Marcucio: Describe the need for faith-based education organization.
Prince-Stewart: If we believe that children are our most precious gift from God, we have to ask ourselves, “Who are we if we don’t educate every single one of them?” The faith community has a long history of being involved in educational justice from the creation of HBCUs to the Civil Rights Movement. There’s a church on every corner in cities like Bridgeport, Baltimore and Chicago. There’s so much untapped power in these institutions filled with people directly impacted by the lack of quality education options in their communities. FaithActs for Education exists because pastors in Bridgeport demanded a seat at the table. There’s a need for more community-led organizations with the capacity to build people power in education reform.
Marcucio: What is community organizing?
Prince-Stewart: Power — that’s what it’s all about. Recognizing power, building power, using power and building more power. Practically speaking, what that looks like starts with relationships. It’s old school. Face-to-face interactions. Nothing can replicate the experience of sitting down with someone one-on-one, breaking bread with them and learning their story. It’s not just a tactic used in organizing — it’s in business, in fundraising, in government. It’s how you forge relationships and get things done. We use the same tactic, but with people who, too often, are seen as folks who don’t have something valuable to bring to the table.
Those one-on-one conversations lead to understanding self-interests. Once we understand what someone’s going through and what they’re ready to fight for, we identify shared issues and build campaigns around them. Folks start to recognize that they’re not the only one. They start to see what it would look like if they all came together and decided to fix this for themselves. If people are not driving the issues and deciding what they want for themselves, it’s not organizing. Because again, organizing is all about power.
Marcucio: What inspires you to do the work you do?
Prince-Stewart: Our mission and the people we’re serving. I remember at the end of one long evening meeting, I walked out with one of our members and asked if he was heading to his car. He said he didn’t have one, and was going to walk home. I offered him a ride, and when I asked where he lived I realized his home was two miles away. The whole time I was driving, I tried to imagine how long it would have taken him to walk home, alone, at night.
We take so much for granted: our privilege, our convenience, our ease of transportation. There’s nothing that I wouldn’t give to this organization when I see what folks around me sacrifice to be part of it. If you ever doubt whether what you’re doing is impacting people, all you have to do is assess the sacrifices those people are making to be there. Our members take off from work to come to our meetings. They sacrifice a paycheck. They sacrifice time with their families. They show up again and again because they believe just as much as I do that they can make a change in their city.
Prince-Stewart: The pastors of Bridgeport created this organization. They serve as our board, our members and our advisers. Because of that foundation, I knew we were building a model that people would be drawn to. But I didn’t realize that we would draw so many people so quickly — to the point that we really have to think about our strategy for organizing them all. Especially in a city like Bridgeport, with a legacy of people feeling taken advantage of and cheated out of quality of life, I thought it would take so much time for us to build trust and build traction. But people here are ready for change, and they’re ready to act. I thought we were going to have to convince people to pick up the pace, but they’re already saying we’re moving too slow for them.
Marcucio: What’s the most frustrating thing you’ve learned at FaithActs?
Prince-Stewart: When you know how bad the problem is, you don’t want anyone to live through that problem for one more second. Nothing we do feels like it’s happening quickly enough. I’ve been thinking a lot about how Harriet Tubman freed slaves and fought for the freedom of slaves at the same time. There’s a special type of mental stability she must have had — to fight for a big, transformational shift, while at the same time trying to free as many people as possible. I think we have to figure out what is our Harriet Tubman strategy around this work. Every single day, kids are in places that are not serving them. It breaks my heart, and it’s not okay. I want everything to change right now for those kids.
Prince-Stewart: History tells us that the faith community has been successful in social justice work. But does the faith community in Bridgeport have enough collective power to combat the status quo — to shift the balance of power in favor of what works for children? I believe we do, and that’s what we need to prove.
Marcucio: What’s one moment you’d highlight that exemplifies the work you’re doing?
Prince-Stewart: I’ll never forget our first public action. Watching our members lead. A few minutes before the demonstration started, I saw one of the women with an important speaking role move off to the side with another member, going back and forth practicing what she was going to say. She didn’t ask me to practice with her, or one of our community organizers or one of the pastors. She called on her peer. That’s the power of what we’re building. There will never be enough community organizers employed at FaithActs to do all of the work that needs to be done. Our members have to do the work; they have to own it. Seeing them lead, seeing them support one another and being able to stand back in the crowd, I was at peace. I was in awe.
Marcucio: What’s up next for FaithActs?
Prince-Stewart: I’m so excited for our next phase because it’s all about action. It’s about seeing the world change around us because of what our members are able to achieve. We’ve spent two years building relationships and knowledge with our members. Now, it’s time for them to utilize all of the research and resources they have to make demands of decision makers who aren’t use to being held accountable. Our members are seeing that they have power. They don’t have to wait for anyone to “invite them” or “give them permission” to act because faith acts!
