This Thanksgiving weekend, we have the opportunity to ask people in our lives to join us on the path towards justice.

In these weeks after the election we are in a unique window of opportunity to engage new people in social movements. Across the country, there are people who are scared, dismayed, and angry, and who are asking “what can I do?”. Windows like this usually only last a matter of weeks. The time is now for conversations that invite our families into action.

Will you join other young people with wealth in engaging our family members over the weekend? Below are some tips on how to do so.

Tips:

• Check out this page from RG with topics that may come up in conversations with family (particularly middle-of-the-road or Liberal) about this election, and sample responses.

• Check out these other resources:

• • Unsettling Thanksgiving: One More Way to Love my Family– by Jason Rodney, RG member
  • SURJ Thanksgiving Toolkit: Calling in our Friends and Family– This kit is geared toward talking to white people, and has content and talking points that people of color with wealth may find useful as well.
  • How To Talk About Privilege To Someone Who Doesn’t Know What That Is (from “Everyday Feminism” blog, 2012)

• Conversations with family can be tricky, especially based on how aligned (or not) your political views are. Spend time finding out how your family members feel before jumping in to your own opinion and feelings.
  • How are they reacting to the election? If they are concerned, what are they most concerned about?
  • Discover what your family member cares about and how you can connect progressive politics to that concern.

• Don’t avoid talking about it. This is a time to be brave and to lovingly bring challenging conversations to the table.

• Find allies in your family who you can strategize with. Is your cousin down to help organize your family to move money, too? Talk beforehand and make a plan.

• Ask the question: How do we want to show up as a family in this moment?

• This is an opportunity to talk about end of year giving. Ask your family to give gifts to organizations led by people who are most under attack: undocumented people, Arab American and muslim communities, black communities, poor and working class communities, women, and to reproductive justice work and environmental justice work.

• Organize a conference call or family meeting in December to talk about your giving.

• Stand in solidarity with indigenous people by divesting from banks that are invested in Standing Rock. See these resources for more:
  • How to Contact the 17 Banks Funding the Dakota Access Pipeline
  • Directions on how to move money out of banks financing the Dakota Access Pipeline
  • FAQs on opening another bank account
  • Personal testimony: “I Couldn’t Go to Standing Rock, So I Closed My Bank Accounts Instead”

• Tell the true story of Thanksgiving and ask family how we might show up to support indigenous organizing and communities.

One of the most important roles young people with wealth can play is to organize wealthy people in our families to leverage our power and wealth to support social movements.

This work is more necessary than ever, and we look forward to doing it with you for the coming months and years.  

 
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Resource Generation (RG) is the only organization in the U.S. organizing young people with access to wealth toward the equitable distribution of wealth, land, and power. 

As a result of becoming a member of Resource Generation, our members end up giving away 16-times more money to economic and racial justice organizations than they did before. Learn more and support our work by becoming a member here. If you need help figuring out your class background, check out our definition of wealth and/or fill out this intake form to have one our national organizers get in touch with you.