What We Stand For

Education is a right not a privilege. Our education campaign is centered around building an education system that honors the inherent dignity and worth of all our students, parents, and educators which provides sufficient resources, support, and access to all forms of education whether it be K-12, Higher Ed, Grad School; public or charter. We seek to reclaim our voice and community stories to root our educational curriculum into a culture that will allow for all students to reach their full potential regardless of intersectional realities. We see education as a means to economic justice that will prepare our students for better careers, living wages, and leadership that will promote our communities’ well-being and prosperity.

As we denounce the history of anti-immigrant sentiments that have severely impacted immigrants of color, and we affirm that the current xenophobic climate is experienced by all communities of color in a variety of ways – this is not exclusively a Latino issue. Immigration laws have been used to uphold structural racism and cis heteronormativity, and have restricted formal channels of migration to people who have been economically exploited. For far too long race, class, and gender have been used to perpetuate the practices of exploitation through immigration laws, and we denounce that these conditions are all undeniably connected to the global imposition of the interests and will of corporate greed.

Our campaign envisions permanent protection for all immigrants and refugees centering the realities of historically marginalized identities (Indigenous, Black, Trans, Queer, etc) in strategy with, without, and against structures at the federal, state, county and municipal levels to build, fight and implement policies. Our constituency is clear, we want power, not only papers.

We believe everyone has a right to clean air, water and a safe, healthy community. To ensure those rights are protected, we build power to shape policy, hold politicians and polluters accountable, and influence elections.

In Minnesota, we are fighting to make healthy homes and green jobs available to all, no exceptions. Join us.

Everybody has the right to organize and build power for the things that impact their/our lives. Our civic engagement model is not citizenship based, but community based. Through “polpop” (political-popular) education we untangle policy into a real life approach to deeply reflect on issues. Community organizing then provides a direct line to elected officials accountable to represent the values and priorities at the public arena with clarity that those affected by the issues will continue to build power in order to have a seat at the table and win on their/our issues. It is through these cycles that we collectively create a cultural value of civic participation and voter engagement on our terms

Every summer, we launch our leadership development academies for youth and young adults: PODER Fellows and Youth Action Summer Camp. Young people (under 25 years) engage in a series of relational, political education lessons and leadership development spaces to accomplish systemic change and make a difference to benefit the common good. Our philosophy values inclusion (we are all leaders and we all have talents) and community (in lak’esh you are my other me). We acknowledge the diverse talents of the group and build community organizing tools to organize people and build power for the issues that affect our lives.