ABSTRACT
Activist organizations identify, prioritize, and communicate with publics across cultural identities. This chapter examines how such organizations strategically choose whether and how to cultivate relationships with—or to adamantly oppose—publics based on various factors such as identity, power, relevance, and empowerment. Using a case of Black Liberation, a grassroots activist organization that supports its local Black community, interviews with activists and organizational partners were conducted. The following findings were revealed: (1) Black Liberation activists’ personal and social identities influence the organizations’ communication and advocacy strategies, (2) the organization’s communication approach differs based on the type of public (e.g., supporting or opposing) and their level of involvement with the organization (e.g., ally or accomplice), and (3) a nuanced approach is used in building intercultural alliance based on shared values while maintaining cultural boundaries and empowering each group and its own community. More importantly, this case study provides an example of how an activist organization keeps different cultural groups on its radar, pushing certain groups into focus and others out of focus, at times, in a dynamic manner.
