SAUL ALINSKY

Editor's note: Hi I stumbled upon this article about Saul Alinsky, the renown Community organiser, many said he sort of "developed" Community organising, read about him and his work! share your comments!

Few know it today, but Chicago was the birthplace of a powerful grassroots social movement that changed political activism in this country. "Community Organizing" was pioneered in Chicago's old stockyards neighborhood by the soberly realistic, unabashedly radical Saul Alinsky.

Alinsky's hard-nosed politics were shaped by the rough and tumble world of late 1930's Chicago. Back then, the city, still in the grips of the Great Depression, was controlled by the Kelly-Nash political machine and by Frank Nitti - heir to Al Capone's Mafia empire. In 1938, with a freshly minted graduate degree in criminology from University of Chicago, Alinsky went to work for sociologist Clifford Shaw at the Institute for Juvenile Research. He was assigned to research the causes of juvenile delinquency in Chicago's tough "Back-of-the-Yards" neighborhood. In order to study gang behavior from the inside, Alinsky ingratiated himself with Al Capone's crowd, and came to realize that criminal behavior was a symptom of poverty and powerlessness.

The Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood, setting of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, was an immense slum in the shadows of Chicago's giant Union Stockyards, one of the largest factory complexes ever created. Its inhabitants were poor; they had no rights and no job security. In the course of one year, wages were cut three times. As Alinsky watched and decided that he could no longer stand by as a silent observer. He believed that widespread poverty left America open to the influence of demagogues and that the only antidote was active, widespread participation in the political process. Alinsky envisioned an "organization of organizations," comprised of all sectors of the community - youth committees, small businesses, labor unions and, most influential of all, the Catholic Church.

He consulted with Herb March, a union leader organizing stockyard workers for the CIO - the Congress of Industrial Organizations. He teamed up with Joe Meegan, a powerful organizer with strong links to the Catholic Church, through whom he was able to convince a powerful Bishop Bernard Sheil to join the fight against unfair labor practices. Alinsky also recruited leaders of previously hostile ethnic groups: Serbs and Croatians, Czechs and Slovaks, Poles and Lithuanians - always appealing to their mutual self-interests. Finally, on July 14, 1939, Alinsky and Meegan convened the first Back-of-the-Yards Council meeting, chaired by Bishop Sheil. The event was revolutionary in American history because it was the first time an entire community was organized. The union, the community and the Church became one and the same. More...

Income versus involvement !!

Thank you all for blogging in! its really so refreshing to hear so many voices. I will take this opportunity to share this subject on community organising that I myself am struggling with right now. Hope you can throw some light onto this!

Building second line organisers, or developing new local organisers...I find that it so difficult and this will probably become worse in this global economic crisis, where everyone will be placing importance to work and income $$$$!!!, for fear of losing their jobs and cash for their family needs! For instance instead of attending a community meeting they might just take on some extra work!

What do you say, what shall we do????

SEAPCP ADVANCE CO COURSE

The SEAPCP ADVANCE CO COURSE 2009 is already set in motion! This year its going to be organised in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, and Pusat KOMAS will be the local host!

So far, 90% of all the 21 participants have excitedly agreed to be part of this event. The selected participants were selected from a total of 42 participants who attended in SEAPCP CO course of 2007 and 2008.
To all those who have responded to SEAPCP, we wish you congratulations for having made it to this next level of CO course. This course will be designed a little differently from the past. Just to give you a peek into the programme.... participants will have to form small teams to conduct sessions with different groups of people in Malaysia, especially grassroots members from the indigenous people's communities, urban poor and plantation workers!

So you will have to master your facilitation skills and use of creative media because most of you might encounter language problems as well!

BUT of course we will guide you through this challenge which will be organised on the 3rd day of the course! That will leave us with the rest of the 7 days to review, evaluate, and explore different points of community organising that needs to be improved.

Well just a short note to keep you all excited! keep on blogging you guys,...its not that difficult! just register your email to google and become a blogger!

take care
Jo Hann