Grace Lee Boggs

Author, social activist, 1915-2015

Dr. Grace Lee Boggs (1915-2015) was a Chinese-American author and social activist whose work has prompted people to think about their role as advocates. Deeply rooted in Detroit, she spent decades addressing issues like labor rights, racial justice, and urban revitalization, always centering the voices of marginalized communities. Boggs believed advocacy was about envisioning and building new, more equitable systems. Her approach emphasized long-term relationship-building, local empowerment, and the idea that social change required both personal transformation and collective action. In her book, The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century, Boggs wrote “Movements are born of critical connection rather than critical mass.” 

JIL’s work is driven by connection and collaboration. At our in-person Innovation Accelerator convenings, we encourage participants to work together to solve the hard problems facing their jurisdictions. We bring together a wide range of system actors: prosecutors, impacted voices, researchers, and more — all with the goal of developing innovative, well-informed solutions that serve the communities in which we work.