As an organizer, I’ve been trained to count. Numbers are how we show our work, so it was easy to end my sabbatical with an accounting: What did I do? The obvious problem is that the whole point of sabbatical is to step outside the usual pace of work. And those numbers tell almost none of the story of the impact this break had on me.

Terms like “coalition,” “partnership,” or even “movement” get thrown around with confidence, and often with good intentions. But when we don’t take the time to define what those words mean in practice, we set the stage for conflict and confusion. What one group considers a loose alliance, another might treat as a tightly coordinated campaign. One organization might expect shared decision-making; another might assume it’s leading the charge.

Winning high-stakes fights against powerful opponents like Avelo, an airline working with ICE, requires undermining their key pillars of support.

In a world grappling with myriad challenges, from social injustices to environmental crises, the need for change has never been more evident. While calls for reform and revolution reverberate across the globe, it is crucial to recognize the power of grassroots movements and community organizing in effecting lasting change. This blog post advocates for a revival of base building, emphasizing that the leadership of black, brown, poor, and working-class people is essential for s

Self-care. Healing. Wellness. Resilience. Over the last few years, these have all become unavoidable words in social movement spaces, as organizers and organizational leaders look for ways to navigate a multitude of crisis conditions. We believe that an organization’s ability to be emotionally resilient—and support its staff in being resilient—is equal in importance to the strategy it develops to win structural transformation and the skills it builds to grow and exert its pow