There comes a time when every activist movement can no longer sustain itself on the energy it has accumulated so far.
- It can't get its voice out far enough to do the necessary work.
- It can't sustain its voice long enough without exhaustion.
- It can't maintain its morale and confidence in the isolation of its small original membership.
- It can't take on larger institutions and more powerful political and economic forces on its own.
- It can't gather the information needed, build the skills required, fast enough. It can't find some of the tools it needs within the circle of its founding membership.
The activist group realizes it needs more partners if there is to be a chance for its work to continue, a chance to succeed.
If the group has been helping out other kindred groups all along, then allies are probably available. If the group has failed to support others along the way, or if the group has insisted on some sort of purity test before making alliances, it's probably too late, and more powerful forces in society will overwhelm and silence the activist group.
When my students and I used to look at historical episodes of activism, we saw this pattern, and so on behalf of the students who teased out the details in class discussions over the years, I pass along this note.