Usually, being a volunteer organizer essentially means that I am part of a core base of individuals, that when we start a project - whether it be a big thing like the inauguration or whether it be something that's a longer-term, let's say, educational campaign about a foreign policy issue or a domestic issue - we sit together and we divvy up, and oftentimes it's relevant to different things we do.
Eugene PuryearI think, by and large, the way big social change happens is every individual person taking on whatever little piece they can take on.
Eugene PuryearI think one of the great things that I have seen happen since the rise of the movement for black lives is the growth of more training and leadership spaces.
Eugene PuryearI think what drives me is a sense of, well, who is going to do it if you don't do it? I think that one of the things that we've seen over time, especially with progressive social movements, is most of them - it's surprising to people - are sort of driven by that.
Eugene PuryearI got involved as an activist when I was in high school, around the Iraq war. That's how I got involved. It seemed like, OK, we're going to go to war. It doesn't seem like a good idea. Someone should do something. I'm looking around and, like, I am someone, and I might not be able to do everything, but I can do something.
Eugene Puryear