Not So Fast: Aaron Tanaka On The Long And Winding Road From Criminal Injustice To Community Control (Thanksgiving Re-Release)

Aaron Tanaka was just twenty two, a recent Harvard graduate, when he was given a small fellowship grant and the chance to test his chops as an organizer in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. Acknowledging that he was “just a kid who didn’t know what he was doing”, he trusted his mentors, people of color from the community with hard-earned lessons to share. Now, seven years later, Tanaka shares his journey as executive director of the Boston Workers Alliance, describing:

 - The lessons imparted by his mentors to build deep trust and engagement in the community.
 - The progression of his organization from a handful of people flyering to a force that fought and won groundbreaking reforms to the broken CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) system.
 - The dicey moments when the theory of being accountable to members and board appeared to clash with the reality of running a nonprofit organization.

Other resources from Aaron Tanaka:

Aaron Tanaka: Creating a just, regenerative and democratic society:
https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/2019/3/12/next-economy-now

Solidarity Philanthropy: Reparations, Democracy & Power: 
https://medium.com/justice-funders/solidarity-philanthropy-reparations-democracy-power-9961ef2e1b64

Boston Ujima Project:
https://ujimaboston.com

Solidarity Economy Initiative:
https://www.solidaritymass.com/

New Economy Coalition:
https://neweconomy.net/