Tag Archives: community organizing

Congratulations to the 2016-2017 Graduates of the Center for Neighborhood Leadership Apprenticeship Program!

Recently, we celebrated the graduation of a phenomenal class of organizing apprentices with the Center for Neighborhood Leadership (CNL). We are very proud of the graduates and all they have accomplished in the past 10 months!

The graduation ceremony was held at the Urban Justice Center’s office in Lower Manhattan, and many friends, family members and supporters of the graduates and of CNL were in attendance. The program started off with remarks by CNL trainers Ericka Stallings and Angelica Otero, who congratulated the graduating class and described the incredible growth they witnessed in the apprentices over the last 10 months. “You are an embodiment of why we exist,” said Otero, who – after being with the CNL program for four years – is leaving to focus on her organization BronxPower and her soon-to-be bundle of joy.

Keynote speeches were then made by two honored guests, Mo George, Executive Director of Picture the Homeless, and Fahd Ahmed, Executive Director of Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM). George, who has decades of experience as an organizer, told the graduating class that if they think of organizing as a job, they probably won’t be doing it for more than a few years. Instead, “it has to be a calling,” George urged. Ahmed echoed a similar sentiment. “If you love it,” he said. “There is nothing better than doing this work.”

The speeches continued with remarks by two members of the graduating class, who were elected by their peers to speak at the program. Shanice Brim and Amanda Marino commented on their experiences in the program – the ups as well as the downs – and offered their hopes and advice for the future. Shanice spoke about imagining a world that does not yet exist is difficult, drawing attention to the challenge of not only reacting to an unjust world, but also to being proactive about creating a better one.

The graduates were then called up one by one to receive their certificates. A reception followed the program with music, wine, and delicious food from A-Pou’s Taste, a street vendor with the Street Vendor Project. Graduates and their friends and families mingled with each other, all with big smiles beaming with pride.  Click here to see photos from the event.

The past 10 months of the CNL Organizing Apprenticeship program have been challenging and filled with joy and accomplishment. Here are some of the highlights:

• CNL apprentices organized around a diverse range of issues, from financial education to transit equity to gender justice
• CNLers helped organize cultural events such as Bed-Stuy Pride
• They assisted hundreds of tenants in forming tenant associations and helped people in danger of losing their homes get the resources and information they needed
• They conducted community awareness events and “Know Your Rights” trainings that reached hundreds of individuals
• They worked with various immigrant communities in New York City representing over 15 different countries of origin
• They organized rallies, town halls, and community meetings reaching hundreds of people
• And so much more!

Big congratulations to the graduating class, and best of luck on your future endeavors! We look forward to seeing all that these graduates accomplish in their work fighting for justice, building power, and creating a safer, more equitable world.

The Work We Begin Tomorrow

To The ANHD Community,

Words failed many of us Wednesday morning when we woke up to the reality that a nativist, misogynist, racist demagogue had won the Presidency of the United States.

I know that we will each be processing this shocking news as individuals, families, organizations, communities, and as a city.

Many of us had believed that there were some commonly-held core beliefs that American politicians had to at least pay lip service to, and that speaking openly in the language of David Duke would make you unelectable. It feels like something has been broken.

And, as we begin to consider what policies President Trump will actually implement, we face the reality that many of the victories that the progressive movement has won, painstakingly, piece-by-piece over many years, can be quickly stripped away.

I want to take a moment to say that the work we have done together is meaningful; it mattered. And yet, where we go next and what we do next has taken on a level of importance like no moment in our lifetimes.

The union organizing line about Joe Hill that we often repeat – “Don’t Mourn, Organize!” – today feels glib and insufficient. But, in the coming days and weeks, the progressive movement will recover from the shock and come together to decide on new and more powerful ways to fight for our beliefs, for our values, and for our country.

If anything is clear, it’s that now is the time for all of us to double down on our commitments, our beliefs and our values.

We believe in activism.
We believe in building grassroots organizing and community leadership.
We believe in strong local community based organizations.
We believe that racist and oppressive power structures must be fought and dismantled.
We believe that socially and economically marginalized people can and must demand a government that works to create opportunity and equity for them.

While ANHD may only work on our core issues, our mission goes beyond any single campaign or single concern. It is to build a more just and equitable society, and we want to express our solidarity with the many people, organizations, and movements that are a part of the larger fight for justice and equity.

And before we turn to developing the tactics and strategies and plans to tackle the four years to come, I want to say: we believe in your work, in your communities, and in the new fights we will face together.

This is a moment for us all to think about how we connect across communities and organizations – within and beyond New York – to build the solidarity and power we’re going to need not only to defend ourselves against the renewed threats we’re facing, but to push even harder for a society based in racial, economic, religious, and social justice.

As ANHD – we will stand with you, we support you, we fight by your side, and together we will be stronger.