Year End FOLWCC Movement Center Report 2023

For Movement Centers: Briefly describe the type of community events, or political education events, you held this year

Self Defense (updated Centers Security system/ IT system, Set up Center SOP for security and distributed a box of "protection". Had discussions and basic training with center volunteers regarding situational awareness and security during events held at the FOLWCC. Upcoming self defense classes are being planned.

NCBL – retreat – hosted & participated; doing workshops –ie. Workers’ rights, deferred taxes. The FOLWCC has hosted trainings for new NCBL members on organization building, commitment and responsibility required by leadership in order to uphold their purpose to be the legal arm of the Black progressive movement. New members of NCBL have been actively working with community and labor organizations the center has helped them develop relationships with. The FOLWCC will be working with NCBL-NC on a project to manage right wing extremist threats to our organizing work and communities.

SWA workers school – led workshop on current crisis, FOL political/cultural education presentations through song. Currently preparing to facilitate workshops and cultural presentations at an upcoming November workers school in Charlotte, NC.

UE – leadership & staff development project w/ National UE. Participated in its National Convention in Pittsburgh, PA – projected the labor work of the FOLWCC, provided cultural presentations before sessions and continued advocating for more union organizing in North Carolina. Participating in national labor organizations’ discussions on the Palestinian – Israeli Zionist War.

UE Local 150 – workers rights training, organizing training & gatework during organizing July blitz (we got 67 new contacts & small meetings 2x a month). Supported the strike of the Durham sanitation workers for fair pay, staffing and safety by participating in rallies, meeting with workers, helping with strategy sessions, distributing flyers and yard signs to neighbors to help build support.

The FOLWCC is currently used by the Raleigh City Workers chapter of UE150 for weekly meetings to rebuild/reactivate their chapter. Our movement center has provided their membership trainings on recruitment, campaign building. We’ve organized and held meetings with 5 city council members to push for and assess their support of workers’ concerns and a Municipal Workers Bill of Rights. We are currently assisting Raleigh City Workers Union prepare their 2024 budget campaign. This week Raleigh city workers union initiated a petition to management regarding harassment of Black workers while they are out doing service calls in upscale predominantly white neighborhoods. Residents in those neighborhoods have called police and made workers leave their neighborhood because of their “safety concerns”.

Historic Raleigh African-American neighborhood -Biltmore Hills – door to door organizing training, leadership development training (Smitty, Erica Moss, Keisha, Eugene, Cody). Brought together 2 community organizing efforts, facilitated their merger since both were working on similar issues. Our organizing efforts have resulted in renewed community resident participation in monthly meetings, new leadership development, community issue education and strategy development training, an accountability and issue sharing meeting with their district’s city council representative, Corey Branch. Biltmore community members have come to our fish fry fundraisers and participated in speak outs sharing their story and strategies. Worked with the NC National Conference of Black Lawyers to conduct a workshop and training on how to assess if you qualify for and apply for a property tax waiver/reduction for community residents.

New Bern Peoples Assembly – We are continuing resource networking, training, developed an Affirmative Action proposal for New Bern City Council. We’ve facilitated and are now planning for the NC-NCBL to provide property tax waiver workshop and training community residents. We’ve helped the Assembly to strategize ways to combat gentrification of historically Black and working-class neighborhoods and the increasing absence of affordable housing in New Bern. We suggested and the assembly is now developing a list of churches who we can bring together to discuss the possibility of collaborating to purchase and rehab properties to create affordable housing for community members. The NBPA consistently meets each month.

NC Peoples Power Coalition – statewide coalition building & Assembly – Raleigh/Wake coalition building. The FOLWCC has a representative on the coalition steering committee. We participated in rallies at the legislative building in Raleigh.

3 Basic Organizing 101 Sessions – base building & community organizing

Youth Work – FOLWCC youth outreach using poetry, music, political study using literature (Freedom Manifesto); Used Juneteenth- youth did presentation on federal and state minimum wage & reparations. They had a follow-up voter registration – each youth recruit 2 people who have not registered (invited elected officials) ; Summerfest – strategizing workshop against Black land loss. Youth are planning an upcoming cultural event: Celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop – Perspectives. It will examine the cultural and political evolution of Hip Hop and also feature performances by local artists as well as engage them in political work.

Gardening & Community Health & Nutrition Projects– new solidarity garden club community participants – formerly unhoused, workers, exercise class participants. People who have not been engaged who come to community exercise classes have signed up to receive newsletters and are wanting and beginning to get engaged politically, in FOL events/workshops & in community organizations. Our free community fitness classes have are consistently twice a month and participation has grown. In January 2024 we will begin a collaboration with the Eatwell Exchange to host and recruit community members to participate in a yearlong diabetes prevention and management project. Our summer solidarity garden was productive and gardening 101 classes were well received. Planning for

the 2024 growing season has begun. Both the gardening and nutrition projects educate participants about the unhealthy profit-driven commercial food industry, food deserts in Black and Brown communities, healthcare and health disparities in our communities.

FOLWCC Freedom Liberation Archives – We’ve retained 3 universities who will help with organizing and digitizing our vast archives of the last 40 years of North Carolina and the Southeastern U.S. labor and community organizing. Dr. Dennis Rogers & Dr. Van of NCCU are project coordinators, Lisa Rogers of UNC-CH library division, Fayetteville State Univ., and Carter Q. of the Durham County Library are collaborating on the project. Dr. Rogers prepared the written proposal and plan for the project. Digitization of materials has started.

25th Juneteenth Celebration.... engaged people who have volunteered to work on FOLWCC projects, Fernando – Minimum Wage Coalition, Manzoor & Munir Muslims for Social Justice & Peoples Power Lab..video/photos

Four media interviews (UNC – Samir Bedreddin & Spectrum News, Hanna Kaufman – Indy Newspaper, Ben Carroll – Labor Notes)

Self-Defense – bought mace/updated security system/ planning a series of self-defense classes for Fall

FOLWCC sponsored discussions on the role of music and culture in building movement –artists Leander Tate, Rick Scott, Elmer Gibson

Social Justice Fish Fries & Community Speak Outs(on various issues ( min. wage/voting-women-workers Rights/ Reparations)

Juneteenth

Summerfest

Hotter Than July

Basic 101 Organizing Training" Building a Base in the Workplace & Community" (3 sessions so far with 18 participants)

Hosted and participated in NC Justice Centers’ Activate North Carolina TEEM Convening.

Regularly host in-person and virtual BWFJ Women’s Working Group monthly book discussions.

FOLWCC volunteers will also be participating and facilitating a workshop at the NC Environmental Justice Network Summit at the Franklinton Center in Enfield, NC. The workshop will highlight the success of intergenerational organizing done by the Shiloh Coalition for Community Control & Improvement to get the Koppers Superfund Site cleaned up in the western Wake Co. African-American community of Shiloh.