Mo’ Money; Mo’ Problems: How Resources and Political Opportunity Strain Activist Organizations

• In Event: 50464 - Section on Sociological Practice and Public Sociology Roundtables

Abstract

Why is it challenging to organize when resources and opportunities become plentiful? In this paper, I use a novel theory of knowledge convergence to fill this gap in our social movement scholarship and explain how an influx of resources and political opportunity can destabilize an organization. Knowledge convergence acknowledges that organizations attract diverse sets of people all with different types and sources of knowledge. The theory suggests that activists need to legitimize and, to some degree, deploy all sources of knowledge to sustain the organization. However, an influx of resources and political opportunity can destabilize an organization’s knowledge convergence. Activists then have the arduous task of reestablishing it.

I answer this research question using an activist ethnography in the Black Lives Matter South Bend chapter, an official chapter of the BLM Global Network Foundation. I draw on the time from mid-March 2020 through November 2020, which encompasses the time before, during, and after the height of the 2020 racial justice protests. I use data from attending, facilitating, and participating in 200+ programs, events, marches, meetings, and activities. This includes data from websites, social media pages/feeds, fieldnotes, 1275 photos and videos, over 500 primary documents and artifacts, and over 900 e-mail threads, texts, and news articles.
This paper illuminates a behind-the-scenes look into the fragile nature of grassroots organizing. It provides scholars with new theoretical and empirical insights into how organizations respond to an influx of new resources and political opportunities. This paper also provides activists with materials to reflect on their organizations and safeguards. Overall, resources and opportunities are vital to securing new gains in the face of constant oppression. By focusing on the difficulties that can arise, this paper aims to increase understanding of how diverse groups of people can create the cohesion necessary to fight for justice.

Author

• Emmanuel Cannady, Bucknell University