Community Organizing and Social Change
Not since the civil rights movement has community organizing been so central to our political psyche. However, there’s a great deal more to community organizing than Barack Obama and ACORN. Community organizing’s democratic, and fundamentally sociological, impulses—understanding how power works and using that understanding to build the power of all people—bring a sense of reward and satisfaction unmatched by other forms of political practice.
online resources
realizing the promise
On December 4th, 2,500 community leaders from thirty-two states and two countries came together in Washington D.C. to shape the future of the U.S. by influencing the agenda of the next administration. Watch videos from the event.
behind the acorn controversy
Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! conducts a fascinating interview with Bertha Lewis, Chief organizer of ACORN and Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer specializing in election law and who has represented the National Rifle Association and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The conversation explores many of the accusations and rebuttals concerning the work of ACORN.
COMM-ORG
COMM-ORG’s mission is to link academics and activists, and theory and practice, toward the goal of improving community organizing and its related crafts. See the COMM-ORG website for links to papers, syllabi, and various resources.
servicelearning.org
Interested in bringing “community organizing into your home or classroom? Check out servicelearning.org which hosts information for parents and teachers (kindergarten to college) about how to involve young people in creating social change.
