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STUDY GROUP LED BY IOP FELLOW KIM GANDY

Day: Wednesdays
Time: 4:00-5:30PM
Location: L166

Watch Kim Gandy's study group introduction

I firmly believe that racism, sexism and homophobia are deeply connected, and that violence and poverty are fed by all three, but putting multi-issue advocacy into practice in an atmosphere focused on single-issue groups can be difficult. Whether the subject is health care, economic recovery, reproductive rights, welfare, workers’ rights, same-sex marriage, prison reform, disability rights, civil liberties, living wage, or any of dozens more issues – the challenges facing progressives are broad and deep.  Are we pulling together across movements, supporting each other, or only focused on narrow interests?  And should we try to do it all – or are we more effective when we specialize, define and target? 

And is all that beside the point -- are the longstanding movements and organizations passé in this digital age?  Is grassroots organizing still relevant, and where is the action now? What is the impact of electoral politics on movements and vice versa? How will organizing (and organizations) have to change in order to remain effective?

Having served on the national boards of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, Free Press, and Legal Momentum, the core group of the Reproductive Rights coalition, the Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the advisory board of Ms. Magazine, the Steering Committee of the National Council of Women's Organizations, as a founding member of the Voices for Equality Speakers Program for Freedom to Marry, and of course countless coalitions over the past two decades in Washington, I’ve seen progressive organizations struggle to work across differences and divisions to achieve a greater goal . . . sometimes to stunning effect and sometime to utter failure.  Throughout two decades at National NOW, I have worked toward greater collaboration between groups of similar types as well as seeking more connection between groups that don't necessarily always work together, but should.  Or should they?

WEEK ONE – SEPTEMBER 23, 2009: THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’
When I started organizing 36 years ago, the civil rights and women’s rights groups were the predominant vehicles for social change, although more LGBT groups were emerging.  Now there are tens of thousands of groups, single-issue and multi-issue, with wide variety of goals, strategies and tactics. 
Why do some work together across issues, while others do so rarely? Is there a “progressive movement”? In organizing for change, is it more effective to have a broad agenda or a narrow focus?  To what extent do financial interests shape strategy decisions?  Is there more value in “holding the line” for a full victory, or in compromising to achieve something rather than nothing? Should you donate to fund services or advocacy?

WEEK TWO -- SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 -- CIVIL RIGHTS: EXPANDING THE RAINBOW  -- GUEST: DR. JOE LEONARD
The Civil Rights movement, like many progressive movements, has been in and out of the news, and the issues change from decade to decade, but the need for broad-based advocacy is as important as ever.  Dr. Joe Leonard, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, USDA (who previously headed the Rainbow/PUSH Washington office and  the Black Leadership Forum, and most recently was Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus) joins us for an inside look at the civil rights movement and the challenges it shares with other movements (women's rights, equal marriage, etc.)
Is there still a need for traditional civil rights organizations in a country where Barack Obama can be elected president?  How do you sustain interest in a cause or issue over the long haul? Do the benefits of collaboration outweigh the cost, or is collaboration an end in itself?

WEEK THREE – OCTOBER 7, 2009 -- REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE: IT’S ALWAYS BEEN MORE THAN ABORTION -- GUEST: LORETTA ROSS
How does the movement for reproductive justice intersect with other movements advocating for privacy rights, civil rights, youth, disability rights, faith traditions, and women's rights? What happens when their interests collide?  Is abortion a “wedge issue” that should be yielded in order to achieve other gains? Who decides? How does that play out politically and how do their interactions affect outcomes? 
Join Loretta Ross, National Coordinator of Sistersong: Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective for a lively discussion.  Loretta was also National Co-Director of the 2004 March for Women's Lives in Washington D.C., the largest protest march in U.S. history with more than one million participants, and from 1996-2004, she was the Executive Director of the National Center for Human Rights Education (NCHRE) in Atlanta.

WEEK FOUR – OCTOBER 14, 2009: ECONOMIC JUSTICE, FROM LIVING WAGE TO WELFARE REFORM -- GUEST:  IRASEMA GARZA (INVITED)
The recent economic recovery legislation had groups scrambling to make sure their constituents got a fair share of the recovery and reinvestment funds, with mixed results.  Elements of economic justice cut a wide swath – from equal pay and living wage campaigns, to access to stable jobs with benefits, ending employment and housing discrimination, and changing the carrot-and-stick approach to low-income or impoverished parents, especially the treatment of women on welfare and questions of "personal responsibility." 
These issues cross over many of the traditional movement barriers, and the intersection with faith-based groups makes for some strange bedfellows – like women’s rights groups working with the Catholic Church to overturn the welfare family cap.  You name it, Irasema Garza has been there.  An attorney and current president of Legal Momentum, the nation's oldest legal defense and education fund dedicated to advancing women's rights, Garza has served as director of the women’s department at AFSCME, director of the Women's Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor in the Clinton Administration, and as the first secretary of the National Administrative Office, which was charged with implementing the labor provisions of NAFTA.

WEEK FIVE – OCTOBER 21, 2009: WOMEN'S RIGHTS:  SHOULD THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE ROCK THE BOAT?
The recent Lilly Ledbetter Act is a welcome example of broad-based support from allies.  But although women are half the population, women’s rights issues are still viewed by many as a “special interest” and many of the core concerns are little addressed by other progressive groups. The wage gap between women and men is narrowing by less than ½ cent per year, and the rise in maternal profiling (also called family responsibility discrimination) means that women with children are paid least of all, regardless of performance. And when the family has less income, equal pay becomes a family issue, and not just a “women’s issue.”
If there is such a thing as work/life balance, is there any role for mandates to make it easier?  The U.S. stands nearly alone in the world with no paid maternity leave, despite decades of effort -- are we right and the rest of the world is wrong?  There is a crisis in child care and education – but is it the parents’ problem or a societal imperative?  Domestic violence and sexual assault are down, but that’s not saying much – why aren’t creative solutions (like stalker/batterer GPS tracking) getting more traction?  And why aren’t these issues part of the “progressive agenda” writ large?  Join me to explore some of the big issues that could benefit from work across movements, if only we could pull it off.

WEEK SIX – OCTOBER 28, 2009: EQUAL MARRIAGE AND LGBT RIGHTS – GUEST: EVAN WOLFSON
Issues of LGBT rights and equality and ending discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, seem inextricably linked with sex stereotypes and societal norms for women and men. Do women’s organizations work on these issues?  Should they? Some commentators blamed the defeat of Prop 8 in California on African-American voters – are they correct?  What about the involvement of civil rights groups, and other anti-discrimination organizations in LGBT issues, and vice-versa?
A Harvard law grad joins us as this week’s guest. Evan Wolfson is executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of the book Why Marriage Matters; America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry.  Join us for a discussion with the man named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

WEEK SEVEN -- NOVEMBER 4, 2009: MOVEMENTS IMPACTING CONGRESS; WHAT LAWMAKERS NEED FROM ADVOCATES – GUEST: HON. CAROLYN MALONEY (D-N.Y.)
Passing legislation is a primary tactic of most advocacy organizations, and to do this we need leadership inside the Congress or the state legislature, as well as education and outside pressure to create the right climate – an Inside/Outside strategy.  Hon. Carolyn Maloney, member of Congress and Chair of the Joint Economic Committee of the House and Senate (the first woman to chair that group), is one of the most prolific legislators on the progressive side. The New York Times said, “New York's Congressional delegation stands out for their moxie, kind of the way New Yorkers themselves often do. Among the brashest members is Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, a Democrat of Manhattan.”  Find out what she needs from issue-based groups to help her pass legislation; and discuss the impact of movements at odds with each other over legislation.
[Note: This session will serve as an early wrap-up, because Dolores Huerta is only available on November 18 and Congresswoman Maloney is only available in November, and we have no meeting on the 11th]

NO SESSION NOVEMBER 11 – VETERANS' DAY

WEEK EIGHT -- NOVEMBER 18, 2009: ORGANIZED LABOR, WORKER'S RIGHTS AND IMMIGRATION – GUEST: DOLORES HUERTA
Each of these topics could fill a session standing alone, but our guest this week has lived all of them and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to for broad insights from the mastermind of the historic grape and lettuce boycotts and co-founder with Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers union.

Dolores Huerta, a civil rights leader and mother of 11 children, was a founding board member of the Feminist Majority and is a regular speaker in support of equal marriage rights and reproductive justice.  She continues to work for women, immigrants, workers, and youth as the president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation – making her the perfect wrap-up guest for Organizing Across Movements