Who’s Left Out? Taking a Critical Look at Online Organizing
In his book “The Myth of Digital Democracy,” Matthew Hindman “debunks popular notions about political discourse in the digital age, revealing how the Internet has neither diminished the audience share of corporate media nor given greater voice to ordinary citizens.” This panel will use Hindman’s argument as a starting point, addressing the question of whether or not online political and social organizing is indeed reaching under-represented communities, such as young people in inner-cities and rural areas. Do online organizing sites work with and reach a diverse group of members, especially in terms of age, race, education level and economic background? Who is being left out of the conversation? Looking forward, what steps do we need to take to make sure these communities are incorporated into the discussion so they can be empowered both socially and politically?
Matthew Hindman is an assistant professor of political science at Arizona State University, and the author of the book “The Myth of Digital Democracy.” His research interests include American politics, political communication, and (especially) online politics.
Eszter Hargittai's academic work looks at how differences in people’s Web-use skills relate to different types of Internet uses including in the realm of politics. She is editor of the forthcoming book "Research Confidential", which presents a rare behind-the-scenes look at doing empirical social science research.
She started Eszter’s Blog in 2002 and has also been contributing to the Crooked Timber group blog since 2003. She tweets at http://www.twitter.com/eszter.
The Executive Director of the League of Young Voters, Rob "Biko" Baker is a nationally recognized young leader. In his home city of Milwaukee, he has organized town hall meetings and used the power and agency of art to inform, mobilize, and motivate young people to participate in civic life. Baker has served as the deputy publicity coordinator and young voter organizer for the Brown and Black Presidential Forum. He has appeared on C-SPAN, Fox News and CNN, has interviewed luminaries Cornell West, Russell Simmons, and Howard Dean, and has been on panels with many of the nation's strongest progressive voices. Baker is a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA, former political correspondent to The Source, serves on CIRCLE's research advisory board and is a board member of the New Organizing Institute.
Xavier Lopez-Ayala is the New Media Director at Alliance for a Better Minnesota, the communications hub for Minnesota's progressive community. Prior to his work with ABM, Xavier served as the Obama campaign's New Media Director in Minnesota, organized online activists and coordinated volunteers for the Clinton campaign, and helped build community around film on a social networking website. This past May, Xavier graduated from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI with Political Science honors.
Williams is a Washington DC based political activist and commentator who works for the political empowerment of the Millenial generation, people of color, and other underrepresented communities. She currently serves as the Deputy Director of Campus Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress. Listed by Politico.com as one of 50 Politicos to Watch, she leads the organization and young people across the country in implementing national campaigns on a range of progressive policy issues. She is a former staffer of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and a graduate of the University of Maryland College Park.
Jenifer Fernandez Ancona is a strategist in the progressive movement, with a focus on multi-racial coalition building, fund raising and strategic communications. She is currently an advisor to Presente.org/Citizen Engagement Lab, National People's Action and Simple Revolutions. Jenifer was previously a senior advisor to Steve Phillips and Susan Sandler, where she was responsible for communications and messaging to a broad network of progressive donors. Jenifer has also served as a consultant for the Roosevelt Institute, a top legislative aide in the California State Assembly, and was a news reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and fellow organizer Dan Ancona, their son Marco and their cat, Oscar.
