#UjimaWednesdays | Governing Power | March 26, 2025

Power, Transformation, and Miracles: Ujima Power Project

The 2025 Ujima Wednesdays Workshop Series theme: Power, Transformation, and Miracles: Ujima Power Project and the programs dedicated to it explore the tension and nuances that power inspires, posing questions about the metaphorical, political, and social dimensions of power. Power, Transformation, and Miracles: Ujima Power Project  examines power as a concept with concrete, material consequences. This workshop series is dedicated to exploring the collective power of communities to transform ourselves and the systems that shape our lives. How is power enacted and performed across histories and institutions? Who holds power, and who resists or rejects its use? How do we reclaim, redistribute, or shift power, and is it ever enough? Can power bring us closer to justice, to liberation, to a more equitable society? How do we learn through power? What are we empowering, and by what measures? When does a shift in power lead to true transformation, to revolution? Understanding these types of power —and the pillars of support that sustain existing systems— can help us become weapons of mass construction. 

Event Description:

Join us for #UjimaWednesdays with Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, the Working Families Party New England Progressive Governance Director. In this workshop Jivan will explore how WFP has leveraged electoral victories and relationships with progressive elected officials into governing power to deliver tangible policy victories for the multi-racial working class. Together, we’ll talk about the components of effective governing power, how to build a caucus of legislators, and the challenges and opportunities of organizing a group of electors to act together in support of legislative and political priorities in different contexts.

Facilitator Bio:

Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler is the New England Progressive Governance Director for the Working Families Party, where he works with elected officials to turn election wins into governing power for the multi-racial working class and pass legislation on topics like affordable housing and childcare. He works with state representatives and senators, as well as advocates and WFP members, to identify and advance collective legislative priorities. Jivan is also a City Councillor in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he is serving his second term on the Council and works on issues including affordable housing, tenant protections, safe streets, climate and sustainability, and creating transparent and responsive local government.