Building an Economy for All: Political Ed for Oakland Small Businesses

How can we use our voices, lived-experiences and stories to build an economy rooted in equity, culture and care for all? How do we collectively organize to ensure our needs will be met by the City of Oakland?

This is a political education and civic engagement program that begins with 3-part series exploring the intersection of grassroots organizing, local democracy and community power, centering Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian-American Pacific Islander, small businesses and communities of color. In this series, our goal is to build political knowledge and power for entrepreneurs and businesses by providing accessible learning, action-oriented organizing and tools to civically engage in upcoming budget decisions that will impact the people of Oakland.

Political education is the heart of our movements, and we're all learning together. Our agenda will include these topics:

I. Building a vision for our future: organizing 101 (Feb 27)

• Why do small businesses matter in organizing movements?
• Brief history of economic justice organizing in Oakland
• Successful organizing case studies

II. Understanding political landscape of Oakland city government (March 6)

• Who are the main players in Oakland city government
• Identifying the needs of Oakland's small business community
• Strategies and tactics to voice our needs

III. Designing a collective budget to meet our needs (March 13)

• What is the city’s budget process
• What does the budget agenda look like?
• For folks who have been organizing for economic justice, what has the city done so far to support small businesses?
• Prioritizing the top needs of our community

In Nov. 2022, Oakland passed a new measure to modernize the city’s Business Tax. Effective Jan 2023, this new measure will bring in an additional $21M of revenue for the city’s general fund. Our organizing will build towards a budget agenda that centers the collective needs of Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian-American Pacific Islander, small businesses of color.

More details to be shared soon on how to join us virtually or in-person.