Excited to be teaching a J-Term class at Harvard University Graduate School of Design on (world)building beyond capitalism (aka my life’s work!)
The course explores alternative economic development models that challenge the tenets of capitalism. Using the ‘solidarity economy’ as a framework for equitable, sustainable, and community-driven development, we will critically reorient the roles of land, labor, capital, and culture, as pillars of a new economic model in which community wealth and well-being take precedence over profit maximization.
Through discussions of social theory and practical case studies from our work at The Guild, students will analyze (and critique) how worker cooperatives, community-controlled land, and alternative financial systems can disrupt exploitative economic structures with the goal of building “life-affirming institutions” and economic systems that are just, regenerative, and emancipatory.
I'm looking forward to being in conversation with Stacey Sutton tomorrow at Harvard University Graduate School of Design to talk about building solidarity economies and the role cities can play in driving transformative social change, especially in the wake of the election.
Now, more than ever, we need alternative institutions that prioritize people's material needs over profits. How do we build ecosystems that allow such institutions to take root and thrive? And what kinds of legal frameworks, financing models, organizing strategies, and policy initiatives should we prioritize? Stacey's scholarship provides a few pathways to explore these questions.
https://lnkd.in/dqyJN6B3
At a recent panel at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, our Loeb Fellowship curator asked us to reflect on the theme of loss as it connects to our work.
Real estate as it’s conceived of as an asset class is a product of colonialism. How do we sit with that acknowledgment? How do we get radical about ‘loss’ when necessary, to acknowledge what has been and continues to be stolen? How might we build a different paradigm for economic and community development if we honored the struggles of Black and Indigenous people on these lands? If we acknowledge that these systems are ultimately stealing from all of us?
I deeply believe that it’s possible to build an economic system that prioritizes our collective wellbeing over profit. But it requires us to first get radical — ie, to get to the roots, as Angela Davis reminds us — about the history of these underlying systems and institutions.
I’m truly grateful for the container the Loeb Fellowship has been providing me to get even more radical about our work at The Guild.
I’ve been at Harvard for the Loeb Fellowship for a month now, and it’s already been an incredibly powerful time. I’m studying social entrepreneurship and systems change at Harvard Business School, taking classes at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design on challenging issues of power in the built environment, studying decolonial and heterodox economic theory, and continuing to find ways to translate social theory to praxis.
In recent weeks, every time I’ve opened LinkedIn, I see posts about the “ownership economy”. It’s so exciting to see issues around labor, land, ownership, and power move from the margins to the mainstream in this way. And, if I’m being honest, some of it is also a bit concerning — there are ways in which these themes can get watered down, separated from the social movements that have birthed frameworks and organized around these issues, ultimately leading to co-optation that only serves to reinforce our dominant economic system that is predicated on all forms of extraction.
So I’m vigilant. But I also remain hopeful, mainly because I have the fortune of being in community with incredible peers who’ve been in the trenches building the future(s) we all deserve, with so much integrity and rigor. And this includes my newfound community at the Loeb Fellowship. From Nigeria to New Orleans to South Africa to Palestine, we’re an incredibly diverse group in more ways than one and have been generous and generative to each other’s work in this short time already. I can’t wait to see what the next 9 months bring.
Here’s a short video the Loeb team made about my work at The Guild to build community ownership across asset classes (from businesses to real estate) and to bridge some of these parallel chasms between social entrepreneurship and social movements, and between community development and community organizing.
I also encourage you to check out our full class here: https://lnkd.in/ez-gCaz6#solidarityeconomyhttps://lnkd.in/eqTtzwVw
We're looking to hire a stellar Operations Manager as we continue to grow! Know anyone who might be a good fit? Have them apply by Friday, Aug 23rd. More details at the link below:
https://lnkd.in/e_JqKmNS
3 years ago, I wrote this Black Paper on Real Estate Finance along with my colleagues, to transform how capital gets allocated in the community development industry. The goal was to get capital on the right terms to build community wealth and power for Black and other communities of color, and poor and working class communities. It's encouraging to still see the paper referenced and uplifted across various conferences, webinars, and other places.
Since we wrote it, The Guild has worked to acquire and develop 6 different community-owned real estate properties, and that has come with a ton of learning, and even more detailed (and bolder) recommendations for philanthropy, CDFIs, and other community development practitioners and policymakers. So we're working on a 2.0 for the paper this year. If you're a practitioner or funder in this field, what questions (or feedback) do you have that we can shed light on in this next version?
https://lnkd.in/eYVTSPYJ
