Celebrating 40 Years of Keeping It Radical

It is a rare treat to gather in person these days, and it was a particularly rare treat to see the faces of more than 100 people – friends both old and new who have shaped Grassroots International over the years – gathered together for our 40th anniversary celebration “Solidarity in Action: 40 Years of Keeping it Radical.” The event, which took place on September 23 at the riverside pavilion of Boston’s Museum of Science, included food, music, and most special of all, addresses by incredible movement partners who had traveled from afar to join the celebration.

The longest distance traveled was by Abdul-Nassir Farraj from Palestine, who underscored that Grassroots International has never bowed from pressure to drop support for Palestine, connecting back to our founding days. Nassir shared a saying in Arabic that translated to, “Do not fear the path of justice for the lack of people walking on it,” explaining how for him and the movements he works with, this captures Grassroots International in its unwavering support for Palestinian liberation, and for other struggles for justice across the world.

Nassir was joined by representatives of other long-time movement partners of Grassroots International, whose struggles are paving the way toward a better world – Juslene Tyresias and Mulaire Michel of Mouvman Peyizan Papay (Papaye Peasant Movement, MPP) of Haiti; Dania Patricia Hernandez and Camilo Bermúdez of Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras (Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, COPINH); and Cornelius Blanding of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives of the US. Each spoke from the heart, and from their particular perspective, about what long-term partnership with Grassroots International meant to their movements and struggles.