Democracy is under attack, and we know our path forward must include organizing Black, working class, and traditionally marginalized communities to engage in collective decision making and governance. The democracy we are fighting for can only be possible through relationship based community organizing, leadership development, and a commitment to shifting power. Co-governance is a critical practice of democracy and must be the foundation of our organizing strategy.

Co-governance is not just a strategy for reform, it is a vehicle for shifting power and meeting material needs. It centers Black and working-class communities as architects of public policy and community safety. When base-building organizations and elected officials enter into accountable, power-sharing relationships, policy is shaped by the people most impacted by systemic harm. Co-governance turns grassroots demands into long-term infrastructure, ensuring that decisions are rooted in community wisdom, rather than political convenience. It’s how we move from demands to dual power and from systemic harm to collective liberation.

Our co-governance and democracy building summit centers the power of Black-led organizing to build a multiracial democracy rooted in justice, accountability, and material change. As Black organizers working with Black and working-class families, young people, and community members, we invite participants to deepen their skills with us by learning how to advance community-driven policy solutions through deep base-building, organizing, and co-governance.

People power is not only about resistance, it’s about governance. This summit is about building infrastructure to move our communities from the margins to the center of decision-making, shaping policy and programs that meet the real needs of Black, Brown, Queer, Trans, Immigrant, and working-class people.

In this political moment, we gather to share how we are organizing locally and statewide to shift power with those who are fighting to turn collective vision into lasting political transformation.