The work of community organizers is daunting. Late nights. Endless knocking on doors. Rallies and protests to protect our healthcare, ensure we all have enough food to eat and keep our families whole, safe and thriving.

We use our voice a lot.

We use it to call together our neighbors and friends.

We use it to call out politicians who seek to divide us by blaming people based on where they are from, the color of their skin or how hard it is for them to make ends meet.

Often the work of community organizers is unsexy. But these leaders know the real power is in rolling up our shirtsleeves, manning phone banks, mobilizing, educating, building coalitions, voting and getting out the vote, voting again.

Today, we are launching a weekly space to share the stories of our frontline leaders in the fight for a more just and progressive country.

Here you will find essays from powerful cultural voices in the field to remind you of the big and small things we can do to work toward justice and change.

You will read about local leaders in rural parts of the country who are standing up for racial justice and good jobs for everyone. You will hear from pastors who defend the rights of families to access federal resources such as food stamps as a moral responsibility. You will see videos from community activists working to make sure everyone can see a doctor when they need it and graphics from migrant students showing how we all contribute to our communities.

Mothers stretching their income to make ends meet, grandmothers fired up and ready to bring positive change in their communities, we are storytelling from the inside out rather than the outside in, reporting on our own communities—places and people we all know well.

We are building power from the ground up. And it starts with all of us.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the Voices of Everyday Leaders.