=========================================================================
Date:    Wed, 9 Oct 1996 20:35:03 CDT
Sender:  H-Net/H-Urban Seminar on History of Community Organizing &
         Community-Based Development [COMM-ORG@UICVM.UIC.EDU]
Subject: Paper: Miller, "BEYOND THE POLITICS OF PLACE: A CRITICAL REVIEW"
Posted by Peter Dreier [dreier@oxy.edu]
 
Activists and academics alike will enjoy reading Mike Miller's essay on
community organizing [1].  Miller is the executive director of the
Organize Training Center in San Francisco, which he started in 1972 to
provide training and support to community organizations. A veteran of
the civil rights movement (including five years as SNCC's field
secretary), public housing tenant organizing, and Saul Alinky's
Industrial Areas Foundation, Miller has over 30 years of organizing
experience. Through OTC he has worked with a wide variety of grassroots
community groups.
 
Miller's essay is in the form of a debate with Gary Delgado, another
long-time community organizer and trainer. Delgado played a key role in
the development of ACORN, one of the most successful community
organizing networks. He started the Center for Third World Organizing [2]
in Oakland, which trains organizers of color and works with a variety
of groups. It also publishes THIRD FORCE, a magazine devoted to
grassroots organizing in communities of color. Delgado now runs the
Applied Research Center, a think tank for community organizing, which
publishes a variety of interesting reports. Two years ago, the ARC
published Delgado's study, BEYOND THE POLITICS OF PLACE: NEW DIRECTIONS
IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZING IN THE 1990S. The report described new "models"
of organizing among diverse constituencies, which Delgado distinguishes
from more "traditional" Alinsky-style approaches.
 
Mike Miller's essay, which he calls "Notes Toward a Conversation on
Community Organizing," is a "critical review" of Delgado's report.
 
Those who want a copy of Delgado's report should contact the ARC at
1322 Webster Street, Suite 402, Oakland, Ca 94612. The ARC can also
send you a list of its other publications, including various reports
and RACE MATTERS, a very useful compendium of clippings about racism
and racial issues.
 
Likewise, I urge activists and academics to subscribe to the Organize
Training Center's wonderful publication, THE ORGANIZER MAILING, a
quarterly compendium of clippings from newspapers, magazines, and
elsewhere about community organizing and political issues of interest
to organizers.[3] (I get lots of teaching and training ideas from it).
Subscriptions are $45 a year for individuals and $55 a year for
organizations. You can also get a hard copy of Miller's paper for $10.
Also, ask for a copy of OTC's publications list [4].  Write to:
Organize Training Center, 442A Vicksburg St., San Francisco, CA 94114.
 
Peter Dreier
International & Public Affairs Center
Occidental College
 
 
[Ed:
 
[1] The paper is available by sending e-mail to listserv@uicvm.uic.edu
    with the message:  GET DELGADO CRITIQUE
 
    Alternatively, aim your WWW browser at

http://h-net2.msu.edu/~urban/comm-org/miller/miller.html
 
    With Netscape, you can print out a "fancy" formatted copy.
 
[2] CTWO has a WWW Page at:
 
http://www.ctwo.org
 
[3] Information on THE ORGANIZE MAILING, along with an order form,
    is available at:

http://h-net2.msu.edu/~urban/comm-org/centers
 
[4] The OTC Publications List (as of July, 1996), along with an
    order form, is available at
 

http://h-net2.msu.edu/~urban/comm-org/centers
 
                                     -- W. Plotkin, COMM-ORG]