The Role of Grandmothers in Democracy
How grandmothers are applying a different lens to the political arena and reshaping democratic discourse.
As we embark on another election year in the United States, we find ourselves in a landscape reminiscent of the previous cycle, yet fraught with even greater challenges. From threats to reproductive rights to a disturbing assault on intellectual freedom and a drift away from the foundational principles of participatory democracy, the stakes have never been higher. Amid the tumult of partisan strife and divisive rhetoric, however, there is a hope embodied by the visionary architects of the BadAss Grandmas for Democracy, Grandmas for Love, and The H.O.P.E. Project.
Dina Butcher and Ellen Chafee first co-founded the Grandmas for Democracy in North Dakota, which has since grown to become a burgeoning national movement. Shirley Showalter is a resident of Lititz, Pennsylvania, whose response to the rise of groups like Moms for Liberty was the creation of Grandmas for Love, a grass-roots movement dedicated to restoring sanity, reason, and neutrality to local school boards. Lastly, J’Shawna Smith-Hayes, based in Oklahoma, serves as a program officer for the Groundwork project and founded the Hope Project, which focuses on champion issues of equity and civic participation within the local community.
In The Role of Grandmothers in Restoring Democracy, a webinar hosted by Lynsey Farrell of the Grandmother Collective, we learn how Dina, Ellen, Shirley, and J’Shawna have been thinking about the future of our democracy and gain new insights into their practical approaches to making change.
A Grandmother’s Approach to Change Making
As many of us know, changes are rarely visible overnight. Our four panelists each have a unique approach to changing the current democratic landscape, and maintaining the momentum of these movements. A common key ingredient has been finding like-minded people with a desire for improvement, often over coffee and breakfast.
The Relationship Between Education and Democracy
In the landscape of politics, grandmothers offer a crucial perspective to the different ways in which democracy reaches different generations. As Ellen stresses, if children cannot engage in and learn from disagreements and debates regarding the future of democracy in school, the future of democracy itself is under threat.
The Importance of Participating in Governance
Moving to the “voting age”-generations, our panelists discussed the importance of encouraging people to participate in governance, from exercising your right to vote to participating in local, regional, and national political decision-making. As J’Shawna and Ellen describe, there are many policies that still need bettering for our democracy to succeed.
At the Intersect of (Badass) Grandmothering and Democracy
Towards the end of the Webinar discussion, it became increasingly clear that our panelists’ roles as (badass) grandmothers and cornerstones for their local political communities are far from mutually exclusive. In fact, it is at this intersect that grandmothers are crucial for fostering person-to-person outreach, thereby connecting generations and setting sustainable political changes in motion. Moreover, these grandmothers have themselves been inspired by previous and fellow grandmothers, including the likes of Maggie Kuhn and Mary Pipher.
This webinar was part of a series on the Role of Grandmothers in Social Change. You can watch the full webinar at The Role of Grandmothers in Restoring Democracy. The world needs their voices, their passion, and their belief in democracy, now more than ever.
Resources
Our speakers’ organizations:
BadAss Grandmas for Democracy https://badassgrandmasfordemocracy.com/
Grandmas for Love https://shirleyshowalter.com/grandmas-for-love/
The H.O.P.E. Foundation https://www.wearehope.net/
Organizations by or for older adults working to address democratic issues:
The Groundwork Project https://www.groundworkproject.com/about-us/
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This article was written by N. Valenbreder and edited by L. Farrell.
