Ella Taught Me: Shattering the Myth of the Leaderless Movement

In my 30 years of working in many different groups, campaigns and movements, I have been a part of efforts, not always successful, to strike the balance between mass mobilizing and organization-building; between inclusivity and accountability; and between strategic actions and spontaneous ones. Groups I’ve worked with have formed rotating steering and coordinating committees instead of electing officers. They’ve met regularly and devised ways for there to be lots of talking, learning, processing and thinking out loud together. Communication was always key and accountability has been crucial. I have found that without organizations, coalitions and leadership teams, there is no collective strategy or accountability. An independent or freelance activist may share their opinion, and it may be an informed one, but if these words are not spoken in consultation or conversation with people on the ground, they are limited as a representation of a movement’s thinking and work. When a leader-organizer puts him, her or themselves on record as being a part of a larger whole, that group can say, “You can or cannot speak for us. We agreed to X and you did Y. We were were counting on you and you opted out just when we needed you.” That is accountability. In turn, the collective can support those who act as representatives or spokespersons at any given moment. This rough formula gets complicated the larger and more diverse a movement gets. Still, the fundamental idea works.

Barbara Ransby in Ella Taught Me: Shattering the Myth of the Leaderless Movement (Portside)