The pressing struggles of our time–to redistribute wealth, end racist policing, overthrow apartheid regimes–are going to require all hands on deck. Everyone can effectively contribute to the movement for social justice. We are here to show you that there are tried-and-tested methods of organizing, and with some direction and practice anyone can be involved in this transformative and life-sustaining process.

However, you can’t build a house unless you first lay down the cornerstones. Similarly, the movements that radically changed society were premised on something that Ella Baker called “spadework”–that is the slow-moving, and get-your-hands-dirty work that is sustained through the collaboration of many individuals. Often in history’s telling of the civil rights movement the dramatic moments–the heroic acts of civil disobedience and the charismatic leaders– overshadow the much more mundane work done by many anonymous faces. “Our collective imagery does not include organizers returning to talk to some frightened farmer for the tenth time”, reminds civil rights chronicler Charles M. Payne.

Our goals as a collective are, thus, not only to share and disseminate the spadework skills that have been passed to us by the organizing giants from a bygone era–a necessary part of building effective campaigns–but also to help groups build long lasting organizational power. Specifically, through our trainings, we aim to increase the longevity and sustainability of organizations by helping develop leaders who focus on building others, and by supporting them with their strategies.

We come to politics from an intersectional, anti-capitalist, and internationalist perspective. We are especially interested in working with groups that are building in this broad left tradition. This includes rank-and-file labor initiatives, poor peoples’ movements, neighborhood-based efforts, student organizations, environmental justice groups, and anyone interested in building a world free from oppression and domination of one group over another. We also welcome groups that wish to articulate their politics as such but have not yet done so.