Muslims for Just Futures proudly presents our inaugural national summit: “Convergence for Just Futures: Building Power through Community & Economic Defense.”
Join us at the historic Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) for an electrifying three-day convergence from September 25-27 (Wednesday - Friday) designed to ignite transformative change, fortify our communities from existing and escalated threats, and build just futures. This convergence is a rare opportunity to unite innovative movement organizers, fierce advocates, determined movement lawyers, visionary narrative builders, and courageous social impact changemakers from diverse communities, focusing on Black, Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian (BAMEMSA), Southwest Asian, and North African (SWANA) groups. The purpose of this convergence is to provide BAMEMSA/SWANA changemakers and allies with essential frameworks, political assessments, tools, and skills to enhance our collective power, deepen connections and build alignment against the political challenges of the next four years. We invite changemakers invested in building long-term power within our communities through a collective liberation approach to join us in Chicago.
Our Convergence will be organized around the following 5 Themes:
- Disrupt the System: We'll explore the challenges and threats facing our communities and examine the shared experiences of systemic oppression that shape our collective struggles. Our organization will also present its frameworks on understanding and combating structural and gendered Islamophobia, divestment and reinvestment narratives, community and economic defense, and community-driven demands for systems change.
- Unmask the Connections: Expose the interconnected web of state-sanctioned violence and oppression, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between the expansion of authoritarianism, Islamophobia, militarism, mass surveillance, immigration enforcement, policing, prisons, transnational repression, and the War on Terror. Moreover, we will dissect the role of structural Islamophobia as a key tool used by the Right and White Christian nationalists to consolidate power. Furthermore, we'll share language and frameworks for understanding the importance of building connections between Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism and other forms of structural violence with the goal of building a united front against these forms of oppression through meaningful solidarity and collective action within and across communities.
- Confront the Truth & Build Power: What is power? What is our community’s relationship to power? What are methods of powerbuilding? What strategies and tactics can help us build long-term power with an emphasis upon base-building? How do we position ourselves in relationship to demographic shifts that will materialize in 2050 and beyond? What are the complexities and implications of being a minority community in the United States, yet part of a rising global majority? What is abolition and how can our communities use it as a tool for visioning just futures? How can we harness our collective strength and resilience to build a more just future?
- Learn from the Frontlines: Learn about existing and tested models of community and economic defense, including skills and tools that support us in building people power. We will explore the existing infrastructure and gaps in providing collective care, mutual aid, solidarity economies, legal defense, community participatory defense, and community models of safety. We will also spend time discussing the specific challenges faced by BAMEMSA/SWANA communities and strategize to overcome them in today’s hostile political environment.
- Empower Radical Action: Attendees will acquire critical tools, sharpen skills and connect with other changemakers across various sectors dedicated to building long-term power, community and economic defense infrastructure as we move into the next four years.
We invite organizations, collectives, and movement groups, whether in paid or volunteer roles, to submit workshops along the 5 key themes included above for the convergence. Please submit workshops by August 2, 2024 at 11:59 pst. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at convergence@muslimsforjustfutures.org.
Participation:
This summit is centered on BAMEMSA/SWANA communities, but we welcome allies who work directly with these communities and are committed to radical and respectful engagement. Your presence and solidarity is welcome and crucial.
For more information, please reach out to us at convergence@muslimsforjustfutures.org. Let’s come together to envision and build a future rooted in justice, equity, and collective liberation.