Resuscitating the Heart of Organizing in Richmond
FIERCE residents are strengthening relationships, practicing the organizing cycle, and building the skills needed for coordinated community action.
“There is power in patience, organizing, and collective action.”
For Tashii, FIERCE’s Lead Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, these principles sit at the heart of effective community organizing. They also reflect the work unfolding through this year’s Resident Organizing Training.
Parents, neighbors, and community advocates have gathered consistently to learn alongside one another, strengthen their relationships, and develop the skills needed to build collective power in Richmond.
Building Power One Conversation at a Time
This year’s training is guided by the theme Resuscitating the Heart of Organizing, adopted from the In Advance Network.
For FIERCE, the theme centers a return to the relational work that makes sustained community action possible. Residents are learning how meaningful conversations, trust, patience, and shared purpose can create the foundation for stronger campaigns.
-
These discussions give residents space to listen closely, understand one another’s experiences, and identify the concerns that connect people across a community.
-
They gather information, ask questions, and build a deeper understanding of the systems and decisions shaping their neighborhoods.
-
Participants learn how coordinated campaigns can bring residents together around a shared goal, engage decision-makers, and create opportunities for community voices to influence change.
-
Helping organizers examine what they learned, identify what worked, and prepare for their next steps.
Learning From Collective Action
Participants have also explored how this community organizing approach has supported advocacy campaigns across California, including educator-led efforts that began in West Contra Costa and expanded across the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
These examples demonstrate how patient, relationship-centered organizing can grow from local conversations into broader collective action. They also reinforce the importance of research, strategy, and campaign unity when communities are working toward long-term change.
Strengthening Community Leadership
A consistent group of residents has continued showing up throughout the training, with parents, neighbors, and advocates contributing their experiences and learning from one another.
Through each conversation and exercise, participants are strengthening their ability to identify shared concerns, build relationships, gather information, and move toward coordinated action. These skills support community power that reflects the voices, experiences, and evolving needs of Richmond residents.
As Tashii reflected, building lasting change takes patience, organizing, and collective action. Resident Organizing Training gives community members space to practice all three while forming relationships that can carry their work forward.
FIERCE will continue creating opportunities for residents to learn, organize, and take action together. Visit our Events page to find upcoming trainings and community gatherings.
