Collective Action for Social Change: An Introduction to Community Organizing PDF
Preview Collective Action for Social Change: An Introduction to Community Organizing
Collective Action for Social Change Collective Action for Social Change An Introduction to Community Organizing AaronSchutzandMarieG.Sandy Palgrave macmillan collectiveactionforsocialchange Copyright©AaronSchutzandMarieG.Sandy,2011. Softcover reprint of thehardcover1stedition2011978-0-230-10537-9 Allrightsreserved. Firstpublishedin2011by PALGRAVEMACMILLAN® intheUnitedStates—adivisionofSt.Martin’sPressLLC, 175FifthAvenue,NewYork,NY10010. WherethisbookisdistributedintheUK,EuropeandtherestoftheWorld, thisisbyPalgraveMacmillan,adivisionofMacmillanPublishersLimited, registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,ofHoundmills, Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XS. PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabove companiesandhascompaniesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld. Palgrave®andMacmillan®areregisteredtrademarksintheUnited States,theUnitedKingdom,Europeandothercountries. ISBN978-0-230-11125-7 ISBN978-0-230-11853-9(eBook) DOI10.1057/9780230118539 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Schutz,Aaron. Collectiveactionforsocialchange:anintroductiontocommunity organizing/AaronSchutzandMarieG.Sandy. p. cm. 1. Communityorganization—UnitedStates. 2. Socialchange— UnitedStates. 3. Communityorganization—UnitedStates— Casestudies. 4. Socialchange—UnitedStates—Casestudies. I. Sandy,MarieG.,1968– II. Title. HN65.S42942011 361.8—dc22 2010041384 AcataloguerecordofthebookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. DesignbyIntegraSoftwareServices Firstedition:April2011 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Transferred to Digital Printing in 2011 Tomydaughters,HiwotandSheta,whohavetaughtmeagreatdeal aboutprotestandresistance.Here’shopingtheychanneltheirgreatenergy, creativity,andpoiseintoalifethathelpsmakeourworldabetterplace. Andtomywife,Jessica,fromwhomIhavelearnedagreatdealabout compassionandtolerance.Withouthersupport,thisbookcouldnot havebeenwritten. —AaronSchutz TothemembersoftheOntarioGrassrootsThinktankandtoLibreriadel Pueblo’sCalpulliCollective.Workingwithallofyouhasbeenoneofthe greatestgiftsofmylife.ThanksespeciallytoDr.LourdesArguellesfor connectingmetothepractice,theory,andspiritofthiswork,andtoCindy Marano,whofirstnurturedinmethecapacitytodocommunityorganizing. WhileCindyhasbeengoneforseveralyears,herworklivesonthroughthe policychangesshefoughtfor,theorganizationssheinspired,andthe organizersshetaught. Thanksalsotomyfamily,especiallytomybelovedZeno,whoImetduring myyearsworkingwiththeGrassrootsThinktank,andhejoinedrightin. —MarieG.Sandy The only way for communities to build long-term power is by organizing people and money around a common vision....[Community] organizing teachesasnothingelsedoesthebeautyandstrengthofeverydaypeople. —PresidentBarackObama,DreamsfromMyFather Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part I Overview 1 WhatIsCommunityOrganizing? 11 2 WhatIsn’t CommunityOrganizing? 31 Part II HistoryandTheory 3 CollectiveActioninTwentieth-CenturyAmerica: ABriefHistory 47 4 SaulAlinsky:The“Father”ofCommunityOrganizing 93 Part III CaseStudies 5 CampaignversusCommunityOrganizing:Storytellingin Obama’s2008PresidentialCampaign 111 6 ATheologyofOrganizing:FromAlinskytotheModernIAF 127 MarkR.Warren 7 OrganizingThrough“DoorKnocking”withinACORN 137 HeidiSwarts 8 MixingMetaphorsandIntegratingOrganizingModels 155 MarieSandy Part IV KeyConcepts 9 Private—Civic—Public 179 10 One-on-OneInterviews 191 11 Leadership 205 12 PowerandTargets 219 viii ● Contents 13 “CuttinganIssue” 239 14 TacticsandStrategy 257 Part V Conclusion 15 “HopeIsontheGround” 283 Part VI Appendix RecommendationsforFurtherReading 287 Index 291 Acknowledgments IwouldliketothanktherangeoforganizersIhavehadthepleasureofwork- ingwith,befriending,orevenhavinginmycourses.Allofthesepeoplehelped meunderstandwhatorganizingis,includingLarryMarx,DavidLiners,Chris Boston,JamesLogan,andJohnnieMorris.Iamalsodeeplyindebtedtomy co-leadersinMilwaukeeInner-CityCongregationsAlliedforHopeandmy studentsinIntroductiontoCommunityOrganizing,whohaveputupwith meformanyyearsnow. —AaronSchutz IamgratefultoCindyMarano,formerlyofWiderOpportunitiesforWomen (WOW),forallowingmetoapprenticewithherduringmytimeatWOW, and for introducing me to many organizers in the women’s movement, especially those involved with the kind of organizing promoted by the Ms.FoundationforWomen.IamparticularlygratefultoRosaMarthaZarate and Father Patricio Guillen of Libreria del Pueblo for providing alternative waysoforganizinginSanBernardinoCountyandtoLilyRodriguez,Susan Gomez, Gilbert and Genevieve Miranda, Denise Palmer, Rosa Gonzales, RobertGonzales,andothermembersoftheOntarioGrassrootsThinktank. —MarieG.Sandy Introduction I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” exceptthatyouhaveactualresponsibilities. —SarahPalin,RepublicanNationalConvention,2008 I’vehadseveralreactionswhenIsayI’macommunityorganizer.Ihad onepersonsaytome,“Oh,youmusthavereallycleanclosets.” —VivianChang,WeMakeChange FewpeopleinAmericaknowmuchofanythingaboutcommunityorga- nizing.Infact,whenarecentnationalsurveyaskedpeopletosaywhat cametomindwhentheyheardtheterm“communityorganizing,”few oftherespondentsunderstoodwhatthismeant.1 When Sarah Palin ridiculed Barack Obama in 2008 for having been a communityorganizer,itseemedlikeateachablemoment.Discussionsabout organizing filled the media for the first time in decades. But this coverage didn’tseemtoeducatepeopleveryeffectivelyaboutorganizing.Certainlythe punditcolumnsandTVroundtablediscussionswesawexhibitedlittleorno understandingofcommunityorganizing.TheseWashingtoninsidersseemed unabletodistinguishtheorganizingvisionfromthekindofshort-termvoter mobilizationthattheywerefamiliarwith. Thisbookjoinsabroaderefforttoaddressthisignoranceaboutcommu- nityorganizinginAmerica. Whilewediscussothertraditions,wefocusontheapproachtocommunity organizingformulatedbySaulAlinskyinthe1930sanddevelopedbymany others since then. Nearly all established organizing groups, today, remain deeply influenced by this still evolving tradition that we call “neo-Alinsky” or“Alinsky-based”communityorganizing.
The list of books you might like
