Community Organizing: Why I Joined Fair Shot for All
Grassroots organizers remind us all what we can achieve when we work together. The Suffragettes, Civil Rights Movement, and more recently Occupy Wallstreet are a testament to this belief. While these movements are the pinnacle of Grassroots Organizing, the net they were able to cast and sentiments they were able to provoke seemed daunting to me. I nevertheless wanted to become an organizer, and engender that same sense of passion in others that Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other organizers of the past did to me.
I was a part of clubs on my college campus that worked to put pressure on the university administration to divest from fossil fuels and fund an online voter registration service. These small actions felt insular, not very far-reaching, and only stretched to the university’s student population. This form of organizing was wholly important but existed in a bubble. I never imagined one could organize beyond this level. Organizing the movements that shape U.S. history seemed intangible.
During the divisive 2016 presidential campaign, I decided to join Fair Shot For All to bring the spotlight back to the issues and the voters. But in those first few weeks, I felt weighed down by the vastness of organizing communities around Paid Family Leave and Debt-Free College. I persisted by reminding myself of the organizers before me. Their successes were garnered on inclusivity and resilience. If I choose to be inclusive and resilient in my work, then I too could inspire and lift the voices of others.
From there, the elusiveness of grassroots movements faded away. Instead of continually thinking broadly about all the issues that our community faces, or all the people we must reach, progress took one person at time, being listened to and given a role in the movement.
As an organizer, I must remember fellow organizers of the past so that they may push me forward when the weight of women still only earning .72 cents to the $1 and the amount of the national student debt seems too heavy. Their legacy will not live on if organizers today do not try and fill their shoes. I joined Fair Shot because every person deserves to be heard and most communities have not yet been given a megaphone.
Sydney Throop is a passionate community organizer for Fair Shot for All who is dedicated to help give everyone a shot at the American Dream. Have thoughts on her story? Tweet her at @sydneyfairshot
