Introducing School of Organizing, Leadership & Embodiment

The Boston Ujima Project is excited to introduce the School of Organizing, Leadership & Embodiment (SOLE). 

We understand organizing as the practice of bringing people together to transform ourselves, wield collective power, and build a just future. Within organizing, leadership is the responsibility to create the conditions for others to recognize their own power, contribute their gifts, and move together toward a shared purpose, especially in moments of uncertainty. 

Embodiment is the understanding of our body’s sensations, emotions and nervous system as the source of wisdom, connection and action. This is where our doing becomes. As we practice embodiment, we learn new skills to make decisions from our commitments rather than our learned behaviors.We hope participants are able to move from doing organizing to being an organizer. 

Grounded in Ujima’s commitment to cooperative economics, democratic participation, and the solidarity economy, SOLE is rooted in the belief that we are not only responding to the challenges our communities face, but actively building the systems, institutions, and relationships that make lasting change possible.  

SOLE aims to develop participants as embodied organizers who can connect strategy, leadership, and lived experience in service of building community-controlled futures. Through hands-on training, participants will explore their understanding of their personal stake in social change. Throughout the program, SOLE will strengthen organizing skills, deepen cooperative leadership practices rooted in accountability and community, and expand participants' capacity for embodied practice.

We recognize and honor the experiences, relationships, and organizing traditions participants already bring with them. This program creates space for participants to learn from one another, build new relationships across neighborhoods and movements, and deepen their connection to a broader ecosystem of collective action across Boston. Whether rooted in grassroots organizing, arts and cultural organizing, small business organizing, mutual aid, labor organizing, or community leadership, SOLE will assist participants in expanding their neighborhood-based organizing toolkit while staying grounded in their own strengths and ways of working that build power in the places where we live, work, rest play and gather.

Participants in SOLE will engage in:

• Political Education rooted in the living lineages of Black Radical Tradition, Indigenous  resistance movements, labor organizing, and community-led movements for justice and self-determination, as well as the political lineages and experiences each participant brings with them. 

• Relational organizing skill-building and practice, including door knocking, canvassing, follow-ups, and other forms of relational organizing. 

• Leadership development and practice grounded in accountability, care, and collective responsibility. 

• Embodiment practice that supports organizers in sustaining themselves and staying grounded in long-term struggle. 

• Ecosystem mapping, collective strategy and coordination work focused on building shared direction across campaigns, neighborhoods, and movements. 

• Community building and peer learning that strengthens trust, connection, and shared analysis across the cohort. 

• Preparation and development of the next cohort of SOLE leaders, building the capacity for participants to expand the work beyond themselves and the program itself. 

Applications for the School of Organizing, Leadership & Embodiment (SOLE) are open until  September 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST. Apply Here.

Questions? Please reach out to mari@ujimaboston.com and rei@ujimaboston.com, or join us at our Info Session on Friday, August 21, 2026 at 6 PM EST. to learn more! 

If you are looking for a space to grow as an organizer, looking to step into hands-on canvassing or just wanting to get more involved, apply now and come through!