Because young people are the ones being targeted for recruitment, they are the most affected and therefore, must be at the forefront of organizing against military recruitment. If you are a young person, gather your friends and get started!!! If you are an adult ally, might we suggest you seek some young folks to support and help out in a much needed area: researching alternatives to the military. Everyone should support youth leadership development, get organizer/leadership training for young people.
Borrow, benefit and build
People have been doing CR work for quite awhile, there are hundreds of brochures and resources out there for you to utilize. Find out what is already out there and do not re-invent the wheel. Of course information that is specific to your community and school is relevant and helpful, but you should utilize what has been done to help build your work and free up your time to find resources and info specific to your area.
The color of the movement/accessibility of the movement
Creating a movement where everyone is welcome and respected is essential to social change, always keep this in mind in doing your work. People of color have long been targeted for military recruitment because of economic status. There is a term used in the movement, “poverty draft” which acknowledges that people of color and folks in rural areas are often “drafted” into the military because of a lack of economic opportunities in their communities.
These days, parents of color are discouraging their children from joining the military, which is a valid but often unrecognized form of counter recruitment. Also, we have to acknowledge and address the privilege of activism work and think about ways to make the movement more accessible to people. A couple ways to do this it to consider in what ways issues are relevant to different groups of people, providing child care during meetings, getting to know people on a personal level as well as on an organizational level, translation (of flyers/signs and meetings) and listening to what issues different communities are struggling with.
Click here to see the organizing guides available
