Resisting the Tide of Conformity: Lessons from the Frontlines
In a world where we are conditioned to be obedient, to follow the rules and avoid making waves, there are times when the call to action becomes undeniable. The path of civil disobedience, though daunting, can be a righteous and necessary response to injustice. This is the story of one Harvard professor’s journey into the realm of grassroots activism, where she confronted the bureaucratic barriers and “bulldozer justice” that threatened the most vulnerable in her community.
Awakening to Injustice: From Brazil to Selma
Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a seasoned expert in water and sanitation services, community engagement, and advocacy, recalls her early experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Northeast Brazil. In the aftermath of the 1964 military coup, she witnessed the plight of the impoverished sugarcane cutters who had begun to organize with the Peasant League Movement.
Scheper-Hughes found herself at the center of a struggle to address the lack of potable water, hunger, infant mortality, and the indignity of pauper burials in the shantytown of Alto do Cruzeiro. As the organizers of the local squatters association, UPAC, faced repression and a ban on their activities, Scheper-Hughes was placed under surveillance and threatened with deportation.
This formative experience in Brazil would shape Scheper-Hughes’ future actions. Upon her return to the United States, she joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and spent two years in Selma, Alabama, and its rural surrounds, gathering data to support a class action suit on behalf of Black farm families denied federal subsidies and assistance.
Battling Bureaucracy: Occupying the Chancellor’s Office
Scheper-Hughes’ passion for grassroots activism continued to burn as she pursued her academic career at the University of California, Berkeley. In the early 1970s, she joined a group of community activists and students seeking to establish a student-parent child day care co-operative on the Berkeley campus.
Faced with the university administration’s dismissive attitude – “We are not in the business of babysitting” – Scheper-Hughes and her colleagues decided to take bold action. Inspired by the tactics she had witnessed in Brazil, they “occupied” the chancellor’s office with their infants and toddlers, refusing to leave until their demands were heard.
The tables were turned, and the university administrators found themselves locked down with the demonstrators. Though they were eventually released, the university recognized the power of their civil disobedience and began to negotiate in good faith, leading to the establishment of the ASUC child care program.
Implementing “Occupy” Tactics: The People’s Café
Scheper-Hughes’ commitment to radical action continued as she witnessed the deterioration of People’s Park in Berkeley during the 1980s. Encountering the work of the Berkeley Catholic Worker movement and its founder, John Cooper, she was inspired to take on a new challenge – creating a dignified space for the park’s homeless community.
When the university administration rejected their proposal to establish a “hospitality house” in the park, Scheper-Hughes and her colleagues made the bold decision to “implement option two” – building a People’s Café right in the heart of People’s Park. Drawing inspiration from the squatter occupations in Brazil, they meticulously planned and executed the overnight operation, hauling in a seventy-four-foot house trailer and setting up a fully functioning café before the authorities could intervene.
For four years, the People’s Café provided not only hot meals and basic services, but also a sense of community and dignity for the park’s marginalized residents. Scheper-Hughes and her team successfully navigated the legal challenges, with one judge praising the Catholic Worker movement and refusing to order the café’s removal. However, ultimately, the university police forcibly dismantled the café, replacing it with volleyball courts.
Lessons from a Radical Anthropologist
Scheper-Hughes’ experiences in Brazil, Selma, and Berkeley have shaped her approach to scholarship and activism. In her academic work, she has advocated for a “critically applied anthropology” that bridges the divide between theory and practice, embracing the role of the “court jester” who can “mock, subvert, and seduce” with laughter and absurdity.
As she reflects on the legacy of figures like John Cooper and the Berkeley Catholic Worker movement, Scheper-Hughes reminds us that there are times when civil disobedience is a necessary path towards human liberation. She calls on scholars and activists alike to heed the lessons of the past, to feed the hungry, visit the prisons, and open the doors of the university to the marginalized and undocumented.
In a world that still grapples with issues of inequality, hunger, and exclusion, Scheper-Hughes’ story serves as a powerful reminder that the challenge of civic obedience can be met with determination, creativity, and a commitment to creating a more just and compassionate society.
Exploring the Anthropologist’s Playbook: Strategies for Grassroots Activism
Bridging Theory and Practice
Scheper-Hughes’ academic work has long advocated for a “critically applied anthropology” that breaks down the ivory tower and engages with pressing social and political issues. In her 1995 article, “The Primacy of the Ethical: Propositions for a Militant Anthropology,” she outlined a framework for bringing together scholarship and moral/political commitment.
Key principles she has championed include:
- Accessibility: Writing in a way that is accessible to broader publics, rather than impenetrable academic prose.
- Solidarity: Making ourselves available to the poor, displaced, and disgraced as “companheiros and companheiras” (comrades).
- Financial Support: Using royalties, awards, or other resources to support radical actions.
- Avoiding the Treadmill: Resisting the “death-dealing treadmill of academic/professional achievement” in favor of grounded, committed work.
The Court Jester Approach
In her 1991 work, “Three Propositions for a Critically Applied Medical Anthropology,” Scheper-Hughes argued for embracing the role of the “court jester” – a mischievous, mocking, and ironic voice from the sidelines. She encourages scholars and activists to:
- Don’t be Seduced, Be the Seducer: Avoid being subverted by the system and instead work to subvert it from within.
- Laughter as Medicine: Embrace the “Rabelaisian love of the absurd, the grotesque, and for the tumbling of received wisdoms.”
- Anthropology-with-One’s-Feet-on-the-Ground: Cultivate a “committed, grounded, ‘barefoot’ anthropology” that eschews detachment.
Lessons from the Field
Scheper-Hughes’ experiences in Brazil, Selma, and Berkeley have provided her with a wealth of practical insights and strategies for grassroots activism. Key lessons include:
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Occupying Space: Following the example of the Alto do Cruzeiro squatters in Brazil, Scheper-Hughes and her colleagues effectively “occupied” spaces on the Berkeley campus to establish much-needed child care services.
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Creative Civil Disobedience: The tactic of “occupying” the chancellor’s office with infants and toddlers demonstrated the power of nonviolent, disruptive action to force the university’s hand.
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Community-Driven Solutions: The People’s Café in People’s Park exemplified the ability of a dedicated group to create dignified, self-organized spaces for the marginalized, without relying on the university administration.
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Navigating the Legal System: Scheper-Hughes and her colleagues were able to successfully navigate legal challenges, with one judge even praising the Catholic Worker movement and refusing to order the café’s removal.
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Perseverance in the Face of Adversity: Despite the ultimate dismantling of the People’s Café, Scheper-Hughes and her comrades continued to find creative ways to support the park’s homeless community, demonstrating the value of persistence and adaptability.
These strategies and lessons offer a roadmap for scholars, activists, and concerned citizens who seek to challenge entrenched systems of power and create meaningful, community-driven change.
Conclusion: Heeding the Call to Action
In an era marked by growing inequality, exclusion, and bureaucratic indifference, the story of Nancy Scheper-Hughes and the People’s Café serves as a powerful reminder of the transformative potential of civic disobedience. By embracing a “critically applied anthropology” that blends theory and practice, Scheper-Hughes and her colleagues have demonstrated the ability to confront injustice, uplift marginalized communities, and reimagine the role of the university in service of the public good.
As we face our own challenges in the water and sanitation sector, community development, and social justice, the lessons of the People’s Café and the Berkeley Catholic Worker movement provide a blueprint for bold, creative action. We must be willing to occupy spaces, to “mock, subvert, and seduce” the powers that be, and to prioritize the ethical over the merely academic.
The path of civil disobedience is not an easy one, but it is often the only way to break through the tide of conformity and create the change we seek. By heeding the call to action, we honor the legacy of those who have come before us and forge a future where the marginalized and the disgraced are welcomed, celebrated, and empowered.
Join us in this journey of radical transformation, as we strive to build a more just, equitable, and dignified world, one community at a time.
