Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008

SEPT 24: WHAT’S THIS ABOUT COMMUNITY ORGANIZING? "

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"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities." – GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin

That minor bombshell from Governor Sarah Palin’s RNC speech dissing the honored profession of community organizing has become a talking point for parroting conservatives who forget that history is rife with the importance and effectiveness of community organizing in mobilizing people and movements. This would include the infamous Karl Rove, whose own community organizing efforts spawned electoral wins for George W. Bush as well as consolidating the voting power of evangelical Christians across the political landscape. Every day, community organizers work to empower their constituents from geographic areas (neighborhoods) to issues (environment, education and human services) to electoral (candidates, parties, issues, ideas). What is it about community organizers that suddenly converted the practice into a political threat? Barack Obama’s past is at least part of it. Community empowerment is the likely larger issue.

TTT’s ANDY DRISCOLL and LYNNELL MICKELSEN talk with practitioners of the time-honored art of community organizing about its true nature and importance as a tool of civic and political engagement in these times when so many of us rely on mass media for our news and make decisions about who is responsible for change and public policy. In fact, we are, not the politicians.

GUESTS: • PAMELA TWISS – TakeAction Minnesota Organizing Director • RUSS ADAMS - Executive Director, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability • MALIK HOLT – Community organizer, Harrison Neighborhood, Minneapolis • STEVEN RENDEROS – Chicano Studies Dept., UofM/Twin Cities-based Latino Community Organizer/Board Member. Organizing Apprenticeship Project • TOM O’CONNELL – Political Science Professor, Metropolitan State University

Posted by Truth to Tell at 11:00 AM |   

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