This is the municipalist moment. The movement to gain democratic control of cities and towns is ascendant from Los Angeles to Barcelona to Jackson, Mississippi. People are crafting municipalist platforms, reclaiming the right to the city, and self-organizing as rebel cities.

On international workers’ day, this panel will frame the municipalist moment by debating these questions:

• Municipalism is the nascent global social movement aiming to democratically transform the local state and economy. How do you define municipalism, and how does your work speak to it?

• How do we decolonize the municipalist movement? What does municipalism look like in the global south and for subaltern groups?

• We are witnessing historic wins for workers, such as the unionization of an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. What is the relationship between municipalism and labor?

Panelists:

• Kali Akuno, Cooperation Jackson

• Ruth Wilson Gilmore, CUNY Graduate Center

• Ananya Roy, UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy

• Abdoumaliq Simone, University of Sheffield

The discussion will be held in English, with interpretation into Spanish and American Sign Language.