Last October a group of primarily Latina mothers sat in at this Chicago public school to get the school district to build a library and community center instead of selling part of the school property to a neighboring private school. Last October a group of primarily Latina mothers sat in at this More

Tom Olin Participants in ADAPT, a grassroots disability rights group, demonstrate against proposed cuts to Medicaid in Washington, D.C. Tom Olin. / Participants in ADAPT, a grassroots disability rights group, demonstrate against proposed cuts to Medicaid in Washington, D.C. More

Laura Bowman Salzsieder Members of a Victim Offender Education Group graduating class of 2010 in San Quentin prison pose with facilitators Rochelle Edwards (at front), Jaimee Karroll (at back), and Jack Dison (far left). Laura Bowman Salzsieder. / Members of a Victim Offender Education Group More

White House/Pete Souza A diverse coalition of identity groups came together to elect Obama, but once in office, the president hewed closely to the expectations of Washington establishment insiders such as Timothy Geithner and Gene Sperling (pictured here in the Oval Office). White House/Pete More

Sonja Murphy ( sonjamurphy.com ) Abolitionist groups reached beyond the abolition of slavery toward deeper ideas of racial equality, actively incorporating escaped slaves and ex-slaves into their organizations. “This is the main reason I call them the first American Left,” Zaretsky writes More

Creative Commons/Amigos da Terra Brasil The United States owes much of its current protest culture to influences from grassroots mobilizations led by peasants, indigenous peoples, and women’s groups in Latin America. Creative Commons/Amigos da Terra Brasil. / The United States owes much of its More

Claire Lembach Tsewang Rigzin Lagruk, former president of the Ladakh Ecological Development Group, works the earth with Helena Norberg-Hodge in Sankar, Ladakh. Claire Lembach. / Tsewang Rigzin Lagruk, former president of the Ladakh Ecological Development Group, works the earth with Helena More

Foster Care Alumni of America Current and former foster care children reflect on their experiences through a group art project organized by Foster Care Alumni of America (see page 14 for more postcards from the same project). Foster Care Alumni of America. / Current and former foster care More

Foster Care Alumni of America Current and former foster care children reflect on their experiences through a group art project organized by Foster Care Alumni of America (see page 14 for more postcards from the same project). Foster Care Alumni of America. / Current and former foster care More

Foster Care Alumni of America Current and former foster care children reflect on their experiences through a group art project organized by Foster Care Alumni of America (see page 14 for more postcards from the same project). Foster Care Alumni of America. / Current and former foster care More

Foster Care Alumni of America Current and former foster care children reflect on their experiences through a group art project organized by Foster Care Alumni of America (see page 14 for more postcards from the same project). Foster Care Alumni of America. / Current and former foster care More

Foster Care Alumni of America Current and former foster care children reflect on their experiences through a group art project organized by Foster Care Alumni of America (see page 14 for more postcards from the same project). Foster Care Alumni of America. / Current and former foster care More

“Justice, peace, preservation of creation” reads the logo of the Ecumenical Network in Germany, top. Kairos Europa and Pax Christi Germany are among the twenty-five European groups to sign on to this radical liberation theology statement. “Justice, peace, preservation of creation” reads the logo More

Following Palestinians’ successful bid to join UNESCO in October 2011, construction of new homes in the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim was expedited. Human rights groups have denounced the Obama administration’s February 2011 decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution reiterating the illegality More

AP Photo/Gerry Broome What might the American Left accomplish if all our various identity groups came together in a powerful coalition? Here, activists from North Carolina sing together in protest of Republican lawmakers’ attacks on Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and education and voting rights More

White House/Pete Souza Obama pays a surprise visit to the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland in 2012. “Obama won in great part because he prevailed overwhelmingly among . . . oppressed groups who rejected the Republican Party’s plutocratic (and often sexist, racist, and homophobic) vision,” Blum More

Creative Commons/F Delventhal In an age of bank bailouts and corporate-sponsored candidacies, community farming and local politics can offer a reprieve from disillusionment. “I want a state legislator who will help my Community Supported Agriculture group get its land approved for something other More