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Contents: Restoring Our Capacities: How an Asset Lens Can Serve Movements Today (excerpt) by April Doner “ABCD was born in 1990 through the work of John McKnight and John (Jody) Kretzmann with the release and reaction to a large green book entitled Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets… “A core motivation … was to provide a much-needed counternarrative to the common racist perception that neighborhoods of color were helpless, hopeless communities. The “big green book” boldly challenged this “deficiency lens,” noting that successful community change starts with those who are most impacted by an issue or most invested in a possibility acting

By David Ferris From May 2-5, 2025, over 300 activists, organizers, and community members gathered in Atlanta for the Resist & Build Summit, a convergence that positioned itself at the critical intersection of resistance to growing authoritarianism and construction of alternative systems. The multi-day event, held in Atlanta’s historic West End neighborhood, leveraged the city’s rich legacy of social movements to catalyze new collaborations and strengthen existing networks. “We’re still buzzing from the brilliance, courage, and creativity that filled the space,” shared one member of the Summit Planning Circle. “This wasn’t just a conference—it was a living blueprint for liberation.” Confronting Fascism Through Collective Power Against the backdrop of intensifying

We are often forced to fight defensive battles in our movements. When your house is on fire, the immediate and urgent priority is to extinguish the blaze. Such is the case with many struggles against the present administration of President Donald Trump. Virtually everyone I know is finding ways to support—and celebrate the successes of—the vital struggles being led by federal workers, nonprofit workers, and community development financial institutions. As critical as this resistance work is, we must also confront the reality that the current system is collapsing. This means we must build a new one. The People’s Network for Land & Liberation(PNLL) coalition was formed to do just that. PNLL is a multiracial,

by Jasmine Banks and April Doner, Nonprofit Quarterly “As goes the South, so goes the nation.” This maxim may not yet be standard among political analysts, but its truth is undeniable. Nowhere is this more evident than in Atlanta, a city steeped in both radical history and corporate reinvention. Beyond the familiar narratives of a “Black Mecca” or a Democratic stronghold, Atlanta is a battleground where grassroots movements, labor struggles, and corporate influence collide. The city holds a strategic position, not just geographically but in the broader political landscape of the South, where movements for economic justice, racial equity, and abolitionist futures take shape and fight for survival. As the present

The solidarity economy movement finds itself at a critical juncture. The opportunity for a breakthrough amid crisis is real, even as social change movements today face increasing repression, fragmentation, and resource scarcity. Our challenge is survival while growing permanently organized communities to resist structural oppression and build the systems necessary for a just future. Addressing these challenges will be a central theme of an upcoming gathering likely to attract hundreds of solidarity economy practitioners from across the country. Taking place in Atlanta at the beginning of May with the theme “Solidarity at Scale: Converging our Movements for System Change,” this Resist & Build Convening aims to both refine the movement’s