Building a Sustainable Earth Community Coalition

Kansas City

“We Are Who We’ve Been Waiting For!”

This simple phrase conveys the essence of a global movement to rebuild local communities - wherever they are - from the inside out, from the bottom up. It is a rallying call to create livable, self-sustaining places for our children and grandchildren to inherit. It is an acknowledgement that the dominant culture – the Empire, System or Establishment – does not protect, sustain or nurture the majority; rather it dominates, condemns to misery and divides us.

This simple phrase – We Are Who We’ve Been Waiting For - debunks the perceived need for handouts and government support (in order to progress), and necessitates that we the people organize our communities in ways that really work, in ways that historically worked for humankind - via partnerships, creative cooperation, shared resources, and most of all, by friendships that extend to all who share our spaces, our planet, our predicament.

We Are Who We’ve Been Waiting For!

“Progressive” Groups

As all Empires eventually do, “ours” creates such appalling conditions globally that legions of folks who once embraced the System now abhor it and look for solutions. They organize to stop the wars, to impeach Bush, to rid our environments of life-threatening toxins, to seek social justice, to extend health care to all citizens, to restore a balanced ecology, to create urban food gardens and Buy Local initiatives. The issues they champion are universal in their relevance, yet members of these organizations of dissidents in the U.S. are mostly white. Their efforts, though admirable, are diminished by reason of this exclusivity. This community is an effort to bring people of all colors together to confront and resolve our common dilemma.

Building Sustainable Earth Communities

The plethora of information available on “sustainable earth communities” runs the gamut from energy conservation to social justice to healthy living, economic independence and beyond. To capsulize the earth community movement, it might be said that a model community is one that is economically prosperous, environmentally sound, socially equitable and interconnected. Each community must determine its own strengths and needs and structure its revitalization programs accordingly.

Fortunately, many models exist as cities around the world create new paradigms for development in blighted communities and utilize technology in creative new ways. Traditional examples of earth communities include the social and cultural patterns of tribal villages and Indigenous American constructs, and in some ways, the close-knit African-American communities that existed when interdependence was necessary for survival in a highly segregated society.