Significance: The African-American community of Ohio faces many socioeconomic disparities, impeding upon social mobility. Community organizing is a solution that combats various societal issues. Current literature states that the best method for involving marginalized or oppressed groups is to have them lead their own movements. Literature relating to African-American organizing believes cultural empowerment is a key factor for mobilization. This study examines the best practices of community organizing for the African-American population in Northeast Ohio. The focus is on enrollment, engagement, tactics, internal, and external factors used to gain wins for communities.

Method: This study uses both primary and secondary research. This includes the researcher’s active participation at organizer training. The study includes an interview sample of community organizers from the local cities of Akron, Cleveland, and Warren. The interviews uncover how and why the respective organizations gained membership, revealed effective organizing tactics, and made accomplishments through their organizations.

Results: Two active participant observations were conducted. The number of attendees were 20 and 110 respectively. The researcher compiled notes regarding the participants’ motives and had conversations with both organizers and prospective organizers. Three formal interviews were conducted, where interviewees were asked questions about enrollment, engagement, tactics, internal, and external factors. While the researcher aims to interview seventeen more organizers, there has been themes from both the observations and interviews aligning with the conclusions from the literature.