I got so excited when I first opened the completed map up that I
read the little blurbs of every item posted, and dug deeper into a
few of them. I could talk about many, many awesome organizations that
I read about, such as the MPP, which I researched, where peasants are
creating their own networks to educate, involve, and empower all
peasants of Haiti in solidarity, or the UDEFEGUA that seeks to
support and protect those doing human rights work in Guatemala in a
dangerous political climate, or the Tanakuna Women's Artist
Cooperative, where women have not only come together to support one
another, but have learned to be empowered. I could go on, but
ultimately, it was no one agency or mission that made a great impact
on me, but, rather, the cumulative whole of them all taken together.
When I first did the readings, my initial reaction had some mixed
feelings. I have believed strongly in the importance of grassroots
movements for many years, that the people themselves who seek change
need to be involved in the process of defining that change and making
that change happen. But occasionally I get so inundated with stories
of suffering, oppression, injustice, and so on that it feels
overwhelming and I lose some of that hopefulness. Like these small
movements are nice, but how can they change the world? Looking at
this map has been inspiring, and helped to reignite my hope. “Small”
movements are not small in impact, and they do not happen in
isolation. Researching organizations for my own part, I realize how
interconnected so many agencies are, seeking change in their
communities, while rallying in solidarity with others fighting for
justice. Then I look at this entire map and see so, so many other
organizations in the same vein, and realize that this map shows just
a very small fraction of the movements and organizations that exist
to “fight the good fight.”
There is such a common theme in so many of these organizations, as
Aya pointed out in her “travelogue,” of advocacy, giving voice,
and empowerment. If we could make fighting for social justice and
human rights one larger, more connected movement that values the
intersectionality of all these movements, think how powerful that
could be. I have to believe in the power of collective action,
collaboration, and the true will of the people. Sometimes it feels
like the will of a the moneyed few is too strong to really push
against effectively, but seeing this map reminds me that it is not
the battle of few, but of many together.
Laney,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your thoughts on both your experiences through the map as well as the common theme in many of these organizations. I think that is what is often challenging about many of these grassroots organizations is that they are working so diligently to advocate for the needs of vulnerable populations and communities across the globe, but there needs to be more collective action and collaboration amongst these different grassroots organizations to strengthen the communities they engage with.