“Calling in” versus “calling out” isn’t just a one-on-one practice; it’s a strategic orientation to help us defeat authoritarianism and build the world we need. As millions of people across the country experience uncertainty and instability– some for the first time– we have a responsibility to turn towards these folks, meet them in their fears, and invite them into the work of justice.
This is a particularly urgent role for white people.
The corporate MAGA regime deploys strategic racism to build their majority-white base and create cover for their agenda. And– millions of white people are 1) already suffering under their agenda or 2) frozen on the sidelines and unsure of how to take action. It is our role to turn back towards our communities and both bring them away from the allure of racist scapegoating and towards a vision of multiracial solidarity, and give them pathways into action.
But how do we do this? “Calling In” has been a value of SURJ’s since our founding and has been core to our organizing strategy. Instead of “calling out,” we see this practice as one we must learn and commit to in order to grow our movement to the necessary scale we need to win.
This mass call featured Loretta Ross, a longtime leader in the reproductive justice movement and trainer on the strategy of “calling in.” We heard from Loretta about this crucial approach, and then from SURJ organizers about our plan to use this summer as a launch point to capture the momentum of this moment and build our movements for the long haul.
Here is a recording of the call, which includes the script and captions.
