Social Change

2. Social Change Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. Social change may include changes in nature, social institutions, social behaviors, or social relations.

3. Social Justice Social justice is the ability people have to realize their potential in the society where they live. • "Social justice" is generally used to refer to a set of institutions which will enable people to lead a fulfilling life and be active contributors to their community.

4. Community Organizing Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. • Community organizers generally assume that social change necessarily involves conflict and social struggle in order to generate collective power for the powerless. • A core goal of community organizing is to generatedurable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence key decision-makers on a range of issues over time.

5. Grassroots Organizing Grassroots organizing builds community groups from scratch, developing new leadership where none existed and organizing the unorganized. • It is a values based process where people are brought together to act in the interest of their communities and the common good.

6. Direct Action Direct action occurs when a group of people take an action which is intended to reveal an existing problem, highlight an alternative, or demonstrate a possible solution to a social issue.

7. Non-violent Direct Action Non-violent direct action is a tactical approach that involves finding ways to achieve our goals without harming people. • Also called nonviolent resistance, it is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political non-cooperation, satyagraha (“insistance on truth”), and other methods, without using violence.

8. Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power.

9. Types of Non-Violent Direct Action & Civil Disobedience • Sitting in intersections/ Locking down • Sit-ins, Kiss-ins, Cough-ins, Die-ins • Banner hangs/Guerilla Art • Walkouts • Taking over an office or corporation • Boycotts • Protesting • Referendums • Refusing to pay taxes • Camping out in front of a government building • Giving free food to people in public places • Labor strikes • Petitions • Fasting • Community Policing • Peer Counseling • Worker Cooperatives • Community Gardens • Meetings/Forums • Property Destruction?

10. Salt March (Satyagraha) In 1930 Mahatma Gandhi proposed a non-violent march protesting the British Salt Tax. The Salt Tax essentially made it illegal to sell or produce salt, allowing a complete British monopoly. The Salt Tax made it illegal for workers to freely collect their own salt from the coasts of India, making them buy salt they couldn't really afford. Ghandi and 78 other protesters set out to the coast, a 240 mile march, to harvest their own salt. The salt march started a series of protests and boycotts, shutting down British shops and mills, and becoming a main trigger for the larger Civil Disobedience Movement which eventually led to the liberation of India from British control.

11. Friday Protests(Repetition) • Starting in 2005, Palestinians in Bil’ in began protesting a “security fence” or “Apartheid Separation Wall.” • This wall was being built by the Israeli Defense Force in order to “prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from entering into the borders.” • Palestinian villagers of Bil’in saw this fence encroaching on 60% of their farmland and property, and every Friday afternoon began walking up to the fence protesting its creation. • The International Court of Justice deemed the building of the fence as a violation of international law because of its over-intrusion of villagers’ land; however, the IDF would not stop building. • The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, an organization designed to connect Palestinian residents from different villages, mobilized people from neighboring villages to join in the weekly Friday protest. • As years went on, the protests grew, and the number of people arrested also grew. The IDF closed Bil’in to all non-Bil’in residents, but that did not stop the movement from growing. • Finally, in 2011, and after 6 years of weekly protests, the IDF, after a ruling from Israel’s Ministry of Defense, began taking the fence down. • Even today, the “Friday Protest” is a routine Friday for many Palestinians; people from many different villages affected from various wall building and illegal occupations engage in nonviolent protesting at the site of occupations and walls.

12. Bolivian Water Wars (Multi-Step Strategy) • PROBLEM: • In 1999, Bolivia, under increasing pressure from the World Bank to privatize public goods, sold the water rights of Cochabamba, one of their largest cities, to a foreign company called Aguas del Tunari. • Aguas was allowed to take over all water systems, forcing the people to pay up to 40% of their monthly income for their water bill alone! • ACTION: • At first, public meetings were held • As prices continued to rise, a coalitionto oppose the policy emerged under the name La Coordinadora. • In December, La Coordinadora called its first mobilization-it gave the government a deadline to end the contract or they would take action. • Two months later, when nothing changed, workers went on strikes and began to block major roadways. • On February 5th the entire city was blockaded. • The next day the government agreed to freeze rate hikes. • In March La Coordinadora held an unofficial referendumabout Aguas del Tunari’s water contract.95% of the people demanded that the government terminate the contract. • The ‘Last Battle’ began on April 3rd. Protesters occupied Cochabamba’s main plaza and made blockades to cut off the main highway and seal off all roads to the city. The Aguas de Tunarioffice was non-violently occupied, and the sign torn down. • Organizations throughout the rest of Bolivia held protests in solidarity with the people of Cochabamba. • The President declared Marshal Law and mass arrests were made. Police used tear gas, wire fencing, rubber bullets, and live ammunition. • Over 100,000 Bolivians mobilized for the cause and the Aguas del Tunari consortium fled the country in fear of being captured by protesters. • On April 10th La Coordinadorasigned an accord guaranteeing the removal of the Aguas company, and returning control of water back to the public.