14.1: Community Organizing and Collective Action – Reading and Videos

Readings

The readings and videos for this module demonstrate how grassroots organizing, coalition building, and community participation empower individuals and groups to address social issues and create meaningful change. They emphasize the importance of leadership, collaboration, relationship-building, and collective action in developing and sustaining successful social movements.

Reading 1

This reading supports student understanding of coalition building by examining how community history, relationships, shared values, and local conditions influence the development of effective coalitions. Students can explore how organizations collaborate to address complex social issues.

Kegler, M. C., Rigler, J., & Honeycutt, S. (2010).
How does community context influence coalitions in the formation stage? A multiple case study based on the Community Coalition Action Theory. BMC Public Health, 10, Article 90. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-10-90

Reading 2

This reading connects community empowerment, social movements, and collective action by examining how communities organize around shared concerns and sustain long-term change through participation and collaboration.

Tremblay, M. C., Martin, D. H., McComber, A. M., McGregor, A., & Macaulay, A. C. (2018). Understanding community-based participatory research through a social movement framework: A case study of the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project. BMC Public Health, 18, Article 487. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentra...889-018-5412-y

Video

Video 1

This video supports the concept of grassroots organizing by exploring how community relationships, leadership development, and collective participation create long-term social change.

Lee, N’Tanya. (2019).
Grassroots Organizing Builds Power [Video]. Barnard Center for Research on Women. https://bcrw.barnard.edu/videos/ntan...-builds-power/

Video 2

This video introduces concepts related to group mobilization, leadership, participation, and movement development. It helps students examine how individuals become engaged in collective action and how movements grow.

TED-Ed. (2017).How to Start a Movement [Video]. TED-Ed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg

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