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American Friends Service Committee — Part 4

108 pages · May 23, 2026 · Broad topic: Civil Rights · Topic: American Friends Service Committee · 98 pages OCR'd
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and emergencies when "we can't afford to make mistakes, “ and can't take a chance on letting a less-trained person do a job and learn at the risk of having him make mistakes. Unless deliberate decisions are made by the group to expand the techniques of the trade, techniques (such as running a meeting, writing a leaflet, running a mimeo machine, being picket captain, etc.) will remain the property of a few “experts, "' who tend gradually, and frequently without realizing it, to exclude the rank-and-file members from a real role in the organization. In civil rights groups conditions of crisis always exist. This makes the situation more serious. In addition, you run into the argument that decision-making should be limited to those 1 work-- who fully participate in orga something that is not possible, given the speed of the movement and the constant meetings required, for everyone, A second-class mem- bership can develop under such circumstances, and a type of clique arises in which the "true revolutionaries," that is, those whose entire lives are taken up with the movement, have a different life from the rest of the members, ‘~ different values, slang, etc. Insofar as such a clique criticizes current values it may have a contribution to make, but when it separates itself from its own rank-and-file, and from the community at large, because of its style of living, it does the movement a disservice. Democracy in any case suffers. If you need to fight against the growth of pon-democratic tendencies in an organization, you must organize your action (that is, form 22 caucuses). This is true whether the non-democratic group is informal, or whether a clearly anti-demo- cratic faction exists. You must organize pro- democratic people to conduct a clear-cut fight on this issue, otherwise, after a time, the organization is doomed to deveiop in such a way as to under- mine its ultimate goals: the democratic and just developinent of society. Whether you are conducting a struggle within your own organization, or working as a democratic minority in another group, several suggestions may help: (1) All urganizations have three primary func- tions: policy-making, organization, and education {including both education of the group itself and public relations}. policy (conventions, executive committees, etc.) he who is in charge of carrying policy out ultimately determines what happens. The organizer, secre- tary, coordinator of committees, administrator is the man to watch--or the man to be. This fact can be used either for evil or for good. Revardless of what hody makes gardiess of what body makes (2) You must organize your group into a caucus, meet ahead of meetings plan strategy, and have a floor leader. Sit in a scattered position through- out the audience, Keep your beat speaker for last in an exchange from the floor. Know your parliamentary procedure so as not to be out- Maneuvered, and so as to make best use of your numbers. {3) Remember that you, as a leader, are no good without an organized following, just as an officer is no good without a top-notch first sergeant. 23
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