Helpers, Advocates, Organizers & Rebels
Today I am re-sharing an old post I wrote a few years ago. The reason is because I have been seeing many people criticize the way other people help & I believe we need to emphasize the fact that WE NEED EVERYONE!
In recent weeks and months I have been travelling a lot. While away from home, a lot has happened – First Nations youth suicide has come to the forefront of main stream consciousness, OccupyINAC continues here in Winnipeg, I got to visit Shamattawa and Indigenous people continue to rise in various spheres of influence. Each role is vital to the other, and they take turns being in charge or in leadership positions at different times. Many of us have been waiting for this very moment for years, and even though it’s hard to be away from home, I am deliberate about finding space to do writing, scheming and reading. I recently read a great book called Building a Movement to End The New Jim Crow: An Organizing Guide (it was only 80 pages), and it really got me to thinking about how we organize ourselves in Winnipeg, in what I am always referring to as the village. You can find out details about the exact book, and the context in which it is written at this link:
http://www.newjimcroworganizing.org/
The main reason for this post though, is to share an important point from the book: we need everyone. It talked about how the movement to end Black over incarceration has been increasingly strategic and persistent in ensuring anyone who wants to help understands their role within the context of the larger struggle. Essentially, there are 4 main roles that need to be filled at all times in order to maintain the systemic pressure needed to get those in positions of power and privilege to change the status quo to make things right. No one with power has ever given it to those they oppress of their own free will, so we as a movement have to work together to make sure that it happens. Each role is vital to the other, and they take turns being in charge or in leadership positions at different times, depending on context. What are these 4 roles? They will look and sound familiar, I am certain:
Helpers – these are the front liners, the people who run to get things, who do the face to face, one-on-one work, the fire keepers, the cooks, the floaters who help wherever help is needed. Helpers are the hands feet, eyes and ears of the solution.
Helpers show up at rallies, vigils, fires, occupations, celebrations and ceremonies
Advocates – these folks work within the system(s) and use their vast system expertise to assist anyone who is currently entangled within it to access services or escape the system entirely. Advocates are the pain relief, helping with immediate/short term contributions to the solution.
Advocates undertake the heavy lifting of improving service deliver for our relatives who are in the systems right now, changing policies, reducing systemic damage where possible
Organizers – work outside of the system, bringing people together, facilitating, and encouraging people to think about what we want to replace the status quo with. Organizers are the facilitators of the long term alternative.
Organizers that help us imagine a solution that doesn’t currently exist and do the slogging work of bringing over burdened people together for more work
Rebels – these are the ones who speak truth to power, the disruptors, they often have great personal sacrifices to get the attention of the entire system, often bringing whole systems to a stand still. The Rebels represent our frustration with the status quo and our passion for/commitment to the solution.
Rebels put themselves at exceptional personal/professional danger to get this issue on the public radar
Where are we at in Winnipeg right now?
Winnipeg is at the forefront of many things, both good and bad. We have a large Indigenous population who fearlessly fill the many roles outlined here. The biggest challenge we have is when we do not talk with each other about the solution. We talk frequently and in depth about our problems, but the solution is not gonna happen when the short comings are where we put all of our attention or if we tear down others within the movement. I believe it all comes down to accessible communication and consistency of language. This of course takes time – time that we do not have. This is why my message is simple: we need everyone. When I think about the movement to address First Nations Youth Suicide, I see the movement learning how to work together. We do this to create hope for a better and brighter future for young people today and the generations to come.
Solution: Rotational Leadership
We have done an amazing job, especially in recent years, coordinating ourselves and sharing freely with one another when their skills are needed. We are getting to know others in the movement, their gifts and abilities and which roles they are comfortable doing where and when. We also have to be honest when we are able to fill a role with others in their work. The difficulty is that within the movement, we often mistrust others when they show up to help or criticize rebels for being too bold; we chastise advocates for reinforcing systems and their processes or give organizers a hard time for not doing enough because we can’t see their work. This destructive criticism within the movement must stop. As we all know, honesty is important, so if there are individuals who you feel are in positions to help and they aren’t, it is on the person who sees that to speak up or reach out to that person to say that. Constructive criticism isn’t lateral violence – it’s lateral love. None of us are mind readers, but we do all have gifts to contribute and at different times, different roles must take the lead. I see this in the teachings of the clan system as well as the rotational leadership within many urban Indigenous grassroots collectives.
The village is learning and this is heavy work, so we have to be kind, take care of ourselves and one another. The time is now for the level of cooperation we have seen previously to increase so we can achieve more – every moment we waste puts young lives at risk unnecessarily. We need everyone, so let’s start behaving like it.
