Isaac Swafford

Strategic Researcher

Isaac was born and raised in Gallatin, Tennessee. When he wasn’t at his mother’s work, Isaac spent his youth running along hay bales in country pastures on his aunt and uncle’s farm. Having observed how employers took advantage of his parents and how financial instability affected relationships within his own family growing up, he came to understand workers’ rights and economic well being as foundational to social justice. A first generation college graduate, Isaac graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 2021, having received Highest Honors from the Sociology Department for his research. His personal experiences and education taught him how systems of oppression interact with class to replicate racial and economic injustices. These lessons continue to guide his organizing work, bridging historical and contemporary divides across communities in Tennessee. Isaac has experience in mutual aid, labor contract negotiations with the Southeast Laborers’ District Council, and community organizing for sustainable development in Nashville. Isaac is a strategic researcher at Stand Up Nashville and leads the We Decide Tennessee coalition, mobilizing local elected officials across the state and building the coalition. In his free time, Isaac enjoys baking.

ARE YOU READY?

STAND UP

AND TAKE ACTION

Stand Up Nashville (SUN) addresses racial and economic inequality through strategic research, popular education, and organizing. We inspire and empower our diverse base to build a stronger community that values the lives of Nashville’s people of color and working families. By organizing our communities, SUN fights poverty with strategic action around public investment and city planning to create thriving neighborhoods and shared prosperity.
 

We will tirelessly and courageously fight injustice and organize our community to take action.

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