ABSTRACT
Cross-class coalition-building for social justice requires bridging class culture differences. Activist class culture differences stem from the interaction of movement traditions with individual activists’ class predispositions. In the US today, there are four predominant traditions in progressive movements, two with predominantly working-class membership (labor and community organizing) and two whose members tend to come from professional-middle-class backgrounds (progressive protest groups affiliated with nonprofits and voluntarily downwardly mobile anarchists). Each movement tradition draws tactics, communication styles and group processes from its classed historical roots. To understand the class cultural dynamics of an activist group also requires understanding the individual members’ class predispositions, or habitus. Childhood class experiences influence approaches to activism, and in particular to differences in vocabulary and speech styles. Professional-middle-class-background and other college-educated activists tend to use more abstract terms, while lifelong working-class activists tend to speak more concretely and colorfully. A major area of class culture difference is in understandings of leadership. Greater awareness of class cultures can help activists bridge differences and build class-inclusive organizations and class-diverse coalitions.
