Recent Articles
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Philanthropy and Repression: Not the Exception—The System
“To confront repression and depoliticization head-on, philanthropy must commit to deeply understanding and supporting the interconnected nature of global struggles.” We are living through a compounding, interconnected catastrophe—one long sounded by Palestinian, Sudanese, Haitian, and countless Global Majority communities. Today’s...
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Sick and unsafe: Trump attacks on workers’ rights is an attack on public health
This power shift hasn’t just changed paychecks—it has fundamentally altered the physical and mental health landscape for millions of Americans. American workers stand at a perilous crossroads, with their health and well-being hanging in the balance. Over decades, a deliberate...
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How Mass-Based Community Unions Could Transform the Country
Over-reliance on outside funding threatens organizations’ long-term stability. Veteran labor organizer, Keith Kelleher, proposes for member-driven “community unions” as a sustainable alternative. We are in a mess right now. Labor and community organizations are under attack. A cascading list...
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Labor’s Quiet Revolution?
The top ranks of labor leadership are turning over quickly. It’s worth asking what, if anything, it means. The last few months have seen some unexpected and significant changes in high profile labor leadership. The news on May 12th that...
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Resisting Fascism: Lessons from South Asia And Its Diaspora
South Asian resistance movements offer vital strategies for combating rising fascism globally through transnational solidarity, grassroots organizing, and cultural defiance. The presence of Kash Patel at the head of the FBI, Usha Vance in the White House, and Vivek Ramaswamy...
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“Electoralizing” Your Issue Campaign: The Example of Paid Sick Days
Elections are a time when organizers hope to establish their issue as a central priority for both the public and the candidates campaigning to take office. The phrase “electoralizing” an issue during elections has become a frequent term among organizers,...
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Worker Power in Spartanburg,SC
Ben Carroll, Organizing Coordinator for the Southern Workers Assembly details what it takes to build worker power in Spartanburg County,SC. On an unseasonably warm afternoon in early March, four worker-volunteers stood at the employee entrance/exit of a major manufacturer in...
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Taking the Long View of History: A Conversation with Prof. John Wright
Conceptualizing social movements as part of a trans-generational struggle is crucial to both stamina and success, he says In the winter of 1969, a group of 70 Black students occupied Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota to protest institutional...
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Time for People-Centered Policy
Workshop’s Executive Director, MB Maxwell breaks down five ways to secure people-centered policy wins in their latest. Originally published in Democracy: A Journal of Ideas – Time for People-Centered Policy) Like so many others, I knocked on a lot of doors...
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148 Days and Counting: Georgia’s Battle Against Authoritarianism
Learn how Georgian citizens have fought against their own Trump-like figure to get a glimpse of what may be ahead for the United States. It’s the 148th day of protests in Tbilisi. Rustaveli Avenue, home to Georgia’s Parliament building, is...
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How Universities Can Build Community Power
Learn how Citizens UK borrowed from Chicago organizers to transform Universities into catalysts for community power. “In terms of people, money and relationships, universities are by far [one of] the powerful pillars of civil society – but too often they...
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Justice for All: Road-Tested Strategies for Building a Bigger Movement
Three members of the Just Economy Institute share their insights on how to weave multiple worlds together to accelerate change. This article is republished from Common Dreams. Most activists sense the dense web of connections linking social, economic and climate...
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Featured illustration for Convergence by Kimmie Dearest Because We Need Each Other Pt.4: Interventions & Healing
In this four-part series, we are exploring the phenomenon known as “cancel culture.” We hope to invite more people into conversations about how we work through tension and conflict in our movements, and to offer viable pathways for recognition, prevention,...
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Featured illustration for Convergence by Kimmie Dearest Because We Need Each Other Pt.3: The Early Warning Signs of Cancel Culture
In this four-part series, we are exploring the phenomenon known as “cancel culture.” We hope to invite more people into conversations about how we work through tension and conflict in our movements, and to offer viable pathways for recognition, prevention,...
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Featured illustration for Convergence by Kimmie Dearest Because We Need Each Other Pt.2: Understanding Cancel Culture
In this four-part series, we are exploring the phenomenon known as “cancel culture” in collaboration with Convergence Magazine. We hope to invite more people into conversations about how we work through tension and conflict in our movements, and to offer...
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Popular Democracy Post-Election Debrief
Following the 2024 Election, Popular Democracy convened Executive Directors and senior staff of the grassroots power building organizations that make up its network. The meeting took place before President Trump was inaugurated and included a panel of organizational leaders reflecting...
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Because We Need Each Other, Part I: Origin Story
Exploring the phenomenon known as “cancel culture” as a collaboration with Convergence Magazine In this four-part series, we are exploring the phenomenon known as “cancel culture.” We hope to invite more people into conversations about how we work through tension...
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Fortifying the Frontlines: How to Protect Social Movements Under Attack
Executive Director of the Building Movement Project, Janis Rosheuvel unpacks how to bolster the frontlines of movement work for the fight ahead The burning of the main office building at The Highlander Center, an historic movement training venue; the violent...
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Emancipation Over Extinction
Somatic coach and organizer, Aaron Jamal, provides a timely reminder to fight for emancipation in ongoing times of extreme oppression. Apocalyptic hurricanes in my home state of North Carolina and cataclysmic firestorms on the other side of the country have...
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Plan 2028: Bringing Labor and Social Movements Together
Plan 2028 isn’t just another general strike call—it’s a strategic, long-term push to unite labor and social movements in a coordinated fight against rising authoritarianism. The Trump Administration has come in with brute force, attacking working people and institutions from...