Community Organizing is a new journal dedicated to advancing the scholarship and practice of community organizing around the globe. Reflecting the core commitments of community organizing at all levels, this journal has a special focus on the importance of democratic and relational work that enables leadership development, community power, and structural change. We recognize that community organizing exists in many different contexts and settings around the world, taking on a wide variety of forms. The journal therefore prioritizes careful reflection and critical analysis, grounded in a range of traditions and approaches.
The journal seeks to engage scholars and practitioners together in analyzing and reflecting on the diversity of approaches and definitions in the field. We aim to center less prominent and non-dominant perspectives, voices, and ways of knowing, emphasizing the importance of the voices of those most affected by oppression, injustice, and inequality. Specifically, we invite co-authorship between university-based scholars and community-based practitioners. Single-author publications from scholars and/or practitioners are, of course, welcome as well. As we encourage collaborations across the continuum of scholar-practitioners, we emphasize that knowledge and effective action emerge from a dialogue that includes ground-up, co-creative processes, and multidisciplinary theoretical and political perspectives.
The Editorial Board wishes to thank the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education, Cleveland State University and the Department of Sustainability and Social Justice, Clark University, for their support of the Journal.
We invite you to be part of this celebration and learning experience by joining these workshops, which will take place both online and in person at the Movement & Training Center in Revere, MA. All events are free and open to the public.
Read more about Ayni 12th Anniversary Speaker SeriesCommunity Organizing Journal (COJ) is a new journal dedicated to advancing the scholarship and practice of community organizing. COJ focuses on the importance of democratic and relational work that enables leadership development, community power, and structural change. Because community organizing exists in many different contexts and settings around the world, taking on a wide variety of forms, we prioritize critical analysis that is grounded in a range of traditions, approaches, and academic disciplines. The journal seeks to engage scholars and practitioners together in analyzing and reflecting on the diversity of approaches and definitions in the field.
The inaugural issue of COJ explores how the scholarship and practice of community organizing can be reimagined. Papers were solicited from community organizers and scholars in 2023 and developed over two years. Each paper considers what organizing practices can and should endure and what practices need disruption. The issue opens with two essays, including an Issue Introduction by long-time community organizers, Alexandra Piñeros Shields and Jocelyn Vicente-Angeles, and a framing essay by issue editors, Robert Kleidman and Margaret Post. Many of the peer reviewed articles and the concluding reflection are authored by scholar-practitioner teams from Europe, the United States, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand. We view these essays, articles and reflections as an exciting first step in strengthening an international dialogue about the future of community organizing.