12. Building activist movements for the long haul

The past decade has seen some spectacular social movements emerge, mobilising hundreds of thousands of people in defence of rights and sending powerful images of protest around the world. This revitalized activism is gaining energy despite rising authoritarianism. To hold the ground they gain, though, activists need to sustain their movements in between battles and turning a loose, ad hoc network into an organization isn’t easy. But one group in the Democratic Republic of Congo seems to be finding a way. Lucha - Lutte Pour Le Changement- is nearly a decade old yet it remains a grass roots movement. Fred Bauma, a member of the movement since its early months in 2012, explains how they are doing it. And in the Coda, Zimbabwe youth activist Namatai Kwekweza gets into some good trouble. In this episode: • Keeping faith with the grass roots while building for the long haul • The Coda: Congressman John Lewis fires up an activist in Zimbabwe For a list of supplemental readings and additional information about this episode’s content, please visit https://strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/ Send your ideas and feedback to [email protected]