Fundamentals of Solidarity: Race-Based Caucus Organizing in Houston

Grassroots organizations often espouse multiracial solidarity as a value but struggle with putting this value into practice. How can organizations, especially those with a commitment to social justice, build bonds, and extend solidarity to activists across different racial identities? In this study, I espouse a theory of racial caucus organizing that discusses the process of operationalizing solidary within multiracial coalitions. I focus on one of the most diverse cities in the United States: Houston, Texas. Importantly, race-based caucuses require more than just making space for people of different identities; rather, they require specific forms of organizational structure. I argue that the process of race-based caucus organizing requires: establishing a power-shifting politic and praxis, exchanging resources, and fostering intersectional solidarity within racial groups. The findings in this study arise through a year of relationship building, observation, participation, and in-depth interviewing with Houston in Action, a nonpartisan multiracial coalition.