Women of color leaders across the US South are bringing in wins big and small that propel us toward cleaner energy, build health and wealth in disinvested communities, and protect democratic rights.

We caught up with Ashley Shelton, leader of one of the Louisiana’s most powerful civic engagement tables, in the run-up to the state’s general election to talk about ways they are using culture and joy to galvanize voters in the face of increasing voter suppression and intimidation, efforts to restrict public input, criminalization of protest, and other attacks on democracy. 

Roanoke Cooperative, a rural electric coop (REC), has emerged as a regional leader in strategies to reduce energy use and build a cleaner grid while lowering costs for their member owners. Its work is demonstrating how, with support to innovate, pilot, and scale, RECs can serve as anchors for energy transformation in rural areas.

Opposition to planned desalination plants that would provide water for a massive fossil fuel processing and export buildout in Corpus Christi, Texas has brought together community and environmental groups in a powerful coalition that is taking on these industries and racking up important wins.

Commission Shift is one of a growing number of groups shining a light on powerful regulatory agencies that are captured by the industries they regulate, and leveraging people power to hold them accountable.

Ajulo Othow and other community leaders in North Carolina are making sure the state’s solar boom is a boon to communities that typically get left behind.

Christa Mancias and Bekah Hinojosa took Hive Fund staff to visit sites near Brownsville, Texas where three liquified natural gas export terminals and a slew of oil and gas pipelines have been proposed.

Colette Pichon Battle shares some reflections on her approach to leadership after decades of visionary organizing, legal work, and movement-building.

Mozine Lowe is leading a fight to make sure communities like hers aren’t left behind in the state’s transition to renewable energy.

We caught up recently with Ivy Major-McDowall, an inspiring young organizer in Texas, to get a first-person account of what it’s been like to organize in a battleground state during a pandemic over the last few months.

A conversation with Tamieka Atkins, executive director of ProGeorgia, about what it looks like to support staff and leadership and sustain their work in this moment. This is an excerpt from that conversation.