3.3.3 Direct action
Some community organisations use direct action to achieve a desired change. These are the community organisations that would move to campaign on issues rather than seeking to solely provide services. Direct action describes using strikes, demonstrations, and protests to make demands of decision-makers. Some of the strategy and tactics of direct action were covered last week on campaigns.
Perhaps the most famous direct-action organisations are known from the twentieth century civil rights movements in the United States. Rosa Parks and the freedom riders, ‘eat-ins’ against racial segregation, the million-man march, were all examples of direct action. What is perhaps less well known is the community organising processes that were necessary to make these actions possible.
The most recognised community organiser from this time was Ella Baker, who worked in the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership, and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (to name but a few). Baker describes the role of community organising as she saw it below.
The major job was getting people to understand that they had something within their power that they could use, and it could only be used if they understood what was happening and how group action could counter violence even when it was perpetrated by the police or, in some instances, the state. My basic sense of it has always been to get people to understand that in the long run they themselves are the only protection they have against violence or injustice… People have to be made to understand that they cannot look for salvation anywhere but to themselves.
Baker’s view of community organising was precisely based in a theory of building collective power and how Black communities in the United States could use this power to counter racial disparities and discrimination. The above quotation demonstrates the interrelation between organising and leadership. Baker’s emphasis on communities ‘themselves’ holding the capacity for change directs us to an understanding of community organising as a practice in building collective leadership.
Activity 4 Moving to action
Think about a constituency in your community that you think lacks power and who could benefit from a community organisation to advance their interests. Thinking about the kinds of community organisation outlined, consider the issues affecting this constituency and what kind of action is the most appropriate way of addressing them. How would it do this?
Fill out the table below with your answers.
| Who is the constituency you aim to organise? |
|---|
| What are the issues that are affecting them? |
| What kind of organisation would be best to solve the issue? |
Comment
Below is a short sample answer:
| Who is the constituency you aim to organise? |
|---|
Low to middle income people in my community. |
| What are the issues that are affecting them? |
Many families in my area find the additional cost of paying for food outside of school term a struggle. |
| What kind of organisation would be best to solve the issue? |
A mutual aid organisation could allow us to raise the funds to start a ‘school holiday lunch club’ that could spread the cost of feeding school age children in the area outside of term time. |