6 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE FIGHT FOR HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS
- Never assume that everyone sees the world or the situation as you do. Many of the things that you see as a problem someone else will see as a solution.
- The struggle always is to define the frame of reference for civil and human rights. If you do not have control of the frame of reference and the narrative that defines that frame of reference you have lost the battle for civil and human rights.
- It is hard to see that the struggle is to define the frame of reference because there are many smoke screens — race, gender, sexual preference, and nationality — that obscure one’s understanding of the true essence of the struggle for political and economic rights for all.
- While mobilizing gets the attention for a short time, organizing ultimately brings about change.
- Always be clear about what you are struggling for, and always be able to explain why you are engaged in struggle.
- Hope is the best motivator for people who have been oppressed and want to engage in struggle. It is almost never useful to engage in struggle to be only against something or someone.
