William A. Fontenot

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On Forming Your Advocacy Group (Part 1)

On Forming Your Advocacy Group (Part 2)

Additional Suggested Reading from William A. Fontenot

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Summer 2007
How to form your own advocacy group with Willie Fontenot 

"Democracy is the government of the people by the people for the people."
Abraham Lincoln.

On Forming Your Advocacy Group
(Part 3) A Few References .

By William A. Fontenot

Anyone who is thinking...

of challenging something or someone they feel may be having, or will have, a harmful or negative impact on their community or the environment should research how others have dealt with similar efforts. I have some suggestions and there are many other sources of information and inspiration which a person can draw from.

I would recommend that a person locate a short paper by a very insightful Japanese teacher and writer.

The Singularities of Japanese Pollution By Ui Jun, Japan Quarterly, Third Quarter, 1972, Pages 281-291.

This paper describes in very clear language the struggles of several groups in various parts of Japan. What is most helpful is Ui Jun’s description of the five processes that all groups pass through and the variety of very predictable levels of success that will be realized depending on the types of action used by each group. I only wish I had come across this paper when it appeared in 1972 rather than twenty years later.

Another insightful work would be the autobiography of Myles Horton.

The Long Haul.
By Myles Horton, New York, Anchor Books, Doubleday, 1990.
Mr. Horton was the founder of Highlander, a school in Tennessee, which focused on teaching poor people, workers and minorities about effective organizing, social justice, economic justice and how to use the art of songs, storytelling and working with strangers.

Elect one or...

Another book I would recommend is one that started what became the environmental movement.

Silent Spring,
By Rachel Carson, 1962
In this classic description of pending environmental disasters Ms. Carson accurately described the incredible loss of beneficial insects, fish and birds which were playing out around the world from the use, and misuse, of chemicals that were disrupting natural systems. Two of her target chemicals were endrin and DDT. While both of these pesticides were touted by their producers as the answer for controlling insect pest these same chemical manufacturers left out the known information about the destructive nature of these wonderful products.

Anyone who wants to challenge arrogant corporations and political systems should read about Mahatma K. Ghandhi and his classic application of non violence. His teachings and life led to the use of his techniques by other agents of change like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandella. These followers of the Ghandhi model changed the world and our understanding of what is possible if we study our opposition and think creatively, optimistically and directly. These three leaders faced unbending opposition and uncertainty to become three of the best models of organizing, direct action, nonviolence and positive outcomes that have reshaped our world in ways that were unimaginable when I was a child.

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