The Frontline, a project of the Movement for Black Lives and the Working Families Party, launched on September 21. It brings together key partners in an ongoing Black-led and multiracial coalition aimed at continuing the work of the explosion in social justice activism from the summer of 2020.
“The Movement for Black Lives is an ecosystem of racial justice groups, we’re an ecosystem of groups, as well,” said Maurice Mitchell, executive director of the Working Families Party, in an interview.
While Frontline is not the only left-leaning group working to effect change in the aftermath of a hard-fought election, its diverse coalition presents an approach to change that doesn’t rely on one or two major cities or groups. By relying on organizations that are themselves coalitions, Frontline will create a space for activists interested in issues from antiwar advocacy to climate and racial justice.
No saviors
“We are part of The Frontline because our lives and the lives of the people that we love depend on us fighting with everything we’ve got to overthrow the Trumpism, the white supremacy, the white nationalism—all the harm that is being done by this administration to our communities,” said Movement for Black Lives Electoral Justice Project activist Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson in a statement. “We are committed not to fighting for a savior on Pennsylvania Avenue, but to fighting for our next target.”
Mitchell told Blue Tent that the purpose of Frontline is to bring together movements around a theoretical framework that channels organizing power into the fight against “neo-fascism.”
“We’re going to work to set the stage for a progressive agenda as we face an unprecedented change in governance in 2021,” said Mitchell.
Bringing people together
The Frontline will bring together stakeholders from across the country who have engaged in the protests over the killing of George Floyd and other instances of police brutality and use that energy to effect radical change in the halls of power.
“We can only do this if we make these demands movement demands, make them demands across our particular sectors and constituencies,” Frontline volunteer Cindy Wiesner said in a statement. “We envision a Black-led, multi-racial front that has a vision to defeat Trumpism and neoliberalism and all systems of oppression, and build toward a radical governance rooted in justice and dignity.”
The coalition faces a great opportunity borne of the need for transformational change, Mitchell told Blue Tent. The challenges from nearly a year of a global pandemic, racial injustice and an assault on American democracy cannot be overstated.
“We’ll need to use grassroots lobbying, protests and to articulate the need for 2021 to be a moment of truly transformative government,” said Mitchell.
