Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow Quotes

“Working for unity is great, but so is accepting the reality that ideological purity isn’t a requirement for us to engage and continue in a movement together.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“The myth that movements “suddenly appear” misses the critical process of building up networks ready to act and ways to communicate broadly.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“If we don’t do this deep work, new systems of racial and social control will continue to be born, even if mass incarceration adapts or fades away. But if we do this work, we can shape a new values system with love at its center that refuses to throw away any human life.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“We don’t want a grand jury investigation,” they proclaim. “That determines if the government thinks something was legal or illegal. However, to stop the cycle, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Clearly, harm was done here. More justice won’t come from throwing someone in jail. We don’t want our people going to prison—and we don’t want the police going to prison either. Instead, we want a truly open restorative justice process to help heal the community.” Following suit, the community could mobilize for an authentic restorative justice process, with the same vehemence as others who fight for legal retribution.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“many social movements, women do 80% of the work, while 80% of leadership positions are held by men.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“the system depends on the cooperation of the oppressed.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Rather than seeing power as flowing from violence or exploitation, groups come to see that power flows through relationships and that we surrender our power whenever we remain complicit in unjust relationships.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“There are many different structures for movement groups. They can be service organizations, nonprofit entities, support groups, religious-based committees, friends who get together, and more. Each structure presents different advantages and disadvantages (and whole books are devoted to this subject4). But what they all share is an ability to act courageously together, grow and recruit new people into their fold, and exert their power to make change.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“We can be reminded of the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s words, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Dilemma demonstrations are different from rallies, marches, and vigils, which are all symbolic in nature. Dilemma demonstrations are effective because rather than telling about a problem, they show it. You”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“We therefore don’t have to become distraught or immobilized trying to convince active opponents. Our work is to steadily move passive allies, neutrals, and passive opponents in our direction—while of course keeping our active allies engaged, too! As”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Campaigns don’t succeed by getting everyone to agree with us! In fact, in most successful campaigns, the active opposition don’t change their minds (despite our best efforts). Rather, support for their position is pulled away by shifting the passives and neutrals one step in our direction (for example, moving neutrals to passive allies). What a relief!”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“In Montgomery the original goals were very minor: respect on the buses, hiring black drivers for black routes, and a fixed dividing line between the black and white sections on the buses. There was nothing about the end of segregation.  It wasn’t until virulent opposition made the chances of such modest goals seem bleak that the movement decided to escalate. In a stroke of both desperation and strategic insight, they expanded their demands to include full integration on the buses. If they couldn’t get their compromise, they might as well fight for what they really wanted.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Instead of accepting plea bargains, large numbers of people collectively demand their constitutional right to a jury of their peers.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Organizers who are not directly impacted, especially, may fall into assuming leadership roles rather than empowering the people most impacted to take on leadership for themselves.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“That approach is fundamental to good Organizers: identifying root causes and bringing people together to solve problems, with a belief that they can build power to make change.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Rebels, driven by passion and energy, speak truth to power and do so with conviction. They”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Advocates see a need but also see systems out there with resources, even if they’re broken and unfair. Advocates”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Helpers are people who see an individual in need and try to meet that need. Helpers”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Myth: Movements succeed if they mobilize large, mass actions.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Myth: Movements require complete internal unity.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Myth: Movements are built by heroic figurehead leaders.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“Myth: Movements are lit like a match.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide

“movements are forces of collective energy, channeling deep emotions like anger and love and mobilized by hopes and dreams for large-scale change.”
― Daniel Hunter, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide