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POLITICAL GAMES ARE CRUSHING WORKING CLASS RESISTANCE

OUR MOVEMENTS MUST STAY ROOTED IN THE PEOPLE, NOT POLITICS -

We have to look at the incredible successes of the working class movements that have successfully changed the world. Those movements were built on a cause not a political faction.

Read on if you'd like to explore the lessons of MLK Jr, Selma, & Montgomery for today’s activists.

Many campaigns have felt the seductive pull: A politician offers "support" for our cause. They promise access and influence. But history screams a warning: When social justice movements marry with political actors, the movement risks becoming a unappealing weapon—not a irresistible wave.

✌️Remember Selma...

When John Lewis and Hosea Williams led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, they weren’t carrying party banners. They carried a universal truth: the sacredness of the vote. That moral clarity—untethered to Democrats or Republicans—is why images of "Bloody Sunday" ignited global outrage. Newspapers from London to Lagos demanded justice. Why? Because Selma spoke to human conscience, not political strategy.

✊ The Danger of Political "Saviors"

When politicians infiltrate movement leadership:
The goal ofen shrinks from transforming society to winning an election for a political win
Fully fledged support is syphoned off for "The Party".
Instead of systems being challenged, enemies get branded and their supporters are alienated (e.g., "Them SDLP wans!" or "Them DUPers," "the Loyalists" or "the Republicans".).
Then, inevitably, the general public disengages—unwilling to join a half-hearted campaign for change which is clearly a front for a battle between political tribes.

Montgomery’s boycotters knew this. For 381 days, they walked. Not to elect officials, but to awaken a nation’s morality. When white supremacists bombed Martin Luther King Jr.’s home, he told crowds: "We must meet hate with love." That discipline—rejecting vengeance—made segregation a global scandal. Reporters from 20+ countries flooded Alabama. Why? Moral movements transcend borders. Political tools do not.

🔑 How We Protect Our Power

1. Keep politicians OUT of leadership
Let them amplify—not steer—the fight. Montgomery’s boycott was led by pastors, teachers, and students. Elected officials? They followed.
2. Demand actions, not endorsements
When allies in power offer "support," say: "Walk with us. Share our stories. Vote WITH the marginalized—not FOR your career."
3. Build people-funded movements
Selma’s marchers ran on church hall collections and $5 donations—not political filtered funding. Financial independence = moral independence.

🌍 The Unshakeable Truth

Political change doesn’t come from attacking the "other side." It comes when we make injustice so visible, so morally unbearable, that the world demands transformation. Selma didn’t win voting rights by lobbying—it won by capturing imaginations. Grandmothers with bloody foreheads. Teenagers singing freedom songs. These images moved presidents because they first moved humanity.

"They asked for our votes, but we gave them tired feet and rested souls."
— A Montgomery woman, 1956

Our movements are sacred. Let’s keep them that way.
✊ Share if you believe people power is greater than political power.

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Sources:
SNCC Digital Gateway: Selma(https://snccdigital.org/events/selma-...)
Eyes on the Prize: Montgomery(https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...)
Walking with the Wind, John Lewis (2015)

How does your group avoid partisan capture? Stories welcome!
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