Remembering
Celebrating
In 2022, the Institute for Common Power was founded with the goal to further help Common Power ground our work in Civil Rights history and the ongoing fight for voting rights in this country. Public educational work that became the foundation for Common Power began in the mid-2000s with lectures and workshops among the general public and citizens deeply committed to an inclusive democracy. This work grew in the 2010s to add learning tours focused on civil and voting rights, in-person and online workshops activating volunteers, and trips to Washington DC to meet with elected officials. In 2020 at the height of Covid, we created from scratch a next-generation summer educational internship to be conducted online for college students who no longer receive sufficient or unvarnished civics learning. All of these pieces are with us today, and it’s been a wonderful journey!
Moving forward, Common Power’s educational work will feature (1) our national next-generation program Action Academy; (2) a new program to launch in January 2027 for the general public, “Action Assembly,” that will bring the roots of Gen Z’s Action Academy to any and all who are interested; (3) learning tours to the South focused on civil and voting rights; (4) new in-the-field education among our Action Academy graduates and our volunteer door-knocking teams. These programs are grounded in the educational philosophy that is core to Common Power: We do Frontline Education.
We’re excited to see all that our incredible colleagues accomplish with their new endeavor, and we've been honored to work together for our democracy!
A Farewell Message From Dr. Terry Anne Scott
As of September 9th, the Institute for Common Power will no longer exist. I am writing, first and foremost, to thank you for nearly five years of support. The Institute for Common Power (ICP) started as an idea not long ago and we transformed that idea into incredible, life-changing programs that we know are working to better the world. The closing of ICP is not a sad moment. Instead, it represents the beginning of something that promises to alter the lives of an untold number of people.
Earlier this summer, I was presented with an opportunity by an organization to create my own nonprofit organization that will focus primarily on forging pathways for success and opportunities for the people of Selma, Alabama, while continuing to support educators and promote history education. I accepted the offer and created the Institute for History and Equity (IHE). To further render this offer something tantamount to a dream, I am able to have my incredible team at ICP join me on this new journey. I have had the honor of traveling to Selma since 2017. Now, I have the honor of focusing our work on Selma with the incredible professionals who comprised what I have always called the “Dream Team” of ICP. Therefore, Dr. Devon Geary, Victoria Elias, Izu Sampson, and I will be starting IHE on September 10.
There are many people to thank for the work that we have been able to do at ICP. We are grateful to all of you who have joined a learning tour, attended a lecture, donated, spread the word, and more in an effort to support us. I, and the ICP team, want to thank the Common Power community for the opportunity to build the Institute. We are all very proud of the work we have been able to do over the past several years and we know that this work was done as the result of deep collaboration. I want to issue a special thanks to CoPo’s Executive Director, Charles Douglas, for providing us with the opportunity and support to dream big and strive to make monumental things happen. I also want to thank him for his leadership and steadfast commitment to creating an inclusive democracy that privileges opportunity, compassion, and parity over all else. I want to thank Dr. David Domke for bringing me into the fold of this work. We met while we were both teaching at the University of Washington. I first traveled to Selma because of him. He has provided opportunities for so many people and I appreciate that tremendously. Finally, I want to thank every member of the CoPo staff. None of the work we do occurs in a vacuum. Every person on the field work, marketing, and fin-ops teams supports everyone in the organization. We are a family of people working to fight for those whose voices are so frequently silenced.
Please know that this parting is a beautiful journey that promises to enable us, at the Institute for History and Equity, to honor a community that has given so much to America and the world. We look forward to walking with Selma into a brighter future.
Terry Anne Scott, Ph.D.
Executive Director
The Institute for History and Equity
Moving Forward…
FRONTLINE EDUCATION
Common Power is an organizing force, an intentionally designed system that, since our founding in 2018, has been built by undaunted volunteers coming together across race, generations, economics, and geography - fueled by education that inspires action. We call our learning Frontline Education, and we strategically integrate it into the DNA of our programs. Our approach draws on historical movements merged with analysis of contemporary civic and political realities. Our ultimate goals are to understand today's fights for voting and democracy, inspire people to take action, and equip our volunteers to win the most important elections of our lifetime. We, the People, must be educated, and then, in the words of the American civil rights hero John Lewis, we must “move our feet.”
Action Academy is a 10-week internship that teaches college aged students about history, politics, and how to take effective civic action with Common Power.
For years, you've asked for a cohort-based experience built on the model that made Action Academy a successful machine and we're answering that call. Education has always been at the core of who we are, not something we picked up along the way. That commitment isn't changing, if anything, it's deepening.
This isn't just another program. It brings together professors, industry experts, and organizers who understand what it actually takes to fight for our country's future.
When we travel, we don’t just knock on doors, we hear from organizers, professors, candidates, to learn more about the political landscape of the state we’re in and relevant topics that give context to our work.
CoPo offers 3 levels of Volunteer Training ranging from beginner to advanced training that equip you to engage with voters and hold leadership positions within the CoPo community.
Learning Tours take individuals across the American South for an immersive experience of US History and its implications for today’s politics. Tours go through states like Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi.