Jess Galicia
ASA 2 Fall 15
Section A01
Week 1

         One main argument of Grace Lee Boggs's article is that social movements must be dynamic and contextualized into the present moment, recognizing that current circumstances affect our approach to dismantling the powers that be. Specifically, Boggs cites Reuben Zamora's argument that there must be a shift from trying to gain access to already existing institutions of power to instead re-imagining social dynamics that deconstruct hierarchies of power. For this, horizontal alliance building between marginalized groups becomes the tool which will help overcome the divide-and-conquer tactics perpetuate oppressive systems. 

        I connected this article to our class discussion about "cross-ethnic coalition building" (what I will call solidarity in struggle) because it speaks to the fact that oppressive powers must be tackled from different angles and must be inclusive of different lived experiences with those oppressions. In other words, we must recognize that systems of oppression affect us all differently because we stand at different intersections of identity while at the same time recognizing that these systems do have similar effects across identities in terms of invisibilizing and dehumanizing the oppressed/marginalized. Ethnic "minorities," such as Asian Americans and Chicanxs/Latinxs, have much more to gain when we join forces in solidarity against the powers that be; to do otherwise results in divisions among the oppressed that end up constructing ideas like the Model Minority Myth which uphold white supremacy/racism.