Radical Community

My name is Theresa and I've been an activist and organizer long enough to realize that it is hard to organize or fight for change when you're working multiple jobs just to pay the rent.

 

For centuries, the people have been kept busy, overwhelmed, propagandized, and distracted so they won't threaten the power and profits of the ruling class.

 

Now I aim to start the long, hard work of providing an alternative.

 

We need material support. We need to be secure in our basic needs. We need time and energy to read and learn and discuss. We need solidarity. We need homes. We need our own economy. We need our own childcare and schooling. We need books and games and music and arts and crafts.

 

We need to break the cycle of capitalism and white supremacy and give each other the freedom to build better communities that allow us all to thrive and be fulfilled instead of oppressed and exploited.

 

I am starting with a goal of buying just one house, (or a motel or small apartment building) a fixer-upper in West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, or Southern Ohio. We will turn it into a co-housing opportunity for long- or short-term use for people who want to dedicate themselves to organizing either in their own communities or as part of our new one. The idea of this first stage is to allow activists and organizers without financial means to live rent-free and focus on the work they want to do. We will also offer workshops, book clubs, discussion groups, craft guilds, and other opportunities for residents and the public.

 

From there, I plan to start a local community-led cooperative coffee shop with arts and crafts gallery and bookstore, to continue to raise funds to expand on this project and ultimately buy land and houses in various communities around the country for local activists to use for their own community work and eventually for other vulnerable people to have homes to live in rent-free. Some of the houses and land will be used as B&Bs, retreats, and camps to raise funds and provide education and organizing opportunities as well.

 

I am a queer leftist, mostly interested in anarchism and eco-socialism and so will be seeking folks who are also on the left to join me in this project. This community will be as self-sufficient as possible after this initial funding campaign; it aims to be environmentally friendly, anti-capitalist, anti-racist, LGBTQ-positive, disability-positive, abolitionist, and anti-imperialist.

 

If you're interested in helping to organize the first house and share in the fundraising and planning efforts, please message me.

 

I am also saving all my own money toward this, and selling arts and crafts and sharing stories to pay my way. I will not take out any loans or mortgages. I will not have my efforts distracted by wage jobs, so I am grateful to so many people who have supported my work for so long, and for all new supporters who come along.

 

Without your support, I expect to be able to secure the first house by the end of 2022. With your support, perhaps we can get it a lot earlier or go bigger. Every little bit helps!

 

I am going to offer my arts and crafts projects on my new Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/theresa_markila) and on Etsy (still to come), as well as my short fiction pieces (just for fun!). I do have Venmo too, if you should wish to send a gift my way at @theresa-markila.

 

This is just the beginning of our journey together, friends. You will learn more about my vision and follow my work as we go. I hope you are as excited as I am.

 

"We will create a society where there are no rich or poor, no people without work or beauty in their lives, where money itself will disappear, where we shall be brothers and sisters, where every one will have enough." -Sylvia Pankhurst