An inspiring drawing speaking to the variety of actions needed to grow socially just systems

I added “education” to it

My edit to this framework arose from a conversation with an organizer friend. We agreed that (political) education is the essential nectar that nurtures the butterfly of social justice. I love this drawing and framework because it acknowledges that many forms of work are needed.

It helps me to recognize that one doesn’t have to partake in all forms of actions and that diversity in actions is beneficial to the larger whole.

Some people protest and disrupt, others support us as yoga teachers and therapists, and others build eco villages.

See the link below for the source of the image (without education added):
https://www.soulfirefarm.org/butterfly-of-transformative-social-change/

How do we discern the most effective and aligned social justice strategies? Is it more important to engage in civil disobedience or to work on legislation? Is it more effective to organize with our neighbors or to provide a healing space for overworked activists? There are no easy answers to these questions, but the butterfly of transformative social change can guide us. Each of the four wings of the butterfly represents a set of tactics – resist, reform, build, and heal. To resist means to directly confront systems of oppression through noncooperation – protest, strike, sit in, boycott, etc. To reform means to work within existing systems toward incremental change – education, electoral politics, petitions, etc. To build means to create new institutions that reflect the world we envision – cooperatives, freedom schools, community farms, etc. And, to heal means to address trauma and center joy so we can embody a healed work – spirituality, art, therapy, etc. Just as a butterfly cannot fly without all of its wings, a movement cannot succeed without all of these strategies. Ask yourself what is the intersection between your skills, passions, and the strategies available to you? That intersection is the body of the butterfly and where you can focus your energy.

~ from Soul Fire Farm

License for all original work:

MMSSocialJusticeFramework