In May, Community Engagement Specialist Noemi Sanchez and Litigation Director Denise Diskin attended Inatai’s Constellations Conference in Spokane. The gathering brought together more than 700 participants from over 300 organizations representing nearly every county in Washington State. Rooted in the leadership of impacted communities, the conference created space for organizers, advocates, service providers, and community leaders to learn from one another, build relationships, strengthen movements and build power for change.
We came into Constellations with a few clear goals: to build new relationships, strengthen existing ones, learn from emerging approaches to power-building, and think alongside partners from across the state. What stayed with us most, though, was a message that came up again and again in different ways: everyone has a role to play in change. No single organization or strategy can hold it all. Meaningful change happens when people and organizations bring their different strengths to a shared vision.
One of the most impactful discussions focused on power-building. We explored the question: What is power for? Rather than defining power as influence or visibility, presenter Keron Blair described power as the organized people, relationships, resources, and collective action needed to turn a vision into reality. Real power is not measured by how many people know your name or agree with your values – it is measured by your ability to bring people together and create meaningful change. The discussion stayed with us in part because it challenged us to think about how people actually get there: how someone moves from watching to participating, and from participating into leading.
For Noemi, this framework underscored how different organizations contribute to broader movements for justice. No single organization can build power alone. Community organizations, organizers, legal advocates, service providers, and directly impacted leaders all bring different strengths and play different roles.: At CLS, our role is not to hold the whole strategy, but to bring legal and policy tools where they can help communities build power, defend hard-won protections, and challenge systems causing The conference offered space to sit with what that means in practice—not just what we do, but how our work fits alongside so many others trying to build community power and support long-term change.
Reflecting on these conversations, Denise found herself returning to the idea of ecosystems. In a healthy ecosystem, every element has a role. Some provide stability, some create connections, some nurture growth, and some help systems adapt and change. The same is true in movements for justice. Community organizations, legal aid providers, advocates, organizers, and impacted communities all play different but interconnected roles. Understanding our place within that ecosystem helps us build stronger partnerships, recognize the strengths of others, and work together toward shared goals.
The biggest theme that stayed with us was how intentional power-building really is. The organizations doing this well are not just showing up—they are clear about relationships, clear about purpose, and honest about what they can and cannot do alone. That connects deeply to CLS’s work in community lawyering, where legal strategy only makes sense when it is grounded in relationships and shaped alongside the communities most impacted by injustice.
We left Spokane feeling both energized and grounded. Energized by the people we met and the conversations we had. Grounded in the reminder that this work is slow, relational, and shared. Constellations made something simple feel true in a deeper way: change is not built by any one of us. It is built when we understand our role, honor the leadership of impacted communities, and keep showing up to one another over time with care, clarity and shared commitment to something better.
Recent Comments