“I don’t want to be part of a club. I want to be part of a movement.” - Mariame Kaba
Over the last few years, SURJ NYC’s Accountability Group has been exploring how we can be accountable: to each other, ourselves, other SURJ NYC Working Groups, SURJ National, people of color, and our politics. Through this process, the Group has found a need to clarify the roles and expectations for those who want to make SURJ NYC their organizing home. This newly proposed membership structure aims to support all of us to understand our role in this movement work.
By welcoming folks to make a deeper and more sustained commitment to SURJ NYC, and offering an opportunity to formally become a member of our community, the proposed membership structure will lay the groundwork for making deeper kinds of commitments to each other. It would clarify the roles of both non-members and members, including expectations around moving money, calling in our networks, and taking impactful actions to change material conditions. The structure would also transition the Coordinating Committee to a newly formed Leadership Crew that will commit to stewarding SURJ NYC, help with our day-to-day operations, and work together to shape the collective vision and strategy of our chapter. It would also simplify the chapter-wide decision-making process by inviting member participation outside of chapter meetings, opening up the opportunity to devote more meeting time for work that is necessary and relevant. For more information, find out what’s proposed as well as potential next steps in the full proposal.
Join us at our SURJ NYC Chapter Meeting next Thursday September 4th from 6:30-8:30pm to participate in our consensus decision-making process! We will discuss the proposal, address clarifying questions, and share our individual levels of agreement to ultimately come to consensus. Whether you’re a new member or have been part of the decision-making process previously, we’d love for you to read the proposal and share your thoughts around the future structure of SURJ NYC. If you are not able to attend the meeting but would like to share your input, please complete this form.
In community,
SURJ NYC