Why community power is fundamental to advancing racial and health equity

This three-part series highlights learnings from Lead Local: Community-Driven Change and the Power of Collective Action, a collaborative effort funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that convened well-respected local organizations and leaders in the fields of community organizing, advocacy, and research to examine the relationship between health and power building. Building on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Community Power in Population Health Improvement workshop in January 2021, priority areas for action are shared to make progress toward, and further an understanding of, community power building for health and racial equity.
This commentary, which opens the series, unpacks how and why community power building is more durable than community engagement for transforming local community conditions and advancing health and racial equity. The discussion paper shows how the power-building ecosystem works in practice, showcasing examples of state and local power-building organizations and campaigns nationwide and reflecting on how actors who exist beyond the organizing ecosystem (e.g., researchers) can play a critical role in advancing movement aims (Pastor et al., 2022). The closing commentary reinforces the essential principles and values for effective and authentic partnering with the field, emphasizing the intersections between health, structural racism, and power (Farhang and Morales, 2022). (author description) #P4HEwebinarNovember2023