Thanks for the 'nudge' (writing one's own material).

In gratitude for being asked to submit text at a time that was not 'ideal' when the request was made. For similar reasons, 'current' feelings that are numerous will be reflected upon later, in the moment. Hope everyone had a wonderful month, and to making the most of every day...all the best.

What is Community Organizing? An Opinion.

On a rare day when the PBS channel was surfed to during January, I was happy to see that there were back to back presentations of actual footage from the civil rights movement. The stories of Rosa Parks and school segregations were shown in black and white clips produced at the time, including the involvement of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. What struck me the most in all three was the story behind the story that we are either unaware of by lack of exposure to such details, or what has been watered down by our respective learning environments, from schools to the media.

What alarms me today and a large part of why we are here is the difference between the attitudes of the children portrayed in the former compelling footage and what has been witnessed by all of us within even the last 24 hours in our own community.

My heart was gripped imagining the emotions of the 6-year-old girl, her head down, focusing as well as she could on putting one foot in front of the other, being jeered at and threatened by grown people, mostly men.

Children of all backgrounds were interviewed on their thoughts about what was rapidly becoming heated in their school: the attendance of children of another color that was to begin within days, by court order. Here lies the contrast as was observed: children at all grade levels were accepting, logical, and embarrassed by the behavior of their own parents and other adults in their community.

Today, just a few generations later, it is the children as well who openly mimic the biases, prejudices, lack of understanding, resentment, anger, and yes, inherited hatred of those the size of adults who appear to ‘run’ the streets they travel daily. They are the products of their environments. Only by recognition, action, and improving the awareness of this damaging proximity and what it represents can we reclaim our dignity as humans, where we are, now, beginning with ourselves and acknowledging the parts we have played, however direct or otherwise.

The phrase ‘community organizing’ can ring as almost redundant, as the meaning of the word 'community' itself* can be interpreted as ‘services shared by all’, which to me, the operative word is ‘shared’. Every individual in every community has a right to peace and the quiet enjoyment of a home, a real home, not one where there is no peace; otherwise it is an additional environment of unrest, in addition to the street itself. The only difference is the separation of walls, which can make a so-called home even more dangerous than the open public space of ‘outside’.

‘Peace’, as so well defined by Dr. King, is one we can appreciate. It ‘is not the absence of tension, but rather, the presence of justice’. The latter can exist in many forms and on many levels. 'A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere' is another of this great visionary’s memorable quotes. He was less inclined to first identify himself by the color of his skin than others were quick to do and thus relate to. He embraced calling every child his own, who are now our parents and grandparents, in the quest his shortened life only began; we have far to go in finishing the job, and looking around leaves much to be desired. How have we participated, and what can we do to insure that the next generation, our children, do not repeat history yet again?

We have all been ‘left out’ at many points in our lives; it is not the innocent or the weak who came into our world to bear the brunt of our anger and sense of injustice, however real or otherwise. We are cowards at any moment when anyone in our path becomes the recipient of displaced anger or resentment about either what we cannot control or another unreachable ‘oppressor’. Becoming ‘oppressors’ ourselves, knowingly or otherwise, only serves to reverse the efforts and disappoint the spirits of those who risked their lives for the freedoms we do have that we often take for granted.

The injustices are all around us; largely (in this country), they are often not ‘someone else’s fault’, were we only more aware, were we only more interested in what ‘freedom’ means to someone else. Ask. You will get many different answers. 'Community', in its ideal form, has order by the progressive and organized initiative of compassionate, aware, and pro-active souls who take responsibility from this moment forward that ‘outside’ forces can only harm us if we are unaware of each others’ unique and irreplaceable talents, gifts, and capacities. In failing to recognize, nurture, and utilize these natural resources in our own backyards and streets we have failed ourselves and those we see daily.

We are here together today to acknowledge and represent the strength of our collective talents and contacts. By actively and consistently engaging in and repeating the successes of those who carved paths before us to bring us where we are now, we are insuring a healthier and more just future for ourselves and our children. This begins by acknowledging and nurturing what we have now, both within our respective groups, and ourselves.

The exponential effect of simultaneously recognizing those with common visions near us, making it part of our mission to continuously communicate, locate, and build upon the collective and unique strengths of all who share a respect for the value of freedom, or the best for all concerned, is both the essence and heart of what organizing is. It is exactly the same kind of collective support and harmony exercised faithfully, intensely, and diligently over time that now enables our seats on the bus together, and our children in the same classrooms.

We must come together again in the same manner for what remains. If we succeed in copying the habits, faith, love, and acceptance exemplified by those we have now immortalized, we become like them. They were not gods, nor did they wish to be; they recognized their purpose, embraced it, and did not give up.

Their examples inspired others to join them; the power of their words and actions resonate today. It’s now our turn to do their bidding, not to put them on pedestals, but to join hands with their spirits, gather our numbers, and continue, if not finish what they came here to teach us. Only then, in our own skins, will we have something to truly be proud of, and that our children will as well.

Speech delivered at Medgar Evers College
11/7/07