Author Archives: al6av

Extra Credit Opportunity: “Wythe: A Drama in Black and White”

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Hey guys! Dr. Fergeson has agreed to make a play that I’m in an extra credit opportunity for class, so I wanted to give you all the information. The play is for a class called “Documentary Theater: Civil Rights & Education” and is an American Studies seminar. In the class, we have conducted interviews of George Wythe High School alumni and created a play from their stories, which we will perform Monday (tomorrow), April 16 at Henderson Middle School at 6:00pm. Here’s a link to an article about the class/play from Richmond Magazine:

http://www.richmondmagazine.com/arts/blogs_thehat.php

And here’s a link to directions from UR to Henderson:

http://www.mapquest.com/#d5d9c47b321aa481489a952a

If you write a 250 word response to the play, Dr. Fergeson will give you extra credit. Hope you guys can make!

Amanda Lineberry

Social Movement through Culture – Amanda Lineberry

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What I enjoyed most about Robin D. G. Kelley’s article “‘We Are Not What We Seem:’ Rethinking Black Working Class Opposition in the Jim Crow South,” was that it brought an unexpected and refreshing new angle to the world of social movements. I was beginning to think of social movements as a game between institutions and organizations. Those in power would make their move, and then those who had organized to fight the power would make another move to influence the next move made. Kelley radically redefined that by showing me that while coalitions are undoubtedly important, they do not have to be made quite as consciously as I previously thought. They can form organically through friendships, community, and culture.

This approach I believe more effectively acknowledges the earlier constraints on social movement by African Americans. As Kelley points out, “when thinking about the Jim Crow South, we need always to keep in mind that African Americans, the working class in particular, did not experience a liberal democracy.” (110) This means that working with the institutions of power was not an option, at least not initially.

African Americans who did not have even the most remote access to power created their own power through civil disobedience and deviance. This was displayed particularly in the work place. Black men and women created a defiant culture by working together to control the pace of work in exploitive working conditions. Black women were subjected not only to racism by white male employers, but also to sexism, and supported each other through creating “networks of solidarity” (98). Public space also functioned as a forum for expression of frustration with race relations, especially public transportation. Individuals began to protest racism in the public transportation before it ever became an issue for social movement organizations like the NAACP. The people set the agenda for what to change, not the institutions.

While organization and structure are undoubtedly important to the progression of a social movement, I appreciated how this article put the power of social movements back into the hands of individuals. It recognized the importance why the movement started and not how it moved. Why the movement started undoubtedly frames how it plays out, and I appreciated Kelley’s emphasis on where the unrest unfolded and how resistance organically materialized from that.

Again, however, I think the most important takeaway from this article is that individual African Americans made their own power through civil disobedience in the workplace and in public spaces (although still within a strong community with communal purpose). The “unorganized, seemingly powerless black working people brought these issues to the forefront by their resistance, which was shaped by relations of domination as well as the many confrontations they witnessed on the stage of the moving theater” of public transportation (109). Without these rebellious individuals to create a culture of protest, even on a small scale, could organizations like the NAACP even begin? In the end, which is more important: the protest culture or the protesting coalition?

More of the Same, for Better of Worse – Ch. 4

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What struck me the most in Chapter 4 of David Meyer’s Politics of Protest was how similarly a social movement organization looked and behaved like a political campaign. In the beginning of the chapter, Meyer outlines the three goals of a social movement organization: “to pressure government to affect the policy changes it wants; to educate the public and persuade people of the urgency of the problems it addresses and the wisdom of its position; and to sustain a flow of resources that allows it to maintain existence and efforts” (61). Is this not what Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, and Paul are all trying to do right now? Are political parties not just big, flexible coalitions?

Meyer discusses the ebb and flow of social movement organizations in their attempt to maintain supporters and stay true to their original goals while also trying to build influence and gain members. For some types of social movement organizations, “it’s better to be right than large,” but for others, its better to be less politicized and appeal to a broader audience (67). Organizations have to balance their messages so that they are not only ideologically tight, but marketable.

To me, after reading Chapter 4, the social movement organization looks an awful lot like the radical twin of the political party. What I haven’t worked out, however, is if this is a good thing or a bad thing. As Meyer describes, social movements have been classified by some scholars as groups that function outside of the polity (74). In many ways, this is true. There are no elections for social movements. There is not designated date in which to vote and change the balance of power. The power of the social movement organizations is powered by the people, and their support can fall just as easily as it is built, unlike elected officials who we can be stuck with until the next election.

However, it seems that the popular structure of social movement organizations in the United States function too similarly to a political party for my own comfort. Part of this is due to government regulations. Social movement organizations are subject to taxation, with the exception of educational organizations. Educational organizations, however, are only qualified for exemption from taxation by submitting to further regulation and compliance. Thus, as seems all to common with power, civic speech is all too closely tied to the government’s wallet. How can an organization truly try to shift government power if it is forced to pay that power?

Part of the problem, however, lies with us. Meyer has pointed out several times that the level of political engagement in the United States is quite slim. Thus, the only organizations that get our (or should I say the media’s) attention are the larger ones that have amassed political power through goal shifting and coalition building. Is this democracy or some sort of political capitalism? Are marginal social movements important or should we constantly be compromising and building coalitions?

Amanda Lineberry