Ben Matjan Palmquist
Ben leads Partners for Dignity & Rights’ New Social Contract initiative, helping develop strategy and capacity behind co-governance efforts that give frontline communities genuine, equitable power in policy-making, policy implementation and oversight of government and private industries. Before joining Partners for Dignity & Rights, Ben planned a conference on grassroots community organizing, conducted worker-led labor research, supported community development organizations, and ran an international volunteer program, a fellowship program for young people of color and a day camp. He has worked with the Urban Justice Center, Center for Urban Pedagogy, Hester Street Collaborative, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Restaurant Opportunities Center-United, DataCenter, Interpretive Media Laboratory, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Yayasan Dian Desa (an Indonesian appropriate technology organization), and an Ecuadorian shelter for street children.
Presentations from Facing Race 2024
The Power to Win and Build: Co-Governing Our Communities
Since Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock and a resurgent labor movement, our movements continue to expand and grow stronger, but we need to keep sharpening our tactics to build and win lasting power. Organizers are finding creative ways to build governing power that brings BIPOC communities on the frontlines of injustice into direct participation with administrative agencies to shape and implement just, effective public policies. Co-governance between communities and public agencies can help ensure the sustainability of campaign wins, deepen democracy and equity and create transformative policies and more effective governance. However, it can be challenging to build trust and alignment, collaborate across institutions, build capacity and sustain co-governance through ever-changing conditions within government and communities.
In this workshop, we'll share an overview of co-governance strategies between BIPOC communities (anchored by power-building organizations) and local and state government agencies. We will explore lessons learned and hear from Tenants Transforming Greater St. Louis about their organizing to enforce building code protections for tenants while building tenant power. We'll also break out into small groups to enable participants to workshop co-governance scenarios including situations from their own work they want to workshop with others.
Speakers: Sunni Hutton, Ben Matjan Palmquist, Kesi Foster