The history is clear: The most impactful changes on racial and social justice issues have always originated, grown, and been fueled at the grassroots level. They have invariably been bottom-up, not top-down. Thus, to truly dismantle the policies and systems that oppress communities, grassroots-led movement-building represents our most essential strategy.

Nevertheless, community organizing is consistently and substantially under-resourced across every issue area, particularly in comparison to the extraordinarily well-funded network of think tanks, advocacy organizations, lobbyists, and communications firms that typically oppose social and racial justice efforts. Thus, there is an urgent need for deeply embedded support that is nimble enough to meet on-the-ground needs and comprehensive enough to tilt the balance of power in favor of oppressed communities.

The Social Movement Support Lab was created to help address these needs and create a more robust ecosystem of support for grassroots-led racial and social justice movements.