in conversation with PPAM organizer Emily Clancy
On a recent Friday afternoon in March, I sat down with Emily Clancy in Hamtramck, Michigan. Emily is the Detroit area organizer for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan (PPAM).
To give you a sense of Emily’s personality in a sentence: she greeted me that day with a hug and her usual smile, donning a sweatshirt that read “I bathe in male tears.” She spends her time on advocacy, electoral work, and a million other things. Read on to learn about Emily’s work and organizing philosophy.
[semi]political: So what’s the difference between “regular” Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood Advocates?
Emily Clancy: Planned Parenthood of Michigan is a statewide affiliate health center that provides direct healthcare services and education in the community. Then you have the advocacy arm, which is Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, or PPAM.
Many folks ask why we have to have this advocacy/lobbying arm. The reality is, since Roe. v. Wade became legalized, the harassment and chopping away at access has revved up. So that’s the work that PPAM does: more legislative contact, policy explanations, and on-the-ground organizing to ensure that our health centers stay open.
SP: As the sole PPAM organizer responsible for the Detroit Metro area, it sounds like you have to work solo a lot. How do you define your organizing priorities when it’s just you?
EC: I’ve learned that I needed to reframe my work, because it’s actually not just me, even if I’m the only staffer in the Detroit area. The priorities for my work are set by the people and organizations in my community. I like to work with groups that open my eyes to new things, or that focus on some of the things I have more of a blind spot to. Watching legislators like Stephanie Chang and Rashida Tlaib and the force they bring to organizing in Detroit has been hugely inspiring to me.
SP: Talk about PPAM’s monthly book club, Readers Resist!
EC: I love Readers Resist! When I first got this job, we talked about how would we mobilize people and have important conversations. I come from an English major background, so I thought, we have to include a book club!
Each month, we pick a book that is related to a public health or social justice issue, as long as it involves sharing an important story. The point is to start with the book and let the conversation go from there. Being able to listen to one another’s experiences and stories is a big part of Planned Parenthood’s work, so Readers Resist fits in nicely with the work we do.
SP: Turning to your invaluable work during the 2018 midterm elections (canvassing, phone banking, and recruiting volunteers) — what were your highlights and favorite candidates?
EC: It was a lot! It was dizzying and I truly hit the ground running. It was amazing to be a part of that unique moment. It was really important to Michigan, and in this region specifically, that so many women ran for office. So even though I was exhausted through most of it, it was really gratifying to be a part of.
Early on, I worked with Erika Geiss, who was amazing. A young canvasser, Nia, came to Power of Pink [last year’s Planned Parenthood National Summit] and was inspired when she saw Erika speak at the event. We arranged for Nia to come down from Flint to canvass with me. We got to talk about what’s going on in Flint, and it was great to pick her brain.
Padma Kuppa was awesome too — I was really glad we got locked into her campaign. The nights in her office phone banking just felt so cozy. Canvassing in the fall is actually very peaceful; almost therapeutic.
SP: It sounds like in the last couple of years you went from “okay what do I do?” to forming a philosophy about organizing. Can you speak to that and what you’ve learned?
EC: One of the things I’ve learned is to prep less and be present more. It’s good to have an agenda and a meeting focus, but I don’t have to control every aspect of the conversation. I should just be present and open, and let people talk.
I’ve learned to be more honest open with myself, especially as I’m entering into new community spaces that I’m not a part of. It’s important to be honest about where I come from and who I am. People welcome you with open arms when you’re being authentic. That’s something I’ve learned watching other people organize in this area.
Sometimes I wonder if people look at my social media and think that I don’t ever stop working, and I just want to say — I do. It’s a lifestyle job, and you have to think about it that way, otherwise you’ll get resentful. But I want people to know that you can do this work and take care of yourself at the same time. It is an ongoing process to learn and fail, like in any other field, but you can sleep and still organize. Trust me, I get a lot of sleep. I just want people know that.
SP: Any organizers and organizations that you love working with and/or people should be paying attention to?
EC: Mothering Justice has been a huge supporter of PPAM’s work. I’ve recently connected with Equality Michigan and closely follow the work that they do. We also work closely with Progress Michigan on policy agendas and legislator contacts.
One organizer I look to is Tamika Ramsey, who comes from the Mothering Justice camp. Another is Dessa Cosma of Detroit Disability Power. Jeynce Poindexter [a Transgender Advocate at Equality Michigan] is someone I look to as a role model. Nourhan Hamadi is one of the first students I had intern at PPAM, who is now working with Power to Decide in DC. She’s going places (probably Congress)!
Finding organizers [and organizations] starts by finding the space you feel the most passionate about, and seeing what local work is being done in that area. You can find some amazing people.
SP: What are you looking forward to this year?
EC: I’m getting married in June, so I’m looking forward to that! At first I thought I should wait until life is less chaotic, but that’s never going to happen! My job can be demanding, so it’s important I do something this year to move my personal life forward. Especially before the 2020 elections, when life will be very consumed by work.
On the PPAM side, we have a big event coming up in April: the Powering Change Action Summit. Once a year we do a statewide gathering. It always reenergizes me to see our work come together like that, with people from every corner of the state. Plus, we’re going to have some exciting guests.
SP: Any asks for readers?
The most common ask I get is “what can I do” — sometimes I don’t have an answer! It’s most important to be self aware and to step in to support one another. I think politics seems intimidating, and it doesn’t have to be political for us to help one another. Trust me, I don’t know the names of bills all the time either, but we can do this work! Checking out our recent elected senators and congresswomen will show us that. We can rewrite our own narratives a little bit.
Join Emily at PPAM’s Powering Change Action Summit in Lansing, MI on April 16th.
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