Movement Generation

A large multicultural group of activists and organizers at the Solidarity Economy Assembly in Durham, NC in July 2026. Photo by Nica Guerrero.

Y’all. We don’t have to tell you that the organizing happening in the south is next level. That’s why Durham, North Carolina was a perfect place to gather for the Solidarity Economy Assembly for our Futures, hosted by the New Economy Coalition, of which MG is a proud member.

Panel featuring Anna Jeffries, Judge Beverly Scarlett, and Georie Bryant, moderated by Donnay Edmund, with sound bowls in the foreground. Photo by Nica Guerrero.

We had the honor to hear from the Black & Indigenous Solidarity Economies panel including Anna Jeffries of Handèwa Farms and the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Judge Beverly Scarlett of Indigenous Memories, and Georie Bryant of the Symbodied marketplace. They challenged us to explore our relationships to land, to honor our ancestors, and imagine what polyrhythmic solidarity (different rhythms coming together to create one song) can look like in our movements.

People moving their bodies during a theatrical exercise at the Solidarity Economy Assembly.

Some of our Creative Wildfire team facilitated “Rehearsing the Next World,” a performance jam session weaving together speculative fiction, theater of the liberated/oppressed, improvisation, political performance, and other body-based tools for collective narrative creation.

We also participated in other member-led sessions, including “From Shock to Climate Survival,” led by Climate Mobilization Project. Grounded in learnings from CMP’s own work to resource and develop climate survival hubs (such as community farms, solar projects, mesh networks, cooperative housing on BIPOC-owned land, water resilience systems, and mutual aid networks), we explored concrete economic openings for solidarity economy development and what our initiatives need in order to become scalable engines of grassroots economic change.

A Black femme walking between trees towards a white house with a brick chimney at Historic Stagville. Photo by Nica Guerrero.

We visited Historic Stagville, where Georie Bryant offered reflections on land, its histories, and how that connects to labor struggles. We also spent time with Judge Beverly Scarlett on a native plant walk. And we turned up with organizers from the Union of Southern Service Workers, who are doing exactly what their name suggests—organizing the south, primarily low-wage service workers who need an organizing home.

Alexis Pauline Gumbs on stage speaking to a crowd at the Solidarity Economy Assembly in Durham, NC.

On assembly day, Black feminist scholar, poet, author, and activist Alexis Pauline Gumbs offered a powerful grounding that reconnected us to our collective spirit and the deeper reasons we gather. We then convened  in regional groups to reflect on shared needs, possibilities, and the tools needed to strengthen our polyrythmic movements. Across the west coast and Pacific Northwest, aka Salmon Nation, we identified our needs and desires for more regular land-based gatherings across our broad bioregion, as well as coordinated resource mobilization.

We left the Solidarity Economy Assembly so nourished, inspired, and fired up! Huge thanks to our friends and partners at the New Economy Coalition, and all the member organizations and allies who made the gathering so generative, soulful, and fun!

A group of people sitting at tables in a gymnasium watching a speaker in front of a stage.

On July 15th, MG hosted the second of our newly re-started Community Dinners, this time in East Oakland.

Several dozen MG homies came out to Roots Community Health at the Parker Elementary School campus to savor some phenomenal potluck dishes — from Thai green curry and fresh-from-the-garden summer salads to mint basil lemonade and a vegan cheese charcuterie board. 

While we enjoyed the feast and the kids played nearby, MG’s Quinton Sankofa shared with us how teachers, parents, students, and community members occupied Parker Elementary when it was slated for closure by OUSD, and saved it as a community resource. Quinton also shared more about the powerful work being done in East Oakland by the Brotherhood of Elders Network and their partners on the 40×40 council to move resources to Black communities to meet their own needs in the face of increased public and private disinvestment. 

Inspired by plant starts offered by our friends at the Gil Tract Community farm at our first community dinner, we began what we hope will be a regular practice of bringing seeds to the dinner to share with each other. MG’s Gopal Dayaneni shared Yakteen (heirloom Palestinian gourd) Kousa  (Palestinian summer squash) seeds from Palestine.

We’re aiming to host the dinners at a range of accessible spots across the Bay. If you have a spot to offer, please let us know!