Community Organizing and Social Change: A Case Study of the Safe Driving Coalition

• In Event: 282 - Student Forum Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 05. Community Organizing and Organizations

Abstract

This paper explores a two-year organizing effort to improve the lives of undocumented immigrants. It focuses on the case of Massachusetts where a coalition of immigrant rights organizations, interfaith groups, and public officials have been working to pass legislation that would grant undocumented immigrants the ability to apply for a driver's license. The bill, named the Safe Driving Bill, has been framed as a public safety issue; mobilizing the immigrant community in support of the legislation is often easier than convincing the broader community to grant rights to non-citizens. By carefully “framing” the issue by emphasizing safety and economic benefits, the Safe Driving bill is more compelling to the broader community. The Safe Driving Coalition (SDC), which is the name for the coalition of groups advocating for the bill, also highlights the “whiteness” of the issue to show how it is not only a “Latino problem,” again making the issue more relatable to the greater community. Strategic partnerships with neutral parties that have no direct investment in the undocumented community are also important. These allies include interfaith advocacy groups, law enforcement officials, Catholic bishops, city councils and insurance agencies. This paper illustrates how the SDC uses multiple frames to broaden the base of support for a movement and the resulting setbacks to passing the bill that emerge as the movement continues to be steered by grassroots immigrants rights group whose primary goal is to address the daily challenges and ongoing obstacles facing the undocumented community in Massachusetts.

Author

• Kimberly Constance Maida, Providence College