Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Hi! My name is Just People and I am a lover of nature and resistance.
Federal agencies are under attack using the guise of rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. Incidentally, this attack is being driven by evaluation tools (data) and ideals (efficiency) that many liberatory evaluators have called into question for lacking cultural relevance, promoting neutrality at all costs, ignoring power dynamics and paying lip service to equity. Evaluation, after all, has roots in white supremacy and colonial ideologies. The unheralded work of the May 13 group delves into the ways that evaluation methodologies can perpetuate systemic inequalities and why a reordering of society is necessary.
In honor of Earth Week, however, I want to explicitly call out the work of (presumably) current and former employees at federal agencies who are putting their livelihoods on the line to call out, inform, resist, and organize against what they see as unjust behavior. These resistors primarily exist on the social media platform Blue Sky under names such as Alt US Forest Service, Alt Environmental Protection Agency, Alt Fish and Wildlife Service, and my personal favorite—Alt National Park Service. As of March 2025, Alt NPS had amassed 814K followers.
For one, it signals that mandates of the present administration are not what the people want. Additionally, it shows what we as evaluators lack and continue to ignore: Absence of our resistance. Perhaps we are taking a wait-and-see approach. However, in times where fundamental social values are being openly attacked, that approach cannot work. When the world is on fire, it needs fire-fighters who rush in, not evaluators who analyze out!
Dr. Ruha Benjamin, in her book Imagination: A Manifesto, talks about the dangers of narrow imaginations in developing policies and programs that seek to benefit the few (ultra-rich) over the many. We are currently seeing that imagination can be used for both good and bad. Likewise, evaluation without conscience, without justice, without anti-racism, without proletariat culture, is narrow and can be easily co-opted or ineffective and detrimental means. These “Alt” accounts are actively using their imaginations to fight what they see as injustice. Where are we?
Recognize the power and limitations of our profession. Evaluation can be a tool for liberation or oppression, and it is our responsibility to ensure it is the former. This requires a fundamental shift in how we approach our work. We need to move beyond technical expertise and embrace a critical consciousness that challenges the status quo without fear.
Build solidarity with those who are resisting. The “Alt” accounts are a powerful example of how individuals can use their voices to challenge authority. As evaluators, we can support these efforts by amplifying their messages and providing them with the resources they need to succeed. This could involve using our platforms to share their content, offering pro bono evaluation services, or simply showing up in solidarity at protests and rallies.
Cultivate our own resistance. This means speaking truth to power, even when it is uncomfortable. And it means using our skills and expertise to develop alternative visions for a more just and equitable future. We can also resist by calling out the systems of extraction that dictate what is considered positive outcomes or social change. These systems fund much of our work and are not interested in changing the status quo even when they claim to be ‘radical’ or ‘equitable’.
Note: The use of “Ctrl+ALT RESIST” in the title references taking control, using alternate viewpoints, and resisting unjust actions.
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