlds and you can tap in! This workshop is facilitated by Prerna, a co-op housing organizer with economic democracy project Cleveland Owns and further informed by their experience facilitating and building autonomous political education.

Join us on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94607301050

This workshop builds on workshop A1, bringing us from theory to practice. In this session, community groups from across the Great Lakes region will talk shop about how they are engaging in solidarity economy practices such as housing cooperatives, land trusts, and food sovereignty. We will hear stories about how they are building creatively in each context, moving people and resources into the solidarity economy. Facilitators include ShuNahSii Rose and Nora Berry from True Earth, Monika Perry and Nic Botek from the Toledo Permaculture Network, Tera John a Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians member, and Antonio Cosme.

Got class privilege and want social justice? Resource Generation is a national community for young people with wealth and class privilege take individual and collective actions towards wealth redistribution and economic justice. This session is for you if you are curious how your personal money story links with movements for reparations, landback, and democratic philanthropy -- and want to learn how to organize families and communities towards a more just world. In this session, RG members from across the US will share our money stories, why and how we organize rich kids, and how you can get involved. If you are a young person who comes from class privilege or if you expect to earn a high income after graduation, this session is for you! Those above 35 with wealth and/or class privilege are also welcome to attend.

In this theatre-based workshop, we will explore how economic differences shape our experiences as part of a campus community. Through storytelling, creative expression, witnessing and debriefing we will find new ways to connect with and surface difficult topics. All students are welcome, including students from outside of UM, as well as university staff, employees, and faculty. This workshop will be led by Pink Flowers, Director of Education and Training at the Inter-Cooperative Council, and is co-organized with UM student organization Not Rich at UMich. This topic was selected by popular demand during our pre-conference workshop.

This workshop builds on workshop A1, bringing us from theory to practice. In this session, community groups from across the Great Lakes region will talk shop about how they are engaging in solidarity economy practices such as housing cooperatives, land trusts, and food sovereignty. We will hear stories about how they are building creatively in each context, moving people and resources into the solidarity economy. Facilitators include ShuNahSii Rose and Nora Berry from True Earth, Monika Perry and Nic Botek from the Toledo Permaculture Network, Tera John a Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians member, and Antonio Cosme.

Join us on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94607301050

We will close out the conference by taking a step back and looking at the structural transformations needed to mobilize resources and capital for the Solidarity Economy, from progressive taxation to voluntary Indigenous land taxes. Speakers will explore the tension between building and resistance, and what movements must do right now to build power that will last into the future. Jamila Martin (Movement Voter Project),  Dr. Ashley Glassburn (Miami Nation of Indiana Honor Fund), and Will Lawrence (Rent is Too Damn High Coalition) will be in conversation with moderators Angela Barbash (Revalue Investing) and Christina Brown (Resource Generation) on this panel.

Sherina Rodriguez-Sharpe and Chace Morris from the Tetra will lead us in closing

We will close out the conference by taking a step back and looking at the structural transformations needed to mobilize resources and capital for the Solidarity Economy, from progressive taxation to voluntary Indigenous land taxes. Speakers will explore the tension between building and resistance, and what movements must do right now to build power that will last into the future. Jamila Martin (Movement Voter Project),  Dr. Ashley Glassburn (Miami Nation of Indiana Honor Fund), and Will Lawrence (Rent is Too Damn High Coalition) will be in conversation with moderators Angela Barbash (Revalue Investing) and Christina Brown (Resource Generation) on this panel.

Sherina Rodriguez-Sharpe and Chace Morris from the Tetra will lead us in closing

Join us on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94607301050