This story is the third in Truthout's "Visions of 2018" series, in which activist leaders answer the question: "What would you like to see created, built, imagined or begun this year?" Each piece will focus on a bold idea for transformation, to give us fuel as the year moves forward.
As activists and artists, how do we motivate others? How do we mobilize people into sustainable movements? As we approach these questions in 2018, we would do well to remember that there's more to organizing and informing people than criticism.
I used to hold many of the beliefs, ideas and politics that I find myself regularly denouncing now. Since this is the case, I try to be understanding toward some of the people who may not yet realize the things I've come to understand in my life. El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, popularly known as Malcolm X, stated this perfectly in a letter to Maya Angelou, where he wrote:
We need people on each level to fight our battle. Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn't know what you know today.
[For more on this story by William C. Anderson, go to http://www.truth-out.org/opini...and-start-organizing]
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