Is Freedom on Our Horizon?

This is a narrative essay written by Francis Calpotura, an experienced community organizer reflecting on lessons from his career, his family’s migration experience, and his assessment of what future successful organizing will require. Calpotura’s focus is an underlying tension in democratic organizing praxis: the tradeoffs between the work required for immediate issue actions, that engage and train members, and systemic transformation for durable social equality. Drawing from the works of Norma Wong and Doug McAdam, Calpotura proposes that organizations collaborate on emergent “horizon-conscious” strategy: a theoretical framework and tool for how organizers can work towards a co-created future, beyond the wins and losses of particular campaigns. In confronting this tradeoff, his approach honors the organizing profession’s cultivation of both individual liberation and shared political empowerment.