40-Year History of Radical Activism Offers Useful Lessons for Today’s Trump Resistance Movement

Interview with L.A. Kauffman, veteran organizer, strategist, journalist, and observer of U.S. radical politics, conducted by Scott Harris

The 1960s and early 1970s was a period of great turmoil and change in the U.S. and around the world. While the decade of the 1950s was identified with conformity and repression, symbolized by Sen. Joe McCarthy’s anti-communist witch hunts, the 1960s saw a blossoming of powerful social movements. Among these was the critical struggle against racism, and for civil rights, massive protests to end America’s wars in southeast Asia – and the birth of new movements for women’s equality and the coming out of the LGBT community.

A new book titled, “Direct Action: Protest and the Reinvention of American Radicalism,” by L.A. Kauffman, captures the voices of activists and leaders from a wide range of movements that have roots in 1960s and ’70s. The book traces the links between these radical movements over four decades – and the evolution of strategies and tactics they employed to change the national debate and transform America. Importantly. “Direct Action,” also highlights the central role of women and queer organizers, as well as the enduring racial divisions that have shaped progressive activism.

Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with L.A. Kauffman, a veteran organizer, strategist, journalist, and observer of U.S. radical politics for more than 30 years, about the history covered in her new book, which she explains offers many useful lessons for today’s Trump resistance movement. [Rush transcript.]

L.A. KAUFFMAN:When I look at the history of these movements and these organizing traditions unfolding over the course of this 40-year period, I see time and time again, that the people who have functioned as the bridges between movements have brought the skills and the tactics and the organizing techniques – including some of the ones like “affinity groups” and “spokescouncils” and “consensus decision-making.” The people who have carried that knowledge and those practices from movement to movement have disproportionately women, and disproportionately queer women. And that is just an observation based on decades of being in movements, of who, if you look the through lives from the anti-nuclear movement to the Central America work, and then to Act Up, for instance. Most of the men in Act Up were political novices. It was the lesbians in Act Up who were the folks who had done Central America work or who’d been part of the women’s peace encampments and brought all of these organizing skills.

So I think that it’s very fitting that that, as I say, was the kick-off party or the coming out for the resistance, the Women’s March, which was really a decentralized mobilization. People really self-mobilized. It had many different voices in it, and it’s led by women. I’ve been incredibly repeatedly surprised by the breadth and scope of the resistance that’s emerging now. We’re obviously facing an unprecedented challenge. But the scale and character of what I’m seeing is so different from anything I’ve seen in decades. It’s so much broader, it’s so much kind of livelier, coming from so many unexpected quarters, that although we’re facing challenges like I’ve never seen, I feel encouraged that our movements are going to continue to resist strongly as Trump attempts to implement his policies and are going to be thinking very strategically about 2018 and 2020, and the longer road ahead.

BETWEEN THE LINES:In terms of the challenges for the Trump resistance movement, it seems that keeping up the high energy and the just incredible momentum that has built up in these last couple months is difficult and certainly a challenge, as well as sustaining that movement and that energy over the long haul. Do you have advice for activists and organizers about the lessons that you’ve taken away from your living and working through the history of these 40 years of radical movements?

L.A. KAUFFMAN:Well, obviously, people need to pace themselves and think about self-care and be judicious in not burning themselves out in the short run. But there are times that require more of us, that ask us to do more and stretch ourselves farther. I think people are already doing that, and that’s what we have to continue doing. We know that protest movements can be quite effective and right now, civil society is the only check on the Trump administration really that that there is. So I encourage people to yes, be thoughtful about their participation so they can think about the long run. But to understand that these are such extraordinary times that it’s a time for all of us to see what we can do to stretch ourselves and be a little bolder and really persist because that is what victories come from.

For more information, visit Kauffman’s website at hlakauffman.org; and on Facebook at facebook.com/LAKauffman9.

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