Keys to a Future Majority: Building a Model for Sustainable Progressive Activism

Below is the letter that Mike, I, and some of our advisers wrote as an introduction to the (award winning) business plan that we developed to propose a new way of thinking about, and funding, the building and sustaining of progressive infrastructure. This is very close to becoming a reality, and we should know for certain if it is going to happen in the next few weeks.

Right now, the progressive movement is homeless. While the Christian Right is busy using churches to tap into evangelical culture, recruit new hearts and minds, and out-organize the left, progressives are scrounging for office space and seem incapable of tapping into one of our greatest resources – our culture.

What if we could create a space where local progressives could meet, network, and get organized? A space where independent music could thrive amidst an industry that is increasingly dominated by corporations unfriendly to progressive causes? What if – like the Christian Right and its churches – the two could feed off each other, creating a cycle whereby progressive-minded folks supported the independent music scene, which in turn fed new, younger faces into the progressive movement? That is the goal of 8th Street: to create a hotbed of cultural and political activity that will symbiotically provide a home for the progressive movement and allow independent music to thrive in the Philadelphia metro area.

If progressives want to regain control, we must learn to exploit the connection between culture and politics, and reconnect local activism with the every day lives of our constituents. In the coming years, Philadelphia offers us an ideal testing ground for this organizational model, and 8th St. is positioned as the perfect venue to accomplish these goals.

In the next three years, SE Pennsylvania will have nine competitive House races and a fiercely contested Senate race. As a swing state, it will be a cornerstone of both parties’ electoral strategies. And in the run-up to the 2010 midterms, it will most likely face a contentious redistricting battle around new census data. Philadelphia is also a hotbed of online activism, with many A-list bloggers located in the metro-area, including Atrios’ Duncan Black, MyDD’s Chris Bowers, as well as bloggers from Booman Tribune, Suburban Guerilla, and Whiskey Bar. Thriving Drinking Liberally and DFA chapters also call Philly their home.

The political machinery is in place, but it requires a home to live in, and a hook to draw in new members.

More than a political center, Philadelphia is also the cultural center of eastern Pennsylvania. For ten years now, R5 productions has been known for bringing the hippest shows and best concert experiences to the Philadelphia area. Thousands of students and young professionals trek into the city from the suburbs to attend R5 events. These concerts are the perfect vehicle to reach progressive minded folks under 30.

A captive, like-minded audience is available, but it has no official home, and no way to plug into the larger progressive movement.

8th St. will bring these pieces of the puzzle together. By using peer to peer outreach tactics at shows, we will make a connection between politics and the lives of our estimated 70,000+ concert-goers. We will identify and nurture the next generation of political activists by serving as the road to political participation for young, disenfranchised voters. Beyond basic outreach, we will recruit, train and track volunteers, and push our newly minted activists to join local campaigns in the city and suburbs. We will work with political groups from around the Philadelphia metropolitan area to train their members in traditional politics, while also teaching them how to use social activities to increase their reach and effectiveness.

Envisioned as an organization with a dual non-profit/for-profit structure, 8th St will be more than the latest progressive vanity project, destined to disappear after the next election cycle. It will be a self-sustaining venture with high standards of accountability, and a diversified funding base. We are in this for the long haul, and hope that 8th Street will be making a difference in progressive politics long after George Bush is out of office.

It’s time for progressives to stop wandering in the wilderness. It’s time for the progressive movement to find a home. In the Philadelphia Metro area, we hope to make 8th Street that home.

If you, or anyone you know, would like to be involved in this project or check out our business plan, please shoot me e-mail me. I'll post updates here as the project moves towards completion.