Table Of ContentCollective 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
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thisisbyPalgraveMacmillan,adivisionofMacmillanPublishersLimited,
registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,ofHoundmills,
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PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabove
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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.
