The Power of Our People is Our Only Constant

We are in the midst of a pandemic, social and economic crises, police killings and repression, and on the cusp of a major election. There is ample anxiety about where we are headed and where we may end up. There are an endless number of predictions, assessments, and variables to agonize over. But there is one constant that we can rely on to guide us through all circumstances: The power of our people. If we build it.

On the eve of the US presidential elections, we offer a path forward rooted in the grassroots organizing of working class immigrants. We're publishing a report on our Building Power and Safety through Solidarity campaign which we launched in response to the pandemic. Over the last 6 months, DRUM members and organizers have called over 12,000 community members to not only meet basic needs, but also to politically educate, agitate, and organize. Over 2,000 of those people have responded with a desire to continue organizing with DRUM. 

The families forced to the streets in the middle of the pandemic, the bereaved relatives, the unemployed, the hungry, the brutalized, and the struggling masses are waiting to be organized together to build the power we need. As movements, we must shift to center their development, thinking, and skills to transform their anger and consciousness and abolish the systems that do not serve us. We must build the world that we need and deserve, rooted in interdependent and mutually beneficial relationships with one another. 

This report offers for consideration the results, reflections, and lessons of our efforts through the campaign. We hope it offers our movements a path forward based on the necessity of building power, not on the shaky foundation of the uncertainties of the present.

The report and the campaign reflect our call for mass participation, development, and action:

Report writing, design and research team: Akash Singh, Ana Liza Caballes, Consultant, Rishi Singh and Roksana Mun

Implementation of campaign: Aarti Maharaj, Abdul Wahab, Ajay, Aamnah Khan, Amana Begum, Amit Hasan, Anshu Khadka, Ashok Khadka, Dhanwantie Budhram, Dipina Khatri, Faiza Zahan, Fardaus Mazumdar, Farhana Akther, Farhana Hasan, Farhana Kalam, Farida Sheerin Khan, Ghulam Rabbani, Hosney Shila, Imrul Hasan, Jensine Raihan, Jinat Talukder, Johirul Amin, Kazi Fouzia, Kazi Nahar, Kesar Gaba, Khaleda Ruby Akhter, Majibul Mowla, Marzan Noshin, Minat Talukder, Misbah Awan, Morsheda Khair, Mosammat Begum, Mridaha Alahi, Mst Zinnat, Nabila Chowdhury, Nafisa Anzum, Nashir Uddin, Nasir Mehmood, Nasir Ullah, Nasreen Ferdous, Nayim Islam, Nesar Bhuyan Russel, Onindita Sarker, Poonam Dass, Ramisa Chowdury, Rizouana Prome, Rowshon Ara, Safwan Ahmed, Samir Tasnim, Samira Jabin, Sandrica Sookdeo, Sanjida Faiz, Sayma Khan, Shahadat Hossain, Shahrin Azim, Shamsun Nahar, Shefali Shaheen, Sherry Padilla, Sohel Mahmud, Sultana Zahan, Syed Mir Matin Tami, Syeda Asma Akter, Taslima Akhter, Trevor Narasan-Mobin, Will Depoo, and Yougeeto Singh.

Additional acknowledgments in the report.

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