Building coalitions that work for everyone

The solutions I want to offer are not especially new ideas, but I want to take the findings of community organizing literature over the past few decades and turn it into more easily understandable, actionable language. The toolkit section takes these solutions and displays them in a social media-friendly way. The main solutions I focus on are leadership and organizational structure and community building.

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Community-conscious leadership, strategy, and structure encourages inclusive and cooperative behavior from the start, and from the top down. These are key components that guide the organization’s actions, and so DEI initiatives are most effective here. Starting with diversifying leadership, organizations can look for diverse community members that are already doing organizing or educating work [1], support workers of color with mentorship, and ensure that the hiring and promoting processes are not inadvertently favoring white workers. Coalition leadership is most effective when able to build one-on-one connections with members, understand the interests of other individuals and groups, and work to harmonize these with the larger goals of the organization [2]. One study of 40 social change coalitions and 70 coalition organizers found that these were by far the most common assets in effective leaders, regardless of the issue, type of coalition, or stakeholder population [3].

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Outwardly stemming from leadership and organizational structure is the process of building relationships in communities and coalitions. The geographic scope of a community network connects stakeholders by some commonality in region/system of economy, government, and ethos [4]. These relationships are respectful, sensitive, and must be consistently maintained through support and learning. Acknowledgement of diverse identities and group memberships should be recognized and respected, and given forums for intergroup sharing [5].

 

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[1] National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, and Georgetown University Medical Center, “Bridging the Cultural Divide in Health Care Settings: The Essential Role of Cultural Broker Programs,” 2004.

[2] Cherie Brown and American Jewish Committee, The Art of Coalition Building: A Guide for Community Leaders, (New York, N.Y.: American Jewish Committee, 1984).

[3] T. Mizrahi and B. B. Rosenthal, “Complexities of Coalition Building: Leaders’ Successes, Strategies, Struggles, and Solutions,” Social Work (2001).

[4] Meredith Minkler, Community Organizing and Community Building for Health and Welfare, (Ithaca, NY: Rutgers University Press, 2012).

[5] Brown and American Jewish Committee, The Art of Coalition Building.