Liberation Economy Fellowship Reflection
By Trevor Smith
The Importance of Freedom Dreaming Infrastructure
Historian and movement scholar Robin D.G. Kelley speaks of “freedom dreaming” as imagining a world beyond the constraints of the current social order, where liberation and justice are the norm. My co-founder Savannah Romero and I started the BLIS Collective, a Solidarity and Action hub, after a conversation that left us wondering why the Black-led movement for reparations and Indigenous-led movement for Land Back didn’t feel as closely connected as one might think. After years of planning, eating, discussions, and relationship building, we realized that critical pieces of infrastructure were missing, making it harder for transformative movements and those that engage within them to be what we call “radical collaboration” with each other.
Liberation in a Generation’s (LibGen) Liberation Economy Fellowship came at a time when BLIS was launching — in our literal infancy, and it has helped us not only sharpen our analysis but also deepen our understanding of the infrastructure needed to build lasting, transformative change. Following in the footsteps of LibGen, which defines itself as a “movement support organization,” we realized the critical role of infrastructure in holding the space for solidarity and dreaming. The fellowship has given us the tools to think expansively, invest in the work that can create long-term support for movements, and cultivate the relationships necessary for radical transformation. Freedom dreaming, as we’ve come to understand, isn’t just a visionary exercise; it’s a commitment to building the systems that can hold those dreams and help turn them into reality.
Our Inheritance: A Collective Responsibility to Transform
One of my most striking reflections during this fellowship is how eager and hungry folks are for third spaces to grapple with narrative and policy questions. There is a deep desire for places where we can openly explore the intersection of story and systems, where movement actors can come together to co-create strategies for systemic change.
As someone who has worked at a think tank, many of our strategies and conversations around policy change focused primarily on policymakers — on how we could shift their perspective and influence their decisions. But this fellowship, and the work LibGen does, shifts the focus from the policymakers to the people — the individuals and communities who hold the true power to create change. The fellowship rests on the notion that rather than relying on changing the minds of those in power, we must build power among those who put policymakers into office in the first place.
Throughout my time as a fellow, I’ve worked with LibGen to provide space for nearly 100 people, both digitally and in person, to come together and grow the movement for reparations. We explored how reparations could intersect with a baby bond proposal through LibGen’s framework of “Guaranteed Inheritance.” This framing of inheritance is powerful because it acknowledges that we inherit both the good and the bad of this democracy — its triumphs and flaws. The fellowship has reinforced my belief that the frame of inheritance is one of the most critical frames of our time — representing our collective responsibility and opportunity to transform this nation’s legacy.
New York Stands at the Feet of History
In December 2023, I had the honor of witnessing history as New York became the third state, after California and Illinois, to establish a reparations commission. It was a monumental day — a reminder of the power of standing true to our beliefs and the impact of long-standing grassroots organizing. Thanks to the work of groups like the December 12th Movement and the Brooklyn NAACP, reparations have become a tangible conversation in New York.
Several of us, including the BLIS Collective, VOCAL-NY, NAACP LDF, NYCLU, Get Free, Solidarity Society, National Action Network Brooklyn Chapter, Working Families Party NY, ERASE-Racism NY, and many others, came together to form New Yorkers for Reparations, a statewide coalition dedicated to ensuring that the commission’s recommendations are turned into concrete reparations policy.
In a conversation with long-time reparations organizer Nkechi Taifa about a year ago, she shared that she had spent so much time making the moral case for reparations that she hadn’t had the opportunity to delve into the policy implications. The policy design circle we ran as part of this fellowship provided that space.
We put ourselves in the year 2052, where reparations had become a reality, and explored critical questions such as: How will reparations impact existing policies like SNAP? What new government agencies will be needed to administer this policy? And what functions will a reparations policy serve?
The space allowed many coalition members from New Yorkers for Reparations to meet in person for the first time, sharpen our analysis, and build the collective advocacy strategy that will guide us moving forward. In the coming months, we’ll continue working closely with Commissioners to ensure that the recommendations they make are rooted in the conversations we had in the policy design circle.
As If it Could be Otherwise
There is power in dreaming. Historian James Fraser reminds us that one of our greatest challenges is our inability to see things as if they could be otherwise. This fellowship has strengthened my resolve and helped me believe more deeply in the possibility of reconstructing our reality. Together, we can shape a world that is not only different from the one we know but fundamentally more just, equitable, and free.
