Uniting the Movement: Progressive Roundtable 2009

Senator Al Franken, Duluth, MN City Council Member Tony Cuneo and AZ State Representative Kyrsten Sinema at the Greysolon Plaza in Duluth, August 2, 2009 (Photo: Umayyah Cable)

From August 2 through 5, 2009, the Commonweal Institute, along with lead sponsor the A.H. Zeppa Family Foundation, convened leaders of the progressive movement from all across the country in Duluth, Minnesota for the 2009 Progressive Roundtable.  Senator Al Franken kicked off the proceedings with a free public lecture and discussion attended by almost 300 local residents.

Starting the next day, Roundtable attendees representing a variety of movement sectors such as community organizing, media, think tanks and funding organizations got to work trying to answer this question: in the next five years, how can idea generators and grassroots activists build more integrated and effective processes for achieving progressive policy change at the state and local levels?

Commonweal Institute Executive Director Barry Kendall summed up the purpose and outcomes of the retreat: "These days we are all so focused on policy at the federal level, but the truth is, it's the states that possess the greatest opportunities for making changes that will improve people's lives, and for building the long-term power of the progressive movement from the ground up. This Roundtable was all about strengthening and connecting the groups that are working hard to win those state-level policy victories. We saw a lot of new relationships begin, others were reignited, and we left Duluth with a long list of formal project plans and informal deals to pursue."

Since its beginning in 2001, the Commonweal Institute has worked to encourage the development of progressive infrastructure: building the kinds of organizations and networks that can bring about progressive change in our society. The Progressive Roundtable ^SM is a series of convenings -- previous Roundtables were held in 2006 and 2007 -- designed to bring together working groups of progressive leaders to build and strengthen key components of this infrastructure.

All photos by Umayyah Cable.