In my early organizing training, our elders told us that to be an effective organizer you had to meet folks where they were. I had to find what was common between me and the folks I was trying to reach, and then let them know what skin I had in the game and how my work would help meet their most basic needs. It never occurred to me for a moment that those guidelines could be useful here. It didn’t occur to me because I had never been here.
I struggle with this so much. As an organizer, I BLOOM when folks lead with compassion. And I’m skilled in doing this when I work with children. However, when I work with adults, I consistently stumble when I’m faced with ignorance or ambivalence.
