It’s Getting Hot In Here

Co-authored by Mollie Ruskin and Mark Kimbrell

On Tuesday morning Markese Bryant woke up in his Atlanta apartment, quieted his nerves, and attempted to go about his day as if it were any normal school day.  But this was no ordinary day for Markese.  Today, Markese would become a leader in the climate movement.  Today, Markese would help Atlanta realize the dream of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by shedding the injustices of the carbon economy, and embracing the opportunities of clean energy and green jobs.  This was Focus the Nation 2009.

There are many ways to tell the story of the Focus the Nation Town Hall campaign.  There are the little snippets the media picked out, the experiences of the politicians and panelists who attended the events, and even the war stories of the organizers on the ground.  But no one saw the whole picture quite like the national organizers who worked behind the scenes to put it all together.  These are their stories, their favorite moments; providing not only inspiration but powerful lessons for the future direction of our movement.

As the Southeast organizer at Focus the Nation, Mark Kimbrell had the privilege of working alongside Markese for the three months leading up to the Atlanta Town Hall.  “Watching Markese develop into one of the strongest climate leaders in Georgia was most the most rewarding experience of our long and intense campaign,” explained Mark.  From Appalachia to Atlanta, La Crosse to Los Angeles, Massachusetts to Montana, young people just like Markese executed town halls and engaged their elected officials under the banner of a clean energy future for all…and we were there to see it all go down!

For Scott Duncomb, Northeast Organizer and Focus’ New Media guru, watching the Town Hall he had worked to organize in New Britain, New Hampshire stream live on his computer was a proud moment.   An avid politico and former New Hampshire organizer for the Obama campaign, Scott loves nothing more than some serious political engagement.  Connecticut Senator, Chris Dodd not only attended the New Britain event, but gave an intense and detailed speech about clean energy and climate legislation, then fielded a great many questions from the young leaders in the audience.  “Watching these kids engage Dodd, a major leader in the Senate, was inspiring”, Scott said when describing the moment.  “There was no hesitation, no concern over who they were speaking too, they had organized this great event, and they were going to use it to get the legislation they wanted.”

Speaking of empowered young people, Focus’ Northwest Organizer Lacey Riddle found quite a leader in 9^th grader Mark Rugnetta, who single handedly coordinated Focus the Nation activities across the state of Minnesota.  Lacey recalls her first interaction with young Mark.  “I am only in the 9^th grade,” he told Lacey during one of their early conversations. “But I am the president of my high school environmental club and would have no problem at all pulling together passionate high schoolers from across the state.”  More impressed than surprised, for Lacey this was what her hard work was all about.

“To see younger and younger adolescents take on such leadership and direction is amazing,” explained Lacey.  “It is an indicator that different people, at different places (physically and developmentally), can bring a diversity of solutions to the table– and that’s empowering.”

While young people were speaking up nationwide, what was truly inspiring for Midwest Organizer Brendan Moore was the dedication and ability of those organizers to make themselves heard in some of the most politically challenging areas of the country.  Like in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where students used their event to sit down with wind energy experts and Representative Seneca Scott, a green jobs champion in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in Grand Rapids, Michigan, community members had an extensive question and answer session with U.S. Congressman Vern Ehlers. “I think the most exciting thing about this campaign was working with so many smart, dedicated leaders in a region that is tough to organize in, but will be crucial to America’s clean, renewable energy future,” Brendan said of his experience organizing in the Midwest.  “This campaign taught me that we are on the cusp of overcoming the barriers we face in tough regions across the country.”

Taking these challenges head on wasn’t something that Focus could have done alone.  Indeed, the success of these events was dependent on a genuine sense of collaboration from all sides of this movement.  For Mollie Ruskin, Focus’ Southwest Organizer, it was this comprehensive spirit of camaraderie that resonated throughout the campaign.

“Here I was, this one young gal, typing away furiously in this little office in Portland, Oregon, doing my utmost to make change in communities I have never been to, organizing people I have never met,” described Mollie of her work organizing communities to put on Town Halls.  “Yet, in the face of this rather daunting task, I found myself immersed in a support network of hundreds of young leaders across the country, young people who are taking charge of amazing organizations and coming together to do something truly democratic!”

During and leading up to April, the movement ‘players’ were finally working as a machine, understanding everyone’s strengths and capacity and when put together, producing something profoundly inspiring.  The examples are endless: Ada, at 1Sky helping build a last-minute event for Carlsbad, California; Nina at Global Exchange helping build support for the work of one very dedicated organizers in Oakland; Josh and Julian at Green for All, helping organizers in Denver and Atlanta; Hilary at CCAN driving from one Virginia event to another to help out; Russ at Southern Energy Network rallying the troops in North Carolina.  It may have been only one month, but in that single month we saw a glimpse of the unified force of young empowered movers and shakers building upon each other and working together in the name of creating true change.

Our success is not measured by the product of the town halls themselves, though our pride for our organizers and the events they produced is overwhelming.  Instead it’s about doing the things that we’re not supposed to be doing.  We are uniting people who aren’t ’supposed’ to stand together, who have been pitted against one another for decades.  Yet in spite of that, we are linking arms and changing the paradigm of ‘environmentalism’ and ‘civic engagement’.  This effort was an exercise in true democracy.  An exercise we must adjust, improve, and utilize as a model for the future of this critical movement.  We have left the granola and tree-hugging movement of yesterday behind, and have transferred to a movement of democracy, justice, peace, and freedom.  When we are successful, and we will be succesful, we will remember the month of April fondly.  The critical month when the players of this movement unified and mobilized!