All good things must come to an end, and the Community Organizing grant from Grand Aspirations is no exception. But to quote another piece of folk wisdom, as one thing ends another begins, and that Soulardarity is very nearly prepared to launch into a fundraising campaign for a community-owned city-wide infrastructure project (and, hopefully, pay salaries) is evidence of this statement’s truth.

Brandon Knight, discussing a potential solar investment opportunity with these chickens

Late last month, LETS GO Chicago teamed up with independent filmmaker Brendan Brown to produce this short video about our work building up the green economy in Chicago. The video was made for our online fundraising campaign on the FunderHut website, but also tells our story in general for those who are curious.

We are the generation that occupied Wall Street, Sandy, and Tahrir Square. We dyed Facebook red in support of marriage equality. We’ve turned out in record numbers to every election we’ve been allowed to vote in, and elected President Barack Obama – twice.

We have shut down hundreds of coal plants and kept countless more from being built, while leading the charge to create a green economy in our communities. We have put our fists in the air and our bodies on the line to fight Keystone XL, fracking, and mountaintop removal — and we’re willing to do it again.

But we have much more work to do. As you read this, more wells are being fracked, sirens blare across Appalachia as coal companies blow the tops off mountains, and somewhere on Capitol Hill an industry lobbyist with fat pockets is selling out our future for quick profits.

This Fall at Power Shift 2013 we draw a line in the sand and say no more. Register now and join us!

From October 18th-21st, more than ten thousand youth leaders from every walk of life — college students, young environmental justice leaders, DREAMers, young people of faith, young workers — will come together in Pittsburgh, PA to train, build, and launch our resistance.