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.
","abstract_html":"<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Miller, Kerstin"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Marek Steedman","Iliyan Iliev","Kathanne Greene"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:47Z","subjects":["Social Movement Organizations","Social Movement","Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee","Trust","Identity","Solidarity","American Politics","Inequality and Stratification","Political Theory","Politics and Social Change","Social Justice"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1131","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Marek Steedman","Iliyan Iliev","Kathanne Greene"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Miller, Kerstin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social Movement Organizations","Social Movement","Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee","Trust","Identity","Solidarity","American Politics","Inequality and Stratification","Political Theory","Politics and Social Change","Social Justice"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1131"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Trust Across Difference in Radical Social Movement Organizations: The Case of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Marek Steedman","Iliyan Iliev","Kathanne Greene"],"dc:creator":["Miller, Kerstin"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1131"],"dc:subject":["Social Movement Organizations","Social Movement","Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee","Trust","Identity","Solidarity","American Politics","Inequality and Stratification","Political Theory","Politics and Social Change","Social Justice"],"dc:title":["Trust Across Difference in Radical Social Movement Organizations: The Case of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:47Z"}