3 Ways to Step into the Arena

3 Ways to Step into the Arena

Have you ever stopped and looked around where you live and wondered how this all works? How are the streets kept so clean or why is there so much garbage everywhere, how do I get fresh clean water off the tap, or who decides what kids learn at school every year???

If you’ve ever gone to a city council meeting, or a school board meeting, you’ll know, that’s called civic engagement! But if you’ve never engaged before, where do you start?

On last week’s podcast episode I had two special guests join me to discuss civic engagement - grassroots leader extraordinaire Kim Borchers, who spearheads the Civic Leadership Engagement Roadmap program (CLER) at The Policy Circle and Denisha Merriweather, the founder of Black Minds Matter and the director of Public Relations at the American Federation for Children.??

I believe the first-hand insights from these two passionate women will spark you to build a network in your community, to know your truths, and to show up!

?Discover Your Focus

While you may have the passion and the drive to be civically engaged, how do you know the area that you are entering is one that actually needs to be impacted??

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Kim shared candidly. “When you show up, when you start interacting with people who work in the public institutions that you pay for with your tax dollars, you start seeing things that pull your heart strings.”

That’s why The Policy Circle created the CLER program - to provide a roadmap that helps us? discover our civic calling where it’s needed most. So discover your focus by interacting with influencers, agencies, and representatives that shape your community. When you discover your focus, then you can begin the work of identifying trigger points!

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Frame Your Impact

Anyone can be an advocate. Problems are big and multifaceted. An advocate is simply someone who is committed to change; is able to publicly share their commitment; and is open to increasing their knowledge and understanding of the issue and frame the impact that they want to have.

Denisha’s advocacy calling is to improve academic outcomes of black children in America.? She framed her impact by advocating for education choice for all parents in overlooked communities. “For me I see the world through the lens of education. Sharing black achievements, statistics, and how in the discussion of systemic racism there is no questioning of educational outcomes and access to quality schools for poor families.”?

Truly advocating for any issue, also means having a fundamental understanding of your government. Kim summed it up nicely by saying: “Understand how decisions are made…what is the root driver of the issue? Is it a local decision or a decision made at the state or county level? You need to pause and seek to understand governance.”

These are vital skills that the CLER program helps develop so that we can become effective and impactful advocates. Next, you’ll want to acknowledge you can’t do any of this alone!?

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Build Coalitions

Merriam-Webster defines coalitions as: a body formed by the coalescing of originally distinct elements.?

People from different backgrounds, interests, locations need to be brought together to support and achieve a goal. I asked both Kim and Denisha for their advice on how to build these connections, and they both insisted on pushing out of your comfort zone to find support.

One tip Kim suggested was to “...make a list and think through all the groups in the community that may be affected positively and negatively” by the issue you are confronting. Then, don’t be afraid of soliciting support from people and groups that you don’t know - if they are aligned with the cause you’re advocating or, you may be quite surprised by the response you receive.?

The more you know about an issue and those affected by it, the more you can build a coalition of advocates and community leaders. If you’d like to hear more tips on how Kim and Denisha approach advocacy and civic engagement, listen to the full podcast here! (LINK)

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How Will You Choose To Speak Up?

Showing up, participating in the decision making process for what you believe is best for your community - that’s civic engagement, and that’s why the most vibrant communities have the most engaged and informed citizens.?

To have a starting point, I invite you to consider participating in The Policy Circle CLER program, a virtual program designed to educate women from all over the country on how to engage in their communities! There are two cohorts, one focused on Education, starting this September, and you can sign up here. Hurry! Spots are filling up fast!????

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If you want to tune into more inspiring conversations with community leaders, build confidence and learn to TRUST YOUR VOICE, then don’t forget to subscribe to my biweekly “Trust Your Voice” podcast!?

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Learn more about Denisha’s efforts to bring education choice to underserved communities by visiting blackmindsmatter.net.?