Event #2 – Social Movements Brown Bag Discussion 11/22

For one of my three events I chose to attend the social movement brown bag discussion this past Friday. Although I attended this event with the intention to learn more for my sociology class, I quickly able to turn apply what I was learning to the themes and lessons we have learned in LDST 101. The panel for the discussion included representatives from Virginia Organizing, Art 180 and Defenders for Peace, Justice and Equality. Students from a sociology class here at UR asked questions to the panelists. One question that I felt could be directly related to leadership was a question about how does each organization define success and how does each organization plan to grow in the near future. The responses across panelists were not the typical answers I would have assumed (not that these panelists were any typical individuals at all). I found it very interesting that even with very similar end goals (promote social diversity and equality in Richmond and the greater Virginia commonwealth), each organization had very different approaches to reach this goal. This reminds me of the articles we read about how women would lead differently and how the question we should be asking is ‘who are the appropriate leaders for specific positions or movements in order for them to be effective”. Obviously not all social movement organizations can have the same leaders; that would be impossible. I think one thing that makes social movements so challenging to work in and for is that they require a special kind of charismatic, ultra-determined, self-less individual to lead them. These characteristics can take different forms, but I think this event definitely made me see and appreciate the diversity of leadership while learning about important people and their work in a city and institution that effects me directly.