A Commonwealth That Works for All of Us  

Declaration for Candidacy ENDED September 9th!

Click Here to See Declared Candidates for GRP Offices

We will post Candidates' statements as they become available

Convention Registration ENDED September 6th!

Our exciting agenda includes national leaders of our party, local activists, and committed citizens who understand the need for change "now" not in some distant future. We explore issues of defending our democracy, racial justice, local elections, community climate action, and a national healthcare plan that works for all.

A brief preview of the various presentations follows:

  SPEAKERS  

 The Green Political Imperative – As Empire, Climate & Covid Crises Converge

Jill Stein

The need for people-powered Green politics is more critical than ever as humanity and the planet face converging existential threats - accelerating climate collapse, endless war, a crisis of public health, and crushing racial and economic disparities. Greens have sounded the alarm about these crises for decades and promoted transformative solutions to solve them – from an Emergency Green New Deal, to Medicare for All, housing justice, reparations & a foreign policy of diplomacy instead of militarism. Unsurprisingly, the parties of war and Wall Street have proven incapable (still) of enacting real solutions.

A crisis of democracy is at the center of this storm. The explosion of dirty money in our elections since the Citizens United decision is perhaps the biggest driver, strengthening the stranglehold of the economic elite over our political system. The problem can also be seen in virtually every dimension of democracy - from voter suppression campaigns to the rollback of civil liberties and the suppression of political opposition. Here too Greens have been leading the charge for our embattled democracy. This presentation will review some of the key ways GRP chapters and activists can get involved – with Ranked Choice Voting, preserving and improving public financing for people-powered campaigns, fighting for ballot access and more. With polls showing unprecedented demand for political alternatives and the major parties awash in more dirty money than ever, the potential for Green political transformation has never been greater.

Race and Reconciliation in Massachusetts

Kevin Peterson - From Faneuil Hall name change to a statewide Commission to end structural racism

Kevin Peterson will present an initiative to rename Faneuil Hall as part of a larger “Race and Reconciliation Project” that seeks to heal the wounds of structural racism across the Commonwealth. This includes repairing the unconscionable disparities that have led to a doubling of COVID mortality among people of color, to black households in Boston having a net worth of $8 compared to a quarter million dollars for a white households, to political dis-empowerment reflected by the lack of even a single African American member of the state Senate. Mr Peterson will discuss renaming Faneuil Hall and establishing the race and reconciliation project as first steps we can take to build a Commonwealth that works for all of us.

Kevin Peterson is the founder of the New Democracy coalition and the Faneuil Hall race and reconciliation project his organization has been recognized for efforts in statewide redistricting, automatic voter registration and the Boston to Selma pilgrimage that transports activists to Selma for spiritual and social justice renewal. Visit : www.thenewdemocracycoalition.org.

Holyoke Mayoral Candidate Gloria Caballero Roca

Dr. Caballero Roca is a local organizer and political activist who demonstrates the principle of "think globally, but act locally". Her roots and commitment are anchored in a global experience and understanding while bringing her skills to the local political scene. She speaks as an "independent" running for Mayor of Holyoke while subscribing to the values of the GRP and basing her campaign on the principle of "grassroots democracy".

  WORKSHOPS  

NOTE: These two workshops run concurrently for an hour.
You will be given an opportunity to sign up for one or the other.

Powering Up for Community Climate Action, Justice & Equity

Sharing Stories and Ways Forward
with Lynn Benander (Co-op Power) and Jill Stein (GRP)

With heat waves, drought, fires, floods and storms going off the charts this summer, climate catastrophe is clearly accelerating. This state of emergency is compounded by crises in virtually every dimension of society – from persistent pandemic to crushing racial, economic and health disparities, endless war and more. We need the real Green New Deal more than ever to create 100% clean renewable energy in the next decade, provide good jobs and essential social infrastructure for all (including health care, housing, education and transportation). Unfortunately, current federal proposals are hobbled by false solutions and come nowhere near the scale and scope of what our survival requires. While building power for political change, what can we do ourselves at the level of our communities to push back on the apocalypse of climate and racial/economic injustice? In this workshop we will share stories of collective solutions that deliver carbon-free energy, justice and equity while building community power. We’ll explore ways that activists, Green-Rainbow chapters and other organizations can help jump start community based transformation to heal ourselves and our imperiled world.

What Cuba Can Teach Us About Healthcare For The US

Don Fitz

Don Fitz, author of "Cuban Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution" will explain how experiences in that country can be useful in designing a US national health care system to address the needs of all citizens. Not only has Cuba truly achieved "health care for all" it has consistently contributed to the health and well-being of the global community in its response to wars, pandemics, and natural disasters. The information Don will share will provide us with inspiration in our own struggle as well as provide a means of assessing our own dysfunctional healthcare system and the stumbling blocks that exist within it.