We talked earlier about trigger events. I want to go from trigger events to this broader idea of mobilizing. You know, when a trigger event happens, something happens in the news that I can’t predict in a recorded conversation, right? And there’s. There’s just a lot of energy. Mobilizing people and taking advantage of that is a big and important step. When you are making noise and demanding attention, that is powerful.

But however, as powerful as that kind of one off mobilizing can be, it is only the beginning. If we want that to last, we need to move from mobilizing to organizing. And the book no Shortcuts, Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age discusses this in depth. When we talk about mobilizing, we’re talking about energy. We’re marching at City hall, chanting in the streets, rallying around a cause. You’re handing out a petition. This is what gets people really fired up and excited and united.

Mobilization is something that’s like spontaneous and inspired by events, and it makes a big public moment. And we’ve talked a lot about doing those and being a part of them. And that creates visibility. But organizing is about what happens after the march is over. It is the deep work that builds your relationships, that forms your networks and creates your structures. And you’ve seen bits and pieces of our organizing work in this, this structure as well. Organizing means that you can take that energy and create something that is durable in terms of connections.

So you’re gathering a crowd, but that crowd has leaders in it. That crowd has members in it. That crowd has capacity in it. So you want to lay the foundation for something that lasts there. Jane McLevy’s book, no Shortcuts is a reminder that there really are not any easy routes to that kind of transformation. Real change means we have to invest long term. That means we have to invest in people, we have to invest in relationships.

We have to engage in other people over time and care about them. Movements that succeed understand that what keeps you alive is being able to be alive when the cameras are off and the excitement is off and the week of outrage is over. Because just one of the things in our system is that outrages don’t end. There’s always a new one that’s bigger than before. So in organizing, it’s not just about, oh, I need you to come to something. It’s about asking people to take on more responsibility. And that means you have to have the capacity to allow them to take on more responsibility.

It means you have to allow them to understand their power and use it Effectively, it means you are building something that can resist setbacks and it can sustain for a long run. So I want to talk about how we transition from mobilizing to organizing. Mass mobilizations are inspiring and they are important and they are vital, but they are also often temporary. And if we want this temporary thing to go long term, we’ve got to think about how to engage people after the protest ends. I want to talk about that here. First of all, you want to invest in relationships. Organizing is fundamentally about building relationships with the people that you meet with members, with strangers, with people who show up at these protests, figure out who they are, and, like, think about what motivates them, like, why are they there?

And really reflect on it. And think of ways to use that as, like, a tool to keep people involved and motivated. And when somebody says what they’re interested in or why they’re there, like, really, don’t just let that go in and out of your brain. I know this seems like, oh, it’s obvious, but you’d be surprised. Like, many people will take who you are and try to transition it into who they need you to be. Don’t do that. Look for leaders.

Every social group needs them. They do not emerge by chance. Somebody has to listen to you, speak to you, introduce you to things, and this is part of what we’re doing here. Leadership development is a core part of organizing, and it can’t just happen by declaring yourself one. You have to have ways to get involved. When you have committees and roles and groups that make use of people’s skills, and people know that they can contribute beyond just showing up there, they feel more connected. There is a special specific skill that they have and the people around them don’t, and that gives them a sense of value.

You also want to think about campaigns that require strategic pressure. That’s why so many of the things that I’ve been talking to you about are designed to be evergreen. Because there’s just going to be new issues related to those things all the time, forever. Right? Campaigns to change policies or change an institution or change who’s in charge of something, all of that takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of staying power, and it takes consistency. Those are the reliable efforts that really add up over time.

When you meet every week, when you knock on doors, when you’re following up, that is what keeps things not just going, but growing long term.