Moral Monday marches functioned as catalysts for ongoing organizing, not as ends in themselves.

Evidence

But a brief glance beneath the surface of this particular gathering revealed something much more expansive. The march was just the tip of an organizing iceberg. Reverend Barber declared, “The Moral March inaugurates a fresh year of grassroots empowerment, voter education, litigation, and nonviolent direct action.” … In other words, this march wasn’t a culmination but a catalyst: it dramatized an organizing effort (which preceded the gathering) that encompassed the courtroom, the ballot box, and the streets. For Barber, the work of democracy doesn’t happen through marches or backroom deals but through concerted efforts “to change the context in which power operates.” Of course, voting matters. But democracy is about the commitment to get one’s hands dirty, and that work is often selfless and thankless. — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 532

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with the mass-psychosis protest model and links to the reader’s interest in why voting alone is insufficient.