Lessons From Revolutionary Organizing

Description

The Connecticut People Before Profits campaigns from 1974 to 1982 ran with Joelle Fishman on the Communist Party ticket. Over an eight-year period the campaigns have been credited with changing the political climate in Connecticut’s Third Congressional District from conservative to progressive representation.

The campaigns were bold and unapologetic. They reached out to people where they lived, building a base of activists who continued organizing year-round. They reached out to unions and community groups to organize around issues of mutual concern.

In the process, they built unity and solidarity with long-lasting effects that continue today. The People Before Profits campaigns tackled foundational questions like racism, anti-communism, and the military economy. They challenged corporate power locally and nationally. Most of all, the campaigns organized people to act collectively in their own interests, on their own behalf, in ways that extended far beyond the voting booth. These campaigns are an example of grassroots political independence with important lessons for today.

In Lessons from Revolutionary Organizing: On the Campaign Trail and Beyond Joelle Fishman and Lisa Armstrong draw from a wealth of firsthand experience and offer some guidelines for organizing to win working class power going forward.