GetOrganizedBK: Equity Tool for Organizers

[JodesNYC]

What problem are we trying to solve?

How do we help white activists center issues of equity in their planning and implementation of their work? This tool would be specifically for GetOrganizedBK but I'd be happy for other groups to use it as well.

Who will benefit (directly and indirectly) from this project?

White-led activist organizations will be able to use the tool to better consider issues of equity in the causes they choose and how they plan and implement actions. Other activist groups and communities that may have been over looked in the work of white-led activist groups will benefit by this tool helping those white-led groups work to benefit all groups, not just their own.

Where can we find any research/data available/articles?

Here is an example of what happens when we do not center issues of equity in our work:
https://medium.com/@de_nichols/stlouisarch-b6df9e3f851c

What help is needed at this time?

I'm hoping for a tool that can help people figure out what questions they need to be asking as they plan their activism and help connect them to resources to make sure they are addressing issues of equity throughout that work. I am not tech savvy at all, but am hoping for something other than a checklist so that people don't have the experience of literally checking off a list and thinking that is all there is to addressing issues of equity. A chatbot? A better thing that I know nothing about?

What are the next steps (validation, research, coding, design)?

Yes, all of that!

How can we contact you outside of Github(list social media or places you're present)?

jody@offthepageeducation.org
FB: Jody Drezner Alperin
Twitter: dramagal
Slack: Jody Drezner Alperin

Project management

Checklist for NEW ideas 👶

Hey, you're official! You're now part of the growing Progressive HackNight community. Here's a few things to get started (a couple you've probably already done).

• Create this idea issue
• Flesh out the who, where, and what questions above
• Start the conversation about this new idea on Slack (this project uses #general )
• Respond with at least one update on this issue within the next month

Checklist for ACTIVE projects 🔥

Let's get this project started! When this idea starts taking off, the Progressive HackNight Team will start helping this project's lead(s) out with project management and connecting you to resources you may need. To get there, please complete and check off the following:

• Post an update at least once a month to this issue. Use BASEDEF for ideas, but it's ok even if your update is just "nothing new happened this month" or "we saw a small increase in traffic to our app this month". If there's no activity for two months, that's no problem, life happens. We'll just label this as backlog so others know you'll get back to it when you have the time. If nobody hears from you at all in more than two months, we may mark it as abandoned so that others can pick up this idea and run with it.
• Create a GitHub repository and Slack channel for work.
• Create issues to describe each task that you plan to do or need help with and how a contributor can get started on that task. You might start and stop a lot, so consider issues as your to-do list.
• Create a team for your core contributors
  • This will make it easier for you to manage your github repo access. People on a team have the same level of access. Admin access will allow your trusted contributors to make changes as needed.
  • You can remove and add people to your team as needed.
  • Note: You can also allow collaborators outside of your team and give them more limited access.
• Create a Google Drive, Dropbox, or other cloud storage to share larger files
  • Github and Data.World are good for code and data, respectively, especially when you need version control. But they're not good for very large files, documentation, articles, etc. A cloud storage option will allow you to easily share, create, and collaborate on documents with your team and help organize ideas and thoughts.
  • Doing this early on can help your team stay organized and to onboard new contributors who wouldn't have access to files you all have shared over email.

If you get stuck at any point, feel free to reach out to the leadership team with an email to steering@progressivehacknight.org or come find an organizer at a HackNight. We're here to help bring great ideas to life!