The Color in Miami: Building Grassroots Leadership of Color in the U.S. Global Justice Movement1

Much of the global justice movement (GJM) constituency is white, middle-class, and college-educated, seeming to suggest a failure to engage low-income communities of color most negatively affected by globalization in the U.S. Drawing on recent innovations in social movement theory and a unique empirical base of interviews, focus groups, and participant observation with emerging grassroots leadership, we examine the constraints faced by community-based organizations (CBOs) in these communities and outline recent successful efforts to integrate a global perspective into their mission and vision. We suggest that these efforts can lead to a complementary partnership between NGOs, organized labor, and CBOs that will further empower the GJM in the U.S.