Michael Rosino, an assistant professor at Malloy University, dives into the complex dynamics of grassroots political organizing in America. He discusses how progressive groups often fail to achieve racial equity due to the reluctance of white members to share power. With insights from his ethnographic research, he highlights the paradox of predominantly white organizations advocating for inclusivity. Rosino emphasizes the importance of multiracial coalitions to overcome barriers to inclusion and strengthen grassroots democracy.
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insights INSIGHT
Awkwardness Blocks Progress
Grassroots progressive groups often fail to resolve racial inequality because they avoid tough conversations.
Habits and cultural norms create discomfort and inertia, hindering democratic engagement and social change.
question_answer ANECDOTE
In-Depth Ethnographic Research
Michael Rosino conducted 15-16 months of ethnographic fieldwork in three local chapters of a northeastern progressive grassroots organization.
He attended events, held 45 interviews, collected documents, and immersed himself as a participant-observer.
insights INSIGHT
White Consensus Limits Inclusion
Progressive grassroots organizations often display a "white consensus" where leadership and power stay concentrated among white members.
This happens due to habits prioritizing comfort, familiarity, and maintaining control, which constrains possibilities for racial justice and inclusion.
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Democracy is Awkward, Grappling with Racism Inside American Grassroots Political Organizing
Democracy is Awkward, Grappling with Racism Inside American Grassroots Political Organizing
Grappling with Racism Inside American Grassroots Political Organizing
Michael Rosino
Michael Rosino's "Democracy is Awkward" delves into the complexities of racial inclusion within progressive grassroots political organizations. The book uses ethnographic data from a real-world organization to illustrate how white progressives' reluctance to share power hinders social change. Rosino highlights the disconnect between stated goals of racial equity and the reality of predominantly white membership and leadership. He analyzes the habits, routines, and discursive strategies that perpetuate this imbalance, offering valuable insights into the challenges of building truly inclusive political spaces. The book ultimately calls for a more conscious and deliberate approach to power-sharing and genuine solidarity.
In uncertain times, confronting pressing problems such as racial oppression and the environmental crisis requires everyday people to come together and wield political power for the greater good. Yet, as Michael Rosino shows in Democracy Is Awkward (UNC Press, 2025), progressive political organizations in the United States have frequently failed to achieve social change.
Why? Rosino posits that it is because of the unwillingness of white progressives at the grassroots level to share power with progressives of color. Using rich ethnographic data, Rosino focuses on participants in a real grassroots progressive political party in the northeastern United States. While the organization's goals included racial equity and the inclusion of people of color, its membership and leadership remained disproportionately white, and the group had mixed success in prioritizing and carrying out its racial justice agenda. By highlighting the connections between racial inequality, grassroots democracy, and political participation, Rosino weaves in the voices and experiences of party members and offers insights for building more robust and empowering spaces of grassroots democratic engagement.