Metro Justice Council & Staff at the 2019 Annual Dinner

You are cordially invited to Metro Justice's 2020 Annual Dinner! For decades, the Annual Dinner has been one of our biggest and most beloved event of the year: a celebration of the work done so far, a time to inspire for the work yet to come, and an opportunity to bring together the local progressive community. It’s also a critical fundraiser that keeps us independent and truly grassroots. Due to COVID-19, we were unable to host the Annual Dinner as usual back in May. Fortunately, due to the diligent and creative efforts of our Membership & Fundraising committee, we will be hosting a virtual event instead!

While the pandemic keeps us physically apart for our safety, we can still come together remotely to build community and celebrate resistance. We are honored to announce that this year's Keynote Speaker will be Steve Williams from LeftRoots! His article, "DEMAND EVERYTHING: Lessons of the Transformative Organizing Model" was foundational for Metro Justice's Strategic Plan, and his work in transformative organizing continues to inspire and influence Metro Justice's work today! 

Please scroll to the bottom of this page for all ticket and sponsorship information. Scholarship tickets are available by contacting our Lead Organizer, Mohini Sharma, at [email protected]. We hope you join us! 

Keynote Speaker - Steve Williams, LeftRoots 

Steve Williams is an organizer, educator and liberation-seeker. Steve currently works on the staff of LeftRoots, a national organization dedicated to increasing social movement leftists’ individual and collective capacity to formulate, evaluate and carry out a strategy to build twenty-first century socialism. He cut his teeth as an organizer with the Philadelphia Union of the Homeless and the San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness in the early 1990s. Trips to South Africa and Cuba during that period forged Steve’s commitment to connecting day-to-day work to a larger vision of justice.

From 1997 to 2012, Steve served as Executive Director of POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights), a community-based organization of low-income and working-class tenants, transit riders and workers— an organization he co-founded. In 2013, Steve teamed up with NTanya Lee to interview more than 150 organizers and activists across the country as a part of the Ear to the Ground project.

In addition to his professional organizing experiences, Steve has been an active volunteer in various local, national and international social movements through his involvement with the World Social Forum process, Grassroots Global Justice, Left Wing Football Club and Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM). 

Steve lives in San Francisco with his partner and their 10-year old son who’s named after the African Marxist, Amílcar Cabral.  Link to LeftRoots

If you would like your Metro Justice Virtual Annual Dinner to be more than virtual, here’s a link to a list of Black-owned and women-owned locally-owned restaurants you can contact.

Program: Virtual Annual Dinner 2020

7:00 Live stream begins

Streaming music audio and photos from past Annual Dinners courtesy of Annette Dragon.

7:05 Welcome and Introduction -- Mohini Sharma, Lead Organizer

Short multimedia presentations of Metro Justice campaign activities, key victories, and recognition of major sponsors

7:25 Introduction of Keynote Speaker

7:30 Keynote Speaker: Steve Williams, LeftRoots.net

Guest Speaker: Steve Williams from LeftRoots. He is an experienced social movement organizer and dynamic speaker in San Francisco. He will help inspire us in our actions in this unprecedented year.

8:00 Closing Remarks and Final Appeal

8:10 Music by Hanna P K

Hanna P K. will perform two songs to end the evening. She plays and sings a wide variety of the blues & swing, old school folk and boogie-woogie.

8:20 Good bye

You can see the 2020 Annual Dinner Sponsors Here