Not So Fast: Aaron Tanaka On The Long And Winding Road From Criminal Injustice To Community Control

Aaron Tanaka was just twenty two, a recent Harvard graduate, when he was given a small fellowship grant and the chance to test his chops as an organizer in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. Acknowledging that he was “just a kid who didn’t know what he was doing”, he trusted his mentors, people of color from the community with hard-earned lessons to share. Now, seven years later, Tanaka shares his journey as executive director of the Boston Workers Alliance, describing: - The lessons imparted by his mentors to build deep trust and engagement in the community. - The progression of his organization from a handful of people flyering to a force that fought and won groundbreaking reforms to the broken CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) system. - The dicey moments when the theory of being accountable to members and board appeared to clash with the reality of running a nonprofit organization.

Other resources from Aaron Tanaka: Aaron Tanaka: Creating a just, regenerative and democratic society: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/2019/3/12/next-economy-now Solidarity Philanthropy: Reparations, Democracy & Power: https://medium.com/justice-funders/solidarity-philanthropy-reparations-democracy-power-9961ef2e1b64 Boston Ujima Project: https://ujimaboston.com Solidarity Economy Initiative: https://www.solidaritymass.com/ New Economy Coalition: https://neweconomy.net/