Grassroots

For other uses, see Grass roots (disambiguation).

A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement.[1] Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to implement change at the local, regional, national, or international levels. Grassroots movements are associated with bottom-up, rather than top-down decision-making, and are sometimes considered more natural or spontaneous than more traditional power structures.[2]

Grassroots movements, using self-organization, encourage community members to contribute by taking responsibility and action for their community.[3] Grassroots movements utilize a variety of strategies from fundraising and registering voters, to simply encouraging political conversation. Goals of specific movements vary and change, but the movements are consistent in their focus on increasing mass participation in politics.[4] These political movements may begin as small and at the local level, but grassroots politics as Cornel West contends are necessary in shaping progressive politics as they bring public attention to regional political concerns.[5]

The idea of grassroots is often conflated with participatory democracy. The Port Huron Statement, a manifesto seeking a more democratic society, says that to create a more equitable society, "the grass roots of American Society" need to be the basis of civil rights and economic reform movements.[6] The terms can be distinguished in that grassroots often refers to a specific movement or organization, whereas participatory democracy refers to the larger system of governance.[7]

  1. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock (1961). Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Riverside Press.
  2. ^ Yenerall, Kevan M. (2017). "grassroots politics.". Encyclopedia of American Government and Civics. Facts On File.
  3. ^ Caneparo, Luca; Bonavero, Federica (July 29, 2016). "Neighborhood regeneration at the grassroots participation: Incubators' co-creative process and system" (PDF). International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR. 10 (2): 204–218. doi:10.26687/ARCHNET-IJAR.V10I2.960 (inactive November 1, 2024). S2CID 59383878. ProQuest 1833257272.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  4. ^ Poggi, Sarah. "Grassroots Movements" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  5. ^ Wallace, Michele (1992). Black Popular Culture. Seattle: Bay Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-56584-459-9.
  6. ^ Students for a Democratic Society (1962). "Port Huron Statement". Archived from the original on July 5, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  7. ^ Committee of the Regions.; European Institute Of Public Administration (European Institute Of Public Administration (Maastricht, The Netherlands)). (2011). Direct and Participatory Democracy at Grassroots Level (PDF). European Institute of Public Administration. doi:10.2863/63437. ISBN 978-92-895-0641-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.