Activism, Alliance Building, and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

To what extent can multi-issue organizing be successful? The longevity of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in San Antonio, Texas, suggests that it is possible for a social change organization to simultaneously address racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, imperialism, environmental justice, and peace-and to succeed. How does it do so? Activism, Alliance Building, and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, based on ethnographic research, provides an instructive case study of the importance and challenges of uncompromisingly confronting injustice in all of its manifestations, building and maintaining alliances, deploying language strategically, and using artistic expression as a central organizing mechanism. The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center demonstrates the power of multi-issue organization in its intersectional/coalitional consciousness; its interweaving of environmental, economic, and social justice issues; its praxis of theory, public rhetoric, institutional collaborations, and interpersonal relationships; and its focus on the arts that serve as fora for creative and political expression, consciousness raising, and mobilization.