This week in class we spent a lot of time thinking about the ways that activism can have as big of an impact as possible. One of the ideas I loved the most from this was when Dr. Kirk was talking about learning from our history. While we have spent a lot of time discussing the history of activism in this class (Bidder 70 and Monkey Wrench Gang among other examples), I loved her idea of looking outside of only environmental activists for our inspiration. She spoke extensively of the lessons that we can learn from the activists who worked to end slave trade, and I found this incredibly powerful. Remembering how interconnected all the injustices facing our world truly are may seem overwhelming at first, but it brings with it a powerful opportunity for change. If everyone who cares deeply about any of those issues comes together to fight against them all, we have an incredible opportunity for change.
Another point that Dr. Kirk discussed that really stuck with me was the importance of remembering that change happens slowly. This was also mentioned in Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky, but I found it to be more impactful when listening to someone who had been fighting for change her whole life. When she discussed the shift in the human rights conversation after 9/11 this point really came to life for me. It had been a moment where the human rights community had thought that progress was being made, only to be rudely thrown back. I think that this example really illustrates the importance of continuing to fight for the things that you believe in, even when that fight gets really difficult. It also showed how we cannot allow ourselves to become complicit. We have to use the times that we fail, or that things don’t happen the way that we had imagined, to learn and to adapt. Although clearly this lesson is impossible to learn in a classroom, I think you really have to experience it before fully understanding, it was enlightening to have someone who had experienced it speak to the ways that those experiences can be used as a learning opportunity.
