Lappe Sets the Record Straight on Alinsky

Francis Moore Lappe published a pointed piece in The Huffington Post defending the community organizing principles of Saul Alinsky, also considered “the godfather of community organizing.” She clarifies the core principle of Alinsky’s legacy: “building the power of regular citizens to gain a seat at the negotiating table.” Why the need to clarify? The subtitle of the article is “Don’t Let the Far Right Malign ‘Community Organizing’.”

What comes to mind when you think of community organizing? The Republican lobbying group FreedomWorks hopes you envision unweildy shouting matches between red-faced citizens that lead only to deadlock instead of productive dialogue. In fact, these lobbyists are doing their part to aggravate and build contention at town hall meetings by seeding them with anti-reform advocates, citing Alinksy’s Rules for Radicals as their inspiration. But what Alinksy meant to inspire, insists Lappe, is for citizens to come up with solutions themselves supported by “research, discipline, vision, training and courage.”

The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) has been working on strategies to achieve such solutions since the early 70s. Building relationships is one of their core principles—in particular, “public relationships” through face-to-face interactions “where citizens learn to listen for the values and interests of others.” The Foundation’s Art & Soul Civic Engagement initiative in Starksboro, Vermont is driven by this kind of boundary-crossing, bridge-building work. The project’s goals are ambitious and innovative:

• to engage new audiences and voices in a deep discussion of community values and identity
• to explore ways to mitigate divisiveness, open a dialogue on difficult issues and lead participants to new ways of thinking
• and to create a framework for reflection and discovery, creative expression and conversation, ongoing community dialogue and interaction using the arts and storytelling.

The citizens of Starksboro are learning to listen to one another, respect their differences, and work together to find sustainable solutions for their town. They’ve earned their seats at the negotiating table.

Lappe concludes. “Real community organizing is a central tool of democracy. We need not less but much more of it: organizing that encourages and trains us to engage in our own research-based, spirited and disciplined dialogue that leads not to shout-downs but to real solutions.”

Can I have an A-men!

Read the complete Huffington Post article.