As the year draws to an end, we would like to highlight and acknowledge all the hard fought battles and achievements we have sustained as a movement in 2022! This year has been rough as people try to navigate back to a place of stability after the chaos of the covid pandemic and enduring so much loss. Midterm elections across the nation show us that there is much work to be done as many have become discouraged by political divides. Workers and prisoners have been rising up in strikes to fight for fair and improved quality of life and basic human rights. Our work across the South and the movement for freedom and change are ever relevant and significant! We must continue on and we must win!

When we gathered at the 10th annual Southern Movement Assembly last month we left with the commitment to continuing to fortify our relationships to one another, our critical thought and practice, our belief in and action toward transformation, our principled struggle, our sense of belonging to each other, to the land, and to liberation; our solidarity made and remade through radical dependency, and to our strategy and practice of and toward freedom. On this call we reviewed the four components of the shared action plan and discussed what shared infrastructure we might need to carry out the plan.

Earlier this month, delegations representing peoples movement assemblies across the South gathered at the historic Franklinton Center at Bricks for Southern Movement Assembly 10. Rooted in place, in our people, and in our history we identified the uniqueness of this moment and began building a collective vision to meet it. These are heavy times, but we choose to dream and scheme beyond collapse. We choose liberation and joyful resistance. We invite you to meet this moment with us.

During this second segment of Formed by Fire: The Stories that Birthed the Southern Freedom Movement, we will be joined by SMA members to tell the stories of our roots, the fights that have connected us through the years, and the momentum that we gain through our collective organizing.

During this two part series, the SMA is honoring 10 years of Southern connection, resistance, and organizing!

This season we are kicking off the next stop on the road to SMA 10 - The "Summer of Assemblies"! Southern Freedom Fighters are preparing to gather together to create visions and strategies on every front-line across the U.S and Global South. This year we set out a goal to sharpen our skills, connect our plans, and prepare to flex our power at SMA 10!

Watch the recording of the Power of the PMA Organizing Intensive and read the notes!

Learn about the history and methodology behind the people’s movement assembly as we gear up for the organizing intensive happening June 11th-12th.

This month hear the experiences from youth organizers who are leading the charge in policy fights, protests, and collective organizing to protect and defend their communities.

This year, SMA members and anchors have committed to organizing PMAs to build our visions and shared strategies to bring to SMA10 in September. We will use the Organizing Intensive to support organizers to learn skills specific to organizing PMAs including facilitation, synthesis decision-making, political education, and fundamental organizing skills.