Community Organizers – The Foundation of American Society

Karen Rowe Gilliland-September 2008

Among the many community organizations serving struggling Americans, Habitat for Humanity, well known for building and rehabilitating houses for families in need, has sheltered more than one million people in over 3,000 communities worldwide. The efforts of the community organizers that have led Habitat for Humanity to such a level of success should be extolled rather than denigrated. The McCain-Palin campaign’s cancellation of a photo-op with Habitat for Humanity following the Republican convention not only highlighted the inappropriateness of Sarah Palin, but demonstrated how disengaged the Republican Party platform is with the American public.

For more than a century, community organizers have dedicated their time and energy to projects that have been stop gap measures for Americans adversely affected by failing economies, poor legislative policies, and disparities in race, gender, and socio-economic status. Community organizers have led the charge to eradicate poverty in our nation, and bring dignity to the lives of the less fortunate. Palin, showed the nation that she is out of touch with the realities facing Americans outside of Alaska by mocking the importance of community organizing. In response to the derisive speeches delivered at the Republican National Convention, the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) president, Maude Hurd, stated that, "through community organizing, people are empowered to take action to solve their own problems, develop leadership skills and make decisions that improve their lives and their communities." ACORN, the nation’s largest grassroots organization, has been working diligently for the past 38 years, initiating campaigns to address issues detrimental to the lives of low and moderate income families. The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) is another example of proven community organizing. Throughout its history, the YWCA has been a vanguard in race relations, labor union representation, and the empowerment of women.

Without community organizers programs such as Meals on Wheels, the American Red Cross, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts of America would not exist. If organizers were deterred by the type of cynicism and contempt of people like Guiliani and Palin, Jerry Lewis may not have stepped forward to raise money every year for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, thousands of volunteers would not continue to work tirelessly on AIDS awareness, and Susan G. Komen’s sister would have mourned silently and the lives of millions of women diagnosed with breast cancer would have been cut short.

What Palin does not understand is that community leaders and organizers are the voice of the disenfranchised, enabling concerns to be heard and become part of the larger discourse. What Palin takes for granted is that without community organizers the Women’s Suffrage Movement would not have taken place, and the women she claims to represent would not have the right to vote for her. And what Palin fails to recognize is the fact that she is standing on the shoulders of community organizers like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who lost their lives in the pursuit of equality and ushered in a new era for Americans, race and gender notwithstanding, that would see the day when an African-American and a woman would be a breath away from becoming president of the United States of America .