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Community Organizers:
For a Change* Terry Mizrahi, Ph.D., Chairperson, Community
Organization, Planning and Development Method 212-452-7132 http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/ecco Community organizers are
everywhere. Thousands—indeed millions—of people in this country are involved
in community work. They are active in civic organizations, tenant and
block associations, neighborhood improvement committees, parent associations,
church outreach to the poor, citizen mobilization, school-based projects, and
countless other local action groups. Indeed, active grassroots groups are a
necessary and vital part of a democratic form of government. Yet, organizing is not
a well-known career choice for several reasons. First, the term community
organizer is not listed as an occupation by the Department of Labor. As a
result, many young people who may want to get involved in community life
don't necessarily know that they can do this for a living. Additionally,
some people don't pursue jobs as organizers because they assume that the
skills involved are natural ones. The term organizer may be perceived
as being synonymous with leader, and people may wrongly believe that
they just don't have the knack. As a result, training in order to work
in the field is not considered. Also, some people may not identify community
organizing as a career because it is often invisible; that is, organizers are
getting things done behind the scenes, while the president or leader
of the organization gets the credit. Finally, since organizing has been
identified with social change and social reform, these issues or causes taken
up by organizers are controversial. There are often obstacles and opposition
to change which may make some people feel uncomfortable. Community organizing
as a career is alive and well, comprising a variety of job titles,
educational qualifications, and functions. There are knowledge and skills to
acquire, and competent organizers with a social commitment to the common good
are needed in many settings. Community organizing
is about working collectively with people to solve problems—joining or
forming organizations to address issues that concern people in their
neighborhood, workplace, or community of interest (eg., senior citizens,
health care, housing, environment, education, economic development).
Community organizers work with others to: improve the social conditions of a
community, enhance the quality of life of people, and bring people into the
political process. Sometimes, they work directly with oppressed and
disadvantaged groups in the society, e.g. the homeless, the poor, immigrants
and refugees, and people of color. Organizers' jobs have
many facets to them. Depending upon the agency or organization for whom they
work, they could be involved in: stopping a toxic waste incinerator from
being placed in a community, planning an alternative school or health center,
developing a housing plan for the neighborhood, getting the drug dealers off
the block, bringing in funds to develop a senior citizen program, changing a
law to prevent banks from discriminating against poor districts, organizing a
campaign to clean up the environment, coordinating services for the mentally
retarded, recruiting volunteers to work at a battered women's shelter,
promoting public awareness of benefits and entitlements, organizing
stockholders to promote corporate responsibility, advocating human rights and
social justice, or engaging in international solidarity work. History Of Organizing Organizing has a long,
noble, and at times, controversial tradition. It has developed during the
social reform movements of the various historical periods, especially the
1930s and 1960s. Organizing—taking collective action—is one of the reasons
for the growth of the labor, civil rights, women, peace, consumer,
environment, gay and lesbian, AIDS, and other movements throughout this
century. Some of the most visible organizers— Ralph Nader,
Saul Alinsky, Walter Reuther,
Caesar Chavez, Jesse Jackson, Eleanor Smeal,
Heather Booth, Faye Wattleton, Marion Wright
Edelman, Ada Dear, Wilma Mankiller,
Gary Delgado, Wade Rathke, George Wiley, Si Kahn—have all influenced our country's laws and
systems. These well-known activists have been affiliated with causes for
which there are countless other organizers also working at the local, state,
and regional levels. Values
Are Essential to the Job While
the knowledge and skills an organizer brings to the process can be used for any
goals, it is the values of social work that helps shape what people do,
where, with whom, and why. These humanistic values include: social and
economic justice, equality, democracy, and peace. Community organizing
within social work has contributed its knowledge, skills, and leaders to
these causes, and also has its own tradition. The early social workers were
leaders in the social reform struggles of their day and also helped build
community institutions, such as settlement houses and social services to meet
people's needs. While community organizers have always been a minority in
number within the social work profession, their impact has been significantly
felt. Beginning with Jane Addams who founded one of the first settlement
houses in Chicago (Hull House), they have been among the leaders of the
movements for social security, labor reform, and health care, as well as
shapers of the social programs in the 1960s and 1970s through the Economic
Opportunity Act, Model Cities, Community Block Grants, and a myriad of other
social service initiatives. The 1990s under President Clinton seem to be
ushering in a new commitment to community work and community service, as well
as expanded opportunities to revitalize and develop communities—in urban and
rural areas— across the country. The time is ripe for new jobs in this field. Roles and Goals Organizers wear many
hats and are called many things—enablers, advocates, brokers, facilitators,
leaders, planners, resource and program developers, coordinators, reformers,
and social change agents. The terms associated with the field of community
organization include community development and social planning. Within social
work and other human service disciplines, it is also called community work or
community practice. Successful organizers
work toward the goal of empowerment—helping people mobilize, obtain
resources, and develop strategies that promote their interests or causes.
While the knowledge and skills an organizer brings to the process can be used
for any goals, it is the values of social work that helps shape what people
do, where, with whom, and why. These humanistic values include: social and
economic justice, equality, democracy, and peace. Getting Started Individuals usually
get started in this field because of personal commitments, volunteer
experiences, or beginning jobs. For example, they may have a passion for
social cause, or they may feel deeply about local problems that have surfaced
in their community, be it in their school, on their block, in their region,
or a problem related to their racial, ethnic, or social group. "What are
people doing about it?" is the question that gets young people and
adults involved. This path is the natural, spontaneous way in. There are also more
structured ways of testing the waters through volunteer work. In the
past, people have joined the federal government-supported Additionally,
entry-level jobs are offered by such groups as ACORN, Public Interest
Research Group, Center for Third World Organizing, Grassroots Leadership, as
well as with the thousands of membership organizations, social service
agencies, and associations working on a particular issue. Every cause has
its leadership organizations—sometimes more than one, and sometimes competing
ones. Those interested in organizing can find their niche according to
their political and social beliefs. Educational
Opportunities Many of the groups
listed welcome committed people who may not have a college education, but who
are willing to be trained on the job. More typically, most organizations seek
persons who have college degrees, preferably in the social sciences or human
services, where they have had an opportunity to do some field work or
an internship. Sometimes they encourage and even support a staff person in
returning to school on a part-time basis. For those beginning at
the college level, majoring in the social and human sciences is the usual
area of concentration. However, it is important to note that some of the best
organizers enter the career from other liberal arts and specialized
backgrounds. Selecting a social
work major at the undergraduate level is a direct route into the field. All
accredited social work degree programs require course instruction and field
work in communities as a part of a general curriculum. Students who typically
enter a BSW program in their junior year are required to do a part-time
internship, which usually includes understanding community life and
institutions, analyzing communities—their people, institutions, culture—and
working on community projects. Depending upon the interest of the student,
faculty, and agencies affiliated with a particular BSW program, community
work can have different degrees of emphasis. At the graduate level,
there are several ways to enter professional organizing life. While it is not
necessary to have a master’s degree, many effective leaders of advocacy
organizations and coalition and human service campaigns have one. Within MSW
programs, some schools still offer a concentration or major in community
organizing or community development. Unfortunately, during the 1980s, some
schools eliminated the major in community organizing or else incorporated it
into what has become known as macro practice or policy, planning, and
administration (PPA). Nevertheless, all accredited graduate schools of social
work expose students to methods of working with people that includes working
with communities, as they do in BSW programs. However, the ability to acquire
a specialization in the area will vary from school to school. Courses at the
graduate level cover such topics as: knowledge of community and social
systems, organization and groups, inter-organizational and political arenas,
skills-building in program planning and evaluation, collaborations and
coalition building, lobbying, community assessment, leadership development,
grant writing and fundraising, public relations, service-coordination, and
case and class advocacy. During a typical
two-year MSW program, students will have an internship for one or both years
in which they have a supervised practicum to develop their competencies in
community practice. If the program has a two-year major, the initial year
might be spend in a grassroots setting with a neighborhood group or community
center, while the second year might be served in a politician's office
getting experience as a legislative aide. Other graduate degree
programs outside of social work offer some aspects of community organizing,
each with their own perspective. Among them are: urban planning, community
health education, human service and public administration, international
studies, and labor studies. There are also a few independent, non-academic
schools for organizers. These include the Career Paths Career paths in community
organizing are vast and varied. Experience has demonstrated that, regardless
of the job title, the community organizing approach to problem-solving and
the involvement of people always exists. Here are just a few of the job
titles held by graduates of MSW programs: settlement house director, advocate
for the homeless, commissioner of the Department of Youth and Juvenile
Justice and other departments, youth program coordinator, health coalition
director, family policy analyst, tenant organizer, housing specialist, drug
prevention program director, AIDS program developer, legislative aide to
elected public officials, and politician. The community organizing
specialization in social work allows for a diversity of career opportunities. Caveats and Challenges While the
revitalization of community organizing within social work is occurring, it is
not in the mainstream of the profession. Those interested in pursuing careers
in organizing within social work will have to find or establish their own
support group and seek comfort in the social missions grounding their work. Organizers are few in
number relative to the need and did not have a professional association until
recently. A National Organizers' Salaries Grassroots organizers
and even leaders of advocacy and policy organizations are paid relatively low
wages. To gain more pay, organizers usually have to move away from the front
line. The hours can be long: there are often night meetings and weekend
events, since those are the times when people come most conveniently together
as citizens. The process of change
is sometimes a slow one and not without its frustrations. Organizers need
tenacity and determination as well as good interpersonal and analytical
skills. They must interact with and influence diverse groups of people, not
all of whom share the same values, goals, and strategies. The payoffs and
victories may be slow, so satisfaction must often be derived from the process
of engaging and educating people. Ultimately, though, an organizer's
investment of time, energy, and resources will have an impact on society and
seem worth it—for a change. _______________ * Adapted from an
article by the author published in Mental Health and social Work Career
Directory-1st edition, B.J. Morgan & J.M. Palmisano, Editors.
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