Across the country, in all 50 states, organizers for Barack Obama are building committees in villages, small towns, cities and large metropolitan areas. The structure is simple and effective.
This is how it works: (1) organizers are sent into an area where they begin cold contacting people who have signed up for the campaign online, (2) When they establish a group of people who are willing to do some work they hold a organizing meeting and make these individuals "team captains." (3) each of these "captains" are then responsible for recruiting a five person committee with these positions: Team Captain, Data Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, Resource Coordinator, Phone Bank Coordinator, Canvass Coordinator (4) Groups are given responsibility for areas where they live usually based on wards and precinct maps from the city etc. (5) from here the different teams begin to organize different events e.g. canvassing, phone banks, house parties, persuasion parties, anything to get people together. (5) calls are made based on voter registration lists usually supplied through the Democratic Party. Here in Michigan that list is known as the Voter Activation Network (VAN) (6) The entire effort of this structure is geared toward Get Out The Vote (GOTV) on election day.
So here we have a well-documented, successful and proven method of organizing and mobilizing people to accomplish an agreed upon goal, in this case electing Barack Obama president. With the Obama campaign there is a emphasis in their meetings on telling personal stories, i.e. why they are here, what Barack Obama means to them personally etc. All of this is important because it creates a sense of belonging as well as an emotional investment in the future success of the campaign.
How easy would it be for Xicano organizers working in grassroots organizations to take this same model and apply it in the neighborhoods and towns where they live? In the society we live in, this is one well established route to political power. It is not rocket science, but it does take determination, hard work and the ability to try new things to make this happen. Unfortunately, that is where many of us fall short. If we see someone doing work and we think (usually based on political differences) that person is a vendido then we (unfortunately) make the connection their process is also corrupt and or not worth learning.
There are of course many different ways to approach this so my goal here is not try and press on anyone this is the way, it is one way and it is something we as a community are not looking at on a large scale. The bottom line is this type of organizing can provide something RAZA isn't used to seeing - victory.
Anytime we are working in a community, even if it is one we grew up in there must be a recognition of power differentials. So within organizing developing a pedagogy or a way of teaching is vital to our personal and community success. Paolo Freire, the Brazilian educator was very clear about this in his advocacy for talking circles among other things said, "The revolutionary's role is to liberate and be liberated with the people - not to win them over" (Freire).
How often do we go to RAZA with unrealistic goals about revolution, Aztlan, things people are not prepared to think or talk about. Using the strategy above and applying it even to organizations that already exist would provide another outlet for the frustration and hopelessness people feel. Our job is not to provide people with answers. It is to work along side others to create organization.
Change is inevitable - how that change is made is what we have control over.
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