Category: Education
The Down Home Bootcamp was a game-changer for me. After getting involved with DHNC in 2020, It gave me the chance to dig deep, refine my skills, and truly understand the campaign process from start to finish. Reconnecting with my community was food for my soul.
It’s not just about picking an issue and making demands, though. One of the key lessons we talked about was understanding power. Not just the power we already have, but also the power we need to get the change we’re fighting for. That means thinking about who we need to move and how we can use our influence to make an impact. We had some real talks about how we can move decision-makers, whether it’s local officials, big companies, or even state leaders. The message was clear: if we want to make change, we’ve got to understand who holds the power and how to move them.
Running a campaign isn’t something you do alone. That’s why it’s so important to build a team that is aligned on our shared goals. We learned how to create strong, dynamic teams that can support each other and work together toward real, tangible change.
Every person on a campaign team brings something different to the table, and the key to success is making sure everyone’s skills are being used in the best way possible. It’s about building trust, keeping the lines of communication open, and being flexible as things change. After all, campaigns rarely go according to plan, and the ability to adapt is crucial. The more we worked together and shared our ideas, the clearer it became that a campaign is only as strong as the team behind it.
When I first moved to Clayton, I felt displaced, but through Down Home, I found a family that shared my values and goals. The best part of the bootcamp was reconnecting with familiar faces and meeting new ones, all while working together in team challenges that brought out my excitement and passion for organizing.
This collective of like-minded Down Homies was something to behold! We saw some serious work in progress. It wasn’t a “sit back and listen” kind of event. It was a “jump in and get your hands dirty” experience. When we said “the wisdom is in the room,” we meant it. The constant exchange of ideas and reflections, where everyone’s voice mattered, was inspiring and invigorating! Everyone had something valuable to contribute. That sense of collective wisdom made the whole experience feel like a true partnership in creating change.
By the end of the weekend, there was a real sense of excitement for the future. People were eager to talk about what they were taking away and how they planned to bring those ideas back to their hometowns. Everyone was invested in this process, not just for the Bootcamp itself, but for the long-term work that would follow.
Every single campaign is just one piece of a much bigger puzzle. But those pieces are powerful, and together, they’ll help us build a stronger, more just North Carolina. Whether it’s pushing for policy changes, organizing around local issues, or building a long-term movement for statewide power, we’re in this for the long haul.
Real change takes time, but with the leaders who emerged from this weekend, we know we’re heading in the right direction. The people of North Carolina deserve a state that works for everyone, not just the powerful few. And we’re ready to keep fighting for that future, one issue at a time.
This weekend in January three months ago was a great start, but it was only the beginning. One by one, local campaigns for poor and working people are kicking off across North Carolina in April. There’s a No Pool Party coming up in Franklin County, we’re striking up conversations about aid for our farmers at the local markets in Pitt County, and we’re continuing the work we started in the midst of Hurricane Helene recovery in Ashe and Watauga Counties.
If you’ve been looking for a way to get involved, there’s no time like the present! Check out the list of events below, or visit our page on Mobilize to see where you can join in.
We’ve seen everything from executive orders attempting to dismantle critical public agencies, threats of massive cuts to critical programs like Medicaid, deportation of legal U.S. residents, and massive tariffs that have sent a shockwave through our economy.
From the beginning, it has been clear that there is a shock-and-awe campaign being waged by the ultra-wealthy against the working class. The common theme throughout these past 100 days has been an assault on basic freedoms, challenges to the legislative and judicial branches of government, and the disruption of many services and programs that are crucial to poor and working families and the well-being of our society as a whole. The people behind this effort want us to think that they are all-powerful, that we can’t trust anybody, and that the best thing to do is run away and hide.
But here’s the thing: we ain’t built like that. We know better. We’ve been through hard times before, and we always come out stronger on the other side. That’s what makes us different. No matter what gets thrown our way, we keep pushing forward. We’ve already won some big battles, and that’s not nothing.
Last year was full of victories that we can be proud of. We didn’t just talk about changing things; we made it happen. In local budget campaigns, we secured $34 million in funding for projects that directly benefit our community. That’s real money going toward real people and real needs. We didn’t just stop there either. We wrote out a clear platform for what we want our future to look like, and then we elected leaders who said they’d fight for it. We broke the supermajority, defeated candidates who didn’t have our backs, and even came together to elect a governor who’s already shown he’s ready to stand up for us. That’s huge. That’s the power of working together.
But we know the job’s not finished. The challenges ahead are still real, and they’re not gonna be easy. But guess what? We don’t carry this weight alone. This movement, this fight — it’s our home. And we look out for our own. The noise from outside forces might try to break us down, but we’re stronger together. We’ve made it this far because we stick together, and we’re gonna keep moving forward, no matter what.
It’s easy to look at the news and feel like the deck is stacked against us. But one thing we’ve always known as Down Homies is that our strength comes from unity. We’ve been through tough times before, and every time, we’ve come out the other side stronger. That’s because we’ve always had each other’s backs.
So instead of doing what THEY want us to do, we did the opposite. We’ve been getting together online every other week, sharing information, sharing resources, making plans, and getting connected on our First 100 Days call series.
Next week, this historic and unprecedented first 100 days will come to a close, and we’ll wrap our series with what we know now and what we are seeing on the road ahead.
We know it won’t be easy. But we’re built for this. We’ve got the strength, the grit, and the determination to face whatever comes our way. And we don’t have to do it alone. We can’t do it alone. We need everyone to step up, to reach out to their neighbors, to organize, to make sure we’re always fighting for what’s right.
We hope you’ll join us: dhnc.info/First100
We’re sending you strength, purpose, and love as we enter a new political reality. Thank you for being a part of our community.
The winning combination of local campaigns and electoral politics
We want working families to have more than a seat at the political table when decisions about our communities are made – we want to be making the decisions ourselves.
© 2024 Down Home North Carolina
