Organizing and Building Power

People’s Movement Assemblies are being used across the South and around the world to build community-based power that strengthens movements for the future we deserve, as well as our ability to coordinate and govern ourselves. Assemblies can advance frontline struggles for human rights and self-determination by harmonizing our vision and strategy, and uniting our power. (Learn more)

The Communiversity is a political education program that CCJ anchors as a campus of Universidad Sin Fronteras / University Without Borders. We use popular education to connect folks’ lived experiences with existing knowledge and lessons from peoples’ movements. Together we develop:

• Consciousness of where we’re at
• Visions of the city and South that we need and deserve
• Strategies that can lead our communities toward those visions

We know that we are stronger together, and the Communiversity is process that can help us learn and organize collectively. (Learn more)

Our current system of governance was not designed for Black, working class, or other oppressed people to be able to participate meaningfully in making decisions about our communities.

This system empowers the voices of white folks and wealthy people with access and control over capital- which means that marginalized communities are treated as sites for exploitation and economic speculation.

Creating a truly democratic city requires institutions that embody popular oversight and hold real decision making power; community-based infrastructure for education, organizing, and action around intervening in day-to-day governance; and broadly building the independent political power and organization of our people to govern ourselves. (Learn more)

CCJ works with a broad coalition of folks in Chattanooga, including People United for Change and Eastdale Village Community UMC, to give out thousands of pounds of produce across the city every month in communities that suffer under food apartheid (lack of access to food because of historic disinvestment). While coalition partners hold down sites across the city, we anchor distribution on the Westside. (Learn more)