Organizing is love and empowerment. 

When my community, fellow organizers, and I have our wins and losses, we always know we’ll be there for each other and that our fight for collective justice wasn’t just a moment — but a serious pathway for needed change. 

I interviewed four organizers who show up every day to fight for visibility, human rights, immigration reform and voting rights. Gen Z is often overlooked by those in power, but we come out in numbers to block or vote out initiatives and candidates that lead to harm and support policies that move us forward. 

Here’s some advice from organizers of my generation on how to continue the fight, for the love of our communities.

Giving Others Their Flowers

Whether you’re new or old in the activism world, mentorship and inspiration are pivotal to growth. Before joining Equality Florida as a community organizer, Quinn Swearingen began organizing as a 16-year-old, assisting with STI/STD testing education. He became more focused on gun violence prevention after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School happened during his freshman year at UCF. 

Quinn knew he had to speak up, even if he was not yet as experienced as other activists. It was Rep. Anna Eskamani, a progressive legislator in the Florida House, who inspired him to continue his hands-on approach to advocacy.  At the height of the pandemic and concerns about the U.S. entering into more forever wars, Quinn says young people were feeling more nihilistic — but he decided to show up to a rally at Orlando City Hall.

“Anna was the one who was really leading a lot of the chants, and she was the one who handed me the bullhorn and gave me a little pep talk,” Quinn said. “It’s literally just her simple act of giving me the megaphone and saying, you got this, you know what to do. It’s the little things.”

He noted that Rep. Eskamani always has her doors open for people to come in and take a seat,  a breather, or a safe space. She makes time for people and stands in her values, regardless of the issue, Quinn added. 

Alexis Williams, who works for the Jacksonville-based organization, Queer Trans Project, noticed the disparities between white and people of color transgender folks that have been noted by many prominent organizations such as the National LGBTQ Task Force, National Center for Transgender Equality, and National Black Justice Coalition. The founder of the organization has been a great source of inspiration and education for Alexis.

“Because our founder is Black and Trans, we really try to advocate in that area,” Alexis said. She explains that there are trans-specific items, like packing underwear or gender grips, that don’t always come in Black and Brown shades or are not always suited for plus-size builds. “It really drives us to make sure that we’re supporting BIPOC individuals just as much as they deserve to be because they’re not really represented as such. There should be something for everyone,” Alexis said.

logan meza, a South Florida experienced organizer who currently works with the Brown Boi Project, an organization that seeks to eradicate sexism, homophobia, and transphobia while uplifting healthy masculinity, mentioned how organizers who were a part of the planning committee for Miami’s Transgender Day of Remembrance influenced them to grow not only as an organizer, but in their personal life. 

They said, “​​Community is messy. Humans are imperfect, and therefore, community is messy, and it is what you do in the mess that matters. Not everyone is going to have the same values, not everyone is going to have the same political alignment. But what are the things that bind you? What are the things that keep you together? And keep you willing to be with each other in collective struggle.”

Getting Back to ‘Third Spaces’

The loneliness epidemic continues in a society that encourages others to consume, rather than to pour into their communities and third spaces — or places outside of home, work, and school that allow for social interactions. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, loneliness and weak social connections reduced lifespans equal to 15 cigarettes a day, and more than obesity. TikToks from frustrated Gen Z and Millennials only continue to showcase the decline of third spaces.

But Gen Z organizers like these are turning back to those third spaces that help us build community. 

Karena Bridgelal, a 27-year-old who recently started organizing with Central Florida Queers for Palestine, was involved in activism with LGBTQ+ organizations and college volunteer work. Her advocacy for Palestinians in Gaza and here in Central Florida pushed her to pursue community engagement roles rather than continue working within the healthcare system.  

“The reason that I’ve gotten back into organizing is I feel we’ve lost a huge sense of community in society. Who else do you look to for help other than a neighbor? It needs to be a community effort to help change something in the community,” she said. 

With community-building providing purpose, many learn how love is meeting people where they are and meeting the needs of the community, rather than just uplifting themselves. logan mentions that they’re not interested in doing anything that their community doesn’t need to thrive. 

“If I have this great idea of, like, oh, my God! It would be so great to organize a clothing swap! — if that’s not what is needed, and if people actually need food, then I need to pivot. And I need to figure out how to start up a community pantry,” they said.

Alexis also leads by this example in her work at QTP. She describes her love for the community as being committed to both learning and unlearning in order to unequivocally support the transgender community, despite the hostility that exists from anti-LGBTQ laws in the state.

“I went from not knowing a thing, but being respectful of people being transgender, to having someone so deeply tied to me be trans. I had to unlearn a lot and relearn a lot. And in that, it really drives me to do more for the community,” she said.

She said she does this by asking questions like: What do you need? What can we do better? And how can we better serve you within our means? 

“I’m constantly putting in the work to show my love, and then the community shows me so much love back, and it really drives me to just want to continue more,” Alexis said.

Quinn, growing up working-class in Hallandale Beach, lived in a diverse community but found himself seeing a huge shift in 2016 with negative rhetoric toward the Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ community from Trump and many other Republicans running for office. He sees love as giving back through his power and privilege as a cis white gay man. 

“We’re seeing people joining the fight at higher and higher numbers. I’m thankful to be one of the people out there who are able to kind of equip them with the same tools that you or I may have had to learn trial by fire. So they don’t have to go through the same experiences that we did,” he said.

Organizing Beyond Electoral Politics 

In election years like this one, there is always a debate on whether voting or moving through the electoral system is the only valid way to bring our communities forward. logan emphasized the lack of hope that exists in a 2020 deja-vu-like state with the rematch of former President Trump and current President Biden bound to happen this November. But it’s also clear that in the face of this struggle, we have to find multiple ways to engage — not just write any one strategy off as the only one. They feel that people are losing hope in the electoral process, in both parties.

“I don’t know what it’s going to take to revive that hope. But I think that organizers and artists and cultural workers are going to have to get very strategic about how we organize. Because if we cannot revive electoral politics and get people to go out and vote, then what are we going to do instead to still be able to take care of our community as our political landscape shifts?” they ask.

Karena felt similar sentiments during our conversation, stating that some key issues may be mentioned by candidates and politicians, but not fully addressed for BIPOC people both in our country and overseas. She sees that foreign policy issues such as Palestine, has taken politicians and candidates  a longer time to reach a decision on where they lie on the issue, and whether they support local measures such as a ceasefire resolution. It felt to Karena that organizers and supporters had to force the issue on social media, events, public spaces, or fundraisers.

Alexis feels that marginalized communities are not protected and provided enough information for voting and legislation, which can lead to policies that we need failing in our communities. However, she acknowledges organizations have stepped up to compensate for this lack, especially among young leaders, leading to her growing optimism. 

“I feel like a lot more of this generation, specifically Gen Z is just gonna continue to break down barriers and vote out people who are really holding us back from equality as a whole,” she said. 

Quinn rejects the premise that only one thing can be done to protect our communities and expand opportunities in our current political landscape. 

“I think electoral politics and electoralism has its place in organizing and is an important tool in the toolbox. It is not the only tool. It is one of many,” he said. “It is incredibly important for us to try and get allies and vanguards of the community into office. In some ways, electoralism is one of the easier pathways to get things like economic and environmental justice.” 

But he notes that an overreliance on electoralism, rather than self and community empowerment, is sometimes where we go wrong.  

Despite what may be an extremely stressful election year, Quinn feels there is a new generation of organizers bringing effective changes to Florida in the coming years. 

“As much as we saw things kind of start to fall apart as quickly as they did, I am also equally as happy and surprised that people are filling these gaps as quickly as they are,” he said  “Since the pandemic, I feel like we’re in an era where we’re not just protesting anymore.  We’re fostering that sense of community that’s been missing and bringing people together.” 

Staying the Path Through Growing Pains

The pandemic exposed the cracks that our system has regarding healthcare and labor rights — and they are some of the same cracks we’ve seen in community spaces. Karena has become more aware of how community spaces treat those who are immunocompromised and have other disabilities as COVID surges continue.

“Before the pandemic, there wasn’t much thought about disabilities in organizing spaces and how we should go about advocating for those groups. There’s more of a need and a want to make sure that that group specifically is taken care of, or at least for myself, I look for that more,” she said. For example, she noted that when organizing for Queers for Palestine, she helped ensure their community agreements included how to make it a safe space for everyone.

Staying motivated while in organizing spaces can also be challenging, especially in Southern states where laws regarding culture wars and ignoring or furthering the decline of rights continue to prevail regardless of their unpopularity among those who live here. However, not everyone is always able to participate in person due to a lack of organizations in the area. 

The Queer Trans Project developed a framework that allowed people to get involved while remaining safe during the pandemic. Volunteers from everywhere were able to assist queer and trans people across the country with their support letters, queer trans kits, and love hotline.

Since they got started in the heat of COVID, Alexis explains, “I think it really pushed for us to have innovative ideas where we can not only support people, but just explore different ideas about how we can reach people at a bigger level. So we also have volunteers who don’t have to leave their home or be compromised.”

When collectively organizing, a popular slogan is “we keep each other safe.” logan’s roots in organizing started with #BlackLivesMatter due to the murder and police brutality of Michael Brown. During the pandemic, millions fled to the streets and joined social justice and organizing groups because of the death of George Floyd. However, with the 2020 and Palestinian protests, logan noticed a decrease in a focus on protecting one’s identity despite health and surveillance risks and consequences.

logan emphasized the importance of protecting one’s self and others while participating in large-scale protests because they are not only unpredictable, but there are accounts of suspicious disappearances, threats, and deaths of organizers and protestors from Ferguson and other mass movements and mobilizations reported in recent years.

Quinn recognizes that organizing is a lot. While rewarding, there are many challenges, such as burnout, because of the consistent challenging of laws and candidates who contribute to unprecedented and increased attacks toward Black, Brown, and LGBTQ communities. 

Even so, he says, “It’s some of the easiest ways you can connect with your community. I love what I do. Even when I look to move out of fieldwork. I still want to stay involved. I still, at this point, do not see a way, nor do I want to remove myself from this equation.”

He notices the duty that organizers feel to never take breaks and pauses because of how quickly things are happening but emphasizes that organizing needs to be sustainable.

“For me, one of the ways I have really reframed my experience is I had to break free of that ‘have to’ mindset. Instead, I follow a philosophy of ,I do this because I want to, because I choose to,” he said. “Sometimes that looks like choosing days to take a step back and to take time off. Instead of being the organizer at the front of the rallies, or the protests, or leading the events, I just show up to revel in the moments of joy. I don’t have to be the person that creates these joyful moments all the time. Knowing that I don’t have to be resilient at all times possible, and choosing when to walk away, makes it so much easier to come back stronger and come back with more hope.”

When you love someone or your community, one of the most important things you can do is love them more than the hate you have for those who harm them. Organizers every day in our communities seek to amplify and continue the work that many mentors, leaders, and fellow colleagues have pushed for liberation. Social media has opened the door to increasing the number of those involved in social justice.

You don’t need a Valentine or to send one to find some type or form of love in the organizing world. You just need to let your interests be known on how you want to play a role in the affairs that impact all of us. If you’re interested in being a part of something bigger than yourself while challenging systems and amplifying low-income people, racial, social, reproductive, sexual, and economic justice, these organizations and many others can allow you to be plugged in. 

Organizations Mentioned in this piece: Queer Trans Project, Central Florida Queers for Palestine, Brown Boi Project, and Equality Florida