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Organizing for Power, Organizing for Change - Resources for organizers & trainers
Organizing for Power, Organizing for Change
  • The content of this website is based on the notes I use for training and split into “building blocks for change,” each with analysis, tools, and resources to help you apply these concepts to your organizing work. They reflect lessons from over 30 years of organizing with the student, environmental, labor, immigrant, anti-war and global justice grassroots...
  • What is Power? How does it work? Power is the ability to act. Power is not good or bad. It is how you use it and toward what end. Power unchecked or unaccountable can corrupt – it can also reveal… Power is not a zero sum game – there is not a limited amount. Power is not set, it is relational. People power has the ability to alter the relationship. Exercising our power consciously can manifest the outcomes we desire. There are different kinds of power: Power Over – that’s what the boss or state use Power With – horizontal organizing, that what we need to model and build Power Within – every single one of us has power to act. For some this is also spirit – a willingness to be fully alive, present and participating as an agent of change. Power Under – when we give up...

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    “I have come to see that violence against other living things is oppression, just as I have come to see that oppression is violence”. Oppression Oppression is when anyone regardless of their race, gender, class, age etc imposes their will against another through acts that are harmful–physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. This also plays out at a societal level where institutions use their power to exploit, deceive, enslave or imprison. To me all of these are an abuse of power. Recognizing our own oppressive behaviors and the oppressive behaviors in our community institutions is an important first step in developing into healthy, freer individuals and communities. Developing practices that liberate can build strong and powerful communities. Working toward the greater good, having a generosity of spirit and using timely and clear communication while restraining those parts of ourselves that want to act out or behave badly is key. It means...
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    Interest is something that benefits a person or group or institution or community. Self-interest is a way to cross boundaries. Not everyone has the same interests and our interests change over time We need to identify our interests and our opponent’s interests. Our problems are usually a result of our opponents’, interests. The process of achieving a solution to our problems is by making our problems their problems, or said another way, making our interests their interests. To do this we need to build an organization that has the power to act. In the workplace or community we have a problem that is not being addressed… Problem Solution They don’tknow about our problems Inform Them Bad/IncompetentManagers/Leaders Change managers/trainthem It’s in the companies/govinterest to have these problems Change their interests   Their Interests We Can Our Interests Money Cost Money Higher Wages Image Tarnish/Destroy Image Respect Doing Business Disrupt Business Job...
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    Strategy is your plan to win. Strategy is choosing the ground on which to engage the enemy Strategy means: Looking at the big picture Knowing who has the power to make the decision. Concentrating the right resources in the right place(s) at the right time(s) In Ancient Greece… Strategos = General Tacticas = Foot Soldiers Strategic campaigns are an important part of building a movement. They focus our energy on the forces that need to be changed, and can often result in some victory (big or small) or mitigation of damage. These efforts require participation and creativity. As we build power through campaigns, we model what can happen when we work together inspiring others and igniting imaginations that feed more and more organizing. The momentum of success attracts people who in general want to be aligned with those they believe have power. When we organize campaigns we build momentum...
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    The process of change has two fundamental strategies. One is dismantling structures of oppression while the second is creating structures of liberation. If we don’t have something to replace what we take down, we will lose the confidence of those we are trying to wake up. This process of waking up and engaging in consciously liberating action is when we feel most alive and inspired and connected. Whatever issue is a person’s point of entry, anyone who takes on a struggle and organizes goes through a transformative process in which the world is never the same again. It is the experience of accessing one’s own power and the power of our collective actions. It is the understanding and experience that you don’t have to just obey or believe in that external authority – be it parent, teacher, priest, cop, coach etc; – that you can trust yourself and your...
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    The Art & Science of Actions: Shutting Things Down to Open Things Up Change is about transformation – personal and political – at an individual, group, community, institutional,  national, or international level.  I have chosen direct action as my primary strategy for change because it is more effective that any other strategy I have used.  It is a rapidly and radically transforming process that has had proven success over the ages. So much of organizing has to do with SPACE — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual space. We can reclaim it, transform it, occupy it, liberate it, shut it down, open it up, shift it or just be present in it. It is the art of knowing when and where to take it, to move into it or through it, then acting without hesitation, in that moment, because you know that if you do not do it now, the...

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Jail Support & Solidarity

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:December 2, 2012
  • Post category:Action/Legal

by Midnight Special and Katya Komisaruk Jail/court solidarity is the name for a variety of tactics we use to take care of each other while we’re in the legal system. Jail/court…

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What a Direct Action Campaign Can Do

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:November 29, 2012
  • Post category:Action/Campaigns/Strategy

[tabs slidertype="top tabs"] [tabcontainer] [tabtext]What a DA Campaign can do[/tabtext] [tabtext]2 main ways DA works[/tabtext] [tabtext]Key Concepts[/tabtext] [/tabcontainer] [tabcontent][tab] Point a Spotlight Raise public awareness about an institution, program or…

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Read more about the article Action

Action

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:November 24, 2012
  • Post category:Action/Building Blocks

The Art & Science of Actions: Shutting Things Down to Open Things Up Change is about transformation – personal and political – at an individual, group, community, institutional,  national, or…

Continue ReadingAction

Action Planning Template

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:May 14, 2009
  • Post category:Action/Resources

Click Here to Download Action Planning Template Goals what are we trying to accomplish – concrete, tangible, winnable. What does victory look like? What do you want the headline to…

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Action Resources

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:May 13, 2009
  • Post category:Action/Resources

What a Direct Action Campaign Can Do Direct Action Strategy Questions Steps in a Nonviolent Direct Action Campaign & Campaign Planning Worksheet How to Write a Proposal for an Action,…

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Songs, Chants, Banners, Puppets, and more…

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:May 12, 2009
  • Post category:Action/Resources

Peace & Justice Song Sheets Songs for Social Change Rise Up Singing, a 4-page excerpt from the book Song Lyrics, from Harmonic Intervention Classic Song Sheet Peace & Justice Chants…

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History of Affinity Groups

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:December 2, 2008
  • Post category:Action/Affinity Groups/History

The idea of affinity groups comes out of the anarchist and workers movement that was created in the late 19th century and fought fascism in Spain during the Spanish Civil…

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What to Bring to An Action

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:December 2, 2008
  • Post category:Action/Resources

In a Warm Climate: Wear Layers: - Pants with deep pockets - Long pants even in hot climates. - A tee shirt and long sleeved shirt for sun protection. -…

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Solidarity in Practice

  • Post author:organizingforpower
  • Post published:December 2, 2008
  • Post category:Action/Legal/Resources

drafted in September 2001 in Washington DC; Revised 9/23/03 We are very different groups.  We are not necessarily immediate allies nor are we each other's greatest enemy.   There are many things…

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