HAMMER AND HOPE:
A MAGAZINE OF BLACK POLITICS AND CULTURE
A MAGAZINE OF BLACK POLITICS AND CULTURE
A new wave of protests is taking shape in the U.S. in response to the mass arrests of migrant workers and the Trump administration’s authoritarianism. From the anti-ICE rebellions in Los Angeles to the hundreds of “No Kings” rallies across the U.S., millions of people are mobilizing en masse. This is happening alongside the capitulation or outright collapse of liberal institutions ostensibly expected to alert and protect society from a rising dictator. In this scenario, protests like the ones on June 14 signal ordinary people’s dissatisfaction not only with fascist leaders but also with the pitiful resistance of crumbling elite institutions and craven liberal figureheads.
While some of the protests have been spontaneous, many build on years of unseen work by grassroots organizations. As Hammer & Hope articles have shown, these organizations make activism part of their members’ lives, integrating political organizing into their homes, schools, and workplaces. The Federal Unionists Network is using a rank-and-file organizing model to democratize and reshape the public sector labor movement. Rural organizations like Familias Unidas por la Justicia in Washington State and Planting Justice in Oakland have established cooperatives and sustainable agriculture practices to grow food with fair compensation to workers and without destroying the land.
The Southern Workers Assembly — which features in Sarah Jaffe’s reporting on organizing in the South that will appear in issue 7 — is building a democratic network of rank-and-file labor organizations centered on class consciousness and social justice. In a period marked by a crisis of political representation, the faith coalition ISAIAH has built a multiracial constituency prepared to secure a social safety net in Minnesota, and DSA ecosocialists led a coalition of unions and environmental organizations to pass progressive environmental legislation in the state of New York.
We should expect people to continue to win important victories even when traditional pillars of the republic bow to the tyrant in power. This June, tenants in Kansas City ended an eight-month rent strike in a victory. Residents of Independence Towers won a contract with their landlord that stabilizes rents and imposes deadlines to complete major repairs — amid the Trump administration's plan to reduce funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development including rental assistance.
The Debt Collective is fighting Congress’s latest attempt to slash the already tattered social safety net, while the SEIU and other organizations are providing trainings on immigrant workers’ rights, establishing rapid response networks, and mobilizing thousands of people to protest the arrest of migrants in Los Angeles. Federal courts have proved ineffective bulwarks against the administration when they haven’t elevated executive power outright, allowing Trump to call in the military against unarmed protesters.
What social movements have achieved reminds us of the working class’s capacity to stand up to power and organize even under grim circumstances.
While some of the protests have been spontaneous, many build on years of unseen work by grassroots organizations. As Hammer & Hope articles have shown, these organizations make activism part of their members’ lives, integrating political organizing into their homes, schools, and workplaces. The Federal Unionists Network is using a rank-and-file organizing model to democratize and reshape the public sector labor movement. Rural organizations like Familias Unidas por la Justicia in Washington State and Planting Justice in Oakland have established cooperatives and sustainable agriculture practices to grow food with fair compensation to workers and without destroying the land.
The Southern Workers Assembly — which features in Sarah Jaffe’s reporting on organizing in the South that will appear in issue 7 — is building a democratic network of rank-and-file labor organizations centered on class consciousness and social justice. In a period marked by a crisis of political representation, the faith coalition ISAIAH has built a multiracial constituency prepared to secure a social safety net in Minnesota, and DSA ecosocialists led a coalition of unions and environmental organizations to pass progressive environmental legislation in the state of New York.
We should expect people to continue to win important victories even when traditional pillars of the republic bow to the tyrant in power. This June, tenants in Kansas City ended an eight-month rent strike in a victory. Residents of Independence Towers won a contract with their landlord that stabilizes rents and imposes deadlines to complete major repairs — amid the Trump administration's plan to reduce funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development including rental assistance.
The Debt Collective is fighting Congress’s latest attempt to slash the already tattered social safety net, while the SEIU and other organizations are providing trainings on immigrant workers’ rights, establishing rapid response networks, and mobilizing thousands of people to protest the arrest of migrants in Los Angeles. Federal courts have proved ineffective bulwarks against the administration when they haven’t elevated executive power outright, allowing Trump to call in the military against unarmed protesters.
What social movements have achieved reminds us of the working class’s capacity to stand up to power and organize even under grim circumstances.
