bikobaker's blog

I just got home from the American Dream Conference, and I have been pondering the role of meta-brands as vehicles of change for our movement, but specifically for young people and people of color.

I have been thinking about the examples laid out by Van at the conference, assessing our conversation about #occupywallstreet, analyzing our historical struggles in America, and even trying to refresh my memory about international movements for change.

I know that during the most recent progressive meta-movement that Van laid out, the 2008 Obama Campaign, young people and people of color were often the ground troops and swing votes that put the campaign over the top, but will likely be the last groups to truly benefit from the fruits of this struggle. In fact, I was recently told by a White House staffer that no one in DC fears youth orgs or the black grassroots, even though the turnout numbers in 2008 indicate that these important constituencies are indomitable forces. Not surprisingly, these groups suffer from breath taking unemployment and unprecedented debt.

I think there are a number of reasons that meta-brands might not allow youth groups and people of color to really win, win (substantive socio-economic change and policy wins). For example, building a meta brand on top of or behind the existing progressive infrastructures may unite an existing movement with talking points and branding materials, but it does very little to address the contradictions that exist inside of our campaigns, expand the tent or give new efforts a seat at the table. Although Van asked us not to critique him for his Power Point slide that laid out the current motive forces in the progressive movement, I was pretty perplexed that there wasn’t any recognition of youth groups in the presentation. (Although, there were a number of youth groups, including ours, that were invited to the stage.) Yet, the #occupywallstreet movement, which was often mentioned at this week’s conference, is clearly a youth driven effort. Even our own current movement’s infrastructure and leadership was first developed during the Civil Rights era when many of today’s strongest progressive heroes and sheroes cut their teeth as youth organizers.

And during the Civil Rights Movement, after years of being a leader of a meta-brand (although I am sure he wouldn’t have described it as such), Martin Luther King Jr. sought to take his organizing deeper and helped develop the Poor People’s Campaign, an effort to meet the specific needs of a certain constituency. While he enlisted the support of his many allies, he realized that the movement’s prior efforts to win for poor people were incomplete without a laser focused effort to end poverty. A meta-brand may have set that movement up for a big victory, but he recognized the deeper organizing was the winning strategy.

At the end of the day, meta-brands and movements may allow us to do a lot of important things like building economies of scale, uniting us under common communication points and even reinvigorating our current campaigns. So I don’t think it is wise to throw the baby out with the bath water. But my first instinct is to think that they are best used during election cycles, and that they don’t go deep enough to bring about the deep seated change that is necessary for people at the bottom. This doesn’t mean we should abandon the American Dream Movement, or any meta-brand that percolates to the forefront, including the #occupy brand. But it does mean that as leaders we should intentionally tackle the obstacles head on, and acknowledge them as we build our movements. If we don’t, we are bound to repeat the mistakes of the past.

I appreciate any response and critique of my assessment. I am struggling with this, and don’t want to blow up our causes, only make them better…and I acknowledge my analysis could be off.

Peace and love,

biko

Over the last year or so, there have been more and more groups claiming that they work with noncollege youth. This is sort of bitter sweet for me. While the need in this community is tremendous and there is more than enough work to go around, the truth is that not all groups are created equal.

Many of the groups claiming to serve noncollege youth have absolutely no business mobilizing poor communities. But because of their positional power, or because of their relationship to beltway insiders, they often times get resources to do this very tough and often times unrewarding work, when they should be deferring to other organizations.

So, in an effort to clear the air, and serve low income communities, I have a decided to drop this list of the "Top 5 Ways to Know You're Not Really Working With Noncollege Youth."

#1 You don't have a hood or barrio pass!

Let's keep it real, not every group has what it takes to canvass in low income communities. There is a real art and science to mobilizing voters in low income neighborhoods. Trust me, you can't just pop up in a neighborhood and get respect. You have to earn it. And word to John Mayer, hood passes aren't earned easily.

#2 You are more about promoting your organization than the community!

Lot's of groups spend way more of their resources on branding and visibility than mobilizing their constituents. That works for some constituencies, but to really get folks from noncollege communities to turn out, you have to really be about organizing. Low income communities only respond when they see a real commitment to organizing and local leadership development. You can't move folks with a bumper sticker or t-shirt.

#3 You skip town when the election is over!

It's okay, most organizations do it. Heck, LYVEF has even had to close up a shop or two when money has gotten tight. But that can't be your M.O. Noncollege communities need deep, long term investments. You can't get the respect you need to really mobilize people if you are only in town every other year. Community folks know when organizations aren't in it for the long haul.

#4 Your whole strategy focuses on online work!

Word to the New Organizing Institute, I LOVE online organizers. But there is no way that you can mobilize noncollege folks if you only use an online strategy. (Well, unless you are Worldstarhiphop.com.) Low income folks need to be able to look you in your eyes to see if you are legitimate. Online organizing is a great tactic, but it CANNOT be the end all be all of your strategy.

#5 You're feeling a little intimidated by this post.

It's ok. I'm here to help. As I said above, there is more than enough work to be done in this community. If you really want to serve low income communities, come holla at me. I am more than willing to connect you to a group in your city or region that is doing amazing work. Trust me, they exist.

BTW, here's a link to our Number's Don't Lie--Census 2010 mixtape. Check it out, and download it for free!!!

Was John McCain Abducted by Aliens?

Is it just me, or has John McCain disappeared off of the face of the planet?! I've only seen him in the news a couple of times over the last couple of weeks. Is it possible that the media is showing us old stock footage to hide the fact McCain was captured by aliens?

I'm serious. Am I the only one that has noticed that McCain has fallen off the radar ever since since Jesse Jackson threatened to cut Obama's balls off? I am starting to get worried that the Republican candidate might actually be in a secret intergalactic prison somewhere. I've never been captured by aliens, but I am assuming it's pretty damn scary, even for a dude that spent time in a POW camp.

At first I was just thinking that media was just being super biased and didn't want to show his mug on television. After all, I am sure that their ratings drop to the floor faster than the dancers in a 2 Live Crew video when ever he gets on the screen. But then I started noticing that McCain says the same thing over and over again in every interview and press conference. I am betting they just went to the vault to dig up some old tapes of McCain so that we don't start to get all scarred and stuff. I am not sure if anyone has ever polled alien abduction, but I am betting it would poll pretty poorly.

Maybe the good progressives over at MoveOn.org will start a petition or something that will force officials to tell us the truth. I would really hate to have to fight aliens. At the end of the day I am too busy playing Sim City and The Sims for my life to turn into a damn Will Smith movie.

George Bush must have really loved the cult classic Total Recall. I mean how else can you explain his persistent unwillingness to make responsible decisions when it comes to the environment. He must really get turned on by watching his home boy Arnie (say it again....C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A) run around Mars with half-alien/half-mutant revolutionaries. I mean forget the environment...we all can live in caves!!! SHEEZ!

That's the only way can I can explain his latest move to lift the moratorium on drilling in Alaska. Well other than the fact that his people in the oil industry are gonna get a whole lot of guap (translation for non hip-hop speakers: MONEY) if we ever start digging through the not so frozen tundra again.
click here for the link to the nytimes that was posted at DailyKos today.

But you can't really place all the blame for this backward (hmm...more like insane) move on Bush. There are still millions of Americans who forget that they can park their SUV and walk four blocks to get their hot lattes.

And I am not trying to make fun of latte drinkers who don't like to walk, cause I haven't completely broken my driving addiction yet. But at some point us consumers are going to have to be intentional about bringing the demand side of the oil *uckery down to a reasonable level. Otherwise greedy politicians like Bush will continue to have a justification to drill for oil in places like Alaska.

In ten years historians will look back on this week and declare that it is was a ground breaking week for Barack Obama. And nope, it won’t be because the junior senator from Illinois picked a running mate or because “Young Berry” delivered another one of his trademark speeches. This week was important because for the first time it became clear to many of his die hard supporters that Barack Obama might not be all that progressive.

From the FISA Bill to his support of Bush’s faith based initiatives to his willingness to throw Wesley Clark under the bus, this week Obama has proven that he won’t be right (no pun intended) on every issue. In fact after this week it’s becoming clear that he is going to be wrong a lot more than we would like him to be

Of course, the truth is that we really don’t need Obama to be on the right side of all the issues all of the time. Nor should we really expect him to be. After all skeptics in the blogosphere have been hacking away at him for months, claiming that his voting record has been spotty at best.

At the end of the day, as young progressives we really just need Obama to be accountable to us most of the time and the rest of time it’s going to be up to us to push back and fight with the him. Let's be honest, it’s going to be our vote that gets him in the office. We shouldn’t be afraid to roll up our sleeves and go 12 rounds with him.

But I have to be honest, I am starting to wonder if our generation has “the sand” to consistently stand up to Obama when he strays from the progressive path. So many of my friends, family and former coworkers have drunk so much of the Obama Kool Aid that I some times wonder if they can still see straight. I mean, it’s all right to love your candidate but as young activists we shouldn’t be naïve. Obama is going to continue to be tempted to move toward the center, especially if he wins on November 4th. We just can’t follow him there.