Date of Award

8-2025

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

School

Social Science and Global Studies

Committee Chair

Marek Steedman

Committee Chair School

Social Science and Global Studies

Committee Member 2

Iliyan Iliev

Committee Member 2 School

Social Science and Global Studies

Committee Member 3

Kathanne Greene

Committee Member 3 School

Social Science and Global Studies

Abstract

Social movement literature does not properly address trust between activists as a foundation of social movement organizations. This thesis aims to fill that gap by examining how trust within the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a radical civil rights organization in the sixties, was built and broken over the course of the decade. I drew on first-hand accounts written by SNCC activists to find patterns in how they thought about trust building and trust breaking in their own organization. I found that trust was built primarily through sustained interaction between activists, and that trust in the organization led to activists being able to build relationships across difference to form what they refer to as the “beloved community”. Additionally, trust allowed activists to engage in generative conflict and move the organization forward.

At the turn of the decade, SNCC began to fall apart. I argue that this was because relationships within the organization were breaking down due to a large influx of new staff members, a lack of encapsulated interest, and differences between activists that they had difficulty reconciling. Trust breaking down within the organization led to activists feeling emotionally burnout, lacking good faith in their fellow staff members, and ultimately degenerative conflict. This case study offers valuable lessons for social scientists and radical social activists alike.

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