Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice

Building Power with a New Generation of Social Justice Leaders

Existing models of leadership in social justice are often tied to one theory of change or a single community of practice, whether that’s street protests, workplace organizing, or lobbying on Capitol Hill. But a new generation of leaders needs to fight for power across movements and from outside and inside existing institutions. These leaders want to fundamentally understand power: how to build it, how to use it, and how to share it with our communities.

We’re creating a new institute to support a diverse cohort of leaders from the communities at the forefront of social justice movements, who can build collective power that can be wielded anywhere, from the streets to the halls of Congress.

Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice is an initiative of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College of New York and the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. We plan to help early and mid-career leaders in social justice movements build power across disciplines and with the communities that are at the forefront of social change.