Creating Interrupters

Developing racial literacy and applying it in truth in our lives is hard work. And we are now in a time that has placed race front and center, forcing us to have much-needed, long-overdue conversations about racial equity. One first step to move this work toward active interruption is to act to develop trust with one person at a time. Organizers are often faced with the task of bringing disparate people on board for a particular effort by building wide support for it, winning over the opposition, or at least quieting the doubters. Their favorite tool for this work is what they like to call the "one-on-one relational meeting," a strategy developed years ago by activist and founder of the Industrial Areas Foundation, Saul Alinsky. Changes can take place from within our schools, but we can also lead and participate in changes outside our own sites.