Introduction
For nearly two years, Community Organizing and Family Issues and Power-PAC IL parent leaders participated in the Parent Power and Leadership Project (PPLP), an effort to share how social justice organizations support the learning and growth of parents, youth, and communities. PPLP tells the real-life experiences of parent leadership and organizing groups across the country who work tirelessly to make their communities better through personal capacity building, policy, and service improvements, and mutual care.
Five parent leaders and their families are highlighted in this series: Marisol, Delia, Isaiah, Katrina, and Kekeisha. Their stories are based on 24 in-depth interviews and focus groups, including 15 interviews with the children of parent leaders ranging in age from 7 to 23.* Their stories show how COFI Way Leadership Development doesn’t just help to transform parents, but it also helps to inspire and activate youth, families, and communities. As the following pages reveal, families shared their quest to remain engaged in their communities, discuss policy priorities widely, speak up when something wasn’t right, and continue to envision and act towards the changes they want to see in their communities. These organizing families provide snapshots of current and future community leaders protecting democracy and strengthening the rights of all.