07 PARTICIPATE IN DEMOCRACY

You can create the system you want, from the inside out. Voting is a basic right and critical responsibility in working for greater justice.

You may live on the same block as people of color, but that does not mean they have equal access to municipal authorities, or that elected officials give their voices equal attention.

Take action to find out: are there people running for office that would do more?

Show that issues affecting people of color matter to you, too: attend city council, local school board and town hall meetings to comment on actions affecting your neighbors, and thus the well-being of your community as a whole. Local politics can be tedious and gritty, but also rewarding when local group participation steers local change. Ask community organizers how to help, above and beyond the power of your votes.