During the General Election, Republican candidate for Vice President Sarah Palin inadvertently did social justice movements a favor when she said, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.”
(see related article: www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-04-community_N.htm – 56k -)
While trying to take a jab at her opponent’s former occupation, she turned the spotlight on folks who work hard often for little pay to bring people together to do what they couldn’t do individually.
President Obama’s win further highlighted the work of community organizers everywhere. With the rise of a former organizer to the role of President, we at WMN asked ourselves if Community Organizing might be a model for accomplishing the things we want to see done in ’09.
WMN has always been community organizer-friendly, but during our first meeting of the year we took time to learn a little bit more about what goes into the work of an organizer by talking to Dawn Shirreffs of Clean Water Action. In the process, we also learned more about the issues that Clean Water Action works on, and followed up on what WMN members were doing around the issue of the Parkland Development and the Urban Development Boundary (UDB).
Dawn identified some key questions and points that anyone thinking about taking on an issue in their community should keep in mind. Here is some paraphrasing of the steps she outlined at the meeting
1. Identify a problem
2. Decide what you want. What is the ‘ask’?
3. You don’t have to be an expert. Instead, tap someone who is an expert. Enlist their help.
4. Who can help you? Who has power?
5. Choose the right message and make it matter.
To learn more about Clean Water Action in Florida visit http://www.cleanwateraction.org/fl
To find out more about the UDB and the Hold the Line Campaign visit http://www.udbline.com/campaign.htm
WMN member Chassah Perez knows that all politics is local. Here’s the latest “Get It Off My Chest” member post:
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So last weekend I went to a WMN meeting. The meetings are always great because I feel really re-charged afterward. While we were talking about local politics and how they work (or don’t) for constituents, we started talking about everyday people who get super involved in their communities. The ones who go to all the meetings, know who to call to complain about this or that around the neighborhood, and work tirelessly to get speed bumps installed, street lights put up, and stop signs moved (for example).
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The point is these people know how to get things done, and more often than not they have the time to dedicate to figuring it out. They’ve sat on hold, sent dozens of letters, and yes, have gone to all the meetings.
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But, we don’t all have that kind of time to figure it out. To “figure out” civic participation, how to interact with the bodies that govern our local communities, to get what it is we want done. But maybe we also haven’t identified the thing that stirs us locally, that makes our pulse pound, causes us to talk the ear off of our best friend or inspires us. Maybe we each need to start by identifying our own personal “stop sign.”
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What’s your “stop sign”?
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What’s the thing that you want to see changed where you live? What do you wish was different?
We all know that procrastination is truly an art form, plus you have been really busy lately, you have a headache, family in town, you haven’t gotten around to it yet…. your goldfish has been sick whatever… the road to ruin is paved with good intentions!
Ok granted that was a little heavy and melodramatic but I feel I must remind you all that:
TODAY OCTOBER 6th, 2008 IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE.
You can go online print out the form and then get your butt to a postoffice near you - make sure it is postmarked by 5 pm today!
Seriously this is it – if for some reason you have missed the door to door canvassers, the last day to register parties or somehow failed to notice that there is in fact an election going on today is the day to snap out of it! oh and do your civic duty… pass this missive on to everyone you see!
“One of the things we think is cool about the Voting Vixen is that we were using consumer tactics that are used against us in terms of creating need and desire to purchase things, so we tried to use that and harvest that power for good,” said Sophie Brion, director of the Miami Women’s Movement Now.
Only about two months to go before the general election. Let’s get out the vote!
August 26 is Women’s Equality Day and also Florida’s primary election, with important issues like the Children’s Trust on the ballot.
Our friends MI-LOLA have created a Get Out the Vote campaign: Call. Email. Text. For Women’s Equality Day.
Check out their super cute video:
What’s Women’s Equality Day?
Women’s Equality Day commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave U.S. women full voting rights in 1920. More. What’s in this August election… Isn’t all the important stuff in November?
No! If you’re concerned about education, healthcare, the economy, or local or statewide issues, there will be something on the ballot that should matter to you. Where do I find information about what will be on the ballot? Miami-Dade County Broward County Palm Beach County
We admit that we have neglected this lovely bloggy blog for the past month or so… the “quiet” summer, filled with time to “catch up” never materialized. We’ve been busy. Please send some links to wmnblog@gmail.com – so we can start adding some new info!
This video is a montage of cable news clips called “Sexism Sells – But We’re Not Buying It,” produced by the Women’s Media Center. It is amazing.
Found via Judith Warner’s Domestic Disturbances column for nytimes.com… a lovely critique of the “bubbling idiocy” of Sex and the City “sugar-coating it all in Blahniks and Westwood, and yummy men and yummier real estate” and the media coverage of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Is this why I keep getting emails about smart women’s husbands running for office? Check out the Brookings Institution report: “Why Are Women Still Not Running for Public Office?”. (How scholarly of us… thanks, Emily!)
Check out the following 05/27/08 commentary by Caryl Rivers from Women’s E-News and let us know what you think.
(WOMENSENEWS)–The presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Clinton has some disturbing messages for uppity women in the United States.
The reality that a woman is so close to the top political post in the country–perhaps even the world–has stirred up old ideas about the danger of female power and about woman’s proper place in society. The backlash is sending a retro cloud across a number of fronts.
I’d been hearing from female friends–some of whom do not support Hillary–that the backlash surprised them. Keep reading →
