Ithaca’s community organizers, activists, Black farmers and more have transformed the community in ways big and small. And they have stories to tell.
A new book, “13 Leaders: Stories of Community Building for Systemic Change,” published by Cornell students, honors the journeys and life’s work of 13 Cornell Civic Leader Fellows – grassroots leaders who have played critical roles in developing resilient communities in and around Ithaca.
The book is the product of five years of work by undergraduate students majoring in development sociology in the Department of Global Development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, who documented the oral histories of local community leaders as part of their senior capstone course, Agents of Change: Community Organizing for the Public Good.