Aaron Belkin

Download a PDF of Professor Samuels's review

I used How We Won: Progressive Lessons from the Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as a resource for a social change foundational course at my graduate-level institution. I chose the text because it seemed like a good segue from the first half of the course on social change theory to the second half of the class on social change practice. In particular, I imagined it would be useful to illuminate notions of power and oppression, and framing theories. And it was.

Students read the text thoroughly and were very enthusiastic about all that they learned through reading the text. The enthusiasm was a result of the book's accessibility, clarity of style, and many concrete examples. Students were amazed at author Aaron Belkin's own personal efforts, yet they seemed to feel that these were strategies that would primarily be engaged by an elite economic class of people. Belkin appears as an individual with tremendous social capital and privilege within his social location. The Palm Center has access to media, government, and the academy that most people do not have. This was not a criticism of the program, but caused these students to wonder if they would ever be in a position to mobilize these kinds of resources, and how excluded or distant the low-income gay person/community might feel from such a reality. The class came to realize, however, that those resources and connections were likely developed over a period of time, also the hard work of social change.

We combined reading How We Won with watching segments of documentary How To Survive a Plague (on Democracy Now!). We compared and contrasted some of the tactics within the broader GLBTQ movement. Both Belkin and the movie-makers discussed the inside-outside perspective on social change. This approach was great for students to consider multiple perspectives about working inside and outside institutions, with an openness to a diversity of tactics. I appreciated that at many points in the book the author mentioned and affirmed that there were many other active groups and different tactics being employed which were critical to the success of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) repeal efforts. This helped students to see that diverse approaches within the same social change movements do not necessarily have to be antagonistic (though they often are).

Students struggled with whether or not it is really true that people in general and "the public" will change their minds when they are presented repetitively with the truth, which is part of the Belkin's argument. The author notes that a single issue and clear focus allowed for the success of the campaign, but also recognized that many issues are not like that. Students felt that no issue they could think of or were committed to personally (anti-incarceration, immigration, pro-choice, the environment and climate change, etc.) provided this kind of clarity. Nonetheless, they learned that clarity in framing and communicating one's message is incredibly important, and something they should analyze and attempt in relation to any given dimension of their work. Being at a graduate-level school of theology, our students are engaged at some level in moral discourse in relation to their passionate social issues. Belkin mentioned that religious-moral discourse, particularly in relation to sexual orientation, can be a detriment to dialogue; or a complication at the very least to advancing causes because of the intractability of hardened moral positioning. This was important information for reflection.

At our progressive seminary, we often discuss the nature of oppression and whether our social change commitments are primarily reformist or if they address deeper structures and mechanisms of injustice. From this perspective, students questioned how important the DADT repeal success is in actually dismantling homophobia. They asked the same question of the gay marriage movement. They had no answers for these questions, but were hopeful that increasingly out persons in relationships to straight people will transform homophobia, and that the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will hopefully be one small piece of engendering these open relationships among people in their authentic being in the military context.

All of us also admired the author's willingness to identify and admit to the re-inscription of militarism through the repeal campaign efforts. We watched another DemocracyNow! segment in which Belkin discussed the repeal with activist Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. In this discussion, students were impressed with how honest Belkin was about the limits of the DADT strategy and the difficulties of working across coalitions of GLBTQ persons with various agendas and socio-political perspectives. The students were moved by how hard it is to stick to one's convictions with such clarity as the author did, particularly when people within one's own broader movement of liberation are being critical. They were very pensive and inspired by the author's example in this regard.

Belkin doesn't really define what progressive means. There is an underlying assumption that all progressives share the same agenda; a commitment to inclusivity of some sort. Students wondered, as they often do in graduate education, what we mean when we toss around different terms, when we take them for granted that everyone seems to know what we mean. So it might have been helpful for the author to define this term and be more specific about the lessons for progressives across different issues.

I highly recommend this book for use in social change and social movement classes, particularly in combination with other related resources that broaden the scope of the conversation.

What an amazing narrative this is regarding the 17-year struggle that finally ended in the repeal of DADT. If nothing else, it would be informative case study of what it takes to effect change in society - and giving evidence of the huge impact of a fairly small but very determined group of "activists." Surely, no one can tell this story better than Dr. Belkin, who played a key central role in the long struggle.

Allow me to quote the author from Chapter One - David and Goliath:
"I was in graduate school in 1993 (when DADT was enacted), and wouldn't enter the fight against DADT until 1999, when I founded the Palm Center, an institute dedicated to making sure that public policy was based on solid research rather than distortion. What followed was 11 years of hard work conducting scholarly research and then disseminating that research to the public. "My central argument in this book is that, in order for Congress to repeal DADT, political and military leaders, as well as the public at large, had to be convinced that allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly would not harm the military. This single idea was the main roadblock to political progress, the obstacle we had to overcome to make it safe for politicians to repeal DADT. It didn't matter that scholars already knew that the Pentagon wasn't telling the truth. The key was to get the American people to understand."

The chapters in Section II, Strategy, identify the five strategies employed by the Palm Center: target conservative lies, iterate high quality research, recruit validators, build from within, and expose hypocrisy. Quoting from the fifth chapter:
"All of these anecdotes illustrate one important point: as progressives, we have a responsibility to call out our opponents and highlight their hypocrisy, distorted thinking and paranoia. ... We must never pull our punches when dealing with an opposition that is so reckless and dangerous, and so shameless about lying."

The narrative is greatly enhanced by the many little stories it tells of various meetings and encounters. An especially illuminating and tense chapter details how the lame duck Congress finally passed legislation repealing DADT on Dec. 18, 2010, just before it adjourned - and control of the House would pass to the Republicans.

The author refers many times to how the lessons learned and strategies employed in the repeal effort can be applied, with certain qualifications, to other issues dear to progressives. In conclusion, he writes:
"From my vantage point, it doesn't make much sense for progressives to worry about how to spin or frame a message. Our emphasis instead should be on honest research and simply telling the truth. That helped us win on DADT, and that's how we can win on other issues."

I highly recommend this book, an absorbing read on a fascinating hot-button issue that has had an immense impact on our gay and lesbian service members and the military's integrity - and also in furthering the cause for full GLBT equality in our great nation. My deep thanks to Dr. Belkin for his amazing diligence, perseverance and passion.