# A bold idea to rebuild the working class

- Institution: TED
- Department: TED Fellows Films 2025
- Speaker: Molly Hemstreet
- Year: 2025
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Economics, Business and management
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/molly_hemstreet_a_bold_idea_to_rebuild_the_working_class)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Struggling communities don’t need handouts — they need bold new ways to root wealth. Meet Molly Hemstreet — a TED Fellow, Southern Appalachia native and cofounder of worker support network the Industrial Commons — who’s flipping the script on generational poverty by turning textile waste into $9-per-pound yarn and factory workers into business owners. Discover how her long-haul approach is rebuilding rural economies stitch by stitch, proving that opportunity grows when we stop extracting and start empowering.

## Lectures

1. [A bold idea to rebuild the working class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/molly_hemstreet_a_bold_idea_to_rebuild_the_working_class/a6702ab9b9eb), 8 min (TED's player)