Speaking Truth to Power Through Social Movements and Learning

Abstract

Originating in the 1950's Quaker Community (see Sawyer, 1956), the expression "speaking truth to power" illustrates a spirit of resistance to dominant power structures and the belief that persuasion, such as through social movements, will defeat injustice. Walters (2005) defines social movements as "voluntary associations of people and organisations within civil society that rise and fall in response to particular social, economic, ideological, and political changes and issues often driven by the state or the market" (p. 54). This concept was embodied in collective actions like the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), Poland's Solidarity Movement, the Temperance Movement in the United States, and more recently through Black Lives Matter, the Arab Spring, the Umbrella Movement, the Women's March on Washington, and #MeToo. National and transnational social movements such as these, and smaller community-based social movements, demonstrate the power of organized or tactical collectives born out of unrest. Driven by both dissatisfaction with current conditions and the potential for a new system of living, the movements seek to establish a new order by changing thoughts, policy, ideology, and actions that seek to "speak truth to power" (Blumer, 1951; Heberle, 1951; McCarthy & Zald, 1977). Movements serve as a means for critiquing the legitimacy and function of institutions and ideologies and often provide a means for reform. Social movements have previously been categorized as either an old social movement (OSM) or a new social movement (NSM) (Dykstra & Law, 1994). OSMs traditionally focus on class struggles, specifically, the unfair distribution of resources and the movement's role in enacting change to cause equal distribution (Buechler, 1995). NSMs involve social

Supporting WFN Collective Social Entrepreneurship Through Social Movement Learning and Critical Participatory Action Research

“…Engaging in WFN collective social entrepreneurship is necessary to navigate the social system’s unfavorable economic and workplace environments that were not designed with WFN workers in mind (Marlow, 2020; Piperopoulos, 2012; Williams et al, 2021). Nations and markets often drive changes in various social, economic, and political spheres, while collective action and social movements unite people and organizations (Grenier, 2019). Such movements allow for the examination of the status quo, attempt redistribution of resources, and are sites of learning and collective action (Merriam & Grenier, 2019).…”

Equity, Empowerment, and Social Justice: Social Entrepreneurship for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

“…SEVs, which can function as organizations or a collective of stakeholders, are viewed as dynamic entities that engage with social problems through a comprehensive approach (Bierema, 2009; Bierema & Callahan, 2014; Callahan, 2013). SEVs create alternate systems that critique existing approaches or their absence, leading to sustained positive social change (Grenier, 2019; Sisco, 2023) by generating new knowledge and translating it into collective action (McAlevey, 2015; Oswalt & Rosado Marzán, 2018; Scandrett et al, 2010; Windham, 2017). Drawing on two SEVs in particular: Delancey Street Foundation (DSF) and Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP), we explore how SEVs empower marginalized communities to reverse structural imbalance, build collaborative community capacity, and help FIIs defy their socially constructed identity to live successfully in mainstream society while being the vehicles for sustained positive social change.…”

“…SEVs, which can function as organizations or a collective of stakeholders, are viewed as dynamic entities that engage with social problems through a comprehensive approach (Bierema, 2009;Bierema & Callahan, 2014;Callahan, 2013). SEVs create alternate systems that critique existing approaches or their absence, leading to sustained positive social change (Grenier, 2019;Sisco, 2023) by generating new knowledge and translating it into collective action (McAlevey, 2015;Oswalt & Rosado Marzán, 2018;Scandrett et al, 2010;Windham, 2017).…”

The Value of Netnography for Research in HRD

“…We propose that Netnography is ideally suited as a means to access collective learning experiences or to identify tactics of resistance in emerging work spheres, such as gig work and precarious work, especially related to grassroots processes of solidarity, resistance, and collective action. Social movements and grassroots organising are two under-researched areas from which HRD researchers and professionals have a lot to learn (Keshtiban et al, 2021), yet little exploration of social movements has characterised the HRD field so far (Grenier, 2019). An example of the empirical research opportunities presented by Netnography is platform work, also known as 'gig work'.…”