Editors’ Introduction
The inspiration that can be found in the emergence of grass-roots leadership movements is continued in this chapter. It is unfortunate that the literature on leadership focuses almost exclusively on adults. In the process, much of the relational dynamic that informs grass-roots leadership movements are lost from sight. McCartney analyses the emergence of leadership in girls between the ages of 12 and 23 in community-based organizations that address horrendous challenges in poor communities. These women self-organize and lead within their communities rather than depending on more institutional and top-down interventions, and do so with surprising success. They thus demonstrate the tenacity and capabilities of women even in adverse conditions. What characterize these leadership initiatives is its basis in caring relationships, and the clear message it sends that any girl can, and should be a leader.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Arendt, H. (2000). In P. Baehr (ed.), The Portable Hannah Arendt. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Boggs, G.L. (1998). Living for Change: An Autobiography. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.
Brown, W. (1995). States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Burack, C. (2004). Healing Identities: Black Feminist Thought and the Politics of Groups. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Campbell, N. (2000). Using Women: Gender, Drug Policy, and Social Justice. New York, NY: Routledge.
Campbell, N. and S. Shaw. (2008). Incitements to discourse: Illicit drugs, harm reduction, and the production of ethnographic subjects. Journal of Cultural Anthropology 23(4):688–717.
Chicago Alliance Against White Supremacy (2009). Is racial profiling racist? CAWS Newsletter. http://chicagofreedomschool.org/initiatives/movement-building-and-organizing/caawsletter-08-09-1 (accessed October 7, 2009).
Cohen, C.J. (1997). Punks, bulldaggers, and welfare queens: The radical potential of queer politics? GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 3:437–465.
Cohen, C. (1999). The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Collier, J. and R. Esteban. (2000). Systemic leadership: ethical and effective. The Leadership and Organizational Development Journal 21(4):207–215.
Doin’ It: Sex, Disability and Videotape. (2007, April 25). Interview with the Empowered FeFes. Eight Forty-Eight, Chicago Public Radio. http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=10326 (accessed December 1, 2009).
INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence (2009). Law Enforcement Violence Against Women of Color & Trans People of Color: A Critical Intersection of Gender Violence & State Violence. CD-ROM Toolkit. Redmond, WA: INCITE!
James, J. (1999). Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.
Kellogg, S.H. and M.J. Kreek (2005). Gradualism, identity, reinforcements, and change. International Journal of Drug Policy 16:369–375.
Kellogg, S.H. and M.J. Kreek (2006). Color of Violence. The Incite! Anthology. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
Kellogg, S.H. and M.J. Kreek (2007). The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-profit Industrial Complex. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
Lamm, N. (2006). Activism embodied: A roundtable with Leslie Feinberg, Geleni Fontaine, and Shira Hassan. Clamour Magazine 37. http://clamormagazine.org/issues/38/people.php (accessed November 15, 2009).
Lorde, A. (1984). Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Trumansburg, NY: The Crossing Press.
Lugones, M. (2003). Pilgimages: Peregrinajes. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
McGillicuddy, Kim and Annette Fuentes (1997). Funding youth organizing: Strategies for building power and youth leadership. Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing. http://www.fcyo.org/toolsandresources (accessed November 15, 2009).
McWhorter, L. (2009). Racism and Sexual Oppression in Anglo-America: A Genealogy. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Mendiata, E. (2004). Plantations, ghettos, prisons: US racial geographies. Philosophy & Geography 7(1):43–59.
Meyer, K. (2008, September 18). Group empowers young women with disabilities. Chicago News: abc7chicago.com. http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/disability_issues&id=6396748 (accessed November 12, 2009).
Painter-Morland, M. (2008). Systemic leadership and the emergence of ethical responsiveness. Journal of Business Ethics 82:509–524.
Robnett, B. (1997). How Long? How Long? African American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team. (2006). What Street Harassment Looks Like. http://www.youngwomensactionteam.org (accessed October 7, 2009).
Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team. (2007). YWAT Curriculum. http://www.youngwomensactionteam.org
Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team. (2007). Engaging Young Men as Allies: A Summary Report of Survey Research. http://www.youngwomensactionteam.org (accessed October 7, 2009).
Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team (2006). Young Women Can Make a Difference Organizing. http://www.youngwomensactionteam.org (accessed October 7, 2009).
Rooks, N.M. (2006). White Money/Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Smith, A. (2003, June 24). Interview with Maria Cotera. Global Feminisms: Comparative Case Studies of Women’s Activism and Scholarship. Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan. http://www.umich.edu/~glblfem (accessed October 20, 2009).
Smith, A. (2006, June 1). Without bureaucracy, beyond inclusion: Re-centering feminism. Left Turn. http://www.leftturn.org/?q=node/396 (accessed October 7, 2009).
Smith, A. (2009a, July 18). What Is the Purpose of Education? Allied Media Conference. Detroit, MI: Wright State University.
Smith, A. (2009b, March 5). Another Politics Is Possible: Women of Color Organizing, DePaul University, Chicago, IL.
Spatz, M. (2005). At a Crossroads: Youth Organizing in the Midwest. Occasional Paper No. 7. September 2005. Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing. http://www.fcyo.org/toolsandresources
Transformative Justice Teach-In Zine (2009, June 6). Created at DePaul University Transformative Justice Gathering and Teach-In. http://www.transformativejusticezine.org/2009/06/meanwhile-check-this-out.html (accessed October 15, 2009).
Women & Girls Collective Action Network (primary authors Ann Russo and Melissa Spatz) (2007). Communities Engaged in Resisting Violence, Chicago, IL. http://womenandgirlscan.org/category/writing/ (accessed July 15, 2009).
Young Women’s Empowerment Project (2009). Girls Do What They Have to Do to Survive: Methods Used by Girls in the Sex Trade and Street Economy to Fight Back and Heal. http://youarepriceless.org/node/190 (accessed October 20, 2009).
Žižek, S. (1997). Multiculturalism, or, the cultural logic of multinational capitalism. New Left Review 225:28–51.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McCartney, K. (2011). Every Girl Is a Leader: Organizing for Political Life in Chicago. In: Werhane, P., Painter-Morland, M. (eds) Leadership, Gender, and Organization. Issues in Business Ethics, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9014-0_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9014-0_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-9013-3
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9014-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)