In this inaugural episode of Architects of Hope, host Julie Fernandes speaks with Minister JaNaé Bates Imari, co-executive director of ISAIAH and Faith in Minnesota.

Drawing on the successful efforts to force a drawdown of ICE agents from the Twin Cities earlier this year and the long fight to restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated Minnesotans, JaNaé shares lessons on how organizing – rooted in developing belonging and collective agency – transforms everyday people into leaders with the collective power to drive meaningful change.

• JaNaé shares how her work as an organizer is rooted in helping people gain a say over the conditions of their lives, homes, and communities.
• She describes ISAIAH as a “house of many rooms,” with multiple constituencies organizing together, including Muslim communities, Black churches, childcare centers, rural families, manufactured home residents, and more.
• JaNaé explains how she discovered organizing as a path forward after years of exhaustion and heartbreak working with families impacted by police violence in Cleveland.
• The conversation goes deep on Minnesota’s response to Operation Metro Surge, where clergy, business owners, labor unions, and everyday residents organized to resist ICE raids and protect neighbors.
• JaNaé and Julie talk about how nonviolent collective action, including a statewide economic shutdown, helped shift conditions and pressure decision-makers.
• The episode highlights the importance of “belonging before belief,” creating spaces where people feel safe enough to act.
• JaNaé lays out the current work to protect democracy, inoculate communities against disinformation, and prepare trusted messengers in other states.
• She closes with stories of two leaders, Imam Mohammed Omar and Pastor Martha Bardwell, as examples of people who discovered their power, used it to lead others, and built spaces for others to step into theirs.

• ISAIAH - The Minnesota-based multiracial organizing coalition described as a “house of many rooms.” https://www.isaiahmn.org/
• Faith in Minnesota - A statewide faith-based coalition working on racial justice, economic equity, and democracy. https://faithinmn.org/
• Restore the Vote Coalition - The coalition behind Minnesota’s campaign to restore voting rights to people on felony probation. https://restorethevotemn.org/
• Kids Count on Us - A childcare organizing network representing community-based childcare centers across Minnesota. https://www.kidscountonus.com/
• Muslim Coalition - A statewide organizing network of mosques and Muslim communities connected to ISAIAH. https://www.facebook.com/MuslimCoalition/
• Democracy & Power Innovation Fund (DPI Fund) - The DPI Fund is a community of organizers, researchers, and funders working to strengthen grassroots civic organizations and build the multiracial democratic practices that enable everyday people to exercise real power. https://www.dpifund.org/

The national media tells a bleak hyper-partisan story about this country. In their version of America, cynicism and division dominate the discourse. But in its work, the Democracy & Power Innovation Fund hears so many stories that give its team hope. Stories of everyday people deciding to turn their pain into power, through the practice of organizing. This podcast is a way for the Fund to lift up the work of transformative leaders from around the community who are using the strategies of organizing to drive meaningful change in their communities and across the country.

Each month on Architects of Hope, Julie Fernandes, Managing Director of the Democracy & Power Innovation Fund, sits down with leaders from across the country to tell the stories of how multiracial constituent organizing connected to advocacy and civic engagement is building powerful movements that offer hope for a better future.

Subscribe today to get monthly episodes from these leaders.