The following quotations are from:
Alicia Garza, The Purpose of Power
“A base should be distinguished from a constituency, which can include those groups but also include people who are impacted by an issue or a series of issues but aren’t yet organized to fight them.” 212
“There are many issues that people care about, and there is a lot at stake—but not enough of us are organized to make the impact we seek. Those of us who want to see healthcare for everyone, those of us who want to make sure that quality education stays accessible and affordable, those of us who want to ensure that we are protecting the environment, those of us who want to make sure that Black lives matter and that women are treated as people, are tasked with building a movement to win the world we dream of in our minds and in our hearts. To build that movement, we have to go about the task of building bases—ever-expanding groups of people organized around our vision for change.” 215
“Political education is a tool for understanding the political contexts we live in. It helps individuals and groups analyze the social and economic trends, the policies and ideologies influencing our lives—and use this information to develop strategies to change the rules and transform power.” 220
“Political education helps us see the world from different perspectives without elevating the viewpoint and perspective of white, Christian, heterosexual men over that of anyone else—including those groups whose presence, contributions, and history have suffered erasure. Political education is a part of the process of interrupting old power dynamics in our communities, the ones that privilege some experiences, perspectives, and tactics over others.
The conservative movement has also been looking at education for a few decades now, targeting curricula in high schools and universities to reach kids in their most formative years and shape how they understand the world. For example, a school district in Texas voted to change its curriculum to eliminate any material on the slave trade and instead teach young people that Black people freely chose to immigrate to the United States to find work, just as Europeans did. This is a vivid example of how the ability to control the stories that define us is a key form of power. Political education acknowledges that no education is neutral—that all information has a story behind it and an implicit agenda.” 223