by Stacey Prince
Last week on Martin Luther King Day, the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (NWFCO), a coalition of over 20 organizations working to promote racial, economic and social equity, released the first ever Washington State Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity. The purpose of the report was to evaluate WA legislature for its actions in 2009 that either supported or undermined racial equity in our state. This is an amazing document, with an abundance of information gathered in a succinct, 50 page report. I encourage you to read the report yourself (a link to it is available at http://washingtoncan.org/) but here would like to provide a brief summary to highlight some findings and hopefully peak your interest.
The report begins by providing an overview of the current make-up of Washington state residents by county, showing the percentage of people of color, immigrants, and non-native English speakers in our state. This review underscores the fact that people of color are an increasingly large proportion of residents in WA state. It then reviews current racial disparities in our state, some of which are increasing. For example, median income, number of families without health insurance, and high school drop-out rates are increasing at a faster rate for people of color than for whites. The authors make the point that our Governor, representatives and senators have multiple opportunities every year to positively impact racial disparities. This report card is an effort to evaluate how they did in 2009.
To read entire article click here.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tips for effective political advocacy
by Stacey Prince
You are having dinner with your in-laws, who live in the Southwest, and one of them makes a derogatory comment about Mexican immigrants, blaming them for increased crime in the neighborhood. He make no reference to factors such as poverty or lack of availability of legal employment, nor does he back up his contention that it is in fact Mexican immigrants who are to blame for the increased crime rates. Instead he comments on the need for the US government to provide more stringent "protection against illegals". You are steaming inside but wonder how you can possibly make your point when you know they are so entrenched in their views.
You are angry that your city's new policy on the homeless has led to the closure of several encampments that previously provided some safety and community. You decide to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in support of legally recognized camps and other services for homeless individuals and families.
You have the opportunity to go to your state Capitol to lobby for a particular piece of legislation you feel very strongly about. You know you will likely have 5 minutes or less to make your point to your local congressperson before the next wave of visitors gets their turn.
Besides being anxiety producing (at least for me), what do these scenarios have in common? They are all about getting your message across in an effective way, a way that has credibility, will be heard by the recipient, is impassioned enough to connect with the listener but not so emotional that it gets dismissed. I am going to loosely call this advocacy. Though we usually think of advocacy as the more formal process of trying to influence decisions in a political arena, such as is described in the last example above, one can also advocate with family members, colleagues, through the media, etc. Wikipedia defines advocacy as "a deliberate process of speaking out on issues of concern in order to exert some influence on behalf of ideas or persons".
To read entire article click here.
You are having dinner with your in-laws, who live in the Southwest, and one of them makes a derogatory comment about Mexican immigrants, blaming them for increased crime in the neighborhood. He make no reference to factors such as poverty or lack of availability of legal employment, nor does he back up his contention that it is in fact Mexican immigrants who are to blame for the increased crime rates. Instead he comments on the need for the US government to provide more stringent "protection against illegals". You are steaming inside but wonder how you can possibly make your point when you know they are so entrenched in their views.
You are angry that your city's new policy on the homeless has led to the closure of several encampments that previously provided some safety and community. You decide to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in support of legally recognized camps and other services for homeless individuals and families.
You have the opportunity to go to your state Capitol to lobby for a particular piece of legislation you feel very strongly about. You know you will likely have 5 minutes or less to make your point to your local congressperson before the next wave of visitors gets their turn.
Besides being anxiety producing (at least for me), what do these scenarios have in common? They are all about getting your message across in an effective way, a way that has credibility, will be heard by the recipient, is impassioned enough to connect with the listener but not so emotional that it gets dismissed. I am going to loosely call this advocacy. Though we usually think of advocacy as the more formal process of trying to influence decisions in a political arena, such as is described in the last example above, one can also advocate with family members, colleagues, through the media, etc. Wikipedia defines advocacy as "a deliberate process of speaking out on issues of concern in order to exert some influence on behalf of ideas or persons".
To read entire article click here.
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