Today we’d like to introduce you to Stu Becker.
Hi Stu, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My parents instilled an interest in social justice and politics within me. I instinctively loved justice early on and I wanted to be a fighter for justice. In high school, I read the Autobiography of Malcolm X. This book and learning about Malcolm X and listening to him inspired me to want to be an activist. Also, I saw racial inequality in the world. I wanted to help end systemic racism. In college, I majored in sociology and this helped me begin to explain the world and understand class and racial inequality. I was introduced to the ideas of Marxism. I also began to study the history, theories, and worldview of the Black Panther Party. I wanted to learn as much as I could so I could be the best fighter for justice and a fighter for the people as I could be. I got involved in activism on campus.
A movement on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia emerged to preserve affirmative action in the state of Missouri. Affirmative Action, or diversity outreach programs, was being challenged by the “Missouri Civil Rights initiative.” This would ban affirmative action in the state of Missouri. I got involved in a movement led by Black students on the Mizzou Campus and By Any Means Necessary, a civil rights organization based out of Detroit and California, and we stopped the “Missouri Civil Rights Initiative” from getting on the ballot in the state of Missouri. Later on, I got involved in other organizations. I got a Master’s Degree in Sociology at Texas A&M. I moved to Dallas, Texas and got involved in movements against police brutality and other social justice organizations.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Struggling for a people-centered system and social justice in a system that puts profits before people is very difficult so yes, I have had many struggles. I have had to figure out effective ways to struggle for the people. At the moment, I believe an effective activist must struggle with working-class people and fight with them in their everyday battles, assisting them in organizing and empowering them through building working class, class struggle oriented organizations like workers unions. Where there is no struggle, there is no progress. The more you struggle, the stronger you get.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I struggle for to advance humanity to a higher stage of development. I fight for a system that puts people and the planet before profits. I’m a community and political organizer and activist. I organize workers and people to fight for justice for regular people. I organize tenants and workers into unions. I promote and spread political education about the political economy. I organize political education meetings. I fight against racism and poverty by organizing and empowering people through unions. Right now I am working to organize tenants into tenant unions with an organization called Dallas Stops Evictions.
This organization fights for tenant rights and housing justice. We have stopped multiple evictions and fought for the rights of tenants. I also organize teachers and school workers with Alliance/AFT, a teachers and school workers union in Dallas. We have been organizing against the constant standardized testing in schools. I am also a teacher and teach high school social studies. I believe working-class people need independent organizations that fight for working-class people. I believe working-class people should be first in society and should be empowered.
Can you talk about how you think about risk?
Kwame Nkrumah said, “The secret of life is to have no fear.” It’s important to put yourself out on a limb and take risks because if you don’t, it will be difficult to achieve big accomplishments. I once wanted to take an acting class and I was scared to death to audition, but I did it anyway. I discovered that I loved acting and I had a talent and potential that could be developed. Fear can paralyze people. Fear is one of the main factors that stop people from fighting for justice in the world and for fighting for a better world. We as human beings, have to overcome our fear so that we can become all that we can be and to advance humanity.
Contact Info:
- Email: Stubecker89@gmail.com
- Instagram: @comrade_stu
- Facebook: Stuart Becker, Dallas Stops Evictions
- Youtube: @StuBecker5
