Building a Progressive Movement in 2012

Abstract

Despite the uprisings of 2011, racism and the surprising resilience of the extreme Right have prevailed, attacking reproductive rights, voting rights, civil liberties, and promoting a neoliberal agenda of privatization and austerity. Because both parties embrace neoliberalism as the solution to economic crises, most on the Left agree that we need to rebuild an independent progressive movement able to defend working people and the poor, challenge racism, sexism, and homophobia, and halt the erosion of basic rights. This article argues that youth of color are building such a movement, and provides examples of contemporary movements, most notably the L.A.-based Community Rights campaign to resist criminalization of black and brown kids, break the school-to-prison pipeline, and to demilitarize schools.

Keywords:

• African-Americans
• civil rights
• democracy
• elections
• immigration
• Neoliberalism
• occupy
• race
• youth