We live in a time when more and more of our lives are mediated through screens. Doctor’s appointments happen through telehealth. Shopping online delivers packages in two days. Customer service and even drive-thrus are increasingly powered by AI. Our interactions, both casual and deeply personal, are filtered through technology.
Yet many of us are more spiritually and materially isolated than ever before.
What do we sacrifice for these conveniences?
We fill our virtual shopping carts but rarely see the workers rushing to deliver our packages. Our young people can communicate instantly but have fewer places to gather, play, and build community. Rents rise across entire neighborhoods, yet many of us barely know the people living next door. Even small acts of care, like leaving time on a parking meter for the next person, have quietly disappeared.
The promise of digital convenience masks a deeper reality. As public systems fail to meet people’s needs, we are told our struggles are individual problems instead of the result of political and economic choices. Meanwhile, the rising costs of housing, food, healthcare, and daily living continue to squeeze our communities.
Too often, we are encouraged to look for someone to rescue us. A charismatic politician. A bold activist. A single leader with the right answer.
Our history tells a different story.
Every lasting victory has come because ordinary people organized together. Mexican and Filipino farmworkers transformed labor rights through collective action. Black communities organized for generations to secure voting rights. Queer and trans communities refused invisibility and fought together for dignity and liberation.
Our ancestors remind us that people power has always been built through relationships, shared purpose, and collective action.
Those invested in white supremacy want us isolated. Those protecting concentrated wealth want us to believe we are alone. Sharing another post or reacting to another headline cannot replace the work of building trust, organizing our neighbors, and strengthening the relationships that make collective action possible.
We must resist isolation. We must reject the idea that we have to figure this out alone or wait for someone else to save us. The future we want will be built in our neighborhoods, our apartment buildings, our community spaces, and with one another.
That is why we are gathering on August 1.
Our Community Forum is an opportunity to name the reality of this political and economic moment and decide how we move forward together.
If you joined us for our 2024 Liberated Circle, you helped imagine what freedom, safety, and belonging could look like in our communities. This forum builds on that foundation. Together we will make sense of this moment, deepen the relationships we need to meet it, and begin shaping a shared path forward.
We will share what we have learned through years of organizing, neighborhood canvassing, and our housing story collection. Together, we will ask:
- What does it take to care for one another during deep economic uncertainty?
- What relationships do we need to defend each other and our communities?
- What must we build together so our neighborhoods can thrive for generations?
Join us on Saturday, August 1, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Southside Cultural Center, 393 Broad Street in Providence.
Bring a neighbor. Bring your family. Bring someone who is looking for a place to belong.
Where we go from here, we go together. We stand together to strengthen our communities. We build together to shape our future. We fight together because lasting change has always belonged to organized people.
