[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgquP1FRTsU]
For over an hour on Tuesday evening, Lawrence Guyot recalled the successes and challenges of Freedom Summer in Mississippi in order to guide the Solidarity Brigade of Southern Solidarity Summer toward success in building a progressive majority in Virginia.
“There’s nobody too cute, too young, too old to be an organizer,” snapped Mr. Guyot. In response to a question about organizing people in “non-political” places like the church, Mr. Guyot responded, “There is nowhere in the world that is non-political,” and he reminded participants that motivating and mobilizing people in their homes and in their communities was at the heart of all major grassroots movements in this country.
Mr. Guyot also offered reflections on the Obama presidency, the emergence of the Tea Party, and the need for voters of color to both organize independently as well as pick sides in our deeply polarized political climate. “Nobody in the history of this country has ever given anybody power,” he reminded the organizers.
The organizers of the brigade were deeply grateful and seemingly transformed in light of Mr. Guyot’s insights. Robert Anderson, who traveled all the way from New York City to participate in Southern Solidarity Summer, tweeted after the meeting: “I witnessed greatness in meeting mr.lawrence guyot.”
The civil rights legend closed with the simple reminder that the objective of any voter organizer is “Mastering the concept of empowerment.” The Solidarity Brigade has carried those words into the field with them, and every conversation with a voter has quickly become an opportunity to empower, motivate, and mobilize.
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