The Grandmother Power of Mothers Out Front
“I have one more campaign left in me. This one is for my grandchildren.”
We recently connected with Kelsey Wirth, the co-founder of the national movement Mothers Out Front, which she developed after feeling a deep despair about how climate change would affect her daughters’ futures. She and her co-founder focused on community organizing with mothers and grandmothers as the key constituents to drive a national-level response to the crisis. It was very interesting to explore the qualities that make mothers leaders, which relate and dovetail with grandmother power and how they offer different strengths to partnership.
We asked her to share lessons in movement building and how grandmothers play a role.
GMC: What inspired you to start Mothers Out Front?
Kelsey: I was profoundly distressed by a looming climate catastrophe and was worried about what that meant for my children. I would go to events focused on climate action, but didn’t see women that looked like me. Younger people and activists were leading the movement, but I felt we could create a space for moms to participate and drive change in these movements. I really felt that mothers were needed in the movement as a highly motivated constituency.
GMC: How did you get started, and what were some of the challenges?
Kelsey: We started by just having house parties with mothers. We were consciously focused on Marshall Ganz’s models of community organizing and needed to see if the movement would gain momentum. We talked about the issues that were worrying them the most. And really leaned on the idea that our shared experiences in motherhood could unite us to develop campaigns and agitate for change. At the first house party, every mother agreed to host their own, and we rippled out our network like that. Of course, some of the early challenges were in overcoming our own insecurities about whether we could do this. We needed models for how to lead campaigns and push for policy changes. We lacked the experience to know how to organize and stay organized. Luckily, we were able to mobilize older women who were able to share their wisdom from the civil and equal rights movements.
GMC: You shared that it was older women that brought experience to the movement; how did you discover their power?
Kelsey: I attended a house party early on, and there were older women along with younger mothers. One of the women asked me if grandmothers counted as mothers and if I thought they could contribute to the movement. I remember saying, of course grandmothers are mothers, and shouldn’t be excluded. Later on, I went to two house parties that were pulled together with only grandmothers attending and had an aha moment. The conversation was different. These women were from the boomer generations who had marched in the 1960s. They knew how to build a movement, and they inspired us.
It was quickly very clear that grandmothers are an incredible source of power. They had an enthusiasm and different senses of possibility and also the same fierce determination as mothers. They felt compelled to drive change for their grandchildren.
As we developed, we found that you can’t underestimate the power of intergenerational work. Older people love to be with younger people and vice versa. In the groups where grandmothers are participating, there is a boost because grandmothers have time, and they are available during different times of the day. When we get a call for a meeting with a policymaker, the grandmothers are often available. This has been a huge help.
Also, the pandemic has shined a light on grandmother’s unique value as well. With the added demands on mothers, the grandmothers sustained the organization. Those cohorts of activists that had grandmothers involved were able to stay together. The ones that were all mothers had a harder time continuing their activism. Grandmother participation adds a layer of sustainability to our model.
GMC: What are some similarities in how mothers and grandmothers address the need for climate action?
Kelsey: One thing we have learned in our work is that the motherhood identity is very powerful. They are fierce protectors and multi-tasking superheroes. It is powerful to show up as moms. When we engage leaders and come to meetings as mothers, we tell our narratives and talk about our children. The decision-makers we meet — leaders of companies or political leaders — end up talking about their children as well. Speaking from our mother role helps us access our common humanity and ends up being disarming.
Mothers are a recognized block in terms of voting and decision-making on financial resources. Grandmothers also have these qualities — and bring an urgency to see changes in their lifetimes.
GMC: What’s next for Mothers Out Front?
Kelsey: First, we know we need to advocate for institutional change. In Massachusetts, we have connected with the state government and supported the installation of the first Climate Chief, Melissa Hoffer. We now want to build upon this work by growing new chapters. Campaigns have already begun in New York, Virginia, Colorado, and California with more in the works.
Do you want to learn more about Mothers Out Front? Find out more here: https://www.mothersoutfront.org/
