Why is this guide relevant to you and the Salem State University Community?
So many of us would not call ourselves activists. There are many assumptions about what activism looks like. Not all of us can risk getting arrested, attending protests, or the like. But that doesn't mean we are not activists. Writing letters to political leaders, organizing a sit-in, boycotting certain products and businesses are all forms of activism. Even if what we do is small, micro-activism is super important because it can and does lead to macro-activism. Social movements take time to grow and gain strength so every little step counts.
It can be overwhelming thinking about where to start. Here is where this guide can assist you. This guide provides foundational readings on activism and social justice, ways to understand the system at play, organizations you can join in Boston (and other nearby areas) and organizations and movements on a national level. However you want to start, this guide can make the steps you take a little bit easier.
Remember, there are no perfect activists. Activism can and does take an emotional toll on our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health and because of this, there is a section of self-care. Burn-out is very real.
However you approach this guide, I hope you not only find it useful but inspiring.
Love and Resistance,
Dawn
Emergent Strategy by
In the tradition of Octavia Butler, here is radical self-help, society-help, and planet-help to shape the futures we want. Change is constant. The world, our bodies, and our minds are in a constant state of flux. They are a stream of ever-mutating, emergent patterns. Rather than steel ourselves against such change, Emergent Strategy teaches us to map and assess the swirling structures and to read them as they happen, all the better to shape that which ultimately shapes us, personally and politically. A resolutely materialist spirituality based equally on science and science fiction: a wild feminist and afro-futurist ride! adrienne maree brown, co-editor of Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements, is a social justice facilitator, healer, and doula living in Detroit.
Pleasure Activism by
How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken within ourselves desires that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life? Editor Adrienne Maree Brown finds the answer in something she calls 'Pleasure Activism,' a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work. Drawing on the black feminist tradition the contributors to this volume take up the challenge to rethink the ground rules of activism.
When We Fight, We Win by
Now, in a visually rich and deeply inspiring book, movement leaders and activists distill their wisdom, sharing lessons of what works and what hinders transformative social change.
Acting Out! by
Teachers from urban, suburban, and rural districts join together in a teacher inquiry group to challenge homophobia and heterosexism in schools and classrooms. To create safe learning environments for all students they address key topics, including seizing teachable moments, organizing faculty, deciding whether to come out in the classroom, using LGBTQ-inclusive texts, running a Gay-Straight Alliance, changing district policy to protect LGBTQ teachers and students, dealing with resistant students, and preparing preservice teachers to do antihomophobia work.
Patterns of Protest by
Asked to name an activist, many people think of someone like Cesar Chavez or Rosa Parks--someone uniquely and passionately devoted to a cause. Yet, two-thirds of Americans report having belonged to a social movement, attended a protest, or engaged in some form of contentious political activity. Activism, in other words, is something that the vast majority of people engage in. This book examines these more common experiences to ask how and when people choose to engage with political causes. Corrigall-Brown reveals how individual characteristics and life experiences impact the pathway of participation, illustrating that the context and period in which a person engages are critical. This is the real picture of activism, one in which many people engage, in a multitude of ways and with varying degrees of continuity. This book challenges the current conceptualization of activism and pushes us to more systematically examine the varying ways that individuals participate in contentious politics over their lifetimes.
Misogyny by
New aspects of the misogyny that impacts girls and women worldwide continue to emerge every day. However, recent movements (e.g., #MeToo, Time's Up, the Women's March) indicate a strong hunger for a meaningful resource for thoughtful activists. Impassioned but practical, this book discussesthe social contexts of misogyny, such as toxic masculinity and rape culture. It traces the history of misogyny and considers its meaning today - what is new and what is old. The author also proposes strategies for effective feminist action. Written for advocates of gender equality who are alreadyaware of misogyny, the book includes Action Steps as tools for activism on both the individual and political levels. Misogyny is a timely text that offers concrete guidance as we strive for the egalitarian society that, despite all setbacks, we are capable of achieving.
Twitter and Tear Gas by
A firsthand account and incisive analysis of modern protest, revealing internet-fueled social movements' greatest strengths and frequent challenges
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by
First published in Portuguese in 1968, Pedagogy of the Oppressed was translated and published in English in 1970. Paulo Freire's work has helped to empower countless people throughout the world and has taken on special urgency in the United States and Western Europe, where the creation of a permanent underclass among the underprivileged and minorities in cities and urban centers is ongoing. This 50th anniversary edition includes an updated introduction by Donaldo Macedo, a new afterword by Ira Shor and interviews with Marina Aparicio Barberán, Noam Chomsky, Ramón Flecha, Gustavo Fischman, Ronald David Glass, Valerie Kinloch, Peter Mayo, Peter McLaren and Margo Okazawa-Rey to inspire a new generation of educators, students, and general readers for years to come.
This documentary welcomes dialogue around racial inequality, policing, and the Criminal Justice System by focusing on Eric Garners case. We hope viewers will increase their understanding of issues plaguing Black and Brown Communities by witnessing a massive group of protesters unite for the purpose of justice.
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An Oscar-nominated documentary narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO explores the continued peril America faces from institutionalized racism.
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