In their best and most effective sense, community organizations are mediating institutions in the tradition first described in the 1830's in Alexander DeToqueville's classic book Democracy in America.

"Mediating institutions engage their members in the sharing of their stories, help them understand the meaning of their stories in the context of the larger world and of their own value tradition, and organize their members for action in the spirt of the Hebrew word, tikkun, to repair or heal the world." Community organizer Larry McNeil defined it well what community organizations can be at their best in his article "Congregations for the New Millennium".

The Steps in Community Organizing for Social Change

I. Active and Empathetic Listening: "engage their members in the sharing of their stories"

Allowing people to tell their stories. Not just what issues they care about but answering a set of questions like, "What do you worry about that deeply affects you and/or those you care about and why and is there a story about why this is so important to you?" And listening so well that you empathize with their story.

This can be done in house meetings, small group meetings, 1:1 meetings, and other forms of outreach.

II. Moving from problem to issue: "help them understand the meaning of their stories in the context of the larger world and of their own value tradition".

1. First we examine our stories in the context of our religious values and/or the values from the democratic traditions of American history including the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Labor, Civil Rights and Women's Movements.
   
   We are examining the gap between "the world as it is" and the "world as it should be". We are challenging people to act for justice that can move us in part toward that "world as it should be".
2. From problem to issue
   
   How do we go from a big problem like, for example, access and affordability of health care for all to a specific issue like extending health care to the uninsured like the Chapter 58 law (although that was a very big issue!!)
3. "Sifting" or tactical research and strategy steps
   1. Start with what people initially think should be done about the problem
   2. Then, learning from "research action meetings" with current decision-makers, with policy people, from "best practices" done here or elswhere, from current laws
      
   3. Examining how much a solution or partial solution will cost in terms of funding and/or getting support from politicians and business leaders
      
   4. Examining how much power your organization or coalition might be able to organize to possibly get your proposal accepted. This could mean how many people can you organize to go to an action meeting, how many letters and calls can you organize, etc. This impacts what's feasible to accomplish which affects what you might propose to ask be done.
      
   5. Developing your proposed solution or the issue you are organizing for. And going back to the stories you heard-- would it enable some of the people who told their stories to "write new endings to both their individual or collective stories".

III. Action to secure needed changes, for example, in laws, regulations, budget appropriations: "organize their members for action in the spirt of the Hebrew word, tikkun, to repair or heal the world".

What strategies involving action can we take that move us toward our issue proposal being accomplished? How can we engage public and private sector holders of power who can decide whether or not to agree to parts of our proposal?

1. Researching and identifying the responsible public or private sector person with the power over the issue
2. What tactics will show our power of organized numbers, lead to educating and gaining support from others, gain media attention, and engage those with power to make a positive decision on our issue?
   
   These can included organizing largely attended "accountability meetings" with the decision-makers. It might also include turn-out for public hearings, rallies, press conferences, issueing of reports, organizing phone calls and letters to be written, etc.
3. Leadership development, especially of volunteer leaders or involved people.
   
   Leaders are people who organize others to act together around shared goals.
   Almost anyone can be this kind of leader if they put a piece of time into listening to others and challenging them to act with them about their deeply feld concerns.
   
   People can also learn other leadership skills through their participation in your organization-such as chairing meetings, speaking at a meeting, becoming more able to devise strategy and tactics, etc. Leaders attend meetings and speak up for their concerns. However, what's most important about leadership is if they are bringing others forward to act with them
   

IV. Reflection and Evaluation: what we learned, how to take new and better next steps, our values and meaning

1. Evaluate each planning meeting at the end of it in terms of what went well and why, what could have been done differently to make it more effective and why, where there was spirit and where it lagged.
2. Periodically evaluate your whole campaign and make adjustments to strategy and tactics based on your evaluation.
3. Reflect on what we are learning, what this means to us, how we are different from this work together than we were beforehand, and how our organizing work together has connected us to our values and how we can do this better.
   

V. Closing Note

Barack Obama was a community organizer for 3 years in Chicago in the 1980's. He frequently talks about what he learned from that. And certainly Hillary Clinton has learned much from her policy work with advocacy organizations over many years and her college theses about organizer Saul Alinsky. John McCain has learned from his military service and having been a POW during the Vietnam War.

Obama in his book Dreams of My Father said this about listening to people's stories as an organizer,

"That's what the leadership was teaching me day to day: that the self interest that I was supposed to be looking for extended well beyond the immediacy of issues, that beneath the small talk and sketchy biographies and received opinions, people carried within them some central explanations of themselves. Stories full of terror and wonder, studded with events that still haunted or inspired them. Sacred stories."

VI. A Few Resources

A. Some local policy centers

1. Public Policy Institute
2. Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center
3. MassINC Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth

B. Some books on community organizing and a few on local history

1. Activism that Makes Sense: Congregations and Community Organization by Gregory Pierce
   
2. Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky
   
3. I've Got The Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle by Charles Payne
   
4. Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing by Lee Staples
   
5. Doing Justice: Congregations and Community Organization by Dennis Jacobsen
   
6. Building Powerful Community Organizations by Michael Brown
   
7. Organizing for Social Change: A Manual for Activists in th e1990's by Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendall, Steve Max of the Midwest Academy Seven Locks Press
   
8. Social Policy Magazine
   
9. Faith in Action: Religion, Race, and Democratic Organizing in America by Richard Wood
   
10. Cold Anger: A Story of Faith and Power Politics by Mary Beth Rogers

C. Some local history on some political events

1. When in Boston: A Time Line and Almanac by Jim Vrabel
   
2. Common Ground by J. Anthony Lukas
   
3. The Death of an American Jewish Community by Larry Harmon and Hillel Levine
   
4. Experiencing Politics by John McDonough (yes, the very one at HCFA!!)
   
5. [And hopefully soon to be published, a history of race relations since the 1960's in Boston by Hubie Jones

Themes from the Story (as written up in pages 120-142 of Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch)

1. Leaders who act--acts of leadership that take risks can make change possible
2. Relationships are key to leaders acting and acting successfully
   1. Leaders act sometimes because of challenge/agitation inside of
      relationships that have been built inside and between organizations
   2. When leaders act it is more likely successful if there’s an organization to support it and organize next steps
3. Organizing work by organizations matters-- planning meetings, strategy, tactics, actions, research actions, negotiations all are pieces that lead to a successful campaign
4. Actions get reactions from members, allies, opponents that can build up the organization and move the campaign forward.

I. Leaders who acted

1. Rosa Parks
2. E.D. Nixon
3. Clifford and Virginia Durr
4. Rev. Martin Luther King
5. Jo Ann Robinson
6. Rufus Lewis

II. Relationships are key

1. Rosa Parks
   Her action to get arrested, Her responding to E.D. Nixon’s agitation for her to make her case the first act of the campaign
   Her relationships to ED Nixon, Virginia Durr, Rev. Graetz, Jo Ann Robinson, to organizations--NAACP Secretary, Highlander Center
2. E.D. Nixon--Durr’s, Ministers, Press, White officials, Union, NAACP, Parks, Jo Ann Robinson
3. Rev. Martin Luther King--Other pastors, Nixon, Rufus Lewis, Jo Ann Robinson, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church

III. Organizing work of leaders, organizers, organizations matters

1. E.D. Nixon--what’s a good case to launch the campaign around, how to be a broad/cross class organization, Planning meeting and invitations to leaders to attend, Monday night Action Meeting, Developing demands, Press work
2. Jo Ann Robinson--sets up midnight strategy meeting, tactic of the boycott, flier and distribution
3. King--did research on best practices re previous Baton Rouge bus boycott and use of car pools
4. Action gets reaction--Boycott tactic and many roles--mass meetings, tens of thousands make decision to boycott, car providers for car pools, etc.
   

IV. Actions get reactions from members, allies, opponents

1. Boycott gets police reactions which scares off some Blacks from buses and increases the boycott
2. Jo Ann Robinson and Women’s Political Council launching call for Monday boycott
3. Monday action meeting and King’s emergence
   

V. Biblical Lesson to connect a present story to

1. Book of Esther in the Old Testament
   Mordecai challenges/agitates his cousin Esther to risk her life by using her access to save the Jews. “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
   Esther says, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.’
2. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
   E.D. Nixon challenges/agitates Rosa Parks to be the test case that begins the campaign against segregated buses.
   Rosa Park’s husband Ray warns, “The white folks will kill you Rosa,” he said pleading with her not to do it.
   Rosa Parks says--”If you think it will mean something to Montgomery and do some good, I’ll be happy to go along with it.