We Make Change

Joe Szakos, Kristin Layng Szakos

Description

Community organizers work at their jobs because they are passionate, because they believe that change is possible, and because they enjoy working with people. Although it's not an occupation that leads to great wealth, community organizers can make a living at it. They get salaries, pensions and health insurance. They raise families. They do well by doing good. This book explores the world of community organizing through the voices of real people working in the field, in small towns and city neighborhoods--women and men of different races and economic backgrounds, ranging in age from those in their twenties to those in their sixties. Fourteen in-depth profiles tell the life stories of a cross-section of the diverse people who choose the life of an organizer. Other chapters, focused on issues of organizing, are tapestries of experience woven from the 81 interviews the authors conducted.

Sujets

• Political Advocacy
• Political Process
• Human Rights
• Political Science

Informations

• Publié par: Vanderbilt University Press
• Date de parution: 29 juin 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780826592248
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

We Make Change Community Organizers Talk About What They Do—and Why

Kristin Layng Szakos and Joe Szakos

We Make Change

We Make Change Community Organizers Talk About What They Do— and Why

Kristin Layng Szakos and Joe Szakos Wit an introduction by Harry C. Boyte

Vanderbilt University Press 

© 2007 Vanderbilt University Press All rigts reserved First Edition 2007

11 10 09 08 07

1 2 3 4 5

All potos in te book are courtesy of interviewees or te organizations for wic tey work or worked, except for Seila Kingsberry-Burt’s portrait by Billy E. Barnes, and Wanda Salaman’s portrait by Rusia N. Moiuddin.

his book is printed on acid-free paper made from 50% post consumer recycled paper. Manufactured in te United States of America Designed by Wendy McAnally

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Szakos, Kristin Layng. We make cange : community organizers talk about wat tey do—and wy / Kristin Layng Szakos and Joe Szakos.—1st ed.  p. cm. ISBN-13: 978-0-8265-1554-4 (clot : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-8265-1555-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Community organization. 2. Social action. 3. Community organization—Case studies. 4. Social action—Case studies. I. Szakos, Joe. II. Title. HM766.S93 2007 361.2—dc22  2006030887

To our parents, Judit Layng, Tony Layng, and Andy and Emma Szakos, wo launced us on our way, and to our cildren, Anna and Maria Szakos, and foster daugters Tai, Toni, and Serieka, wo are te reason we do tis work.

Contents

1.

Acknowledgments

 ix

Preface by Kristin Layng Szakos xi

Preface by Joe Szakos xiii

Introduction by Harry C. Boyte

 xvii

Wat is Community Organizing? 1 PROFILE : Brian Jons—A Day in te Life of a New Organizer 13 PROFILE : 16Don Elmer—35 Years and Going Strong

2.  Were Organizers Come From: Cildood Memories

PROFILE : Teresa Erickson—Organizing in te West 43

3.  How I Started Organizing

 50

 28

PROFILE : Nicolas Graber-Grace—Organizing wit ACORN in Florida 66 PROFILE : Kelly (Corley) Pokarel—Just Starting Out 69

4. Organize? 73 Wy PROFILE : Ronda Anderson—Organizing for Environmental Justice

 85

5.  Wat 93Makes a Good Organizer? PROFILE : Vivian Cang—Bridging Cultures

 110

6.  Canging Lives Wile Making Cange 117 PROFILE : Guillermo Quinteros—Urban Organizing in te Norteast PROFILE : 137Jana Adams—Fait in te City PROFILE : Scott Douglas—Organizing in te Sout 144

7. and Victories 156 Acievements PROFILE : Dave Mann—Consulting (Life After Organizing)

8. Are Inevitable  Disappointments 189 PROFILE : Jerome Scott—Educating a Movement

 197

9. to Aspiring Organizers  Advice 202 PROFILE Abigail Singer—A Young Organizer in Appalacia : PROFILE : Dave Beckwit—Funding Community Organizing

Wat Organizers Read and Watc

Were Organizers Work

Wat hey’re Doing Now

viii We Make Change

 243

 249

 233

 182

 220  223

 130

Acknowledgments

At te risk of making our tank-yous as long as te book itself, we want to ac- knowledge te wonderful elp and support we ave received from many sources. First, of course, we tank our families—te parents wo brougt us up to work for a better world and te cildren wom we ope we ave taugt to do te same.  Second, we tank te people wo ave elped guide us in our professional pats to tis point: Paul B. Wice, Stuart J. Miller, Ellen Ruffolo, Earl Duram, Bruce Gottscall and Micael Scubert, Zsuzsa Foltanyi, Jon McCutceon, and Hazel Clave. Oters wo offered advice and guidance for tis project were Dave Beckwit, Dick Couto, Steve Fiser, Randy Stoecker, Ric Wood, Henry Allen, Deepak Bargava, Set Borgos, Mary Dailey, Gary Delgado, Pablo Eisen- berg, Don Elmer, Gaye Evans, Kim Fellner, Andy Mott, Spence Limbocker, Pete Myers, Diane Ives, Carles Mars, Mary Katerine O’Connor, Regina McGraw, Ben MacConnell, Gary Sandusky, Walter Davis, Zoë Lane, Greg LeRoy, Herb E. Smit, Jill Carson, David Rubinstein, Barbara Erenreic, William Greider, San- dra Mikus, Katy Partridge, Lee Winkelman, Paul Loeb, Karen Waters, Wende Marsall, William Dietel, Idelisse Malave, Caty Lerza, and Cuck Savitt.  We are grateful for te financial support tis project received from te Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, Frenc American Caritable Trust, Needmor Fund, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Carles Stewart Mott Foundation, Kendeda Fund, and Entelco Foundation. Gayle Williams and Tom David were willing to support te project wen it was just an idea, and Diane Fenney, Dave Beckwit, Cris Doby, and Steve and Ann Stranaan joined along te way.  We couldn’t ave written tis book witout elp from our trusty typist/ transcriber, Claire Jolly.  We are grateful for te special talents of grapic designers Bev Sell, Katy Reese, and Fred Scneider, and potograper Erin Garvey. hanks to Larry Yates for providing lots of potos, to Laura Ramirez for potos and tecnical elp, and to Joell Smit-Borne, Dariel Mayer, and Wendy McAnally for teir extra efforts in putting tis book togeter.

ix