In the Belly of Empire:

In 2007, an estimated 15,000 people came together in Atlanta for the first United States Social Forum (USSF). The meeting was arguably one of the largest and most diverse political gatherings in U.S. history, as a significant majority of participants were people of color, low income, Indigenous, disabled, and/or gender nonconforming. More importantly, it was part of a much larger, truly global World Social Forum (WSF) movement that since 2001 has mobilized hundreds of thousands of people from over 130 countries. This report draws from our collaborative ethnographic research at the U.S. Social Forum to describe and analyze the USSF as a national instance of the WSF process. ¹ The political and economic dominance of the United States, as well as its belligerence and intransigence in global affairs, makes counterhegemonic mobilization here particularly important for efforts to improve social and ecological conditions around the world. It is also more difficult. Thus, to the WSF slogan, “Another World is Possible,” U.S. organizers added that “Another U.S. is necessary.” ²