League of Women Voters Champaign County Saturday January 28th, 2017

“If you believe in great things, you may be able to make other people believe in them, too.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

What is an advocate? An advocate is a person who takes positive action to support a cause which results in a desired change. As an advocate you express your opinions because you feel strongly about a particular issue and recognize the fact that action is absolutely necessary in order to effect change by making others aware of the facts.

What Does it Mean to Be An Advocate? To provide accurate and timely information about causes (local, state, national, international) so that decision-makers (elected officials and eligible voters) can make knowledgeable decisions regarding policies To raise the visibility and emphasize the importance of causes in public policy To increase allocation of resources and state prioritization to specific causes especially in terms of economic, educational, social, political, and community development. As an advocate, you give up the sense of apathy over certain issues. Lifelong advocacy is the most crucial form, so as to have a consistently positive impact on the cause as well as continuously learning. *

Guidelines for effective advocacy Self-Identification Specificity Personalizing

Guidelines for Effective Advocacy (cont.) Diplomacy Relevancy Evidence

Intersectional Advocacy Intersectionality (noun): the interconnected nature of social catergorizations such as race, class, gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination and/or disadvantage People may not struggle with merely one form of oppression Long term and short term consequences Other social categorizations such as one’s citizenship, income level, felony status create instances of discrimination and disadvantage

How to be an effective intersectional advocate? Ask respectful questions after doing research Remember that one person can’t be an automatic educator Keep in mind that everyone has different experiences even with similar issues affecting their daily lives Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! It is the thought that counts 

* Women’s march: Protests  Power Get Engaged and Stay Enraged! Activist, every day movement Lobbying, phone calls, letter writing campaigns Town halls Scare politicians  Galvanize turn out, name leaders Work in State-level elections and local elections Back congressional candidates Results? Blocked Laws, Priorities shift, general election possibilities Womens March 10 Actions in 100 Days Action #1: Write A Postcard to your Senator!

Promising implications of the women’s march Commonality Populism New leaf

Resources Womens March 10 Actions for 100 Days: Womensmarch.com/100 American Civil Liberties Union Champaign County: http://www.aclu-cu.org/ Contact Your Senators (Duckworth, Durbin) https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/ Planned Parenthood of Illinois: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-illinois The Sister District Project: https://www.sisterdistrict.com/