Sep 3More Than the Sum of Our PartsAn agitation for artists and organizers — I should have known Ken Grossinger would burst my bubble, in the best way. Ken has worked at the beating heart of movements for social change for decades, so I knew his new book, Art Works: How Organizers and Artists Are Creating a Better World Together (2023) would be rich…Art13 min readArt13 min read
Mar 15What Else Is There To Do But Organize?How women’s organizing for power and transformation is changing everything — “We’ve done the data, we’ve done everything else, and if those things still aren’t working, what else is there to do but organize?” — Felicia Griffin, deputy director of PowerSwitch Action To help us understand the power of women in organizing — BIPOC women, White women, Trans women, femmes, all…Womens Rights14 min readWomens Rights14 min read
Jan 27Hiding in Plain SightThe Key to Transforming the Democratic Party and America — In the previous article in this two-part series, we dug into the backstory of the Democratic Party with a deep dive into Michael Kazin’s What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party (2022), which delivered an essential account of the party from Van Buren to Biden, but…Politics14 min readPolitics14 min read
Oct 5, 2022If You Can’t Change the People, Then Change the PeopleTransforming the Democratic Party (for its own good) — Ever feel like you’re always late to the party? I feel that way about the Democratic Party. As a kid growing up in Chicago, I knocked on doors for Harold Washington and Jesse Jackson with my mom. I then apprenticed myself to progressive Democrats to learn electoral organizing by taking…Democratic Party12 min readDemocratic Party12 min read
Jun 25, 2022You Are Being Called to Greatness in the Face of the ApocalypseListen to the voices of veteran organizers to light the path forward and then organize for the power to change everything I am an optimist, so it takes a lot to get me down. But what is happening in the United States right now is a weight I am struggling…Workers Rights16 min readWorkers Rights16 min read
Apr 16, 2022If You’re Not Building Power, You’re Just Admiring the ProblemStopping the climate emergency, winning immigrant rights, and ending inequality is now synonymous with defeating the Far Right along with fossil capital. Our planet is hurtling toward a climate disaster, and we’re running out of time. …Climate Change15 min readClimate Change15 min read
Apr 2, 2022Interdependence and Self-InterestI wrote this in 2008 for the Center for Community Change (now Community Change) Convening on Community Values in Washington, D.C. and am sharing it more widely now that the Internet is here to stay. On the day after September 11th, 2001 a bulldozer drove up Chicago’s Argyle Street and…Self Interest10 min readSelf Interest10 min read
Mar 24, 2022For Want of Bread and Yeast: A Call for Renewed Support for Community Organizing in Eastern EuropeI wrote this reflection on organizing in Eastern Europe in October, 2011 during a training swing through Moldova, Romania and Bosnia organized by the European Community Organizing Network. Moldova’s people now fear that their country is next if the Russian invasion of Ukraine is successful. …Community Organizing6 min readCommunity Organizing6 min read
Feb 10, 2022How Long Must My Journey Go?An Organizer-Bodhisattva’s Guide to Enlightenment — “How long must my journey go? And my sorrow no one knows.” — Subrosa It’s tough to be a bodhisattva these days. Sorry, I mean community organizer. Or anything in between. In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, a bodhisattva is someone who gets close to enlightenment, yet chooses to forgo liberation…Community Organizing14 min readCommunity Organizing14 min read
Published inAmateur Book Reviews·Sep 22, 2021Are You Committed to Fighting or Winning?Because there is a difference and it matters — Community organizers love the fight. Battle scars are worn with pride, and our identities as fighters are forged with care. The stories we tell each other at the bar or across the campfire brim with extraordinary tension and conflict with our opponents. …Strategy12 min readStrategy12 min read
