Activism Basics

View the Power Topic Activism Basics: How to Advocate, Influence, Communicate, Organize 

What’s ahead

• What is activism?
• Identifying the problem
• Organizing for action
• Influencing others
• Getting started

What is activism?

• Activism is the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change.
  • SASH Club activism relies upon interpersonal relationships.
  • Changing cultural conversations about sexual harassment and assault is activism.
• Activism is about bettering the community.
• Activism requires listening to what the diverse stakeholders in your specific community want and need.
• Activism is the process of building power to make change.

Step 1: Identifying the problem

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of our work?
2. Who is the audience we are trying to motivate?
3. How do we reach our audience, keep them engaged, and move them to action?

Research

• Every community is different and you want to determine the approach that best suits yours.
• Strategic questions – What does the change look like:
  • What needs to change?
  • Who are we influencing?
  • What does change look like?
  • What is our timeline?
• Tactical questions – How will the change happen:
  • What are the levers to effect change?
  • What is the sequence of events that will bring about the best results?
  • Who holds the power?
  • Who can help?

Construct a mission statement

• Keep everyone on the same page by using a mission statement.
• Construct the mission statement keeping five elements in mind:
  • Value – What is the value of your activism to the community?
  • Inspiration – Why should people care about your cause?
  • Plausibility – Make it sound reasonable.
  • Specificity – Tie it back to the big picture issue.
  • Audience – Consider with whom the message will resonate.
• The SASH Club national project mission statement:
  • “SASH Club brings together and empowers youth to end sexual harassment and assault.”
• What kind of mission statement would you envision for your local chapter?
  • Think about the five elements of a mission statement on the previous slide.
  • Be mindful of inclusivity.

Step 2: Organizing for action

Listen

• Sexual harassment and assault are issues that affect everyone regardless of gender, race, or identity.
• To ensure your activism is inclusive, identify the perspectives not represented by the group in the room and consider them:
  • For example, how do issues of sexual harassment and assault affect people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and other underrepresented groups?
• Hold space for ideas that you do not agree with and use compromise to find a middle ground.

Set goals

• Use the SMART Goals technique to organize your club’s goals.
• SMART Goals:
  • Specific – What do you want to accomplish?
  • Measurable – How will you know the goal is accomplished?
  • Attainable – How realistic is the goal?
  • Relevant – Does this match the community’s wants/needs?
  • Time-based – Can you achieve it in the time you have?
• Answer these questions when framing each goal.

Delegate tasks

• Delegating tasks will help ensure no one feels overwhelmed and everyone is working on something they are passionate about.
• Create groups that will help you achieve your SMART goals most efficiently.
• Some examples of task delegation could be:
  • Running social media
  • Organizing a presentation for the school or community
  • Organizing an activity to educate the school or community
  • Writing articles for the school paper or local media

Step 3: Influencing others

Constructive dialogue

• For sensitive topics, a casual approach to the conversation helps others to feel comfortable and engaged.
• Keeping your activism focused on open conversation encourages others to ask questions.
  • Lecturing doesn’t help engage people in activism.
  • Young people are more likely to engage if they feel like they’re part of an open conversation.
  • The most important thing you can do is start the conversation.
  • The more you engage in dialogue, the more skilled you will become in persuading others.

Confidence

• Relay information, present your mission, and convey your goals with confidence:
  • You’ve done the research and preparation.
  • You know your material so trust your ability to engage credibly.
• When trying to make change on something that people are resistant to talk about, you will receive pushback:
  • In these moments, always remember what motivates you.
  • Use facts and the research about your own community to back you up in the face of resistance.

Get started!

• As a member of SASH Club, know what your organization stands for so you can speak intelligently about it.
• Start a conversation today about sexual harassment and assault:
  • It is never too early to start the dialogue and exchange ideas.
  • And while you’re at it, invite others to support SASH Club with their participation, guidance, or experience.

Talk about it

• Which elements of the club’s mission statement are most important to you?
• What ideas do you have to reach our audience?
• Why is deep research so important?
• Does starting a conversation feel like something you would do? Why or why not?
• What forms of activism do you feel would be impactful in your school or organization?

Do more

• Role play with other members of your SASH Club to gain confidence in responding to questions and meeting resistance.
• Delegate research topics and share your findings.
• Make a list of people in power and brainstorm who in the club would be best to speak with each of them.
• Share one thing you learned today and something you will commit to doing to move forward.

Sources & acknowledgments

Thanks to Minnah Stein for creating this presentation.