Demands from Grassroots Organizers Concerning COVID-19

We are a group of organizers whose work addresses a variety of issues, and we recognize that there is no organizing community or area of our work that will not be touched by this crisis. We hope this list of demands will serve as a tool for organizers and activists who are crafting their own responses to COVID-19.

Cultural Competency

Embracing Cultural Competency starts the dialogue on how organizations can start building capacity. … Through a range of methods—literature review, personal interviews, peer dialogue, insights of contributing authors—readers get a mosaic of perspectives that surround cultural competency. Plus, the book presents the insights of authors who represent five major ethnic communities in the United States: Asian/PacificIslander, American Indian, African American, White, and Latino.

Community-Engagement Governance

Traditional governance approaches, based on corporate models and outdated, top-down “command and control” paradigms, still dominate the nonprofit sector. Within these models are strong, inherent demarcations between board, constituents, stakeholders, and staff, with the executive director often the only link between the various parts of the organization. This type of separation commonly results in the disconnection of the board and, ultimately, the organization from the very communities they serve, and it inhibits effective governance and accountability.

Racial Equity Tools

“[D]esigned to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity [t] his site offers tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large.”

Healing Justice (Astrea)

Many movement organizers are working to discover what transformation can look like when we center political, spiritual, physical, emotional and psychic wellbeing as integral to our communities, movements and the world we are trying to build.

Measuring Love

This Brown Paper flips the script of what is acceptable as a ‘Paper’ on its head. It is not a ‘formal,’ research-based, finished product of the traditional type. It comes from the heart and is meant to be used—like love. It is meant to spark dialogue and provoke. In it, we are asking ourselves, ‘Are we loving bravely enough?’