Progressives must succeed Bernie’s movement

“What the hell do we do next?”

The question of panelist Dominique Scott echoed at the People’s Summit Conference in Chicago last weekend, a gathering focused on what to do in the wake of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ likely loss of the Democratic presidential nomination. 

As it stands right now, it is unrealistic to hold onto hopes that Sanders will become the Democratic nominee. According to the International Business Times, the way the delegates add up, there aren’t enough delegates still up for grabs in the convention for him to secure the nomination. Though he is still campaigning until the Democratic National Convention, this is not for a chance at the Oval Office but to push for his policies and other progressive officials.

With his enthusiastic followers trying to come up with the next steps, different opinions have emerged on what is to come. Some supporters argue that the best alternative is to channel our energy behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while some believe Sanders should run as an independent third-party candidate and others urge supporters to vote for the Green Party’s candidate, Jill Stein, who has a platform similar to Sanders’.

But for many Sanders supporters, there’s no easy solution to the question we will face come November.

According to a Bloomberg Politics national poll, about 55 percent of Sanders supporters plan to vote for Clinton. Personally, I feel uncomfortable voting for Clinton for a laundry list of reasons — including her corporate policies and maintenance of the broken status quo — but I also feel obligated to do my part in defeating presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

I’m not sure how that tension will translate in November but, until then, I plan to focus on what actions we should take to carry on his legacy — channeling our energy into grassroots organizing efforts.

Though it can be easy to get caught up in the intensity of the election, it is essential to take a step back. As a movement, we are bigger than a politician. We are much more than Sanders — his presence and favorability is only an expression of our strength, not the culmination of it.

Right now, we are at a “movement moment” — a pivotal moment that can define the trajectory of future fights for social justice. The choices we make next, and how we spend our time and energy, will have large implications in the years to come.

In the wake of Sanders’ campaign, the left is buzzing with energy, thanks in part to the momentum and excitement surrounding the success of his campaign. For a lot of Sanders supporters, his campaign served as an introduction to political activism. With his talk of a political revolution, research done by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement shows that he gained three times more youth votes than any other candidate in the race.

Here in Pittsburgh, people who had never attended a march at Pitt organized them, and people I had never seen at a rally before spoke in front of crowds to push for a candidate they thought had a better chance at doing us justice. I was in awe and inspired to see so many new faces at events, marches and gatherings on our own campus.

Though this could come as a paralyzing loss — especially for those new to the left — it doesn’t have to be. With Sanders’ loss imminent, it is time we channel all of this energy back into our progressive movement instead of toward a politician.

We need to refocus on the issues that our communities face and how we can change them, and we must channel our energy and support for Sanders into our workplaces, our schools and our homes.

Now is the time to unionize your workplace, fight for a living wage and support workers in their contract negotiations. Now is the time to work to create a safe space, fight against discriminatory laws that target transgender communities and stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. Now is the time to act and move beyond a political campaign.

For example, here at Pitt we still have many issues to tackle — very few gender-neutral housing and bathrooms, a faculty force lacking in diversity, escalating tuition and far too many cases of sexual assault.

By focusing on work that makes our movement stronger, we will be better prepared not just for this election but those in the future as well. Unless we do some serious movement building, a culture of prejudice, racism and misogyny will continue to churn out new and improved versions of Trump for every election. To combat this, we need to work against the dangerous culture that allows Trump to be popular, not just the man himself.

Though it was nice to consider the possibility of Sanders as a president friendlier to progressivism, it still wouldn’t have solved our problems. Electing one person into office does not change the reality for millions of people — that’s up to us.

If this is the beginning of the revolution, then we are the revolutionaries.

Alyssa primarily writes on social justice and political issues for The Pitt News.

Write to her at aal43@pitt.edu.