Part of mobilizing individuals to scale up movement work involves getting people involved in concrete, on-the-ground action steps as part of creating change. Concrete action can mean different things in different contexts. For instance, in the context of movements that rely heavily on social media, part of engaging in concrete action means taking activism offline. While social media is “real life activism,” as one Black Lives Matter activist notes, other activists note that social media platforms only go so far. On-the-ground events are particularly important for generating new ideas about how to act and keeping people motivated. In the words of one activist:
While we are at [an] event it gets our juices going and we start, on the spot, we start creating action when we are in the middle of protesting or having a vigil. Often times that’s when some of our best ideas come up. Someone will say, ‘You know what we should do? We should do XYZ or this is so and so, I want you to meet this person right here and let’s work on this initiative next.’ So that’s the other important part of getting people off their chair, off the couch, out into the street--because it activates them.
Other activists note the importance of community building measures - initiatives undertaken in order to help people feel connected to one another and to their community as a whole - as a way to get people involved. For instance, Emma Johnson of Northern Ireland Youth Action emphasizes the importance of activities that bring people out, such as a “Family Fun Day,” and using these activities to make individuals aware of the organization’s work. Also in Northern Ireland, activist Tony Kennedy noted the importance of slowly ramping up individual participation by encouraging social change activists to think about “one small step” they can take to improve cross-community relationships, whether this be reading a different newspaper, having a conversation with someone from across the conflict divide, and so on. The idea is that many of these small steps, when taken together, can create a significant impact. As he noted,
Everybody here says we need change and everybody looks at the other person saying, ‘you need to change’ and ‘you need to make some big gesture towards what I did in order to make change happen.’ And the idea behind one small step is to say we can all contribute to change, we can do it for ourselves. We don't have to do it big, we can do small things.
Finally, concrete actions can be important for shifting the perspectives of those who are passively opposed to movement work or neutral, even if it is not possible to get individuals/groups who are actively opposed on board. Events, such as the aforementioned “Family Fun Day,” can also help create spaces for individuals to foster positive interactions and relationships across community divides. Creating public events that attract broad public interest and disseminating information about organizations to neutral by-standers at such events can be a useful strategy for scaling up and building a broad coalition.
Concrete action can bring people together and promote a more organic synergy amongst organization members, but some may feel a stigma related to engaging in direct action. Thus, it’s important to have other ways to get those folks engaged.
Taking any action to the streets must account for context specific dynamics. When backlash becomes more intense or polarization becomes extreme due to shifts in the socio-political context, organizations’ tactics must adapt. If activists involved do not feel safe, or don’t have their needs met (e.g. by having childcare or other services on site), then the action won’t ever get off the ground.
Categories: Engagement Strategies
Subcategories: Mobilizing others, Building strong networks, Building coalitions, Media engagement
Build on opportunities to engage - Take advantage of each opportunity for concrete action to bring people further into movement activism
Identify and act on key moments - “Newsworthy” events create opportunities for providing interested individuals with action steps they can take
Ensure accessibility - Individuals cannot participate in movement activities if they are not accessible
Engage in storytelling - Resonant messages/narratives provide strong incentives for mobilization
Encourage ally-ship - Different kinds of events can appeal to different audiences
Work to infiltrate the political system - Concrete action is not only about protest but also about policy and legislative change