Registration is now open for the 6th annual We The Future social justice conference co-sponsored by the North Bay Organizing Project (NBOP) and Santa Rosa Jr. College (SRJC)! The conference is FREE and OPEN to everyone.
NBOP is proud to co-sponsor this conference every year, offering trainings and political education as we build power and develop leaders toward social transformation in Sonoma County.
This year’s theme, “Justice for the Generations: The New Realities of Work, School, and Identity,” emerges from the deep need to create a new and equitable future for all. After enduring three years of uncertainty due to the pandemic and the continuing challenges of climate change, we know we cannot go back to “normal” and that “normal” wasn’t working, to begin with. We are seeing a desire to shape a new way of functioning that will promote justice, equity, access, community care, and sustainability in all aspects of life for current and future generations.
Together, we will explore the widespread and growing demand for flexible and supportive working environments, the shifting approaches in education, and the importance of identity formations and self-exploration after isolation.
This year's keynote speaker is Christian Smalls, the founder and president of the Amazon Labor Union, an independent, democratic, worker-led labor union at Amazon in Staten Island.
He is also the founder of The Congress of Essential Workers (TCOEW), a nationwide collective of essential workers and allies fighting for better working conditions, better wages, and a better world. Smalls was formerly an Amazon warehouse supervisor, helping open three major warehouses in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut during his five years with the company, but he was fired in 2020 after organizing a protest against the company’s unsafe pandemic conditions. Smalls has been profiled by media outlets worldwide, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, CBC Radio, Salon, and Jacobin.
For questions about the conference, reach out to Kimi Barbosa of SRJC Petaluma at ksoeiro@santarosa.edu or (707) 778-2427