Faulty Premise

Sometimes things just aren't what you expect them to be.

I began this summer's project thinking that there would be links between the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and the ways in which churches and other institutions work in organizing today.  I thought my meetings with leaders in both areas would yield rich comparisons between the two, which I could then contrast using neat parallels.

The moment, I suppose, when it became clear to me that this would not be the case was in the middle of a meeting I had with Ernesto Cortes.  Ernesto has worked with the Industrial Areas Foundation for something north of 30 years.  He helped build the fabric of organized communities, one by one, across many of the western United States: Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico.  He carries a certain credibility among other organizers in the IAF, who will say (in hushed tones) things like: "Oh, Ernie Cortes?  He conducted 1000 individual meetings in the first six months of his work as an organizer".

So I met with Mr. Cortes, and I floated the idea to him that I had about the parallels between organizing and the work of the 1960s.  He looked at me.  I asked him what he thought about my idea.  He shrugged, and said he didn't have a good answer to that question.

Since that time, I've learned a little more about organizing (through the national IAF training). I realize, too, that my hypothesis might have been a little naive.  I'm not sure it took into account the complexities of either the Civil Rights Movement or the work of community organizing.  I can hear the voice of my New Testament professor here, saying: "It's more complicated than that".  

The Civil Rights Movement had a particular purpose.  It was an important cause, with specific goals that people sought to attain.  The goal drove the movement.

Community organizing begins with relationships.  Causes are secondary. Organizers meet with people to find out what their great interests and great concerns are.  Where there are commonalities, organizing provides a way to address issues. In dealing with those issues, organizing helps build stronger communities.  The relationships original to the organizing can be strengthened, as people work together toward a common goal that they have discerned within their own neighborhood or city.  Relationships serve as the bedrock.

So I began this venture with a limited understanding about organizing, and a question that illustrated that lack of understanding.  This isn't some kind of carefully crafted, proportional comparison in the way I thought it might be.  It's okay, though.  I've learned so much about the connective tissue that organizing helps people develop, that I don't really even mind being wrong about my starting point.