25 min
The Mothers Are Coming: Shannon Watts on Building a Grassroots Movement to Fight Gun Violence Hiding in the Bathroom
-
- Careers
"There is nothing a gun extremist has as much love for as we do for our children." That's the true theory of change behind Moms Demand Action, a 50 state strong movement of over 4 million Americans who demand legislators fix our epidemic of gun violence.
Moms Demand members show up in state legislatures (and my Twitter feed) almost every day, fearless in the face of threats. Founder Shannon Watts says "All credit goes to every talented, Type A, badass moms who breathed life into this movement."
I wanted to know, what is life like as a grassroots organizer working in the perfect storm of a startup and politics? What's the organizing model that allows Moms Demand to function? How does a mom go from social media fan to activist? What kind of social media strategy does the organization employ? How did Shannon create the brand, one that appeals to red and blue state moms alike? And how do Moms Demand volunteers stay above the fray of ad hominem attacks on social media?
Shannon Watts started a Facebook page the day after Sandy Hook; she wanted to start something like Mothers Against Drunk Driving to allow mothers to fight gun violence. Learn how she and a team of dedicated volunteer activists built one of our most powerful grassroots armies.
"There is nothing a gun extremist has as much love for as we do for our children." That's the true theory of change behind Moms Demand Action, a 50 state strong movement of over 4 million Americans who demand legislators fix our epidemic of gun violence.
Moms Demand members show up in state legislatures (and my Twitter feed) almost every day, fearless in the face of threats. Founder Shannon Watts says "All credit goes to every talented, Type A, badass moms who breathed life into this movement."
I wanted to know, what is life like as a grassroots organizer working in the perfect storm of a startup and politics? What's the organizing model that allows Moms Demand to function? How does a mom go from social media fan to activist? What kind of social media strategy does the organization employ? How did Shannon create the brand, one that appeals to red and blue state moms alike? And how do Moms Demand volunteers stay above the fray of ad hominem attacks on social media?
Shannon Watts started a Facebook page the day after Sandy Hook; she wanted to start something like Mothers Against Drunk Driving to allow mothers to fight gun violence. Learn how she and a team of dedicated volunteer activists built one of our most powerful grassroots armies.
25 min