In 2022, as our Bengali community in East Queens grew, so did the need for a space, a political home, for working-class people to come together, reflect, and organize. That’s how the East Queens base was born.
Led by women who saw beyond what was expected of them, they didn’t just find a place, they revealed a new way forward. In a community where women are often expected to stay in the background, East Queens base flipped the script. Today, we have more women than men actively building power together. Younger people are also making their way to take on leadership in building the membership.
We are cooks, cab drivers, cafeteria workers, school staff, and we are also youth. Many of us are students and international students, bringing energy, questions, and a desire to shape something better.
Here, we don’t just react—we learn. We talk to each other. We look deeper, past the surface, to the root of our struggles. And we share what we learn, not just in words, but in action—because in a system that counts on us staying divided, we know that our number is our power.
That’s what makes the East Queens base the East Queens base. A home, a strategy room, and a future in the making.