We are the Philadelphia hub of Sunrise Movement. Sunrise is a youth-led movement to stop the climate emergency and create millions of good jobs in the process. We’re building a movement of young people to win climate solutions, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people. We work to pass Green New Deal legislation at the local, state, and federal level while empowering front lines communities including students, people living with poisoned land and air , fossil fuel workers, and more.
Our Vision: The Green New Deal
Whether we live in neighborhoods with trees, skyscrapers, open fields, or freeways, we all want our families to grow up healthy and thrive for generations to come.
For too long, fossil fuel CEOs and corrupt politicians have divided and distracted us with lies while they pollute our air and poison our water. They exploit our differences to pick and choose where to build dirty oil refineries based on the contents of our wallets and the color of our skin.
By coming together across race and place to rewrite the rules, we will heal the damage done to our city and power our future with locally made energy from the wind and sun, while creating millions of good jobs and healthy neighborhoods for all of our families.
The Green New Deal is a national set of bills, but we are going to make change locally by talking to our communities, putting pressure on those in power through direct action, and by winning elections.
The Intercept’s A Vision for the Future shows what we mean.
Our Current Campaign: Right to Thrive
After the South Philly Oil refinery exploded in 2019 the community organization Philly Thrive took action and closed it for good. Instead of being reopened, the land was sold to Hilco Redevelopment partners. A global corporation worth $3 billion in assets that buys polluted lands, builds warehouses on them, and rents them to the likes of Home Depot, Amazon, and Target.
We are joining forces with Philly Thrive to create a better south Philly. Here are our demands for Hilco:
- Negotiate a Community Benefits Agreement (a legally binding document) with residents that includes
- – Staying Power so that residents aren’t kicked out of their neighborhoods. For example creating affordable housing, repairing people’s homes, giving vacant land to community orgs instead of developers.
- – Transparency so that residents know exactly what you are planning and the levels of toxins at the site
- – Environmental justice. For example restoring wetlands, youth job training programs, new parks and river access, building green space.
- Have regular meetings with residents of South and Southwest Philly and implement their ideas about what is built on the land and how
- Use ZERO fossil fuels in the construction, operation, and maintenance of the land and buildings on it. Instead use geothermal supplemented with solar and wind.
If you are ready to stand up for yourself, your neighbors, and your fellow brothers and sisters in life and love. Sign the form on our home page and we’ll get back to you shortly with how you can win this fight. See you soon 😀
Our Culture: Multiracial Cross Class Joy and Struggle
Sunrise National has a set of principles that we’ve added to.
- COLLECTIVE LIBERATION: Unless our movement is multiracial and cross class, we will not grow large enough to win. Since whiter, higher class folks have in the past been more likely to join climate movements, we will intentionally hold events in working class communities of color. At the same time we must avoid tokenization: bringing people to the table just so the organization looks more diverse while continuing to dismiss them. We will give all of our members training, coaching, and investment so that they are confident in their skills and so that they are valued for who they are rather than just the diversity they may bring.
- RELATIONSHIPS: We will prioritize meaningful relationships, trust, and care among members to cultivate motivation and cultivate joy.
- AGENCY: We will celebrate everyone’s time, presence, and identities. Everyone will be appreciated for their efforts, and be given opportunities to experiment and have ownership to lead their projects.
- COMMUNICATION: Leadership will ensure that the hub’s campaigns are clear and that there is space for questions, discussion, and feedback. Direct honest feedback will help us win.
- DEMOCRACY: We will continually evaluate the power distribution within the hub to avoid identity-based power imbalances.
Our Core Team:
In order to swiftly create and execute our strategy we need a diverse core team to make, communicate, and receive feedback about broad, course setting decisions.
Who is on the team?
- Erica Brown – Hub Coordinator
- Aden Halpern – Canvassing Lead
- Tahreem Faruque – Campaign Lead
- Mariam Begum – Neighborhood Team Support
Why this group?
- We have the experience, capacity, and skills necessary to work with Philly Thrive, train new members, and maintain clear goals needed to win our current campaign
What does this team have the authority to do?
- Decide on hub strategy and tactics
- Decides what events we have
- Decides how to spend money
- Decides on how to support our other leaders to get feedback on and enact strategy
How will the makeup of this group change?
- When the campaign comes to an end or calm point we will reassess the makeup of the team. This will likely happen in November or December