From protesting against fascism to building reproductive justice in Texas to facilitating workshops on evaluating actions, June has been a busy month.
One highlight of June was a session of Innovate Public Schools’ Community Organizer Training Program.
The workshops I facilitated were about evaluating progress toward our ultimate goal: building power. If you haven’t been involved in planning a campaign or an action, the debrief or evaluation might seem less important by comparison.
It might not be the most exciting or glamorous aspect of community organizing, but it’s how we know we’re making progress.
Beyond Winning
How do we know that our action or campaign was successful? Beyond winning, I mean.
Sometimes, the victory isn’t just in winning. Sometimes the victory is about the power we’re building.
More than “what went right, what went wrong,” the evaluation is about digging into what can help us build power. In our “after-action reports,” we’re evaluating three issues:
❓How was the participants’ experience? Did they feel like they were building power? Did they build relationships? Did this experience inspire them to stay involved? Did we find new leaders?
❓Did we win? What power did we build that led us to victory? Wins are rarely absolute; what parts of our demands were met and what are we still fighting for? If we lost, why? Where is the power we didn’t see?
❓How did this campaign help us build our power even if we lost?* Where did we build alliances? What vulnerabilities did we discover (ours or our opponents’)? Are we stronger for the next time?
In one of the workshops, I asked participants to brainstorm discussion questions that will help them evaluate their next campaign or action.
I also led a role play of dealing with negative reactions in those evaluations. Participants practiced drawing out reluctant leaders, answering hard questions and dealing with losses.
Disrupting White Supremacy Culture
We closed with a reminder that white supremacy culture teaches us to hear peoples’ comments differently based on their identity (or what we assume about their identity). Women aren’t allowed to be angry. Neither are men of color. Think “hysterical woman” or “threatening Black man” stereotypes.
While the action itself gets all the attention, the debrief after it helps build for the next one. And keeps our eyes on the prize – building power.
What questions do you ask during your post-action evaluations to figure out your next steps?
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