4 a) Briefly explain what Dr.

Franklin calls his “Movement Bridge-Builders & Youth-Based

Organizations” model. Discuss what he means by the terms “Framing”, “Appropriation of
Indigenous Resources” and “Positionality.”

Dr. Franklin’s “Movement Bridge-Builders and Youth based Activism” model is used to

determine the constraints on movement activism and how those constraints were overcome with

a focus on youth (Franklin,28). Dr. Franklin’s model rest on the foundation that a movement’s

infrastructure is a complex make up of various groups operating together (Franklin, 29).

Movement Bridge-Builders are youth that operate within the constraints of the movement

infrastructure and leverage and opportunity for youth to get involved (Franklin, 38). They act as

a bridge between branches of the movement to elevate the youth. Framing is a way of presenting

information to a group that encourages involvement and inspiration amongst the community

youth (Franklin, 39). The Framing is used to create a narrative that bridge builders can use to

mobilize people (Franklin, 43). The Appropriation of Indigenous Resources is how the Bridge

builders and upcoming youth utilize the preexisting networks and resources of the movement

infrastructure (Franklin, 40). Indigenous resources can pose as a hindrance and an opportunity to

upcoming groups, Youth leaders must employ resources in a creative way such that attention is

brough to the group for its benefit and value (Franklin, 41). The final strategy employed by

Bridge Builders is Positionality. Positionality is a sort of wakeup call or alarm used by

movement builders to create awareness and a sense of urgency around an issue (Franklin, 41).

Franklin says positionality can be used as a linkage between generations and elevates the youth

by pushing an immediate issue that everyone can work to combat (Franklin, 42).

b) What does Dr. Ransby mean by the concepts of “Political Quilters and Maroon Spaces?” Give
examples from her chapter 8. Do you see any commonalities between Franklin’s concepts and
her concepts?
Ransby uses Maroon spaces to describe organizations that act as a sort of safe space and

incubator for organization to rally and brunt the hard times (Ransby, 149). The historical basis

for the concept is derived from the maroonage of fugitive slaves, that set up communities that

acted as a safe haven for free slaves to hideout. She uses the term “Political Quilters” to

reference groups and individuals that connect themselves through expanse networks that

strengthen the activism community as a whole (Ransby, 149). The political quilting was inspired

by her work with Ella’s Daughters, a group build on Ella Bakers beliefs. Ransby gives three

examples of groups that have acted as maroon spaces since 2014, BOLD, Blackbird, and

Blackout collective (Ransby, 150). Each of these groups has a rich history in Black activism and

organizing and offers workshops and training sessions to help further activism. Just as Ella Baker

had envisioned these groups provide future activist with the skills and knowledge needed to

create new groups and further pursue issues. There are similarities between Dr. Franklin and

Ransby’s model for movement infrastructure. Dr. Franklin’s model is more analytical in scope

compared to Ransby’s more historical perspective, but they both view the same concepts. Both

authors emphasize the Political quilters or Bridge Building aspect of movements, and how a

greater network can give rise to future generations and groups who can use the network to

elevate themselves and alert the community of issues.

c) Discuss at least three (3) of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals as found in his “Tactics” chapter.
Give examples of these rules based on examples we have discussed in class, lecture notes, or
other readings. Explain whether Barack Obama’s community organizing in the Chicago Altgeld
Gardens community demonstrate he was or was not a student of the Alinsky method.

Alinsky’s second rule is “whenever possible go outside the experience of your enemy”. This

tactic means that the best strategy is one that is unexpected or never seen before, so that there is

no precedent to combat the issue (Alinsky, 128) . An example would be the SCLC protesting
with zero retaliation to the actions of police and angry whites. They refused to retaliate and as a

result it made the police look inhumane and brutal until they realized that the best approach was

to avoid violence as well. Alinsky’s fourth rule is make the enemy live up to their own rule book

(Alinsky, 129). This rule is displayed perfectly in the Alinsky documentary we watched in class

where the black citizens of Rochester, NY bought stock in Kodak and showed up to the

stockholders’ meetings to make demands. The operated within the confines of the corporation to

gain power over kodak as a stockholder in the company. The tenth rule is develop a tactic that

will maintain constant pressure on the opposition. The success of this tactic can be seen in

Moses, Radical equations when their commitment to the project allowed for its success. (Moses,

161). Obama’s work in the Altgeld community clearly show that he was a student of Alinsky’s

methods. Obama references his organizers handbook (Obama, 178), as well as stresses the need

for the group to attach themselves to an issue and pursue it thoroughly (Obama, 179). Obama is

implementing the methods of Alinsky, and operating under the appropriate conditions, the

strategies can look quite different from the surface, but the basis is the same, the tactics change.

a) Discuss at least three insights we gained from watching the documentary “On these Grounds”
and its examining the problem Black youth being policed in public schools. Based on lecture
comments/notes, discuss aspects of the pipeline-to-prison syndrome.

Three insight I took away from the on these Grounds documentary were the normative nature of

the issue, the institutional depth of the issue, and the statutory basis for the issue.

Not just in the south, but all over America students are being brutally taken down by Police

officers in school for disrupting the peace. The extent of the issue is national and fairly accepted

by teachers, student, and parents. In the documentary the students witnessing the event did not

think to question the issue because it was a common and known occurrence for a student to be

arrested for disturbing the peace of school. I also saw the institutional extent of the issue. The
officer and his actions were where all the attention and conflict was focused, but the actions of

the teachers and administrators that lead to the escalation by the officer was not questioned.

Teachers and administrators immediately turning to law enforcement to solve classroom issues

seems like an extreme measure to deal with a child. The police officer is also acting as a police

officer, just as he would on the streets. He treats his student encounters as an encounter with a

criminal because that is the only capacity, he is trained in. Both the school administration and the

police present at the school have been instructed to operate under a set of rules that encourage

violent interactions and target poor minority students. I also gained knowledge of the law that set

precedent for the state to charge student with disrupting the peace. The early 1900s law that was

used to control women on college pivoted from its sexist origin to encompass a new racially

driven motive. (I could not find name of law). The law allows for students to be arrested and

charged as criminal for doing nothing more than disrupting a classroom. This has major

implications in the prison pipeline. Students arrested at school are more likely to drop out of

school, and the majority of males in prison do not have a high school diploma (Shaw Ch6 lecture

notes). This also applies to the foster care system which encompasses mostly youth of color and

has direct correlation to future imprisonment.

6b) Why did veteran civil rights activists--Robert (Bob) Moses and Charles (Charlie) Cobb--
believe that teaching Black and other children algebra would empower these children and their
communities in various ways? How did they link the philosophy of Ella Baker to what they were
doing with the “Algebra Project” and how did they overcome internal resistance to their project
in Weldon, North Carolina?

Moses understood that Algebra was a sort of barrier to entry into higher education. If students

were uncomfortable with math, they would most likely dislike it and have no further pursuit into

higher education and STEM. Increasing their math literacy would also increase test scores,

allowing them to attend college and return to the community with an education to press the
community forward. Moses was a follower in Ella Baker’s community leaders theory, that

people will benefit more form the opportunity to develop and lead themselves rather than a

strong leader telling them how to live. The Algebra Project aimed to give student a strong

mathematical base to build on so they could develop into future leaders of the community. The

main issue that faced the Algebra Project was alignment (Moses, 156). The teachers had certain

quotas and benchmarks they had to adhere to in order to pass inspection of the state and when it

came to using AP or staying in good graces with administration, they chose to abide. The

program clearly worked, but its untraditional format didn’t allow for it to fit neatly into the

current system. They were able to overcome these roadblocks due to commitment by teachers

like Valerie and the community (Moses, 161). The entire Weldon community was invested in the

success of the AP. They realized the effectiveness and potential of the plan and decided it was

what they were going to do.

6c) Explain what Dr. Franklin concludes are the factors that contributed to the rise and collapse
of the Black Student Leadership Network and the lessons to be learned from it.

The rise of the Black student leadership network in 1991 was due to a culmination of many

factors. Dr. Franklin claims that there was a continued heightened political awareness amongst

Black youths from the Civil rights movement as well as other national and global occurrences

such as dissent to the Persian Gulf War and a rightward shift in American politics at the time

lead to a creation of a young base of students willing to participate in activism. (Franklin, 117).

Edelman the founder of children’s defense fund, a national child poverty group, invited Lisa

Sullivan of New Haven youth movement to a large meeting of activist in Bellagio Italy in 1990

(Franklin, 119). Sullivan, one of the only saw this opportunity to youths at the convention, saw
this as an opportunity to gain resource and access to legitimate organizations for young adults

as well as act as a bridge between the older activist and new generation. In 1991, with funding

from the CDF the BSLN was created at would act under the same umbrella as the CDF and BCCC

(Franklin, 126). The BSLN also felt as if the BCCC and CDF were not giving them enough

autonomy to act in their realm. The CDF established a “stand for Children” campaign which

stepped on the toes of the BSLN and put their group at a virtual standstill (Franklin, 185). The

lack of autonomy would eventually lead to BSLN being disbanded in 1996.

The fall of the BSLN can be attributed to a few factors. First, tension between the Director of

BSLN, Steve White, and the staff of BCCC lead to a loss of faith in his ability (Franklin, 184).

There was also skepticism about the ability of the organization. The BCCC felt as if they had not

produced enough to rationalize their funding and a reorganization of the group was set to take

place in 1995 ( Franklin, 185). There were also internal disputes amongst White and Sullivan

which sent raptures through the organization and would lead to his departure in 1994 (Franklin,

191). Internal fissures in the group revealed some external issues that called for the BSLN to

take on new initiatives besides its community organizing (franklin, 196). BSLN pushed for

increased autonomy in decision making of their agenda but ultimately, the BCCC did not feel

they had the mobilization ability to do so and as a result the frustrated students disbanded the

organization (Franklin, 202). Dr. Franklin points at the inability of the CDF/BCCC/BSLN to

organize was reflective of an inability of progressives and liberals of the time to unite behind

grass roots organizations (Franklin, 204). Just as some of the New Haven students had feared,

the CDF may have been too mainstream or not radical enough for the goals of the student
organizations. In retrospect, this encounter shows the importance of providing autonomy and

in addition to financial support to young activist.