Thirteenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

The key to sustaining leadership and community engagement within movements of social change calls for revolutionary theory that challenges responses of burn-out and despair arising from circumstances of defeat. I introduce the term ‘hope-centered community activism’ as a framework of action that places hope at the center of practice and theory of community activism and organizing, situating the activist in a position of greater possibility to achieve sustainable change within social movements. Shifting away from deficit-frameworks and damage-centered research allows for the discovery of gifts and potential that brings the hope of the future into the present moment and into the hands of those who are affected most by the plights of social injustice. Hope-centered community activism acknowledges the existence of abundance in situations of perceived scarcity and in the face of adversity; the idea that the means of change-making is ever-present in the community is promoted with the need to recognize our community in terms of its assets. Through the appreciative-inquiry of activists, faith leaders, community members, and participants of social movements in the city of South Bend, Indiana, the reconstruction of our understanding of hope within the context of activism is initiated through personal interviews, as well as through the examination of global leadership case studies.