Dr. Ponce de León is hosting LCH's weekly What Matters? pop-up conversation in her home, #601. Drop in for ice cream, brownies, banana bread and informal conversation.

The broad topic for tonight’s dialogue is solidarity: why it matters, how people practice it, and why people need it from others.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot because I’ve been learning about the history of the Sanctuary Movement, which is a religious and political movement built on the principle of solidarity. It began in the US in the 1980s when people and organizations, including hundreds of church congregations, practiced civil disobedience by providing safe-haven for Central American refugees who were fleeing wars and violent civil conflicts in their home countries, but couldn’t obtain official asylum under US laws. I was also thinking about solidarity this past week because of the massive popular uprising that is happening in Chile right now (over a million people have taken to the streets to protest the government and its policies). The movement was started by students, and then quickly spread across many sectors of society and has now been linked to worker movements, the feminist movement, and indigenous struggles for territorial rights. There have been marches around the world, as well as strikes in Chile, by people who are demanding that the Chilean government stop its repression of protestors and withdraw the military from the streets. And this morning I read about the decision by the Teamsters to not deliver goods across the picket lines of striking workers of the Chicago Teachers Union. Though they are happening in different places, all of these actions and movements are, in some way, motivated by a principle of solidarity, including across distance and across differences among people and the life conditions they face. So, I’d like to take this concept as a jumping-off point for an informal conversation. I hope you see you! -Dr. Ponce de León