By Chris Crass (January 31, 2017)
There are demonstrations taking place all over the country today and remember 10 people demonstrating in a rural community, small town or the suburbs, where I grew up, can have a powerful impact, like the hundreds and thousands in cities. When we act as movement, like Black Lives Matter, like Standing Rock, like the protests this weekend, all of our actions, donations, joining of organizations, rising as congregations, speaking up for justice with family and friends, all of it converges and builds the overall momentum and amplifies all of what we do.
Now is the time to invite people in our lives to take action, bring people with us! Each of us has examples of a time when someone invited us in, made a direct ask to get involved, and it powerfully impacted our lives.
Now is the time for radicals and socialists to further rise as leaders who love our people and deserve to lead our people, to radicalize liberals, to move Dem elected officials left and into the streets, to turn the centrists into liberals, make moderate Republicans ambivalent and begin questioning, and take the wind out of the GOP’s sails…
Let us invite people from our different communities into the work, provide resources, and play an active role to helping ourselves and others embrace and understand intersectional analysis, through action and reflection in these times. Key to this is connecting people to the leadership, vision, stories and analysis of women of color leaders moving our movement forward. People learn much faster when they are in motion, with others, for justice.
Learning experientially in our/their hearts, minds and bodies what solidarity, multiracial democracy, collective liberation means and feels like and the challenges we must overcome (from anti-Black racism in all of white society, to sexism undermining women’s leadership in the movement, to the right wing in power crushing our communities).
For liberatory people power! Let’s build y’all!