In a City Where 15 Percent of Voters Elected the Mayor, Downtown Is Claiming Power

Across the United States, individuals and organizations are seeking to shift the criminal justice system through District Attorney elections. From online communities like colorofchange.org, which seeks to support grassroots election efforts, to individuals like Minnesota’s Mark Haase, who is running on a platform of diversity and inclusion, to the Texas Organizing Project that wants to empower Black and Latinx communities, each of these missions seeks to create more equity and transparency in the criminal justice system.

Black Lives Matters protests have been sustained by an autonomously organized mutual aid network providing a range of services for protesters and community members. Requests for information and assistance are sent using encrypted communication. The groups provide medics, public protest art, legal and financial aid, and even mechanics to service protesters’ cars and a group that helps protesters replace glasses that were damaged or lost due to police encounters. The extensive mutual aid network enables flexibility to respond to a diverse set of changing needs, sustaining protests longer than in other cities.

A collaboration between an Atlanta-based nonprofit and an international climate organization sparked the Just Growth Circle, an initiative that brings topics like racial equity, economic justice, and climate change to the forefront of urban planning in Atlanta. The organization puts responsibility into the hands of residents and has updated city plans to center around building community trust and long-lasting relationships between locals and city officials.

Tulsa Public Schools drew on expertise across many sectors and extensive neighborhood input to address the issue of thousands of empty seats in local schools. Through a community-focused process, they were able to mindfully close under-utilized schools and better maximize the community's resources for students.

Moms for Housing reclaim vacant homes owned by investors to provide a place for single mothers to live. Advocating for housing as a human right, 13 organizers are currently living in these unoccupied houses and through civil disobedience, managed to negotiate temporary housing as they continue fighting for permanent solutions to the area’s housing crisis.

Organizations in politically divided states like Arkansas, Idaho and Ohio are hard at work to protect direct democracy through community organizing and education. These groups have rallied to pass measures like minimum wage increases, medical marijuana and have even organized voters to fail ballot measures like Ohio’s recent Issue 1.

Groups such as Texas Organizing Project are focusing on reaching out to voters year-round rather than just during election season, with the goal of reaching people who are often not a priority for traditional campaigns and political parties.

Formerly incarcerated individuals, community leaders, and members of San Francisco’s District Attorney’s office, have joined forces to create a collaborative advisory board. The board meets to share re-entry challenges and successes, discuss the DA's work, and develop a deeper understanding of systemic crime in the city. From conversations about mental health to poverty, members are helping create new policies and opportunities for those still incarcerated.

The Boston Senior Civic Academy teaches older adults how to stay informed about and involved in local politics, covering issues from financial insecurity to dementia-friendly city planning. The program, which serves elders across the city and is part of a world-wide push to create elder-friendly cities, invites older adults to take an active role in politics and advocacy, and gives them the tools to do so.

In Doña Ana County, New Mexico, boosting civic engagement is a priority. County Clerk Scott Krahling has tried several initiatives to do so, including hosting voter registration drives in schools, consolidating local elections, and implementing ranked choice voting. The clerk’s office also values community input. A nonpartisan advisory council and series of community meetings aim to ensure the community has a say in these civic engagement initiatives.