As a way to get to know the group, we asked them, “how do you imagine using the law to reimagine real estate?"

Adélàjà Simon is a movement-building somatic healer: “I am envisioning a network of interlinked land projects that call forth a web of resilience in these times of change. I hold this work as an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with what truly matters, uplifting our human rights to: shelter, nourishment and community that strengthens our ecology. I envision using the law to shine a light on a just path. My study comes from and my practice will come from this place.”

Christine Hernandez is a community organizer and mother who secured housing for her family by squatting: “Because I believe that housing is a basic human right, I'm stepping into this amazing experience and opportunity to advance the struggle against displacement and homelessness. I envision the law as a tool of the people instead of a barrier to access.  I imagine using the law to put land back into community control.”

Dorian Payán is a border abolitionist farmer: “I’m constantly thinking about how we can piece back together the fragmented landscapes in which we live in, and in turn mend the estranged relationships we have to each other. I’m here to develop a keen eye for untangling the law in order to support others in creating land relations where we can act on our responsibility to rematriation and reparations. The more space we have to practice our dreams, the more we can animate others to do the same.”

Hope Williams is a tenant union organizer working on the Berkeley TOPA campaign: “For far too long the most marginalized have been subjected to the brutal and oppressive regime of capitalism. The law today is inaccessible for most and I would like to help them open those doors so that they can feel empowered to fight back, and have returned what has been violently ripped away from them. I want to help reimagine a world that gives everyone unfettered access to their basic human rights.”

Want to learn more about their perspective on radical real estate? Check out the blog post “Musing on Radical Real Estate - The Law Center Hosts First Community Discussion.”

“Radical school” means a non-hierarchical, nurturing model

One of the most liberating aspects of being a Law Center apprentice is that you can design how you want your education to unfold.  For the past few weeks, our RRELS apprentices have been mapping and co-creating their educational journey together.  We’re celebrating the freedom the Law Center apprentices have to choose how they learn the law. We believe everyone involved should be viewed as both learners and teachers. People learn best through practice and interaction. 

Since it’s that time of year when young people (re)start their school year, we wanted to share a few examples of other groups who are schooling and “deschooling” on their own terms.

School for Poetic Computation -  A NYC based group, run by artists, that is part school, part residency, part research group. “The school approaches writing code like creative writing — focusing on the mechanics of programming, the demystification of tools, and hacking the conventions of art-making with computation. The goal of the school is to promote completely strange, whimsical, and beautiful work.” 

Raising Free People Podcast - The guiding principle for podcaster, author, and mother Akilah Richards, is “We cannot keep using tools of oppression and expect to raise free people.” She has built a network of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color unschoolers, deschoolers, and self directed learners who share their journey towards a liberatory way of being through decolonizing education and exploring radical self expression. Check out Ep. 80: Curing Colonized Imaginations to get a sense of what her work is all about.

Open Masters - A group of twenty somethings wanted something different than the typical grad school experience. So they came together to form Open Masters — a grassroots educational community of self directed learners. Before you get started, you begin with a radical pause, taking inventory of your inner life to find wisdom on how to move forward with your self directed education. 

The Sustainable Economies Law Center is excited to add 2 new members to our team! We are looking for new full-time (30 hours per week) core staff members to help us bolster our legal capacity across a number of program areas and to push the Law Center's policy objectives at the California state level. 

Check out the Staff Attorney job description linked here. Application due date is September 20th, 2020.

Check out the Policy & Legislative Advocate job description linked here. Application due date is September 22nd, 2020.

ATTN Berkeley Businesses and Residents: Resilient Communities Legal Cafe | September 17th

On September 17th, we’re partnering with the city of Berkeley and Project Equity to provide our award-winning Resilient Communities Legal Cafe services to Berkeley residents and businesses only. Find out what types of advice we give here and RSVP for an online consultation here. 

Radical Real Estate Law School MCLE Workshop: Advising Tenant Unions Who Want to Purchase a Building | September 21st

Join us on September 21st at 5:00PM PDT for the Radical Real Estate Law School's first ever MCLE workshop on how to advise tenant unions organizing to purchase their building! In this seminar, we will go over the history of tenant unions, case studies, and tips on how to advise tenant unions who want to purchase and cooperatize their building. This workshop is brought to you by our Staff Attorney Jay Cumberland and our Legal Apprentice Hope Williams. We will e-mail the Zoom log-in details to RSVPs on September 18th. 

FREE Webinar: In an Eggshell: Rolling Over your Retirement Savings | October 16th, 9am-9:30am PST

What kinds of accounts can be rolled over into others, when, and how? We’ll hone in on a few examples of Next Egg community members who did rollovers and share what steps were involved.

Ongoing Collective Courage Bookclub meetings on IG Live | @repaired.nations

Follow and stay tuned for future book club events reading “Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice” by Jessica Gordan Nembhard.