“THERE IS ONLY THE FIGHT..." An Analyse of tho Alinsky Medel. - ~- ‘A thesio oubaltted 4n partial fuls%1imont cf tho requirements for the Bacholor of Arta: dogreo undor the Special Honors Program, © = \ollesloy College, Nellosloy, fassachusotts. Hillary D, Rodham PoBitical Science 2May, 1969 [© 1969" Hillary D. Rodham)7 Se hore I am, in the middle way, having had twenty years—— Twenty yoars largely wasted, tho years ef ltentro deux querres Trying to learn te.use werds, and overy attompt . Is a wholly new start, ami a different kind ef failuro ‘ Bocauso ono has only learnt te get the bettor of werds . Fer tho thing ono no Jengor has te say, er tho Way in which One 4s no longer disrased to say At. And ge.oach venture Is a now boginiin raid on tho dnarticulate With shabby equipment always doteriorating In the general ress of imprecision of feeling, : Undiseiplined cquads ef exotien. And what thoro is te conquer By strength and subnission, has alreasy beon discevercd Once or twice, or sereral tines, by ron when, one cannot hepe, To emlate—tut there is ne conpetition-— There is only the fight to recever what has beon lest And feurd_ani lest again and acain: and now, undor conditiens That seem unpropitious. Dut porhaps noither gain nor loss For us, there 4s only the trying. The rest 4s net our business, “ $.Ss Eliot, "East Cokor” .oa . TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledconentserees .Chaptor * L. SAULODAVID ALINSKY: AY AMEXICAN RADICAL =, II. THE ALINSKY METHOD OF ORGANIZING: THREE ea we -CASE-STUDIESs ope ee ee ee ewe Ab IIL. "A‘PRIZE PIECE OF POLTICALPORIOGRAPHY" oe lh ' STOCTIVES ON ALINSKY AND MTS LODIe ee 53 ? BIRTH se ee eee 68 = 76 _ REALIZING LIFE AF”ACKHONL EDS Although 1 Mave no "Loving wife" to thank for keoping tho chiidron y while I wrote, I do havo many friends and “teachora who have contributed to tho procons of theolesweltings And I thank then for their tireless help and sneonragement. In regard to the naper Atself, thore are threo peoplo who deserve special agz ont tin. Alinsky for providing a tople, sharing his timo and offering mo a ‘Job; Miss Alona E. Evans for her. | thoughtful quostioning and careful editing that clarified fuzzy thinking and tortured prose; and Jan Krigbaun for hor spirited Antollectual companionship and typewriter rescue work. . { har ( SNCHAPTER I soa SAUL DAVID ALINSKY: AN AMBRIGAN RADI Whth cuetamary Dratich umierotatenent, The Bconomist referred to Saul Alinsky as "that rare specimen, the successful radical." This ° 4s ono ef tho blander descriptions applied td Alinsky during a thirty~ year career in which opithets have been collocted more regularly than paychecks. The epithpts are net surprising as most people whe deal with Alinsky need te categorize in order to handle hin, It 4s far oasior te cope with a man 1f, deporting on sdeelerical perspoctivo, he 4s olassi~ © ; fiod an a orackpot" than te prappla with the substantive damen he pre= eonts. Fer Saul Alinsly 4s mare than a man whe has ersated a particular appreach te community organising, he io the articulate prepenent. ef what: many censider te be a dangerous .cecto/political philesophy. An undor- staniing of tho "Alinsky-type mothod" (4.0. his organizing method) as Woll as tho philesephy en which it is based mist start with an under- standing of the nan hinsolf. e Alinsky was bern 4n a Chicago slum te Russian Jewish immigrant, parents, and these early cenditions of slum living and poverty in Chi- chro ostablished the centext of his ideas and modo ef action. He traces his identification with the peor back to a heme in the rear ef a stero where his idoa of luxury was using the bathroom without a custemer bang- . 2 ; ing en tho'deor, Chicage itself has also greatly influenced hint Where did J. come from? Chicago. I can curse.and hate the town bat let anyone else de At and they're in for a battle, There I've had the happiest ani the werst times of my life. Every street has’, 4ts.persenal joyand pain te mo, On this street 4s. the:church of. @ Catholic Bishep whe was a big part of ny lifes. further dew is anether church where the paster tee has meant 2 lot te me; -ard-a couple miles away is a conetery—voll, skip it. Many Chicage streets”< bre pieces of iny Life and werk. Things that happened here have recked a lot ef boats in a lot of cities. Nowadays I fly all’ ever, the country in the course of ry werk. But when these flaps g0 denn : ‘ever the Chicage skyline, I knew I'm-hone.3 ! Although Alinsky calls Chicage his "city", the place really rep- rosonts to him the American Drean-~in all its Nightmare and itd glery. Ho I4vod the Dream as he meved from the Chicage sluns te Califernia’ then back te attend the University ef Chicago. Alinsky credits his develeping an active imaginatien, which is ossential for a geed erganizer, te his majering in archacelegy. An imagination fecusing 6n Inca artifacts, hew-" _” ever, needs oxpesure te secial problems before it can beceme useful in commnity organizing, Exposure began for Alinsky when be and other stu- dents collected food for the starving coal miners in southern I1lineis whe Wore rebelling against John L. Lewis and the United Mine Werkors. Lewis becae a role model fer Alinsiy whe learned about laber's organ- jzational tactics from watching and working with Lewis during the early years of the CIO, Alinsky seen recognized that one of tho hardest jebs " of the leadér is an imaginative ons as he struggles te develep a ratienale for spontaneous actien: For instance, when the first sit-down strikes teck place in Flint, no one really planned then. They wore clearly ‘a viblatien ef tho law--trespassing, seizure of private property, Laber leaders ran for covor, refused to cerment, But Lewis issued a pontifical statement, 'a man's right to a job transcends the right ef private Property,! which sounded plausible .! : After graduating from tho University of Chicage, Alinsig re~ esived a fellewship'in-ctiminélogy with a first assignment’ te get a look at crime from the inside of gangs. Ho attached himself te the Capene gang : nae s-attaining e perspective frem tihich he viewed the gang as a huge quasi- public utility serving tho poeple of Chicago. Alinsiyts eclectic life during the thirties, working with gangs, raising money for the Interna= tone) Betesde, whMelvine the plight of the Southern. share eroppelyi fighting for public housing, reached a turhing point in 1938 whon he was offered the Job a3 hoad of probation and parole for the City of _ _Philddelphia, Socurity. Prestigo. Honoy. Each of theso inducements alone'has been enough to, turn many a lean and hungry agitator inte. —~ a woll-fed esteblishmentarian. Alinsky rojectod the offer and its - triple threat for a career of organizing the poor to holp themselves. Has first target zene was the Back of the Yards area 4n Chicago; the immediate impetus was his intenso hatred of fascism: eeeZ went into "Back of the Yards' in Chicago. This was Upton Sinclaix's ‘Jungle.’ This was not the slum across the tracks. This wes tho slum across the tracks fromhcross the tracks. Also, this was the heart, inthicago, of all the native fascist moves \.‘* ments--the Coughlinites, the Silver Shirts, the Pelley movement... I wont 4in there to fight fascism, If you had asked me then what ny profossion was, I would have told you I was a professional anti- fascist.5 G 7 Alinsky's anti-fascisn, built arouhd anti-authoritarianisn, anti-racial ~ superiority, anti-oppression, was the ideological justification for his move into organizing and the first social basis on which he began con- structing his theory of action. . WorkingsinChicago and other communities betworn 1938 and 1946 Alinsky refined his nothods and expanded his theory. Then in 1946, Alinsky's first book,Reveille for Radicals, was published. Since Alinsky is firstly an activist and secondly a theoretician,more than oneshalt the book is concerned with the tactics’of building "People's ongenttations.” There are chapter discussions of "Native Leadership," "Community Traditions and Organizations," "Conflict Tatties," "Popular Education,” and "Paych= . “gtocical Observations on Hass Organizations.” The book begins by asking ‘the question: What 4s a Radical? This is a baste question for Alinsky who. proudly wefare ta hicenif re a radials . aeHissanswar is prefaced by pages of Fourthwof—July rhetoric about” Amoricanst “They are a pooplo creating a now bridge of mankind in between the past of narrow ee chauvinism and the horizon of a new man. Kinde-a people of the world." Although the book was written right after World War II, whtoh deoply affected Alinsky, his belief trfimerican de- mocracy has deep historical root atleast, as ho. interprets. history: The Anorican people were,in the beginning, Revolutionaries and = “Tories.-The American People ever since have been Revolutionaries and Tories,..regariloss of tho labels ofthe past and presente. The clash of Radicals, Conservatives, and Liborals which makes up America's political history opens tho door to the most. funda- mental question of What 4s America? How do the people of America foel?.Thore were and are a number of Amoricans--few, to be sure-— filled with deep foolings for people. They know that people are thé stuff that makes up the dream of democracy. These few wore and are . the American Radicals and the only way we can understand the Amer dcan Radical is to understand what wo moan by this feeling for and with the peoples? : What Aldnsiy deans by this "fecling for and with the people™ 4s simply how much ono porsonfoally caros about people unlike himself. He Allustratesthe feoling by a sories of examples 4n whieh he poses questions such as: So you are a white, native-born Protestant. Do you like people? He then proceeds to demonstrate how,in spite of protestations, the Protes- tant (or tho Irish Catholic or the Jew or the Nogro or the Mexican) “only pays lip: service to the idea of equality. This::technique of confrontation in Alinsky's writing offectiyely involves most of his readers who will recognize in thoxsolves at least one of the characteristics he denounces. Having confronted his reders with their hypocrisy, Alinsky defines tho ,Amorican Radical as “...that unique porson who actually believes what ho " sayss.eto whontho common good is tho freatest’ personal value. .=who gen- 8 winely and completely belioves in mankind ee,Minsky outlines American history focu’sing.on mon ho would call. "radical," confronting his readors again with the “unique” way Amoricans . havo. synthesized the alien roots of radicalism, Marxism, Utopian soc- delism, syndicalion, the French Revolution with their om conditions and expericnees: Whore are the American Radicals? They were with Patrick Honry Anthe Virgina Mall of Burgessos; they wore with Sanjidans 4n Boston; they were with that peer of all Amc wn Radicals, Tom Paino,from the distribution 6f Co: h those dark days of the American Rovolution, The American Rac 2 colonies erimly forcing the ~ addition of tho Bill of Rights to o:r Constitution. They stood at, ‘ the side of Tom, Jefferson Anthe fir: + battle betwoen the Tories of Hantjton andthe Anorican ‘people. They founded and fought in, the FLoco-Focos, ‘Thoy wora dhthe first wiion strike inlimorica and they fought for the distribution of the tern Lands to the massos of -people instead of the fow,..Thoy © inthe shadows of tho under. Ground railroad andthey openly redc in the sunlight with John Brow to Herpors Forry,..Thoy were with Horace Mann fighting for tho ex- tonsion of educational opportunitics...They built the Anorican Labor movenant... ; Many of their deods aro not anghever will bo recorded in America’s ‘Hstory. They were among the grimy men dn‘the dust bowl, they swoated with ‘tho share: cropyers. They wore at the side ofthe Okies facing the California vigilantes. They stood and stand Uefore the fury of lynching mobs. Thoy wore and aro on the picket lines gazing unflinch- Angly at tho throatoning, flushed, angry facos of the police. Anerican Radicals aro to be found wherever and whenovor fmorica’ moves closor to the fulfillment of its democratic dream,” Whonever America's hearts are breaking, these fmerican Radfeals Were andiare. Jmerice was boqun by its Radicals. ho hope and future of America Lies with its Radicals.9 Words such as these coupled with his compelling personality enabled Alinsky to hold a sid ‘% seminar during tho 1968 Democratic Party Convention in’ Chicago. He socratically gathered around him a group of young demohstrators on tho corner of IMichigan and Bilbo on Monday night telling then that they * 10 3 were another genoration of American Radicals. . Alinsky attempts to encompass all those worthy offis description "radical" dnto an ideological Woltanschauung:What does tho Radical want? Ho wants a world in which the worth -- of tho individual is recognizeds..a world basod on tho morality of: mankind. ..The Radical believes that all peoples should have a high standard of food, housing,and health...The Radical places hunan’* rights far above property rights. Ho is for universal ,freo public @ducation and recognizes this as.fundanontal tonthe demouratic way of life...Domocracy to hin 4s working from tho bottom upes.Tho Radical believes completely inbeal equality of opportunity.for all peoples regardless of race, color, or creed.i1 . Huch of what Alinsky professes doos not sound "radical." His are the words tased.4n our schools and churchos, by our parents and their friends, by our _peors. The difforence “is that Alinsky really believes in them and ee nizes the necossity ofHanging the present structurns of our lives in ordor to realize them. Thera aro many Anconsistencios.4n Alinsky's thought which he himsolf recognizes and disnissos, He beldoves that Life is inconsistent and that ono needs flexibility in dealing with its many facets, His writings reflect the flavor of inconsistency which permeates his approach to organizing. They also suggest Alinsky's place in the Aijerican Radical. tradition. In order to discuss his plate, it is necessary to cireunvent his definition of "rad- foal" based onthno= psychological stofngth and commitment, and to consider nore conventional uses of tho tent. | Although thera is great-disagreemont among writers about the dof- inition of "Z:die2." and anong radicals themselves over the scope of the woni's meaning, there is sufficient agreoment to permit a genoral definition. —-A-radieal 44 ono ho advocates sweeping chancos-in the-ext sting-Laws-and— ) aimed at the roots of. methods of govornnent, Thoso proposod chanzos ai politiead problons which 4n Mamdan.teris aro tho attitudes and the behaviors» of mon, Radionls are not intorested in anoliorating the symptons of docay but in drastically altering the causoa of soctotal conditions. Radicalism — "euphasizos roason rathor than rovorence, althouch Radicals have oftdn boon 12 tho most emotional and Loast reasonable of men." * whee 3 3ie of the strongest strains in modern, radicalisa 4s the eighteenth t century Entightement's faith an human reason and ‘the possible pettecti bility of man.This faith in the continsing dmprovonnnt of man was and is)” doninated by valuos derived fron the French and American ReYolutions and profoundly influenced by the Industrial Revolution, The Industrial Revol- ution shifted the onphasis of radicalism to an urban ordentatdon. AMUnsgy holds to the baste radieal fonets of equality and tthe urban orientation, but he does not advocate imnediato change. He is too much in the world- rightenow to allow himself the luxury of symbolic suicide. He realizes that radical goals have to bo achieved often by non-radical, oven "anti-radical" means. For Alinsky, tho non-radical menns involve tho traditional quest for powor to chenzo oxisting situstions. To further understand’ AVAnsly's ne his attitude toward the use of powor. radicalism one must ox The key word for an Alinsky-type orgenizing offort is "power." "Yo individual or organization can negotiate without power . a . to compel negotiations." The question is how’one acquires power, and As he say: ‘iTo attempt to operate on good Alinsky's answer 4s through organizatéo vill rather thun on a power basis would be to attompt something which the world hs never yot exporkonceds=ponenbel ta make even good wi” ‘ 4 effective it must be mobilized into a powor unit," Ons of tho problems with ‘advocating mobilization for’power 4s tho popular dintruat of amassing power. Anotleans, es John Kenneth Galbraith points owt dn Jeerkesh Capitalism, are caught 4n a paradox regarding their cause it “obviously presonts awlward problems for a _viow toward yover b _tonmunity which abhors its existence, dsavous its possession, but-values _ we. its oxistenc.." “ Alinsky recognizes this paradox and éautions against allowing our toncuss to trap our minds? : ‘ We have become involved in bypaths of confusion or sonantics. . The ward . tmounrt hee throurh timo acquired overtones of sinister -corrupt evil, unhealthy dmofal-Machfavellianioa, ad a general phantasmagoria of the nether regions.16 _ ~~For Alinsky, power As the "ory essonco of life, tho dynanté of life" and © 4s found in "...active citizen papticipation pulsing upward providing'a unified strength for a common purpose of organization...eithor changing 1 circumstances or opposing change." ALinsky argues that those who wisH to change circumstances must” develop a mass-based organization and be propared for conflict. Ho is a neg-Hobbesian who objects to the consensual mystiquo surrounding political processes; for him, conflict 4s the route to power, Those possessing power want toretain it and often to extond tho bounds of it. Those desiring a change in the power balance generally Lack tho established criteria of. money or status ahd so pst mobilize numbers. Nobilized groups representing op- posed intorests will naturally be in conflict which Alinsky considers a healthful and necessary aspect of a community organizing activity. lie 4s supported in his prognosis by conflict analysts such as Lewis Coser who points out in The Functions of ‘Social Conflict that: Conflict with othor groups contributes to the establishment and reaffirmation of the group and-maintains its boundaries against the surrounding social ‘world.i8 In ordor to achieve a oe without bounds 4t appears dsential for many groups to solidify oe “‘{dentitdes both irfreLation to their own menbership and to their cxtcrnal onvironmont. This has been the rationale of nation ‘alist groups historically and among American blacks presently. ' The organizor plays a significant rolo in procipitating ana directing a Community's conflict pattern, As Alinsky views this tele, the organizer. ioe sdedicated to changirig the character of life ofa particular community and] has an initialfunction of serving as an abrasive agent to rub ~x + «raw thexosentnents of the people of the community; to fan latent /hos.- thidties of, many’ of the people to the point of overt expressions... ~ “a to providea.channel into which they can pour their frustration of the pasts to create a mechanism which can drain off underlying guilt for | having accepted the previous situation for so long atime. ~ ‘.Whén thoso who represont the status quo Label you\4.e.the com - munity organizorJ-as an ‘agitator’ they are-completoly correct, for that is, in one word, your function--to agitate to the point of rd conflict.19 . ’ . An approach advocating conflict has produced strong: reactions. Some of his critics compare Minsky's tactics with thoso of various hate groups such a3 lynch mobs which also "rub raw the resentments of the people." Alinsky anovors such criticism by roninfing his erities that the difference botwoon a’ "liberal" anda "radical" is that the liberal refuses to fight for tho’goals he professes. During his first organising venture in Back of the Yards he ran into opposition from many liborals who, althowgh agreeing with his goals, repudiated his tactics. They wore according to Alinsky "Like the folks during the American Revolution who said "America should be free but not through bloodshed." ° When the residents of Back of the Yards battled the hugo meat-packing concerns, they wore fighting for their Sobs ond or their lives. Unfortunately, the war-like rhetoric can obscure the con- structivenoss of the conflict ALinsly-orchostrates. : i In additionko aiding in formation of identity, conflict between Groups plays a creative social role hy providing a process through which diverse interos are adjusted. To indues conflict is a risk because there 4s no maranteo that 4t' will romain controllable. Alinsky recognizes the risk ha tekes bit bolieves it is worth the canblo 4f the conflict process results inkho resticturing of rolationships so as to permit the enjoymont of greator froeden among nen meoting ‘as oquals. Only through social oquality can mon detensins the structure of their om social arrangements.” Tho concest of social equality dz 4 pait of Alinsiy's'soclal morality ‘Bhat Assumes oll individuals and nations act first. to preserve their'pun: 1 : aeAntorests and then rationalize any action as_ Adealistic. 19. thinks ” 2 4s only through accopting ourselves as wo roally” are that xo can begin to praction "rosL" morality: 7 . a , Theré are two roads to everything-sa low road and a high one. The high road 4s the oasiest. You just talk principles and bo angolic rea garding thinge.you don't practice. The Low road 4s the harder, It 49 . tho tack of making one's solf-intorest behavior moral behavior. Wo have behaved morally iri the’ world in the past fow years because we want * the poople of tho world on our side. When you got n good moral position, look behin@ it to see what is self-interost. . The cyntetom of thig viewpoint wes mitigated sonewhat by my discussing tho question of morality with Alinsky who concoded that idoalism can parallel % the man who intends to act in tho wWorld- solf-intorost. But he believes tt: aswits mist not be rislod by d2lustons of tho vorldaas.Wo-would-likendtaton ve.” Alinsky clains a position of moral relativism, but his moral context As stabilized by a belief in the eventual manifestation of the goodness of man, He beliovas that if men were allowed to live froo from fear and want they would live in poaco. Ho laso belioves that only men with a sense of their om worth and a respect for the commonality of humanity will.-be able to create this now world. ; 7 Therefore, the main driving foree behind his push for onganization is the effect that beloricing to a group Working for a common purpose has had onthe hen he hes organized. Frustration is transformed into. confidence « vhen nen rococnizo their capability for contribution. The senso of dignity is particularly crucial in organizational activity among, the poor whom Alinsky warns to beware of programs which attack only their’ economié poverty. . Wolfar programs since the Now Deal. have neither redeveloped poverty areas nor even eata)yzod the poor nto holping thondelves A cyclo of den pondoney has beén creatod which: ensnares its victims inte esttation and, apathy. To dromati:o his warning to tho poor,Alinsky proposed sonding Nozroes, ; es dressed in-African-tribalse Chicayos This action would havo dranatized what ho refers to as the, "col- onialisn™ and the "Poaco Corps'mentality" of tho poverty pipe * '~ Alinsky ds interested 4m people helping thenselves without. tho Anof'footive inter? — from wolfarephiles. Charles Silberman in his book, Crisis Jr Black and White describes Alinsky's motivation in terns~ of his faith in peoplo: (Tho ossential. differonco betweon Alinsky and his enemles is that. Alinsky really believes in democracy; -he really Uelieves that the help--*--~ less, tho poor, tho“badly-educated can solve thoir om problems if fAven the chance and the, means; ho really belioves that the poor and uneducated, no less thanthe rich mdoducated, have the right to: decide how their lives should be run and what services shouldbe offored to . then instead of boing ministered to like childron.25 ‘This faith in democracy and in the people's ability to "make 4t" is pecul- | Aarly American anjnany might doubt its radicalnoss. Yot,Alinskyts belief and devotion 4s radical; demccracy 4s still a radical doa in a world where wo often confuso images with realities, words with sctions, Alinsky's boligf in self-interested denocracy unifies his views on the uso of . the power/conflic! model in organizing and the position of morality and welfare in the ‘phil~ osophy underlying his methodology. .* CHAPTER T FOOTC ime on tho Barricades," The Egonomist, May 13-19, 1967, p. 14. 2uthe Professional Radkeal Homents, Junoy 1965, pe 38. Sra.” : Tpid. y pa"HO. : “pel NS. Ssaut. D, ALinskyy Rows for Ro Press, 1948), ps (Chicago: University of Chicago Trbsd., ps ike Sroig., ps 22. Soma. . as Saul Dy AlAnsigyy private interview in Boston, Massachueotts, October, 1968. Wdicals, p. 23. 2 UW prinsigyy Revailie for § _ ohn W. Derry, Tho Radiesl Tradition (London: ifactiitlan, 1967), pe vid. 13p4n Dodson, "The Church, POWER, and Saul Alinsly," Religion in Life, (Spring, 1967), p. 11. toa, 15yohn Konnoth Galbraith, Arerican Canitaliss (Boston: Houghton Mifflin “Company, 1962), ps 2. . Sanason, pe 12. | oe ‘Thid. 18, ata st? The Functions of Social Conflict (New York: a Free Press 1956), pe Be z _ 19 : Dodson. ; onesies B, Silbeman, Crisis An Black and White (Now Yorkt Random Houses: 1964), Pe 331. i. snag: interview, Boston. ; aMeatrick Andorson, Maldng Trouble 1g ALinsig"'s Ductness," Tho Now York Mmes Macazino (October 9, 1966), p. 29. ag ‘Silberman, ps 332+CHPTERIT = : : ‘THE ALINSKY METHOD OF ORGANIZING: THREE CAS -STUDLES : - “Tho Alinsky method of community organizing lias two distinct © ‘ elomonts, One, tho "Alinsky-type protest" is “an,oxplosive mixture of rigid discipline, brilliant showmanship, and a street fightor's instinct for rathlossly exploiting his onomyts en Tho second, modelled safter trade. unson organization mothods, involyos the hard work of ree~ _ocnizing intorests,, seoking out indigenous leaders, and building an organization whose poser As viewed as Logitimate by the larger com- munity. It is difficult to discuss these two components soparately bo- causy they are woven into the organizational pattern according to sit- uational necessity. Sono organizational situationsneed tho polarizing effect of “rubbing raw the sores of discontent" vhilo éthors with well- definod resontnents noed Leaders. : Anothor distinctive featuro of the Alinsky mothod as mentioned in the pravious chapter is the uso of military Language. As Silborman points out,such language is appropriatafor groups engaged in “war-liko" struggles for, But hor do you gain a victory before you have on amy? The only method aver devised 4s quorrilla warfaro: to avold afixed battlo where the forces are arrayed and where tho new army's wealmess + Would become visible, and to.concentrate instead on hit-and-run tactics cesijmed to gain smal] but measurable victories. Honce the_ emphasis on such dramatic actions as parades and rent strikes whose mmin objeotive 4 to ereate’a sone of’ solddaiity and eonruntty.2 “gihough Minalgt 2 gon, of Gommunity solidarity and his war. on lower * Lossnoes | has'been couspted Antothe inibrie of the fedora) welfare Pro. grans, there do continuing mistrust’ of his tactics. As hag. been ote: siatt 5 ay posted, there is no sot pattern for oach of his organizational efforts. Thoro | are, however)? tactical guidelines which can'toopslicd.in onder to fulfill tho following Cai of an Alinsky organizations = (a) It 4s rootad inthe leeat tradition, the local indigonous Loader= —- --ghip, the local, organizations and agencies, and,in short, the Local people. (b) Its energy or driving force is generated by tho self-interest “of the local residents fox the wolfaro of their children and thenselvos. =~ (c) Its' program for action devolops hand in hand with tho organ Azation of the community council. The pro; that series of common afr.cments which results in the develop. ment of the local organization. (4) It 4s a program arising out of tho Local poople carrying with 4t tho direct ‘participation of practically all tho organizations inapartionlar area. It involves a substantial dogreo of indi- vidual citizon participation; a constant day sto day flow of vol. untesr activities and the daily functioning offmumerous Local com ritteos chargod with specific short-term functions, (o) It constantly omphasizes the functional relationship between prob~ lenis and therefore its progran is as broad as the social horizon of the community, It avoids, at all costs, circumseribed end sog~ nental prograns which in turn attract the support of only a seg- mont of tho local population. (f£) It recognizes that a democratic society is one which responds to poplar pressures, and therefore realistically operates on the basis of prossure.For the same weason it doos.not shy away from involvonont in‘nattors of controvérsy. (g) It concentrates! on the utilization of Andigenous individuals, who, df not leaders at tho beginning,can bo developed into Leaders. (h) It (ives priority to the significanco of self-interost. The organ= Azntion itself proceeds m:the idea of channeling the many diverse forces of self-interest within‘ the community into a common dir ection for tho common good and at the samo time respects the autonomy ef individuals: and organizations. (4) It bocomes completely.self-financed atthe end of, approximately: three years, This not only testifies to its representative character in that’ the local residents support their: own organization finans cially, but insures to the.lotal council the acid test of inde. 3 pendence: "the ability to pay one's wayet3 *ie SOHBRABE Sy) 5: CAGtAOR Abst Tigh His ations 48 12Ke capeusEenE “oii wes, current theories of international relations without mentioning Vietnam. Wo \A21: consider three of the organizations which Alinsky helped build. The first of the threo 4s the Back of tho Yards Neighborhood Council _vhten de the prototype cotmunity organization dating bitk to tho Late 1930's, Alinsky's involvenont with the Council’ lod to tho‘ostabliskment of the Industrial Areas Foundation which subsequently coorditated other organizing activities. One of the most important of these was The Woodlawn Organization, a black community group inthicago. Alinsky frequently oncountors blacks who viow Alinsky's efforts as just ono more exanplo of white man's power polities gamo, He tells such critics that,"Sunglasses, Swahild, and soul food won't: - win power for tacks. Thirdly,we will look at the organizational prob= Lons Anvolved in the Rochestor black community's confrontation with the Kodak Company. THE BACK OF THE YARDS NELGHBORNOOD cOUNCTL Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle, focused attention on the stockyards in Chicago and-the deplorable conditions of life in-the area surrounding the Yards. This area, Back of the Yards, was bigamously wedded to tho ment.packing industry and the Ronan Catholic Church. The meat fac tories provided jobs and tho Church minf’stored to the spiritual and social needs of 4ts parlshoners. The wavos of Polish, Slovak, and Irish imi grants © vefozo Wortd War I, nnd Noxdean Srtizration aftor, supplied both workers and parishoners: Tho dunigrants also successively lowered the wage scale and fragmented tho’ Church into bickering nationalistic divisions. The area's dopressod economy was accompanied by acute environmental problems such as overcrowded hiensingy dnsutfietent sanitation, unpaved Hiseoti, “fou. rece, reational. facilitics, high delinquency and orime ratody-abfinadaquate schools, Alinsky renenbers the Back’ of-the-Yards.as_the- nad of-Aslerioan. ms, worse Hran Haclem.% . EAlinsky's experiences in the Back ofthe Yards formed the basis for his: approach to organizing, bat thoyabe difficult to trace, Host of the information related to Alinskyts role in the formulation of the Neigh borhood Council cones from Alinsky, He gives a third Berson necount an. Rovailie for Radiaals, and he is always ready to reminisco about that ex .. perience. Evelyn Zyguuntowics's account of the fomation of the Council, which 1s considered "outhoritative” by tho presont members, of the Council, does not méntion Alinsky once by name excopt 4n the bibliography. When quostioned about tho omission in the Zyguntoules thesis, Alinsicy attrib. uted it to hi S great success in building an organization which did not need ad That Alinsky participated in the organizing,and that his par theipation led to the development of his organizational ‘strategy is unde- ‘batable. It is genorelly accepted-among orzanizers, reporters, and 2eae | + denies that Alinsky was tho moving forco behind the struggle. An examination of tho availeblo matorial about the Council's formation affirms that assumption. - . Tho oipantzation of the Back of tho Yards began at a méoting in the local YWCA to plan a community recroational prograiiy Before the meoting 4n the Spring of 1939 the Back of the Yards had been the scone of various community projects initiated by settlement housss, the Church, and unions, Tho Packinchouse Yorkers Organizing Comitton, on affiliate of tho CIO, { : began orgenising tio ‘employees of Swift, Amour, Wilson, and the other moat housos with rcLativoly little opposition. The lack: of managehent op= position might have besn anticipated sineo by tho late 1930's many of tho comptes started moving out of tho Chicago Yards, The succoss.of tho union - fobgind sdnrencourared: others both dn and out of tho community. A hon-res~ a social worker initiated tho mooting ee the YHCA ‘out cof thieh 2 eane the " SCP 40 4 Consimby Congres"! : 'For fifty yoars wo have waited for someone to offer a solution—' but nothing--has happened. Today we know that we oursolves must face” and solve these probloms. Wo know what poor housing; unemployment, . and juvenile delinquency means; and we are sara that 4f a way ds to be found wo can and.must find it, . Wo hava stopped waiting. We churchmen, businessnen, and union man have formed tho Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, This Council ‘ds inviting ropresontativos of all the organizations--church, business, social, fraternal,-and labor to particiapte in a conferonce...to thor- oughly discuss the problems of joint action which can effectively attack tho evils of diseaso, bad housing, crim9,and_punishnent.8 Alinsky who helped draft the Call continuod tising his straight. forward, self-interost approach to convince the community that ‘working to~ gether was tho only hope for then. For oxample,he a approached a Catholié priest intems of Christian ethics but on the basis of solf-interest such ag tho welfare ofthis» Church, even its physical property. Alinsky's rec. cognition of the Catholic Church as an “integral and dynamic factor in the experience and lives of the people" von hin the supsort’ of the Sentor Aux. Aldary Bishop of Chicago, the Host Reverend Bernard J. Shiel, pp His) ae - Support helped bring tofether the conflicting nationalistic Catholic: a ~GRurehoss Then hastility between the Church and the unions lessened as both recognized the necessity of cooperation. Tho primary question was, however, "cooperation" for what? The By-Laws of the Council (adopted Yay, ..1939) ddealistieally ee that ~ secthis orgemization 4s founded for the purpose o f uniting all organ dzations within tho community known as ‘Back of the Yards’ in order to promote the welfare of all rosidonts of that conmunity regardless of their race, color, or creed, so that they may all have the oppor- tunity to'find health, happiness and security through-the denocratic way of Lifost1 ir Alinsky remerfbors the ‘atuoaphere in the nei chborhood as. seem hell, holo of hatesse” + When penpl@ talk nbout Back of the Yards today, somo of thon co _ Linos 1iko "rub resentmonts raw? to describe my organizing mthods, Now’: oF do you think when I went in there or when I go 4nto a Negro community — today I have to toll then that they're discriminatod against? Do, you - think Z-go fn thore and get thom.angry? Don't you ‘think, they have re. “sontnents to beri tathy and how much raver can I rub thom?ees . -What happens when we come in? We say. "Look, ynii don’t have to take this; thoro is something you can do about 4t, You can get jobs; you can broak the Segregation patterns. Put you have toi have power to do 4t, and you'll only get it through organization. Because power Just goes to two poles-.to’thoso who've got monoy, and those who've t people. You haven't got noncy, so your own followmen are your & RNP end Win sh aaiinn gle nek MO AGAMA G EOCUL: Ate ne u're aetives And ait of a sudden you stand ups That's what happened dn Back Of tho Yands.12 Tho process of "standing up! however, took’ tine. - The Neighborhood‘ Council's two immediate “gozls, to achieve economic , security and, to inprove, the local environnont, catapulted 4t into a struggle with the meat compnaios.Vigorous activity stalled during World War Tm becasue there were faw groups ready to follow John 1. Lewis's lead and Anterefere An ony vay with tho var offort. During the War the Couneil. ald woldatty Ate support anohg all groups At constitutionally represented. Organ ized ‘business, for example, had been catalogued among the members of the °° 7 Council but did not officially form The Back of the Yards Businessuen's Association until 1945. Local residents were kept 4nformed of each othor's resentments through a community newspaper, the Back of the Yards Journal, The Journal, still operates on a cooperative basis with the owner and a i spocial- board of governors, representative of the Council, céntroLling the — wookly paper's policy. 7 The organization 6f the Counci, and its carly achLoveniznts in con- solidating power particularly impressed Bishop Shoil. After the fir st annual Commupity Congrass in 1940 he doscribed-it as “ono of the most vivid denon- strations of tho dsnocratie procoss. that I have evor cere Bishop. - Sof. enthusiastically introduced Alinsky tqllarshall Field who suggasted to Alinsky that-he carry nis ‘nodol ahd Adoas of organizing to other areas ‘of tho country by teans of a _taxcorempt foundation. When Atinaky was convinced that Fleld Yast did not/want, him out of Chicago, he accepted the posttion : of Executive Bi hocter of the Thdustehal, Areas Foundation. AR) woriding with’!: ; 14 : ; winning capital of $15,000. ~ ; a Lovee ts * the Council moved into action after the War by fully supporting tho Packinghouso Strike of i946 providing the community with an opportunity. to mobilize: financial, medical, and noral. help for tho strikers, Coordinated through ‘the Council, the Churches oponed soup lines and child care centers; businessmen suppliod food; landlords ignored unpaid rents;. physiclans of- : _fered free eae Tho community backing of the strike resulted both 4n a good sdttloment for the workers and in va.more powerful voice for the : Council. The Illinois legislature heard that loud voice when the Council. voted in 1948 to'lead a city-wide sales ce strike against the state ad . ministration's proposed cat in ADC funds. are state House of Representatives admitted: to having been swayed. by public pressure directed by the Council.” and restored the funds. As tho Council's political sophistication increased, it moved beyond tho tactical Lovol of dononstrating community solidarity, madnpulating public pressure, and threatening uncooperative ‘residents with ostracism. In a 1949 confrontation with the city's Hoalth ang Building Commissioners over its ontoréenont of the housing codes, the Council's Housing Committes compiled enough statistics to estiarrass the housing authorities and prepared to roloase thm to tho- newspapers, As a threat is often as effective as action, héuses were repaired, ae ; Tho Counci} also: took legal action agaizst the Pennsylvania Railroad on behalf.of tho residents whose health and property were damaged from-en. “ino smoke, and against the neat factories whose stonch fouled the air. The Railroad was “fined by the Mordeipal: Court of Chicago, oe the ee mere : forced to construct buildings to house their garbage.”In addition to each of its varied activities, the Council assumed an educational function by-.carefully explaining every project to the res- Adents, Occasionally: the educative process was an ond in itself as in the case of the Council's offorts to-Antroduco basic facts of niltrition to tho comunity, During the Spring of 1945 nutrition was discussed at union meetings,.in Sunday sermons, and at school assemblies, No resident could 4 nove sade his Aghborhood bciesalsie wired dienes ad drink his orange Juice. Hore often the educational progran was dixected toward specific actions, such as the creation of a local credit union. Although financial experts ex plained the credit operation, the union was managed by Council members who gained thetr-expertise through rete . : cos ‘The importance ‘of popular. participation 4n’ the Council s"activities, | essential in any community action project, was summed up in the 1948 Annual. Report of the Exectitive Secretary. 7 While the achievements of the Council are great in thomselvés, underlying each individual achievemnet is the thread of the most-im- — portant objective that we are working toward...tha most important el- _ ement in democracy. By that I moan participation. I mean tho recog- ° nition on the part,of the people that democracy is a way of life which: can only be sustained through the pdtt of the poople. Only when the people recognize that theirs is the decision, the right, and the duty to shape thoir own life, only then will democracy expand and grow. * That 4s why the cardinal keynote of the Back of the Yards Noighborhood Council 1s: 'Wo, the people will work out our ow destiny.’ It is for this reasonithat I am asicing you to koop in mind clearly that évery single achievement which I can report tonight has behind it a history of participation, of fighting and of awakening of a buming passion for justice and brotherhood of man by thousands of. our peopie.20 For the last thirty years the hope oxpressed by the Council's motto has ofteh been realized as the carefully nurtured community power in Back- of the Yards affocted the city, the stato,and even the nation. However, much of tho commmnitty's influence is traceable not to “its "burning passioh® but to its most Allustrions resident, Mayor Richard J. Daloy.