How to Effectively Participate
Before we get into taking action, let’s make sure you are safely consuming information and media.
Take a look at How to Find Reliable Information
and Vet an Information Source.
Participation 101
“I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me.”- Maya Angelou.
When the systems and powers in place in our communities do not represent the community or its needs, we find different ways to participate. Fortunately, there are several ways to get involved in civic engagement and elevate your community’s voices. From quick likes on social media to written letters to in person protests, there is a way and a need for you to share your ideas and concerns with your local elected representatives. Keep in mind that the more effort you put into an action and the more people you have supporting you, the bigger momentum and impact you will have and the better chance you have at making a difference.
Starting Conversations
First and foremost, change starts with a conversation and it starts with the people around you. It’s one thing to try to change the mind of a stranger, and another to speak with your family, your friends, your classmates and peers. If you want to start small and still have a big impact, start with a conversation. It might not be easy, but take some time to go through these resources that will lead you through having healthy conversations and setting boundaries to protect yourself and your mental state:
Facilitating Difficult Conversations
Overcoming Conversation Roadblocks (Catalyst)
Conversations with family (My Wellbeing)
As a teacher: About race (Teaching Tolerance)
Self Care For Difficult Conversations
Navigating Difficult Conversations: Self-Care (Rollins Wellness Center)
After Conversations (Headspace)
Developing a Self Care Plan (Brown)
Preparing For Informed Conversations
Anti-Racism Resources (Dr. Edmond)
Racial Justice and Equity (Resolutions Northwest)
Digital Activism
In this digital age, the technology and network we have at our fingertips makes advocacy as simple as a tap on a screen. Digital activism is the easiest way to garner attention and therefore care for a topic. The more eyes on an issue, the more pressure on your local electeds to take a stance and make a change.
From signing petitions to social media and information sharing, these are pretty accessible ways to advocate. In the next sections, we’ll kick it up a notch and check out how you can take a more active role in digital advocacy.
The Evolution of Digital Activism
Timeline of the Evolution of Digital Activism
Timeline
1990s - The start: Mass communication and information sharing in activism
The internet comes to life and mass communication enables people to get out news and information very quickly
1991 - Mobilization: Mass communication as a tool for organizing
One of the first instances of mobilization through email organizing: Nearly 30,000 consumers organized through emails and message boards to halt the release of a database containing names, addresses, and purchasing behaviors of 120 million Americans from software company Lotus and credit bureau Equifax
2006 - The evolution of mobilization: Early social media organizing
Social media platforms shift from being spaces for casual interaction and leisure and become platforms to organize. High school students in Southern California use MySpace to connect with teens throughout California inspiring a wave of immigration rights protests
2013-2018 - A shift in social media activism: The rise of awareness campaigns
Hashtags become a method of highlighting and consolidating content under a single topic
2013: #BlackLivesMatter, 2015: #LoveWins, 2017: #MeToo
2016 - A demographics shift: Institutions and elected officials in social media organizing
Both major political parties in America have turned to internet organizing, especially through major social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, etc.
2020 - COVID-19: Social movements in a pandemic
With more people at home and online, topics go viral in the blink of an eye. Tweets and Facebook posts are screenshotted and shared, Tik Toks document moments of injustice, and people are held publicly accountable to their words and actions.
Resources
Fun articles to read about social media and activism!
Activism in the Social Media Age (Pew Research Center)
Activism on Social Media Varies by Race and Ethnicity, Age, Political Party (Pew Research Center)
COVID-19 and Online Activism: A Momentum for Radical Change? (E-International Relations)
Petitions
What Are Petitions?
Petitioning is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment to engage your government and has historically served to build movement for changing legislation. It is a request to public officials and government authorities for action on a certain political issue or concern. Petitions are made on behalf of a group who sign on to indicate support and it signals to the government that there is mass support for the topic.
How They Work
Generally, petitions work by spreading awareness, but are also very useful in identifying and listing out the specific actions you would like to see your elected officials take. Internet petitions have increasingly become a popular advocacy tool due to its ease of use and the potential to engage with millions of people worldwide. Used in conjunction with other forms of advocacy from protests to contacting officials, petitions have successfully pushed for change.
Starting Your Own Petition
While it is easy enough to just sign on to a petition, it’s just as easy to start your own for a cause that is important to you. Whether you create a written petition and gather physical signatures or use an online forum like Change.org, here are some tips for starting your own petition:
1. Research your topic
Understanding both the support and opposition to your topic will help you decide how to go about making your petition gain traction
2. Identify how many signatures you need
Depending on what kind of petition you are creating and to whom, you might need to meet a minimum number of signatures to convince someone to change something. Typically, the internet petitions we see have a purpose of spreading awareness so there’s no need to worry too much about meeting a quota.
3. Create a form for signatures
Online petitions can skip this step!
Paper petitions can look pretty basic, create columns to collect names, signatures, and contact information
4. Develop a Statement of Purpose
What is this petition for? What change or action do you want to see taken and by whom?
This is where you can outline the specific changes you want to see in legislation or actions you want someone to make. This is helpful in guiding decision-makers to community led solutions and also helpful to hold them accountable if they make bare minimum adjustments rather than serious change.
5. Identify your decision-maker
Who holds the power to actually make change? Who should you be making your demands to?
Properly identifying who the decision maker is adds another layer of accountability. Rather than making a petition out to say, the mayor of your city, identify whether it is actually your district council member who has the power to make change and message them directly instead. It takes away their ability to shirk off their responsibilities to the group and instead places it directly into their hands.
6. Tell Your Story
Stories might be the most powerful tool a person has to advocate for themselves. How does this issue affect you and your community? What does it mean to see meaningful change?
Petitions are a request, convince your public officials that they should follow through and grant them
7. Cite your references
It’s always a good idea to cite your sources, as it provides credibility to your cause and also to the solutions you suggest. Provide the extra context for the issue you are addressing
8. Get as many signatures as you can! Use your networks and social media!
Remember, the main value in a petition is the attention it grabs. The more people who care, the more pressure there is on public officials to respond to the community. Use your networks and social media!
9. Find some influential people to back up your petition
While this step is not necessary, it makes sense that if you can get other officials, prominent community groups and members, and otherwise to voice their support, the more likely it is that your requests will be considered
10. Be patient
It takes time to build up momentum! If your petition doesn’t see a huge boost, it’s fine. People need time to educate themselves and you can help the process by sharing with your networks
Social Media
How It Works
Social media is another channel for communication and an easy way to utilize mass message campaigns. However, social media can be used to not only spread awareness, but has also recently been used to share resources and information with the community. Especially during these times when most everything is conducted online, social media has been pretty useful in connecting people to workshops and training around social justice issues and advocacy.
Best Practices
If you decide to use social media to spread awareness and information, always make sure to check your facts and sources before you do. It is so easy to spread disinformation and difficult to reverse that harm. Make sure when you consume and share social media posts that:
1. You check your own confirmation bias.
Are you only searching for and sharing information that reaffirms what you believe or are you keeping an open mind to take in news that contradicts your beliefs?
2. Are they using shock factor and trying to get an emotional reaction?
Once you feel that shock, pause, and investigate.
3. Social media uses algorithms to cater to your interests.
When you like a post or click to open a link, all that information is recorded and used to create an echo chamber of things you like to see and hear. Make sure to regularly delete your cookies (These cookie crumbs contain your browsing history that websites use to customize your viewing experience. Ever shopped on Amazon and saw an ad on Instagram for the same product?)
4. Be discerning when evaluating information, whether you agree with it or not.
Dive into analyzing the journalism ethics and standards of any article you read.
Pro-tip
Take a look at the Journalism ethics and standards created by the Society of Professional Journalists to go the extra mile.
Going the Extra Mile
If you decide that you want to create a separate account to share information, or want to be better at advocating through your personal social media accounts, keep these tips in mind:
1. Track Your Metrics
Business accounts allow you to track which types of posts get the most engagement and you can tailor your information spreading to reach the widest audience
2. Make It Pop!
If you make a separate pure advocacy account, brand it! Choose a 3-5 color palette to brand the account and make it stand out to typical posts
Make attention-grabbing graphics using platforms (free!) like Canva or Adobe Spark Post
3. Keep It Simple
Break down complex ideas with short sentences and simplified language. The goal is to educate and so you need to keep it easy to digest
Show your audience how the topic affects them and why they should care!
4. Don’t Forget
Always spell check and cite your sources! Make your information credible and provide readers with extra material and sources to check out
Contacting Officials
Contacting officials via phone calls, emails, and letters is another impactful and easy way to advocate. It’s a more direct process than petitions and social media campaigns and its purpose is less to draw attention to an issue and more to make a personal connection and serve as a better form of accountability. People typically write letters and make phone calls to their representatives and elected officials to express their concerns and voice their support for certain votes and actions. This provides a stronger form of accountability than mass social media campaigns because elected officials generally want to keep their positions and to do so, will need to respond to their constituents. As a voter represented by your local council member or state legislator, it is in their best interest to listen to your phone calls and read your messages.
This following section will walk you through how to find your representative and contact them. Additionally, we will go over the different ways to communicate using templates vs personalized messages and individual vs group sign-on letters.
Find Your Representative
Before we dive into best practices for contacting officials to achieve results, let’s figure out who you should be reaching out to.
Find out who represents you - from your city council member to congressional office, you can determine your local, state, and federal representatives.
You can also check out these resources to find contact information for local officials:
Chief of Staff Emails (Click on each board member to find their Chief of Staff)
Phone Calls
Best practices for meaningful communication
When you make your calls it may be on behalf of a coalition or group effort. You might be provided with a template with basic details of what the issue is and what is being asked of the official you are contacting. Sometimes you might want to call up your own representative because you are concerned about a particular topic. Whether you use a template message or make an individual call, it is key to:
1. Credential yourself.
This could be as simple as stating your name and address to establish yourself as a constituent or stakeholder for the community or issue.
2. State your position.
Identify your concerns and how you wish for them to be addressed.
3. Make it personal.
Add your personal story and let your representative know how you would be affected by their action or inaction. Making that personal connection puts real people and real impacts behind this general concern or legislation.
4. Be courteous.
It generally never hurts to be firm and passionate in sharing your concerns and story, but if this is your first time contacting a staff member or official, being nice keeps them open to being nice and receptive in return.
To give you a headstart on making phone calls and emails, here are a few basic templates that you should definitely tweak to fit your issue and your narrative:
How to Call your Member of Congress (This template works for anyone you want to call!)
Letters and Emails
How It Works
Letters and emails are an easier format for people to communicate with the elected officials. You can write and rewrite your thoughts and concerns all you want until it’s perfect and then send it off. Letters and emails can be as long and detailed as you need to explain your issue and the details of your position. That being said, let’s explore the different letters you can send to your officials!
Individual Letters
Similar to phone calls, you might participate in a group campaign and be provided with a letter template or you might want to reach out on your own. Either way, you should still personalize your individual letter. The same tips we used for making phone calls can be used to write letters.
1. Credential yourself.
This could be as simple as stating your name and address to establish yourself as a constituent or stakeholder for the community or issue.
2. State your position.
Identify your concerns and how you wish for them to be addressed.
3. Make it personal.
Add your personal story and let your representative know how you would be affected by their action or inaction. Making that personal connection puts real people and real impacts behind this general concern or legislation.
4. Be courteous.
It generally never hurts to be firm and passionate in sharing your concerns and story, but if this is your first time contacting a staff member or official, being nice keeps them open to being nice and receptive in return.
Pro-tip
Check out these letter writing tips from the ACLU!
Sign-On Letters
Sign-on letters are pretty similar to individual ones in that the content remains largely the same, except sign-on letters are representative of a community as a whole rather than a single individual. These letters are organized as a group and may be co-authored by multiple individuals. The main value in a sign-on letter is the ability to show solidarity as a community. Community leaders and organizations can sign on and add their organizational logos to the letter and create a visual impact of dozens of signatures and logos. The same tips stated above still apply to a group sign on letter. The difference is that the personal story can become a story of collaboration and community care. Even with sending in a group letter always feel free to send in your own individual letter as part of the mass message campaign!
Following up
Remember to follow up with your officials! No matter if you got what you wanted or not, keep them in check and aware of your presence and attention to their actions. This is all part of holding your officials accountable to responding to their constituents, which is YOU!