Identity Poltics and Activism

Today’s readings did a successful job at illuminating the power of activism and leadership to create meaningful social change. The first article, “Navigating Identity Politics in Activism”, written by Allison Attenello, explores the political implications of racial, economic, social and cultural identities when navigating power dynamics, describing her experiences volunteering with a community group that represented the needs of Mexican immigrants in New Brunswick, NJ. Her experiences representing the needs and interests of a racial and cultural identity that she is not a part of dramatically altered her conception of identity politics, and have raised profound questions regarding activism and leadership in diverse communities, emphasizing the need to recognize one’s identity in order to promote social change and empowerment. In recognizing these differences in identity, she suggests, we are able to discern how common experiences and can form bonds and create sites for collective action for women and men of different backgrounds.

Shira Lynn Pruce’s article, “Blurring the Lines of Divide” describes her experiences developing her identity as a Jew, learning Hebrew, Jewish History, and Zionism, and how these characteristics of her identity enabled her to develop a passion for activism and pursuing social change within her community, both local and abroad. Through her experiences battling anti-Semitic violence and intimidation on college campuses in North America, she developed her leadership skills and quickly grew inspired to mobilize interest across America to promote messages of pride, progress, and support by launching her umbrella organization “Israel Inspires”. She has achieved widespread success in organizing and campaigning for women’s right inside of her campus and nationally, earning a job working for the Israeli parliament Knesset shortly after graduation. Her experiences working with other women from different backgrounds, whether Jewish or Gentile, man or woman, enabled her to search for common ground and other similarities, which she firmly believes can be used for building bridges, establishing communication and allowing open dialogue. What I found most interesting from her article was the distinction she examines between grassroots activism and formal political participation, and how the two are recognized differentially in the public sphere; society acknowledges one group as respected professionals, and dismisses the other as delinquent protestors. Overall, through her experiences with grassroots activism in college and her professional employment working abroad with the Israeli government, Pruce was able to realize the interaction and intersection of her two life passions, and is able to blur the line between formal political participation and activism, pushing the boundaries of social change to new limits.