Power U Center for Social Change

Power U Center for Social Change We are developing youth of color to lead & organize their own communities in order to build upon the Asst.

1998 Power University was formed to build an organizing base around urban issues in low-income inner-city neighborhoods.

1999 Power U Center for Social Change was incorporated as a separate, community-owned grassroots organization.

2001 Secured over $1 million in inner city school improvements.

2003 Co-founded Root Cause and sponsored 34 mile march against the Free Trade Area of the Americas

2

003 Provided alternative certified graduation for more than 140 students who met graduation requirements but were denied diplomas due to FCAT.

2003 Established the People of Color Alliance for Public Schools to work for the systemic change in the Miami-Dade public school system.

2004 Stopped toxic dumping in Wagner Creek; won the fight for a Turnpike Noise Wall

2005 Stopped the expansion of an I-95 ramp in Overtown, already devastated by I-95.

2005 Created the SCRUB program, which required a standard of excellence and accountability for clean schools and clean bathrooms.

2005 Conducted community planning session with Florida Atlantic University and Overtown residents.

2006 Submitted Environmental Community Impact Report on proposed use of public land for luxury condo development.

2006 Won first lawsuit against the City of Miami for improper bidding procedures.

2007 Won second lawsuit against City of Miami and Crosswinds Developers.

2007 Organized several town hall meetings, vigils, and marches to City Hall where residents spoke out against luxury condos requesting low-income housing.

2007 County takes back the land from City and Power U provides input to the new RFP process.

2007 Youth leaders trained by Power U conduct assessment of disciplinary practices in Booker T. Washington High School and present findings and demands to School Board, teachers, and students.

2007 Established first Overtown Renter's Association.

2009 Renter's Majority Project did a city wide survey for renters.


2010 Power U introduces a new program called Powerful Women & Families.


2011 Suspension rates have gone down this school year in part due to our pressure on school board and Vitti to make this happen. Superintendent Nikoli Vitti is disallowing the "Tardy Tank" and making principals figure out how to keep students in classes, so that they are receiving their education for the day.

2011 Power U Youth held their first community forum to end the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Pipeline.

2012 Restorative Justice trainings with people from 26 schools identified as "persistently lowest-achieving"

08/20/2026

“Who holds the power to deliver our demands, and how do we make them move?” —Maria

Last week we talked about power, and this week we sharpened the skills needed to ID who holds it and how to track the strings attached💰Check out what we covered in this week’s training (full blog drop coming soon 🤭), and what we have coming up next!

Join us NEXT Tuesday, August 25th for a training on how to sharpen our media literacy skills ✍🏽

More info and registration:
miamiworkerscenter.org/events or go to the link in our bio 💥

08/17/2026

Charter school expansion is a defining issue in this year’s school board election.

While decisions made in the Florida Legislature seek to limit the power of local government, fighting to protect public schools from private interests is essential to building healthy, thriving communities.

We won’t stop speaking up! Our public schools are worth fighting for. ✊🏾

At a recent town hall with Florida Student Power Network, we heard from candidates from D1 and D8, as they answered questions from the public.

All candidates for the school board election were invited to participate in the town hall.

“To us power is, first of all, the ability to define phenomena, and secondly the ability to make these phenomena act in ...
08/14/2026

“To us power is, first of all, the ability to define phenomena, and secondly the ability to make these phenomena act in a desired manner.”
― Huey P. Newton

This week, we kicked off Part 1 of our Deep Dive: Research for Power series. Swipe through to see what we covered, and don’t miss Part 2 next Tuesday at 6 PM, where we’ll put these insights into practice 💥 and a huge shoutout to littlesisgram for the wealth of resources that supported the making of this training series!

Register for next Tuesday: bit.ly/skillupmwcpoweru

08/11/2026

Billionaires want education to become another expense for Miami’s working families to bear. That is the last thing our communities need. Public education deserves to stay public, safe from corporate overreach.

If you are a student, parent, or alumni of
- Miami Jackson
- Hialeah-Miami Lakes
- Westland Hialeah
- Homestead
- North Miami Sr High

Comment“PAPE” for a DM/follow up invitation to take action ⬇️

Want to use your communications skills to build real people power - not just by making content, but by coaching others t...
08/11/2026

Want to use your communications skills to build real people power - not just by making content, but by coaching others to find their voice? We’re recruiting local storytellers, creatives, and communicators ready to apply their skills through an organizing framework. This is a chance to grow as a political leader, sharpen your coaching skills, and strengthen our movement alongside our community, not for them. Sign up to join the team -> email [email protected] (more info on last slide)

Join us this summer to level up on why and how you can use research to build people power. Research is essential to any ...
08/06/2026

Join us this summer to level up on why and how you can use research to build people power. Research is essential to any campaign that wants to win, and that means we all need to be practicing it! This training is open to all, whether you’re a seasoned organizer or just getting started.

Register: bit.ly/skillupmwcpoweru

08/04/2026

Charter schools are corporate schools, and “colocation” is a takeover of our public resources.

Last week at the School Board Town Hall with Florida Student Power Network , we spoke about what billionaires have planned for our public schools, and heard from candidates for the school board about how they would address issues that impact our communities — inside and outside the classroom.

The future of Miami-Dade County public schools will be determined by those willing to fight for it ✊🏾 Our schools are for EVERYBODY, not for the super-wealthy to profit from.

What do you think? Comment PAPE for a DM to take action ⚡️📣

07/30/2026

Diana is one of many public school students who want to see their peers and community get the resources they need to thrive, in and outside the classroom.

Today is Support Public Education Day, a moment to reaffirm that a well-funded, high-quality public education is the bedrock of wellbeing and opportunity for working families.

Private corporations look at the challenges our schools face, they see dollar signs. Parents are not customers, they are community members.

When our public schools thrive, so does the ability of everyday people to pursue their dreams.

Comment PAPE to get involved in the fight to defend our public schools from corporate takeovers ✊🏾

🔔 Training Opportunity! July 30 @ 6pm Being able to identify organic leaders is how we grow our teams, inspire people to...
07/24/2026

🔔 Training Opportunity! July 30 @ 6pm

Being able to identify organic leaders is how we grow our teams, inspire people to step up, strenghten our campaigns, and build lasting change.

The hard part is that true organic leaders rarely just walk through the door. So as organizers, we have to map the relationships that already exist in a community and find the people who are already leading.

Join Miami Workers Center and Power U Ctr For Social Change for a training on how to build your skills around identifying those organic leaders, mapping the informal influence already in your base, and building team structures that turn natural leadership into lasting people power.

Link to register: https://bit.ly/mwcpoweruskillup

Florida voters — if you know about how to vote has changed. Share with your people! If you want to be able to vote by ma...
07/15/2026

Florida voters — if you know about how to vote has changed. Share with your people!

If you want to be able to vote by mail, you now have to re-enroll EVERY YEAR. You must request your VBM ballot by August 6.

If you want to vote in a Democrat or Republican primary, to inform who the candidate will be in the general election, you must be registered with that political party by July 20.

Shout out to all the organizations in our ecosystem doing the important work of fighting voter suppression with information we can trust and calls to action:
⭐️ Engage Miami
⭐️ FLIC Votes
⭐️ Common Cause FL
⭐️ Power the Polls

Address

745 NW 54TH Street
Miami, FL
33127

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