Portside

In far too many places, the struggles for racial and economic justice have become disconnected. Back in 2020, David Leonhardt of The New York Times wrote that the Black-White wage gap nationwide was roughly the same as it was back in 1950. One reason for this outcome is the decline of unions. In other words, just as Black workers got stable union jobs, those stable union jobs started to disappear.

The need to integrate racial and economic justice and pursue both objectives together is not a new idea. Speaking at the AFL-CIO’s Fourth Constitutional Convention in 1961, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. noted, “Our needs are identical with labor’s needs: decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community.”

What can be done today? For some, it may be difficult to find inspiration and hope. But I recall the struggles of civil rights–era leaders who guided my generation and helped develop our activism. These days, I am inspired by the passion and fire of the younger generation and their understanding that organizing is the way to build power.

Founded in 2004, the Georgia Strategic Alliance for New Directions and Unified Policies (Georgia STAND-UP)—a base-building advocacy and leadership development nonprofit that I lead—has sought to build a new alliance between Black people and unions that can meet the needs of today’s workers.

STAND-UP seeks access to good union jobs, public transit equity, affordable housing, health equity, and other lifeline issues for Black communities. Our deliberate and locally focused approach to leadership development and labor partnerships in the hub of the civil rights movement could have broader lessons for organizing across the South.

Nurturing Black Leadership

STAND-UP has built and nurtured deep community roots with a consistent focus on centering Black people, particularly Black women who are often the power brokers in their communities. While we celebrate and position Black women at the forefront of our campaigns, we also focus on issues that disproportionately affect Black men and youth and deliberately support their leadership too.

By prioritizing leadership development, STAND-UP has trained thousands of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) students and other young people to become the next generation of changemakers. We think of our leadership development as a “gas station for leaders to fill up.” We build capacity on organizing across race and class, with an eye on advocacy for local policy that creates more equitable and inclusive communities. Many of our trainees have gone on to become elected officials and labor and community leaders.

For example, R. R. Harris, an activist in Atlanta’s predominantly Black Adamsville neighborhood, credits STAND-UP’s first Policy Institute for Civic Leadership with shaping her leadership. After leaving public service to work more directly on issues that affect Black children and families, she participated in the institute and learned advocacy and coalition-building strategies.

Harris applied these skills to her leadership of Friends of Collier Heights Park, an organization established in 2004 to revitalize the neighborhood playground and encourage health and wellness, which has now transformed into a hub for literacy, robotics, and computer coding for second through eighth graders. This year, it will open a 25-bed garden and greenhouse to provide organic local food to the community.

“My life and community haven’t been the same since I came to be involved with STAND-UP 20 years ago,” Harris said. “The Policy Institute gave me the skills, mindset, and network to make this possible.”

Another person whose leadership developed in part thanks to STAND-UP is Georgia State Representative Park Cannon, who became the state’s youngest lawmaker in 2016. Cannon credits her time as an intern with STAND-UP as helping shape her leadership skills. She continues to be a leading voice on affordable housing and healthcare and received national attention after she was arrested outside Governor Brian Kemp’s office while protesting the passage of a restrictive voting rights bill in 2021.

Generating Good Union Jobs

Strong relationships with labor unions and councils are an important mechanism that can make a difference in the struggle for racial and economic justice. Our relationships with building trade unions, such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), have proven essential as we deepened our impact on workforce development. Through our spinoff workforce development agency, Trade-Up, STAND-UP is changing the lives of Atlanta residents from underinvested communities with a pre-apprenticeship program that has become a pathway to hard-to-get union-building trade jobs. Trade-Up provides training in carpentry, basic electrical, and other trades, and helps trainees with life skills.

In 2023, STAND-UP partnered with Gemini Energy Solutions to train data collectors to assess energy use in Black American churches in Georgia. STAND-UP’s workforce development programs have grown to include job training for the burgeoning green economy, such as electric vehicle charging stations and solar roof installation. These opportunities are a step forward in closing the gap for Black workers, who currently hold 9 percent of energy jobs, compared to 13 percent of jobs across the economy.

STAND-UP is also opening paths for workers impacted by the justice and penal system, who need a second chance to find jobs. Due to systemic racism, mass incarceration creates barriers that can lead to a cycle of unemployment for Black people across the state. These prospective workers can fall behind on child support payments because of incarceration and also lose driving privileges. Many building-trade jobs start early in the morning and require workers to have a car or accessible mass transit. Trade-Up’s pre-apprenticeship programs and transit expansion advocacy—along with support in obtaining job uniforms, cell phones, and other needs—can help workers address these challenges.

This work also involves building alliances with political leaders where possible. For example, last September, Trade-Up, Atlanta’s Mayor Andre Dickens, local labor leaders, and then Acting US Labor Secretary Julie A. Su came together to sign a shared commitment to creating better job quality and livable wages in the city. This move was another example of STAND-UP’s deep relationship and commitment to coalition building across labor, community, and government groups.

Earlier that year, the city awarded STAND-UP one of the first Labor Rights Education Program micro-grants to educate workers on the power of unions. STAND-UP also envisions partnering with city officials as Atlanta prepares to host eight games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, advocating for fair labor practices, agreements, and protections that include Black workers. Ensuring that local workers benefit from the influx of jobs when infrastructure projects occur is essential.

The Work Ahead

We are proud of Georgia STAND-UP’s work over the past two decades. We also recognize that challenges persist for Black families in accessing jobs, healthcare, transportation, and housing. And of course, in 2025, all signs point to significant shifts in federal funding that will have a stark impact on our communities.

How can nonprofit leaders, organizations, philanthropists, and others in the ecosystem not only avoid setbacks but also make progress during this time? While STAND-UP is also navigating this uncharted territory, here are some areas we are leaning into based on our experience over the years.

Of course, federal threats to nonprofit funding affect nonprofits in all regions, but perhaps disproportionately so in the South, where nonprofits on average rely more on revenue from government agencies than any other region in the United States. At STAND-UP, we are making hard and strategic choices to focus where we can have the most impact. Our approach moving forward can best be summarized as “think globally, stay aware nationally, but act locally.”

We have always sought to change policies at all levels of government, which has built a strong foundation for us at the municipal and county levels. Time will tell how voting rights and other national issues will play out, but we do know that focusing on education, affordable housing, jobs, and other measures in city halls and on school boards will likely be a more effective use of resources.

Federal shifts should not stall all progress—cities and states still have opportunities to invest in apprenticeships, workforce programs, and equitable hiring. We understand the connection among federal, state and municipal funding and that possible cuts to Medicaid will continue to demand our attention. Yet strong coalitions and cross-sector collaborations that are deeply connected to local needs and levers will allow us to be more adaptable and proactive.

For philanthropy, there is no shortage of calls to step up by being proactive and flexible. As always, multiyear, unrestricted funding is essential. The need and opportunity for funders to be expansive in their thinking has never been more important. In light of federal policies shifting and potential risks to labor and equity-related grants, philanthropy must step in to sustain these vital programs or risk their disappearance.

More broadly, instead of assuming needs, funders should provide space for groups to adapt, build, and sustain sound organizations by supporting leadership training, capacity building, board development, and succession planning. Bridge funding is critical for groups losing funding—as is investment in digital security, legal resources, and scenario planning.

In the current political context, it may be difficult to see light at the end of the tunnel even with our best efforts. Yolanda Pickstock, STAND-UP’s legislative director (formerly a leader of the American Federation of Government Employees and STAND-UP Policy Institute participant), is already seeing the heightened anxiety across different groups.

Still, she stays hopeful and focused. “In the midst of chaos, people are willing to consider change because they have no choice,” Pickstock said. “I don’t see this as a time for fear. It’s a time for deep and abiding change.”

The work continues. When movement leaders, nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and others in our ecosystem strategically come together to use our power, we can ensure that we move the South and the entire country in the right direction in the face of today’s unprecedented challenges.