Thread by @BlackSocialists

We must be clear about what it means to not just “organize,” but to organize for revolutionary systems change specifically.

The ruling class is not really intimidated or challenged by reactive activism or charity.

They are intimidated or challenged by you making them obsolete.

Many still haven't conceived of organizing approaches that deal with labor, the land, our economic circumstances more broadly, or the nuts and bolts of how to build economic institutions that can serve as the foundation for new political power and/or systems of self-governance...

Are we doing what we’re doing just to make it feel like we’re doing something revolutionary?

Or are we trying to do something revolutionary?

We must be honest with ourselves.

Serious efforts for systems change take serious (and immense) planning, and at an institutional level.

We have been partnered with @CooperationJXN almost the entire time we have existed.

The understanding was that BSA could serve as a network and incubator for projects like @CooperationJXN in Black communities throughout the U.S.

Slowly but surely, this incubation is starting...

The BSA social media platforms you are interfacing with are just one component of what it is that we’re doing, and even they have proven to be impactful in terms of influencing actions all around the world, and generating support for both grassroots efforts and our broader work.

But on the backend, our org has been moving with relatively low capacity and resources to do the slow work of self-education, relationship-building, trust-building, and roadmap development for grassroots economic transformation amongst our folks in different places in the U.S.

There is a seemingly endless queue of folks who have submitted information to join BSA, and because we do not have a team of paid staffers, it is going to take us a while to go through and begin initiating calls.

But our function remains the same: to support Dual Power Projects.

A Dual Power Project is a grassroots org grounded in a localized economic focus, *politically* using the institutions of the Solidarity Economy Movement – WSDEs (Worker Self-Directed Enterprises), CLTs (Community Land Trusts), co-op housing, etc. – to build economic democracy.

The development of Dual Power Projects requires teamwork from folks with very specialized skills. BSA is comprised of specialized folks who contribute in various ways to long-term #DualPower institution-building processes, as well as grassroots organizers in different formations.

BSA also has two volunteer teams open to all, and made up of hundreds from around the world, most of whom do not make up the core BSA org:

• Open Tech Development (OTD)

• Design Support Team (DST)

These teams are specialized folks committed to Dual Power Project development.

Anyone engaged in any kind of activity geared toward systems change understands that there isn’t just one way to “organize,” or one kind of “organizer.”

Furthermore, if we are serious about challenging the status quo moving from today, then we cannot merely replicate old models.