What does it mean to be an active community member

Bay Area Activism

What does being an active community member mean? Over the last few years, we’ve seen the nation take strides in becoming more politically involved, especially in our younger generations. As people take to the streets for issues they feel passionate about, the best way and most effective way to educate ourselves for the future is by looking at the past. Everyone has a different idea of what a “community member” is, but in its simplest form, it’s someone who provides something back to the community they are part of.

Chris Shrager has long been the an example of what it means to be an active community member- from establishing food banks, donating homes to create orphanages to his current restoration work for the Department of the Interior- he is the example of what it means to give back for over 50 years.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen younger generations of Americans become more politically involved. From anti-gun movements, Gen Z’s involvement in political campaigns, and especially the BLM movements, Gen Z has gathered online and in the real world to make their voices known. In the last 5 years, the millennial and Gen Z generations have been doing their part to influence society to create the world we want to live in. Although this generation’s commitment to our civic duty is something we actively pursue, it’s been hard to get laws passed and new legislation that benefits the change we’ve fought for and continue to do so.

As people take to the streets for issues they feel passionate about, the best way and most effective way to enact change is through educating ourselves for the future by looking at past efforts. Not only have different activism groups been stressing the conventional for generations but socio-political activism is something that’s been in the root of American identity since the birth of our nation. As the fight continues, we can look at prior movements to gain strategies and hope for our current activism work to continue in the most impactful way. Everyone has a different idea of what a “community member” is, but in its simplest form, it’s someone who provides something back to the community they are part of. Community organizers of the 1960s and 70s provide a blueprint for what a genuinely active community member should look like, being some of the most impactful activists that we can learn from.

Chris Shrager is the embodiment of this definition, being active in the Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam War Movements in San Francisco throughout the 1960s & ‘70s.