Calling All Radicals: How Grassroots Organizers Can Save Our Democracy

by Gabriel Thompson

American democracy is seemingly in retreat. Voting rates are at an all time low, citizens are disillusioned, and inequality continues to soar. But there is also a belief that change is possible. Calling All Radicals argues that we can reclaim our democracy in the old fashioned way -- through grassroots organizing. Gabriel Thompson draws upon his own experience of working within local communities to demonstrate its immediate impact. Some When a brother and sister were being evicted from their home of 73 years, the community responded by staging a protest in front of the landlord's home -- gaining media attention and forcing the owner to allow them to stay. With children in Central Brooklyn suffering from lead poisoning, Thompson designed a campaign that trained inner-city high school students to test neighborhood homes and found that 1 in 3 were dangerous -- forcing NYC officials to act by pushing through citywide legislation that held landlords responsible for implementing more proactive steps to fix hazards. Calling All Radicals argues that everyone is capable of community organizing. It explains the key tactics of organizing, leadership development, conducting research, and working effectively with the media.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Activism

About the author

I have spent most of the past decade working as an independent journalist, writing feature articles about immigration, labor, and organizing for a variety of publications that include the New York Times, Harper’s, Slate, Virginia Quarterly Review, New York, Mother Jones, and The Nation. Most of my magazine writing can be found at https://gabrielthompson.org/

I'm the author of four books, each with deal in some way with the same themes. My newest, out in March 2016, is America's Social Arsonist: Fred Ross and Grassroots Organizing in the Twentieth Century. The book is the first biography of one of the most influential--but little known--community organizers in American history, who mentored both Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

I'm currently a Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University.

Reviews

[Charlotte Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful introductory guide. Would recommend it to any beginner organizer

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 'how to guide' for beginning organizers.

I have very little exposure to the world of organizing and this is an excellent primmer, assigned to me by a seminar professor. Gabriel Thompson's break down of what organizing is, why it is important, and how to go about doing it provides a compelling tale for individuals either wanting to take on a career in organizing, or, better understand alternative routes to accomplishing political, social, economic ends.

I am still grappling with organizing as a means to participatory democracy, having trouble reconciling the usurping of existing power structures with the constant calls for a better and stronger democracy, which inevitably calls for self-interested politicians to hop on their own high horse and run for office. Perhaps not inevitable, but. . .still.

Thompson provides strong examples of direct action, relationship building and political education, the main components behind his theory of organizing. One of the most important takeaways I found was in the chapter about the Montgomery bus boycotts. I have previously been corrected to acknowledge that the story of Rosa Parks simply being too tired to move has been co-opted by this history books, to the detriment of well planned and calculated movement building. in turn, it was great to see this story rehashed in some depth here.

A great read for those who see injustices all around them but don't know where to begin!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a comforting read since it is kind of a manual for how to go about tenant organizing, which is what I am trying to do. There was a particularly interesting chapter about the organizing that went into the bus boycott.