Every year, United for a Fair Economy (UFE) issues a “State of the Dream” report, in honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that looks at the state of racial economic inequality in the US. The report is usually released around the time of Dr. King's birthday. 

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we have been busier than ever working with organizers and activists to help build and sustain movements for economic, racial, and gender justice. Now is the time to come together - while remaining physically distant - to build even more powerful movements for justice and fix the broken systems harming our communities.

UFE is not fighting to get back to business as usual; together, we're redefining usual. We are demanding a world capable of providing real health and safety for all, and daring to imagine bold visions of what this world can look like. Learn more about our work below!

Greetings friend,

We're proud to present a short documentary about one of our projects: the 2019 launch of a new training network in North Carolina!

**NOTE: This video was filmed at a training in 2019, before the pandemic.

There's a new home for UFE's webinar and event recordings!

Have you attended a UFE webinar yet? UFE's Sara Sargent recently coordinated two informative webinars (the war on workers and voter suppression) with economic justice and labor educator Mark McDermott. And last month, UFE's David Dixon was part of a webinar about living wages in North Carolina's capital city, Raleigh. Ready to explore our content? Click below!

This is about so much more than just another election. While the media focuses on the presidential race, the stark reality of our country and its current crises are ignored. This election occurs at one of the most crucial points in the last century. We are asked to weigh the decision of who should lead our nation out of this crisis during a time when all our communities are simply, and quite literally, just struggling to survive.

“A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Ignoring these cries and failing to respond to this movement is simply not an option — for peace cannot exist where justice is not served." —John Lewis

UFE doesn’t just do trainings. With our Training of Trainers and workshops, we use popular education to equip participants with the tools needed to be trainers themselves, encouraging everyone to go forth and change their communities. In this way, we work with leaders from all backgrounds and are creating a powerful, multiplying effect for economic justice!

UFE planted many seeds this summer. We are continuing to develop leaders and build movements across the country with our popular education program. We recognized the need to infuse more healing justice practices into our work, so we're building spaces to deal with the traumas of a racist and broken economic system. And we're supporting the development of new living wage certification programs, while promoting livable wages in communities nationwide.

We don't want to get back to business as usual; we’re working together - while remaining physically distant - to redefine usual. Learn more about our recent and ongoing work in our latest newsletter! As always, if you'd like to connect with us, please reach out.

What does virtual popular education look like? How do you facilitate a meaningful conversation about anti-blackness, cooperative economics, or the impacts of COVID-19 over Zoom? These are some of the questions the UFE team has been asking for the past couple of months.

Leer en español // Read in Spanish

Beloved UFE community,

It is with great sorrow and fond memories that we share that frequent UFE collaborator and close friend Elandria C. Williams has transitioned to ancestor at the age of 41.

Elandria's impact on the movement for economic and racial justice cannot be understated. We are so grateful that we were able to connect and collaborate with Elandria on many occasions. We are grieving and we are grateful for Elandria’s spirit, energy and vision.

Elandria was the proud Executive Director and trainer at the PeoplesHub, a grassroots training organization that UFE has collaborated with and will continue to in the future. We wanted to share their words for our Beloved Elandria, and ask that if possible you join us in supporting their mission in Elandria's memory.

Doing this kind of work there are many people that touch your life, but Elandria touched my soul. There are few people like that, and I am thankful to have known them. They will forever be with me. Elendria PRESENTE!

In love and community,
Jeannette Huezo

PS: Please read the full statement from PeoplesHub in the Facebook post below--

Our country is built on stolen land and our democracy has never represented the voices of all. Our movements have done much to make our democracy more fair; but this progress is threatened by big donors, corporations and white nationalists. Our democracy is at risk.

Can you give 1%?

Responsible Wealth and UFE have joined One for Democracy, which is asking wealthy people to sign the pledge before election day to move their resources to groups organizing for democracy.

Two of our staff, Sara Sargent and Mike Lapham, have recorded a video about the pledge. Click through to watch!

Imagine this scene: books are being thrown up in the air, classrooms are humid because of the broken air conditioning, students are yelling at the top of their lungs, and teachers are too frustrated to teach. This was the scene of my eighth grade class because the school down the street from mine closed. My school days had not always been this way. A few years prior, class sizes were small, there were enough books, students enjoyed the fruits of learning, while teachers enjoyed teaching...

Rest in peace, rest in power, Congressman John Lewis.

He will be missed. He's been an inspiration to millions, and will continue to be for generations to come. We celebrate his lifelong commitment and love for justice.

The recording of a webinar we recently hosted on behalf of Mark McDermott, a former UFE board member and labor educator, is now available!

We're working to build and sustain movements for economic, racial, and gender justice. We're side-by-side with frontline leaders, building a world that provides real health and safety for all, using popular education to unpack how our economy is sustained through systems of racism, criminalization and anti-Blackness, and using healing justice to address ongoing trauma. In times of physical distancing, we are working hard to make tools and resources available.

Click above for stories of how we partner with movements and ways we might work together...

Dear UFE Family,

Take a deep breath with us. Inhale... Exhale...

This is a hard moment we are in. Not only are we being called to acknowledge the violence and racism woven into the very fabric of this country’s founding, we are being called by all those who have been targeted to imagine a just world.

Imagine with us...

UFE is supporting national and local work to lift up, strengthen, and coordinate immigrant community-based struggles for dignity and well-being, and helping to keep that work alive in virtual spaces. Alianza Americas is a national coalition shaping new narratives about Latin American immigrants and the systemic problems that force thousands of people to flee their countries of origin. We are supporting Alianza as they transition their leadership development online in response to COVID-19. Our support is enabling them to connect with local leaders who are mobilizing immigrant essential service workers to demand dignity and protections now. UFE’s first fully online training of trainers for Alianza took place in early May, and we will provide ongoing online workshops through the remainder of 2020.

Register now for our upcoming online event series Getting Through Economic Downturns Together. During previous crisis, people from different walks of life gathered in solidarity to create real solutions for themselves and their communities. From organizing and advocacy, to mutual aid networks and worker cooperatives, people around the globe have formed lasting solutions at great odds. What can today’s movements learn from how our ancestors built and resisted?

We're excited to release the cover illustration for our upcoming report, State of the Dream 2020: Building a Fair Economy at the Intersections. This year, our State of the Dream report will focus on the significance of gender and race in the fight for a fair economy, and will be released late this month (April) to concide with Coretta Scott King’s birthday.