Grieve, Connect, Act, Reflect, Correct. (Repeat)

Offerings based on the Social Change Ecosystem Map

Here, I offer a roadmap based on the social change ecosystem framework for how individuals, collectives, and organizations can try to meet this moment, and prepare for what is ahead. As always, please use and share what resonates, and leave the rest.

In the wake of the 2016 election, I would listen to “World on Fire”, a song by Sarah McLachlan, on repeat. The lyrics captured the helplessness and overwhelm that I often experienced:

“The world is on fire/It’s more than I can handle

I’ll tap into the water/Try and bring my share/

Try to bring more/More than I can handle

Bring it to the table/Bring what I am able.”

Over the past week, many of us have been wondering what more we can bring, whether we have anything even left to share, and how we will handle the next four years. During this time, some of you have been reaching for the social change ecosystem framework as a tool to anchor individual and collective reflection and action. I am so grateful that the framework remains a helpful tool, among so many others in movement spaces, at this time. Below, I’ve offered some ideas for how to meet the moment, relying on the framework as a starting point.

[For much more, please see my books, Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection and We Are The Builders!; organizational resources and trainings at Solidarity Is; and a clearinghouse of information, available at www.socialchangemap.com].

Spend time with anger, grief, and disappointment.

This looks different for each of us though it requires an aware and engaged process (that can be very non-linear). Journal, dialogue, process, meditate, exercise, connect, go inward, dance, ask questions, read, scream, cry, sleep, etc. Whatever feels right for your body and spirit, do it. For organizations, this could be a collective gathering, extra time off, or funds for external supports.

Lean into curiosity and reflection.

The social change ecosystem framework invites us to identify our core values and goals, which requires some level of curiosity and reflection. In the context of the 2024 elections, the blame game has been strong, especially online - but this stymies our efforts to deepen solidarity. Instead of lashing out, how could we approach this time with curiosity and reflection, from an individual and movement standpoint?

In my own community of Asian and South Asian Americans, it’s clear that more people moved right politically. My friend, Annetta Seecharran, runs a South Asian nonprofit in Queens, and her responses to why more South Asians in Jackson Heights and Richmond Hill voted for Donald Trump are insightful. She said: “This is a really hard, difficult reality check of where people are in their lives, and how difficult it is for them to imagine a path forward…I don’t think it’s that people don’t care about immigration, or that they’re selfish. People are desperate.”

I appreciate Annetta’s response from the standpoint of an organization rooted in Queens, because it checked a lot of my own assumptions about what builds solidarity between immigrants and people of color and about what narratives and policies are meaningful to people in my communities. Getting curious about why people may have voted for Trump (rather than simply how could they have) is a question that should be asked, particularly for those of us who are in this struggle for the long-term. On the other hand, simply reducing and casting all Trump voters as racists and misogynists who are unconcerned about democracy, and then ignoring them entirely, repeats the same patterns of isolation and polarization that contributed to the current political climate.

We could also get a bit more curious about the role of our movements and organizations, which sometimes engage in practices that create silos and echo chambers. For example, what could happen if we did the following?

*Let people move at their own pace with guidance and compassion (rather than force them to jump through ideological hoops to prove their purity politics)

*Start from a place of finding authentic commonalities (rather than use language that makes people feel uncomfortable, guilty, and disconnected)

*Truly embrace intersectionality (rather than create a hierarchy of issues and identities)

*Make space for everyone to feel valued and engaged (rather than cancel people’s worth even after they have acknowledged, apologized and atoned for their privileges)

*Build direct engagement and feedback loops (rather than assume that staff, board members, organizational partners, and social media opinions are proxies and stand-ins for community members with far fewer privileges and access)

Inquiries such as these can support us in doing a bit of course correction: reshaping our programs, reconfiguring our outreach to community members on the ground, refocusing our policy demands and platforms, and reconstituting our partnerships.

Find local community ecosystems.

The panacea for isolation and disillusionment is community. As bell hooks reminded us: “One of the most vital ways we sustain ourselves is by building communities of resistance, places where we know we are not alone.”

More than ever, our local ecosystems will become even more important. What organizations exist in our own backyards? Are there new ones we wish to create that can provide safety and sanctuary to community members who may be most vulnerable? How can we support those ecosystems via our roles?

Map our roles.

Our roles embody our unique gifts, skills, lived experiences, knowledge, and strengths. We should be nimble enough to shift our roles depending on what is needed of us from our ecosystems and the moment.

Descriptions of the roles are below, followed by examples (in italics) for how they can be used now:

·  Builders develop, organize, and implement ideas, practices, people, and resources in service of a collective vision.  As builders, we can map out the organizational ecosystem in our city to better understand where our assets and our gaps are to protect vulnerable communities.

·   Weavers see the through-lines of connectivity between people, places, organizations, ideas, and movements.  As weavers, we can develop our patience, curiosity and compassion to find the throughlines that cut through conflict and disagreement.

·   Caregivers nurture and nourish the people around us by creating and sustaining a community of care, joy, and connection.  As caregivers, we can check in on the people in our communities who are most vulnerable, and provide support to nurture their bodies and spirits.

·   Storytellers craft and share our community stories, cultures, experiences, histories, and possibilities through art, music, media, and movement. As storytellers, we can hone our skills to document the impact of policies through surveys, interviews, reports, podcasts, and community journalism.

·   Disrupters take uncomfortable and risky actions to shake up the status quo, to raise awareness, and to build power. As disrupters, we can sharpen our direct action strategies, techniques, and trainings.

·   Visionaries imagine and generate our boldest possibilities, hopes and dreams, and remind others of our direction. As visionaries, we can find new and accessible language and ideas that can inspire those who might not be with us yet.

·   Frontline responders address community crises by marshaling and organizing resources, networks, and messages. As frontline responders, we can figure out how our institutions might become sanctuaries, mutual aid collectives, libraries, and spaces for community safety.

·  Healers recognize and tend to the generational and current traumas caused by oppressive systems, institutions, policies, and practices. As healers, we can curate spaces of support for those who are scared and overwhelmed.

·  Experimenters innovate, pioneer, and invent, taking risks and course-correcting as needed. As experimenters, we can identify different formations for our organizations and networks that can withstand attacks and targeting.

·   Guides teach, counsel, and advise, using gifts of well-earned discernment and wisdom.  As guides, we can offer wisdom and mentorship to those who are newly activated, providing recommendations that are suited to their capacity and interest.

Between now and January 2025, there might be certain roles we play to prepare and organize, which may then shift again once policies are rolled out.

Pace ourselves with quarterly check-ins.

Thinking of the next four years is overwhelming. Thinking of the next three months is more manageable. One way to use the social change ecosystem framework is to revisit it on a quarterly basis. Here are some prompts that might help during the assessment process:

-In the past quarter, what role(s) did I (or our organization) play?

-What were our core values and goals (e.g. community safety and defense, building connections, organizing the ecosystem)?

-What lessons did we gain from playing those roles?

-Who were our partners in the broader ecosystem? Who else do we need to gather?

-How did we reach our goals? What strategies, actions, and narratives were effective?

-How do we feel about our energy and capacity levels? What drained us, and what energized us?

-What should we change in the next quarter? How can we continue doing the activities and programs that both helped us reach our goals and that energized us?

Additional Resources that I’ve been leaning on:

Dean Spade on their social media channels and their book, Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this Crisis (and the Next)

Kelly Hayes’ Beyond the Blame: Fighting for Each Other in the Face of Fascism

Against Purity: Living Ethically in Compromised Times by Alexis Shotwell

Mariame Kaba’s We Do This ‘Til We Free Us

Loving Corrections by adrieene maree brown