Existing Organizing

Connect with an organization like one of those below

Here are a few organizations that are in multiple geographic locations and connect people to multi-racial, working class organizing. Ideally, look for chapters that are located where you can physically meet with others and build relationships rather than simply signing up for online actions.

Working Families Party (welcome gatherings here)
Showing Up for Racial Justice (chapters here)
Movement for Black Lives Action Fund (scroll down for local organizations)
Reproductive Justice organizations such as those listed here. (Note that the Reproductive Justice movement is much broader than just access to abortion. See this definition and herstory from SisterSong)
Climate Justice Alliance
And many more (feel free to suggest more networks in the feedback form)

You can also explore the breadth of what organizing can do to make an immediate difference in communities by listening to episodes from the podcast One Million Experiments, which showcases organizing projects from around the country.

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Diving deeper: What to look for in existing organizing

The most powerful organizing gathers together diverse coalitions of people based on their self-interest. Different than selfishness, self-interest starts with recognizing what you personally have at stake and how that is connected to others. Acknowledging one's own stake in the outcome (as opposed to organizing purely as an altruistic act) keeps people grounded and committed when times get tough. Being honest about our own needs and what we want to gain also allows us to negotiate the best ways to meet those needs in the context of our relationships – instead of having them suddenly pop out in destructive ways.

When seeking out organizing, it's important to remember that the vast majority of us are somewhere in the middle of the pyramid of oppression. We receive both carrots and sticks to incentivize us to uphold exploitative systems and to break our sense of solidarity with other people. Unless we are aware of common patterns that uphold oppressive structures and deliberately take steps to counteract them, the costs of the changes we advocate for automatically get pushed "downhill" onto marginalized people. This both reinforces inequality and breaks solidarity, leading groups who are all harmed by existing structures to waste energy fighting each other while those who benefit most from the system remain insulated from demands for change.

To counteract this, it is crucial to organize with multi-racial and working class coalitions with diverse genders and abilities. When the floor of how it is acceptable to treat a human being rises, we all have less to fear from a fall.

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