A massive revision of SEACs original 1991 organizing guide, this 104 page (5.5 x 8.5 size pages) spiral-bound manual is a great tool for beginners and experienced activists alike. Covers all angles of student organizing, including starting or reviving a group, group structure, effective meetings, issues, strategy, tactics, an anti-oppression analysis, a lengthy resource list and much more. Well illustrated and slick looking. Useful for non-environmental organizing too. An unbeatable organizing value.

This workshop helps participants critically examine the way in which race shapes the distribution of resources and privilege in the U.S. We use several participatory activities and dialogue to analyze the role of government in supporting (for people of European descent) or blocking (for people of color) the accumulation of assets and, in effect, helped create economic apartheid in the U.S. The workshop also reviews strategies, campaigns, and actions that will help close the racial wealth divide and promote create greater economic equality in general.

The "Closing the Racial Wealth Divide" workshop includes participatory activities that:

• Engage participants in dialogue about their own economic lives
• Illustrate income trends by race
• Illustrate wealth trends by race
• Examine a "structural" analysis of wealth inequality
• Review policies that shaped the accumulation of assets historically
• Identify strategies and actions to close the wealth gap

THE GOALS OF THIS WORKSHOP ARE TO: 

• Describe our personal experiences, struggles and triumphs as women in this world
• Create a sense of shared experiences and solidarity around our experience
• Create a common understanding of machismo as a system of oppression 
• Contextualize our personal stories within the systemic analysis of machismo
• Begin the process of healing from the wounds of machismo by sharing our stories and supporting each other

This workshop is number 1 in a series of 7 workshops in the curriculum "Uncovering Who We Are: Political Education for Latina Women."  Please see the "Introduction" and "About the Authors" files for more information.

The Toolkit contains material that PILA created during our two intensive capacity-building Mobilize the Immigrant Vote training programs, each held over several month periods in 2002 and 2004.

The Toolkit collects basic information, ideas, worksheets, sample materials, exercises and handouts from PILA’s programs that your organizations’ staff and community leaders can use to plan and implement electoral activities that are appropriate for your organizational capacity and community context. Not everything will be useful for every organization; this really is a collection of materials for your organization to pick and choose among and adapt as needed.

While the general framing of the toolkit and each of the sections is in English, all the handouts and worksheets, and a lot of the general information, are provided in English, Spanish and Chinese.