Responding to community crises in the form of targeted violence while simultaneously building solidarity and power requires the efforts of many. Organizations, including our own, engage daily in this precarious balancing act. In response to this, Building Movement Project and ALC released a new report, Balancing Act: Asian American Organizations Respond to Community Crises and Build Collective Power, to provide recommendations, ideas, and resources for organizations responding to community crises while building long-term infrastructure. The report includes a series of interviews with different Asian American leaders from organizations such as Asian Health Services, CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, Chinese Progressive Association, Sikh Coalition, and more who have been on the frontlines of addressing targeted violence for years.
Recommendations from Balancing Act include:
- Create a rapid response ecosystem that can be mobilized in times of crisis.
- Support staff and volunteers during and after times of crisis.
- Create space for co-learning and strategy sessions with community members and partners to identify strategies that address systemic harms and inequities.
- Grow internal and cross-racial solidarity through relationships and collaborations.
- Invest in political education and organizing efforts to strengthen community power.
- Build, and maintain, and fund a diverse movement ecosystem that includes newly organized groups, including those engaging in intergenerational outreach and healing justice.
Download the full report on immediate and long-term infrastructure for Asian American groups and Rapid Response in Real Time, a resource for any organization seeking to build effective rapid response strategies.
On March 30, at 12pm PT/3pm ET, we're holding a webinar to discuss the report and its recommendations. Register for the community conversation today.
