How can activists seize on this moment of unrest to build durable, effective organizations for change? Join Clément Petitjean and Alex Han for a history and critique of the community organizing tradition and the fight to build collective power.

The rise of the professional organizer has seen community organizing as a site of contestation. Chicago, where Alinsky first developed his model of the “professional radical”, is home to vast networks of community-based organizations that bring together multitudes in the fight for collective liberation—led by those who do the work as part of the community, rather than standing apart from it.

With Brandon Johnson set to usher in a new era of progressive politics in Chicago, the time is now to learn from the successes, failures, and contradictions of the past.

Get Occupation Organizer from Haymarket: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2008-occupation-organizer

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***This in person event will be live-streamed through Haymarket Books. Register through Eventbrite to receive a link to the video conference on the day of the event. This event will also be recorded and live captioning will be provided.***

Speakers:

Clément Petitjean is an associate professor of American studies at the Université Panthéon Sorbonne in Paris. He holds a PhD in sociology. His writing has appeared in academic journals and popular outlets like Jacobin, Contretemps, and Le Monde diplomatique.

Alex Han is Executive Director of In These Times. He has organized with unions, in the community, and in progressive politics for two decades. In addition to serving as Midwest Political Director for Bernie 2020, he’s worked to amplify the power of community and labor organizations at Bargaining for the Common Good, served as a Vice President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana for over a decade, and helped to found United Working Families, an independent political organization in Illinois that has elected dozens of working-class leaders to city, state and federal office. Most recently he was executive editor of Convergence Magazine.

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This event is sponsored by Haymarket Books and In These Times . While all of our events are freely available, we ask that those who are able make a solidarity donation in support of our important publishing and programming work.