A year of the COVID-19 pandemic has left millions jobless, hundreds of thousands dead, and many turning to neighbors and mutual aid groups, instead of the government, to make ends meet.
These hyperlocal organizations have had to step up their operations exponentially in part thanks to the government’s shoddy response to the pandemic. And activists say it shows the need for what many are calling the “solidarity economy,” an economic system based on equity, justice, and democracy.
And with the diverse goals also comes diverse expertise—police abolition, food equity, and on-the-ground organizing to name a few. And Just Chicago activists hope that such a stocked tool belt will help them make lasting and dramatic change.
The Woods Fund grant also comes at a particularly historic time for organizing and movement work in the country: unprecedented crises have left millions on the brink of financial ruin, racist police violence spurred historic protests, our government barely survived an attempted coup. Additionally, federal and state responses to the pandemic have been harshly criticized, particularly when compared to other nations that have provided significantly more relief to citizens.
