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Reclaiming Our Power for Radical Change

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Zhenqi Ong

What’s in a name?

Data matching and linkage with ethnic data

Our project’s goal is to better understand the linkage and matching problem in political data, in which algorithmic biases against non-Anglicized names makes it more difficult for ethnic names to be properly matched against the voter file. 

There are many ethnic communities who either do not conform to a traditional “first name / last name” convention, possess diacritical marks like accents, or are rooted in non-Latin alphabets like Arabic or Chinese which necessitates correct usage of tones. While many people in those communities may have an Anglicized or shorthand nickname of their given name for official records, we know that this is less true in foreign-born and immigrant communities.

Our project examines the tradeoff involved in the matching and linking process in which individual records from disparate databases are linked together, for the purposes of political and civic engagement. We offer a short-term solution in the creation of an open-source Github repository, in which a “data dictionary” of common cultural names can be matched.

We understand that the long-term goal of this work is to build a radically inclusive tech ecosystem. A more cultured and linguistically informed voter file is only one step in that direction, and we know that there are several pathways possible towards that future.

Tatiana-Tim-DxP

Fellow Bios

Tatiana Nobels Lee

Tatiana Nobels Lee (she/her) returned to VOCAL-NY in February 2021 as the Data Manager where her primary responsibilities involve database management, training, and working with the organizing team to improve & develop data systems. She previously held several administrative and operations roles at the organization from 2012-2016. Tatiana is a native of The Bronx, NY and now lives near Seattle, WA with her husband and recently adopted dog.

Tim Phan

Tim Phan is a data analyst from Los Angeles who works in political campaigns. He most recently managed a city council race in Los Angeles in 2022, and has also worked in Democratic / advocacy organizations in previous cycles. He’s quite passionate about house music and activist photography.

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August 2022 Newsletter

Preview - 0831 August Newsletter

As the World Burns, Organizers Are Burning Out

Below is an excerpt from an article originally published in The Nation on July 28, 2022. Read the full article via the link below. Written by: Eoin Higgins

Political organizing is challenging work. You’re expected to keep up with the metrics and goals of your parent organization while convincing people, one by one, to help you push political leaders to make positive change. All the while, climate change continues, justices and Republicans strip people’s reproductive rights, and the news from Washington is relentlessly bad. It’s no wonder organizers are burning out.

Fatigue is a major challenge facing organizers around the country, according to new polling from the group re:power. The poll, conducted by researchers Sam Gass and Maya Gutierrez, surveyed 349 organizers from across the country, asking them to list short-, medium-, and long-term concerns. The poll found that burnout, low pay, and institutional barriers to seizing power make up a trifecta of issues facing organizers at all time scales. 

Karundi Williams, re:power’s executive director, says the poll should be understood as a devastating critique of the state of organizing. “We’re losing organizers, period, from the movement because of burnout,” she told me. “It’s a big fundamental problem.” 

Polls don’t often focus on organizers, and even less on women of color in the space, Williams said. The goal of the survey was to bring their issues to the fore so that organizations can learn how to better serve them. After gathering responses on the online survey, re:power used demographic breakdowns to isolate topics and areas of concern for women organizers of color. The disconnect between power-building work and lived experiences is contributing to the broader burnout problem, she said, and “BIPOC women and Black folks were specifically pointing to the reality that the material and conditions of their lives aren’t changing no matter how much they’re doing this work in organizing the organizing world. So that stood out to us.

Instability is not just a short-term problem among organizers. It leads to compounding problems with how political organizing works for the public and for staff. While a majority of the re:power poll’s respondents said they expected to still be in the field within six months to a year, only 32 percent believed they’d still be organizing in five years—a serious brain drain. Staff turnover presents organizers with more hurdles to overcome, leading to inconsistency both in the office and on the street. It’s hard to convince people of your mission when the faces of the movement keep changing.

Continue reading
Read about the Organizer Survey results

Planned Parenthood Federation of America & Center for Working Families Fund

In 2020, re:power Fund (our c3 entity) and our partners Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the Center for Working Families Fund (CWFF) received a collaborative grant to support the work of BIPOC Women, Femmes, and GNC folks across the country, and more specifically the South.

These three partner organizations came together to assess the needs of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) women, femmes and gender non-confirming (GNC) folks to launch a pilot program investing in their leadership through training, coaching and leadership development, and supporting them in carrying out campaigns that build the power of BIPOC communities. What was conceived as a year-long in-person intensive training program, quickly pivoted into tailored virtual support for both organizations as we all endured an important year for civic engagement amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Through our own trainings and this partnership, re:power conducted 16 trainings for more than 235 participants located in 15 different states, mainly in the South and Midwest─GA, SC, NC, MS, LA, VA, TN, TX, AZ, MI, PA, NV, NJ, NY, and the Pacific Northwest. We equipped trainees with skills and knowledge ranging from organizing and campaign planning, to digital and data strategies, to effective online facilitation, and we also held space for people to process grief and find strength and resilience in community.

Partnership with each organization

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

C3 Voter Registration work with Raiz and Black Organizing Program

In March, PPFA worked with re:power Fund to train 20 Planned Parenthood affiliate staff on core c3 voter registration organizing fundamentals.  The mission was to train people of color on how to register voters through key data management skills such as VAN (particularly using the VR tab), building a field plan, and using social media/digital tools to find and identify opportunities to connect with BIPOC communities for the Shout Your Vote! campaign.  Originally scheduled as a multi-day in-person training, re:power Fund responded to COVID-19 by quickly transitioning the event to a three-day virtual training with a focus on digital organizing, social media, and VAN as opposed to field tactics.

Participating affiliates included: Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood Affiliates,  Planned Parenthood Advocates of Texas, Planned Parenthood Arizona, Planned Parenthood North Central States, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, and Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates.

“Anoa was amazing! She was so patient and made me feel so comfortable using VAN.”

PPFA trainee

Supporting an Equitable and Inclusive Shift to Online Spaces

In April, re:power Fund supported PPFA to make an equitable and intentional shift to online spaces by leading a training of trainers with over 50 affiliate staff on facilitating equity and learning in the online environment. This webinar provided an opportunity for participants to learn how to lead online inclusive learning spaces via Zoom. Participants also learned best practices on how to manage racial micro-aggressions and dog whistles in an online learning environment.

Supporting PPFA’s Black Organizing Program and Planned Parenthood Generation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Summit—August 2020

re:power Fund supported PPFA’s Black Organizing Program and Planned Parenthood Generation youth work by supporting the design and facilitation of the 2020 HBCU Summit. The summit took place virtually before the 2020 fall semester and included participation from over 30 HBCU student leaders and supporting staff. re:power Fund trainers led a session on issue campaign planning for 36 student leaders.

“This is the 2nd re:power Fund training where I’ve cried. Your trainings allow for BIPOC people to be seen and acknowledged.” 

PPFA trainee
Center for Working Families Fund

The audience for this program was Black Women, Femmes, and GNC folks in the Southeast, including South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia new members. CWFF used re:power’s online trainings to build membership and support for Bet On Us, a project that offers a political home for Black women and gender nonconforming folks to organize their communities, build power and run for office. Bet on Us was built on the realization that Black women and GNC people are the backbone of our democracy, and that their input is critical to address the interlocking systems of oppression and racial capitalism that inform so many electoral and legislative decisions. 

Training Topics and Highlights

  • Starting in March and ending in September 2020, trainings took place monthly on the first Tuesday, for a total of 6 trainings. Topics included fundamental principles of organizing and power-building, one-to-one meetings, police reform versus defunding the police, and understanding and identifying self-interests.
  • The majority (76% of attendees) of the Bet On Us attendees indicated in our closing poll that they had attended more than 3 Bet on Us Trainings. 
  • Even in areas where CWFF is newly expanding its reach, Black women and GNC folks have a clear appetite for engagement, especially in light of the  vacuums left by exiting presidential campaigns.
  • Several participants located specifically in more rural towns in GA indicated that the Bet On Us series was a unique and important space to help them build out their plans and skills for C3 voter engagement, specifically focused on Black folks in their cities and towns. 
  • Content from the Bet On Us training series impacted campaign culture during the general election. This resulted in a commitment to building multiracial and age diverse leaders, including deeply engaged campaign staff as young as age 14.  

“So happy to be in community with Black women and talking about these issues.”

“This has been a highlight of my day.”

“Thank you for the space you created today. It was so necessary.”

CWFF feedback

Coaching Across Both Organizations

In addition to trainings, re:power Fund provided individual strategic coaching sessions to PPFA and CWFF organizers. Coaching support for Bet On Us staff organizers in Georgia and South Carolina provided a space to debrief participant reactions and connect upfront training content to local hub meetings. PPFA organizers in Michigan and North Carolina sought support for internal affiliate culture changes and feedback on engaging and maintaining volunteer relationships through intentional digital organizing.

Over the course  of two sessions per person (eight total sessions), organizers discussed: 

  • Relationship building
  • Role clarity 
  • Understanding measures of success
  • Coalition partners
  • Working effectively online 
  • Intentional digital campaigns

“Being able to feel free in my brownness and having the opportunity to be trained by BIPOC women is something I have never experienced before. It was really helpful to hear trainers talk about connecting with audiences through a racial justice lens.”