Julia Tang. “Power Mapping” BIS 483: Community Organizing, Professor Charles R. Collins, Spring 2021.

Building power is one of the main principles in Community Organizing, where organizers identify a “target” and connects their personal relationships and professional connections to other public figures. The goal of power mapping is to visualize aspects that influence the “target.” For example, Tang focused on Stacey Abrams and her connections with other politicians and organizations in this project. Discovering the target's influences and relationships can also provide a network of people that can help build support for our organization. Thus, having a targeted individual plays a critical role in the success or failure of an organization.

I included this power map in my academic portfolio as I believe it is an essential piece of work that guided me to think critically about power, its impact on an organization, and how it affects the success or failure of an organization. I also gained from discussion and research about the perspectives of historically marginalized groups such as women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ communities on this issue. In addition, I learned the importance of understanding unequal power relations and that gaining power is necessary for achieving social change.