Where do we go from here?

On May 17th, the Michigan Roundtable for Just Communities and the Damon Keith Center for Civil Rights hosted the first Underground Railroad to Democracy Community Conversation and Strategy Session on May 17th from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Community members came to learn about how we are activating neighborhoods to make demands on candidates and develop real policy solutions. Angel McKissic (DJK Director) and Lacy Dawson (MI Roundtable) facilitated discussions on voter turnout for national, state, and local elections, how relational organizing can increase civic engagement, and how understanding the functions of government can inform how we advocate for change at the local level. During the second half of the session, attendees were organizing into small groups to discuss the policies community members want to see and developed questions for the candidates for mayor and city council. These questions will be used to inform our forthcoming candidate survey “The Next…