Building Solidarity, Building Power (RECAP)
Recap of "Building Solidarity, Building Power" Event held in Brooklyn NY on October 11, 2025
In an era defined by an affordability crisis, widening inequality and growing precarity, movements across the world are reclaiming the idea that our economy can — and must — serve people and planet first and foremost. On October 11, 2025, PNLL and CEANYC (Cooperative Economics Alliance of NYC) brought together an inspiring group of organizers, practitioners, and thinkers to explore one central question: How we can make the solidarity economy a living reality.?
The event was held in partnership with the CUNY Community & Worker Ownership Project, The Left Education Project, The Left Forum, Democracy at Work, and Women Building Up — a coalition of organizations working to advance cooperative ownership, democratic workplaces, and economic justice from the ground up.
The Discussion
Moderated by Kim Westcott, the panel offered a deep and lively conversation about how communities are building the institutions and relationships that make solidarity economics more than an abstract concept — turning it into a living, breathing alternative to capitalism’s extractive logic.
The panel featured:
Camille Kerr, founder of Chi Fresh Kitchen → www.chifreshkitchen.com
Instagram: @chifreshkitchen | @voltschiDavid Cobb, representing both the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network (USSEN) and PNLL → ussen.org | landandliberation.org
Instagram: @davidkcobb | @redneckgonegreenKali Akuno, co-founder of Cooperation Jackson → cooperationjackson.org
X (Twitter): @kaliakuno | @cooperationJXNMaria Garcia, of the Cooperative Economics Alliance of NYC (CEANYC) → ceanyc.org
Instagram: @gocoopnyc
Themes and Takeaways
Across their different experiences — from worker-owned businesses to regional cooperative networks — the panelists shared common ground: the solidarity economy is not just a future ideal but something being built right now in neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities.
They emphasized the need for:
Local power and ownership: Keeping wealth circulating within communities through cooperatives and community land trusts.
Education and political consciousness: Ensuring that cooperative economics is tied to social movements and not just seen as an “alternative business model.”
Policy support and public investment: Encouraging local governments and institutions to recognize and resource the solidarity economy infrastructure that already exists.
As moderator Kim Westcott noted, the task ahead is to connect these efforts — to link the practice of cooperative ownership with broader movements for racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Presented By
This event was presented by:
PNLL + CEANYC in conjunction with the CUNY Community & Worker Ownership Project, The Left Education Project, The Left Forum, Democracy at Work, and Women Building Up.
Women Building Up → www.womenbuildingup.org
Left Forum → leftforum.org
Looking Ahead
The conversation made one thing clear: the solidarity economy is not a dream waiting to be realized — it is already being lived, organized, and expanded every day. As participants left the event, there was a shared sense of both urgency and optimism: that by connecting our struggles and institutions, we can indeed make the solidarity economy real.
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