Organizing Communities, Building Political Power

In this Kinship and Council conversation, Fahd Ahmed of DRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving) will share lessons from more than two decades of organizing with low-wage South Asian and Indo-Caribbean immigrant communities in New York. We'll also hear about the work of DRUM Beats, DRUM's sibling organization focused on electoral politics, including its instrumental role in Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign, the mayor’s office’s experiments in co-governance, and the complicated relationship between grassroots organizing and electoral power. 

The conversation will invite reflection on DRUM's organizing-first, membership-led approach to building mass power across interconnected struggles and how these experiences connect to the movements for social and economic justice in Montreal. The conversation will be followed by small group discussions led by local community organizers, progressive electoral initiatives, and funders for movement building. 

Following Fahd's presentation, participants will have an opportunity to join smaller group discussions, led by Amy Darwish, Niall Ricardo, and Richenda Grazette. Each discussion will focus on one of three connected questions: 

1. How do we build large-scale, politically transformative community power?
2. How can movements engage with electoral politics while maintaining autonomy and holding elected officials accountable?
3. What kinds of funding structures and institutional supports can resource long-term power-building movements?

These discussions will bring Fahd’s experience into conversation with organizers, electoral actors, funders, and others working for social and economic justice in Montréal.

The event will close with a collective conversation about reflections and questions from the small groups.

Register here or drop by if you are on campus.

Fahd Ahmed has been a grassroots organizer on the issues of racial profiling, immigrant justice, police accountability, national security, and educational justice over the last 16 years. He is currently the Executive Director of DRUM-Desis Rising Up & Moving of New York City, where he has served in various capacities since 2000. DRUM has mobilized and built the leadership of thousands of low-income, South Asian immigrants to lead social and policy change that impacts their own lives- from immigrant rights to education reform, civil rights, and worker’s justice.

About DRUM

DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving is a multigenerational, membership led organization of low-wage South Asian and Indo-Caribbean immigrants, workers and youth in New York City. Founded in 2000, DRUM has mobilized and built the leadership of thousands of low-income, South Asian and Indo-Caribbean immigrants to lead social and policy change that impacts their own lives- from immigrant rights to education reform, civil rights, and worker’s justice.  

About the Kinship & Council Series 

This event is part of our Kinship & Council series which brings together the SHIFT community with inspiring thinkers, organizers, and collaborators who are actively deepening practices of social transformation. In addition to sharing their expertise with individual projects, invited guests offer public conversations that expand our collective learning and widen our perspectives on social transformation.

Accessibility info

This event will be offered in person. If you have accessibility needs that would support your participation, please contact us. We will do our best to accommodate within our capacity. A week’s notice will give us the best chance of making something work. 

First time at SHIFT? Please consult our page for information about the Collaborative Space, and watch this short video that shows you how to get here from the Maisonneuve entrance of the Library Building.