Advocacy: A How-To guide
It’s not glamours, but necessary
In almost every area of our lives, there is a hierarchy. There are bosses and employees, teachers and students, even government and citizens all take up a similar structure: leader and follower. In an ideal word, the leader role acts in the best interest of the collective, and for the most part, this is true.
However, they don’t always meet the mark. The paternalistic relationship best works when all parties have a voice at the table. Advocacy is the ability for either individuals or groups to represent the voice of those who are unheard to provoke change in these relationships, and instructions for being an advocate are not exactly written in stone somewhere.
So, here are some things to keep in mind as you begin your advocacy journey.
Love them
Advocacy has the goal to change something: a policy, an organization, or even a person’s ideals. Typical reaction to being told you must change is defensiveness, the why-me, this-is-the-way-we’ve-always-done-it, or even but-this-is-the-best-it-has-ever-been-so-it-doesn’t-need-changing mentality.
Ultimately, there is no sense trying to change something we are not already invested in. For example, in undergrad, I used to think that those who protested against university policies were crazy. Why would they attack the hand that has fed them so much? Why do they hate the school they chose to attend? The reason, as I only later discovered, is that they actually love the university so much that they believe it can be even better. They wanted to hold it to the same standard that it held itself, and awareness of issues was their key methodology for advocacy.
Both sides must remember that there is good intention behind these changes. It’s our love, not our hate, for these relationships that we want to see change. We believe in the mission of the group and, despite inadequacies, we want to see it flourish.
Know your demographic
Each individual is a complex being with their own thoughts and feelings towards a subject. Therefore, even in the same group, such as a class cohort, there will be people who both support and resent your cause for change.
This is welcomed. Not everyone in your target demographic needs to be advocated for. If you are a member of student government and represent the entire student body, this doesn’t mean you only fight for majority supported issues, but more often for the issues that have little to no voice.
As the advocator, keep in mind your target subset. Many will offer, often very loud, dissenting opinions against the work you do, even suggest your target group doesn’t even support the issues and changes you are advocating for, but they are not the voice for these groups. If you have done your homework to see what your target group is concerned about, have a very keen focus it.
Know your people and stay true to them, they appreciate your work more than you know, even if they only whisper.
Hear, don’t listen
This is the most important distinction for any advocate. Getting feedback from your target group in town hall format is extremely common and I highly encourage it. However, there is a wrong way to do this.
Say you are moderating a town hall and someone brings up a concern. It took them a lot of courage to speak in front of a group, being vulnerable enough to share their story or suggestion. You listened, but the second they finish talking and sit down, you over-excitingly respond with all the ways you are trying to mitigate their issue and how you are working on it.
We cannot be heard if we do not speak, and we cannot hear unless we listen.
There is a better way. Not only have you invalidated their point by brining up all the ways it is not a pressing issue, but you have stolen the mic from someone who chronically has no voice, else they wouldn’t attend your town hall. How they experience and perceive the current world is much more important than how you are trying to change it.
In order to hear them fully, ask questions. When do they experience this? Do they have suggestion for improvement? Do others have additional thoughts? We as advocates instantly want to acknowledge the person verbally, but in order to truly hear them, we must be silent. We cannot be heard if we do not speak, and we cannot hear unless we listen.
Misinformation is not always wrong
Consider the story of Romeo and Juliet (spoiler alert). In the final acts of the play, in order to escape marrying Paris, Juliet fakes her death by drinking a sleeping potion. With the intention of informing Romeo of the plan, she sends a messenger, but they never arrive. Learning of Juliet’s death, Romeo purchases poison and takes his own life to finally be with the love of his life. The story concludes with Juliet awaking from her slumber, realizing what happened, and stabbing herself to be with her one true love.
What does this teach us? That perception is reality. Despite being mislead, Romeo acted in response to the information at the time, therefore it altering his perception of reality. He wasn’t unintelligent, given the full truth in a proper medium, he would have acted very differently. The kicker is this: the information exists, but it wasn’t delivered in a proper format. His fault wasn’t his misjudgment, rather the environment that misled him.
Perception is reality.
Translate this to advocacy. A student brings up a concern to leadership that they feel unheard in the current environment. Leadership respond simply by correcting them, throwing endless feedback forms and promises of “open-doors” for conversations. Shakespeare teaches us that it doesn’t matter what systems are in place, these sometimes fail to translate information correctly. Therefore, our experiences and perceptions, however flawed, shape our reality. Gathering the correct information is partially on the side of the students, but if it isn’t presented appropriately, this is a system set up to fail. In this scenario, leadership has satisfied their job requirement, yet they failed to address the realities of its students.
“Look to cure the disease, not the symptoms.”
Now, what I’m NOT saying is facts and truth are less important than opinions. Rather, the REASONS false perceptions exist tell a much bigger story than simply the falsehood. Look for the reasons and work to correct them, this will fix your misinformation problem. Look to cure the disease, not just the symptoms.
Process is not progress
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous section, and it considers existing structures for advocacy. I’m talking about the “all concerns should be sent via email to ____” or “add your concerns to our feedback form” or my personal favorite “there is process to bring these up, you should use it.”
The pitfalls of these system is that they are work-arounds for change. A black-box of real calls for change, lost in a void of bureaucracy and action-less pleas in agreement.
My recommendation is this: understand and utilize these processes, but do not confuse them as progress on your concern. Remember, these policies were put into place by those who hold all the cards, and they decide when and how to shuffle them. Pursue other, more disruptive means, if needed. As the late congressmen John Lewis said, look to get into “good trouble.”
Pass the baton
For most people, their advocacy journeys are seldom permanent. Students graduate, employees transfer companies, governments change, and (sometimes) real change occurs. Although our time in an organization had an end date, the legacy of our work continues. Your legacy as an advocate is just as important as the issues you advocated for.
A personal story. In a previous role, I was advocating for the transition of a class to an online format early in the pandemic. Pushed for in-person class placed disproportionate strain on different students, giving those who had the ability to be in-person an unfair advantage to others who had more stringent health concerns. I was pushing for leadership to transition the entire course online instead of giving student the choice, but little did I know a coalition of current students was forming to collectively opt for the online format. Our advocacy inspired action from current students, giving them the power to effect real change in their organization. This is what legacy looks like.
Legacy requires inspiration. Inspiration requires giving others a cause to believe in, the WHY you are advocating. To do this successful, your faith in your cause must be rock solid, complete trust in a better future. I recommend you create a vision of the future, an “I imagine a world where…” phrase that is worth dreaming for. Explain this to others, and give them the opportunity join your cause with open arms, they are you legacy.
Conclusion
Advocacy is not glamours work. There are many dissenting opinions, and they are often very loud. At the same time, it is some of the most rewarding work. You are helping make a difference, not just for today but for years to come. It is rewarding and necessary work, so keep at it, and I hope these tips bring you one step closer to a better world.
