As many of you who read this site know, since the Movement Vision Lab and I left the Center for Community Change in January 2010, I’ve been contemplating the most strategic role that I can play to advance social change in America.
I believe that significant, transformational social change only happens through significant, transformational mass social movements — the kind we’ve had in American history but don’t have today.
And what’s clear is that, among many movement elements missing in the progressive field today, every major social movement in the history of America or anywhere else in the globe has had a robust program of consciousness raising. Whether it was the 40,000+ paid political educators who traveled the Midwest during the Populist Movement to explain why the economy was failing small farmers. Or the Brookwood Labor College the radicalized workers leading to the union movement in the early 1900s and inspired Civil Rights leaders to create the Highlander Center which played a similar role in that movement. Or the feminist consciousness raising groups organized in living rooms across America in the 1970s.
Progressive social movements by their very nature struggle against the dominant ideology and philosophy of the status quo. In order to build an informed and active mass movement, we not only need alternative ideas and analysis — but alternative ideas and analysis that are delivered in a compelling, accessible and popular way.
With this in mind, I present for your feedback a working concept paper on the Movement Vision Lab’s “Center for Popular Popular Education.” Read it. Share it. And then fill this page with comments — your constructive thoughts on the movement analysis within this proposal and the sets of activities proposed as a response. In the Freirian tradition, popular education (let alone a proposal to do popular education) can’t just be a one-way street!
I’ve posted the entire proposal, including the proposed budget, to be as transparent and participatory as possible in developing this plan. In addition to seeking feedback on the concept, I am currently soliciting funding — so if you’re reading this and have feedback you want to share privately OR would like to provide funding (at any level) please contact me.
A final thanks to the organizations that have already endorsed the Center for Popular Popular Education and expressed enthusiasm to work with us going forward. There’s a great field of groups that already do political education in some form and a great field of groups who want to do more. We’re excited to join the mix!
If you like it, share it!
9 Responses to Proposal: Center for Popular Popular Education
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The basis of human rights is that we treat other people the way we want people to treat us. The focus of effective activism centers on this axiom and on helping people, rather than just pushing through a legislative agenda. As Jesus, Gandhi and King all three pointed out, people must be changed from the inside and have a proper vision and focus in order to achieve effective change.
I tell you Sally I am not one so much with the Ideas, However I am supportive of yours or one of your followers that get to the heart of awareness . I am for positive movement and will demonstrate this with deeds and words. This is what I know President Obama may be more Progressive then any one is giving him credit for. What ever this movement may become I don’t think it is wise to do a end and around him in-fact I think one of the first things we should do is offer him to give his blessing. Giving what we do Waite and respect. I believe this President is verifiable Progressive and to offer him the opportunity to bless this Progressive movement will prove that we are right about this President. Not saying that you alone can’t do it. But you said that you wanted a robust program of consciousness raising. What can be more bang for the buck the President Obama.
Dear Ms Kahn
I fully agree with your analysis and strategy, especially forming networks of collaborating orgs, institutions and powerful individuals to carry the message. I hasten to point out however that there is a critically important missing ingredient. It is all to common in efforts of this sort: we are squandering much effort, good intent and precious resources on mere ‘symptoms’, without attacking the true, ROOT CAUSES of them. It is a tragic waste of opportunities to solve what I perceive to be extremely urgent, time-sensitive issues.
I submit that given sufficient talent and energy applied to analyzing our problem spectrum to identify Root Causes, progressive orgs can vastly improve effectiveness with great economy and gain huge leverage across the problem spectrum. As I conjure the vision, I can see Clarity and Truth neutralizing neocon b.s. and even the agents of corporatism.
I won’t labor you further at this point, but will wait and see how this unfolds.
Thank you for your dedication and work in support of American democracy.
-s-
Dear Ms Kahn
I fully agree with your analysis and strategy, especially forming networks of collaborating orgs, institutions and powerful individuals to carry the message. I hasten to point out however that there is a critically important missing ingredient. It is all too common in efforts of this sort: we are squandering much effort, good intent and precious resources on mere ‘symptoms’, without attacking the true, ROOT CAUSES of them. It is a tragic waste of opportunities to solve what I perceive to be extremely urgent, time-sensitive issues.
I submit that given sufficient talent and energy applied to analyzing our problem spectrum to identify Root Causes, progressive orgs can vastly improve effectiveness with great economy and gain huge leverage across the problem spectrum. As I conjure the vision, I can see Clarity and Truth neutralizing neocon b.s. and even the agents of corporatism.
I won’t labor you further at this point, but will wait and see how this unfolds.
Thank you for your dedication and work in support of American democracy.
-s-
I absolutely agree with everything you said and your plan.
I am living Grassroots Democrat. HCR Advocate, Disabled, Husband Unemployed since Nov. 2008.
I am so Grassroots that I have been living Plan “B” which I have been conceptualizing for years.
Plan “B”
If all goes according to plan within 6 – 8 months my son and I will have relocated permanently to CA. The weather will be infinately better for his health and mine(he has Marfan syndome, I have a degenerative spine condition. His father, my hubs will re-locate when our house in midwest sells or when he finds a job–whichever comes first. If possible, if our house sells, we may purchase a small business in CA, or start one. If this happens we will actually be creating jobs, in a community which needs good jobs. So we will be part of the solution—small business creating jobs and spurring economic growth. Part of the solution….We cound not have even imagined being able to do that under Bush. The difference is pure and simple—affordable healthcare. Without having laws that would allow us, as a TRUE small business, to be able to provide healthcare insurance for employees we could not be a part of the solution.
But that is just the start….As we grow, we are looking forward to helping our new community with many opportunities to co-venture with Non-Profits/Fundraising in the areas of Hosting Events, Mentoring, Free Classes, and teaching leadership and entrepreneurial skills via Internships and Apprentices in many areas including, but not limited to, Non-profit management, Art, Computer skills, Music, Metalsmithing, Community Farming. And more…Want to know more?
Contact me via twitter @stefpark
or email Stefpark1@yahoo.com
OBAMA – - The President America needs now
This little piece is interesting but I am confused. You are a Chief Education Officer, yet you educated no one here. You simply made statements with no regard of any facts for people who are unwilling or just too stupid to understand anything else. Lets look and see just how well your assertions stand up to the reality of the situations, shall we.
3.2 million jobs created. 800,000 by the president himself and 2.4 million with the economic stimulus. The CBO has a dubious record to say the least. And will most always tell the present administration just what they want to hear. Their method of calculating
“job creation” is one of the worst examples of “book cooking” in the civilized world. Government jobs were saved which by and far were the greatest beneficiaries of this stimulus bill. That in itself will never motivate an economy. What are these jobs? Where are they? How long did they last? Why is unemployment still at 9.5%. YOU EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
“32 million more Americans now have health insurance….” The full scope of this health insurance sham will not take effect until 2014, if it makes it that far. Until then people WILL be without health insurance. Insurance companies are not required to provide insurance and as for any Government option coming into play, doctors can not be required to accept it. Just like many doctors no longer accept Medicare or Medicaid. YOU EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
“Big banks can no longer pocket exorbitant profit’s while passing off the costs of risks to taxpayers”, and “toxic financial products wont trick consumers and poison our economy”. Business has always found ways around Government interference and they always will. There would be no risks to the tax payers if the government did not back the risk takers in the first place. Consumers would not be tricked if the government did not guarantee the tricksters, and the consumer paid more attention in the schools we spend so much money on. YOU EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
“President Obama persuaded BP….” President Obama strong-armed BP into wasting money on an accident which turned out to be far less than what the world was lead to believe.
“And rescued General Motors to the point GM is now selling public stock and repaying the Government“. The president rescued the UAW. Why should he have done it at all? Of course people are buying GM stock, the government is guaranteeing its survival. They need to buy GM cars, which they are not doing in great numbers. So in time GM stock will become artificially overpriced and it will come tumbling down again, this time for good. YOU HAVE EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
“The president ended the war in Iraq….” Last I heard there are still over 50,000 American troops in Iraq and they are still getting killed. The dates for withdrawal were set before Obama was elected. YOU HAVE EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
“The only way to get the economy going is with Government spending that creates jobs and puts money in the hands of working people”. If just getting money into the hands of
“working people” (whatever that is) was the answer, then why not just skip the jobs part altogether. Why not just print more money and give it out. That would work right?
YOU HAVE EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
“President Obama’s spending has wisely focused not only on short term stimulus, but also long term economic growth which will generate budget surplus in the future and pay down the gap”. This statement is so ambiguous it defies any explanation. With about 100 trillion dollars in unfunded mandates coming in the near future, and a GDP which at present is only $14 trillion just how will that be achieved any time soon or if at all? YOU HAVE EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
“What we need is a strong leader who understands the role of government….” What we need is a population which understands its government’s role. The other way around is how dictators are put in office. “Who can unite us across our differences and inspire us….” A population who falls in love with their leader have done one of two things, they have either elected a dictator, or anointed a king. There is no middle ground here. YOU HAVE EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
“If your family was doing fine until recently, you have presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Johnson to thank”. You could really do with some education on FDR and LBJ, but that’s for another time. Social Security= broke and littered with fraud. Medicare= broke and littered with fraud. Collective bargaining laws= outdated and destroyers of jobs. Home ownership incentives= the cause of the housing bubble in the first place. Improvements in public education= based on studies too numerous to count, a failure you must be a proud product of. YOU HAVE EDUCATED NO ONE IN THIS.
So with all this said, just what kind of education does a Chief Education Officer supply? For that matter, exactly what is a Chief Education Officer? I gave you numbers and logic for my rational. You only gave statements with absolutely nothing to make a rational decision about them at all. That’s not education, its called indoctrination, or years ago it was known by another name, propaganda.
Therefore one must conclude, YOU HAVE EDUCATED NO ONE IN ANYTHING.
Regards,
Erick Brisson
Thanks for all your work Sally. I very much agree with your report and your ideas that we need to shift the political consciousness of the majority of the people. I live in Canada and spent the last three years in a group that I cofounded watching our city government. Boy what an eye opener –and a slap in the face also. It has also been my conclusion that our people really need to be educated on what our politicians are really doing (voting records and the truth about who they are really representing). We need to get people in touch with the truth and then teach them how to vote in leaders that are moral, ethical and have real community values. Most of the organizations that I know of keep on fighting issue after issue (as we did for over two years) but now I know that the only way for true progressive change is to put all the attention in our leadership—treat it as a matter of upmost importance and not just a fast tick on the ballot. You want to change the world—we need to change the leaders—and that means city leaders and up. And we need to make our population not feel fear that they will suffer financial strife if they vote for these progressive leaders. Well I forgot to mention that we need to find, support and mentor good leaders. I am taking a break right now due to being overwhelmed (burn out) with the “truth” about politics but I want to continue this idea in the future if I can get support from some other progressive politicians, organizations, and influencers in our city. I thank you again and look forward to more information on the steps that need to be taken to start an education process. We need to get more people to buy into this vision!!!
Why does everyone who comments on this site write to much? Do they think people care what they think enough to read poorly formated writing?
to=too please don’t correct me