Pushback: After the Project

...An example of this within the network is New Mexico. In New Mexico, the Southwest Organizing Project initiated a non-partisan, nonprofit effort called the Campaign for a Better New Mexico. They agitate for the peoples of New Mexico to vote, because as they state in their literature, ‘If you don’t VOTE, they won’t listen…”
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Increasing voter turnout in an election is only effective if it can serve as a catalyst in developing a large group of grassroots leaders. Promoting leadership from within your membership and increasing their ability to assert power within their communities is the lifeline of any grassroots organization.

SWOP is committed to building leaders through their youth program, Jovenes Unidos. They are dedicated to providing leadership development to young people with opportunities and access to resources we need to think for themselves and analyze their surroundings, to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives, and to build power in their communities.

I witnessed SWOP’s leadership development in action, when I rode with Joaquin Lujan and Aurea during a drag and drop on the last day of early voting in New Mexico. Despite the generational differences, the two of them worked together to achieve a common vision: turn out people to the polls. As we drove, they engaged in casual conversations.

However, it quickly became apparent that each was transferring knowledge onto one another. They both took turns sharing how they came to community organizing. Aurea talked about her experiences of being a young woman in Albuquerque and the issues that brought her to SWOP. Joaquin shared his experiences as a youth and the reasons why he’s continued to work for social change with SWOP. Both were respectful to one another’s standpoint.

Read more about SWOP, Pushback network, SAGE Council and our friends in Mississippi.

http://pushbacknetwork.org/2008/12/02/after-the-project/