TSNE -> TSNe-Bulletin -> November 2008 -> Impact on Community Organizing

Community Organizer in the White House

Among his many accomplishments, President-elect Barack Obama has significant experience as a community organizer. Many in the nonprofit community are excited by the idea that someone with a nonprofit background who understands and respects our sector will occupy the oval office.

TSNe-Bulletin staff asked a number of community-based organizations with whom we work to comment on the impact they believe an Obama administration may have on their work. Here are some of the answers below. Check back to see additional responses in the coming weeks.

Ronni Cohen-Boyar, Executive Director
Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Massachusetts, Boston, Mass.

President-Elect Obama had “hope and change” as two dominant themes during his campaign. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure vision of a world without breast cancer is completely intertwined with both of these themes. Hope fuels the fire and change will allow us to embrace new technologies and new opportunities. As the largest private sector funder of breast research and community outreach, we recognize that it requires a united effort from both public and private sectors and we welcome Mr. Obama’s support in the fight against breast cancer.

Lisa Krinsky LICSW, Director
LGBT Aging Project, Jamaica Plain, Mass.

The LGBT Aging Project is very hopeful that the new Obama administration will bring significant attention to the issues affecting LGBT elders and caregivers,including general aging issues – healthcare, income, housing, social engagement – and LGBT issues such as repeal of DOMA, DADT and further inclusion in our broader society.

Kevin Knobloch, President
Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, Mass.

President-elect Obama has argued that our economic, energy and environmental problems share the same solution. We are looking to the new president and Congress to work together to build a clean energy economy that will create millions of new jobs here at home, expand capital investment, make our nation less dependent on oil, and prevent the worst consequences of global warming.

The past eight years of denial and delay are over. Voters largely embraced candidates who support clean energy, green jobs, and a safer climate for our children and grandchildren.

David P. Magnani, Ed.D., Executive Director
Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, Boston, Mass.

Many of us who worked as community organizers ourselves, respect that work and believe it will serve the President-Elect well in establishing an authentically dialogical relationship with the American people.

Hala Moddelmog, Chief Executive Officer
Susan G. Komen for the Cure

As President-elect Obama said, “if anyone still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, tonight is your answer.” We bring that same spirit to our fight to end breast cancer forever, and we’re confident that President-elect Obama and the 111th Congress will be key allies. We look forward to working with the new Obama Administration in the coming months to win the war on all cancers by investing in breakthrough research that’s making early, game-changing detection possible; encouraging smarter scientific collaboration; and increasing the kind of access to affordable, quality care all Americans deserve.

Like so many Americans, President-elect Obama knows firsthand the pain of losing a loved one to cancer. His public request on Monday that, in lieu of flowers, donations go to organizations searching for the cures to cancer was an important, thoughtful gesture – a gesture of hope in the face of tragedy. ‘Change’ and ‘hope’ were dominant themes in his candidacy, and they are themes that also permeate our mission to reignite the war on cancer. It’s time to change our approach so that we’re taking full advantage of the 21st century technologies that can alert us to cancer while it can still be defeated.

Rebecca S. Rabinowitz, Chief Executive Officer
The Open Hearth, Hartford, Conn.

I believe that under an Obama administration, there will be a far greater emphasis on collaboration and support between the role of government in protecting society’s most vulnerable citizens, and the nonprofit sector. President-elect Obama’s past history of success as a community organizer undoubtedly renders him extremely knowledgeable as to the daily life struggles and challenges in most working class and impoverished neighborhoods, and the imperative of constructive, supportive programs designed to bolster the ability of all Americans to sustain themselves and to enjoy lives of “quiet dignity” with their families.

We face profound economic challenges and uncertainty as the new President assumes his mantle of responsibility, and it will require sacrifice, patience, and the active collaboration between cities, towns, states, the federal government, and private organizations, in a common, overarching commitment to improving the lives of all citizens. The President-elect’s community organizing background serves as a baseline for his understanding that in order to provide sufficient funding and support for such programs and community initiatives, we will need to spend more, not less money initially, and for The Open Hearth, this may well translate into additional job training and public works projects which could benefit our clients by creating new job opportunities. We are hopeful that the new Administration will recognize the long term benefits of providing sufficient resources to permit government/NGO.

Mary Tiseo, Executive Director
South Africa Partners, Boston, Mass.

The election of Barack Obama as our 44th President is a stunning victory. For us at South Africa Partners, it reminds us of Nelson Mandela’s journey from prison to the presidency of South Africa. Barack Obama’s win echoes the same message of hope and a commitment to address the needs of those who are most vulnerable in our society. It is one more way our two countries are linked. As we celebrate and send messages of congratulations, we would like to share the letter below that was sent by Nelson Mandela to President-Elect Obama.

5 November 2008

Dear Senator Obama,

We join people in your country and around the world in congratulating you on becoming the President-Elect of the United States. Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world, should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.

We note and applaud your commitment to supporting the cause of peace and security around the world. We trust that you will also make it the mission of your Presidency to combat the scourge of poverty and disease everywhere.

We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead. We are sure you will ultimately achieve your dream of making the United States of America a full partner in a community of nations committed to peace and prosperity for all.

Sincerely,

Nelson R Mandela

Bill Lottero, Field Director
The Access Project, Boston, Mass.

When I learned that then candidate Barack Obama was a community organizer, I was elated. I realized then that he would own a set of values that I could embrace. Knowing that Mr. Obama was grounded in community-level work that he had carried out the good work of listening to neighbors, calling them to personal action, gave me hope.

It was a hope that this man was not just going through the motions of connecting with people to win a campaign, but because it was how his spirit was formed. I truly believed he took the time to build his relationships with everyday people, because he was compelled to do so -- because he believed in the innate wisdom of the people.

I knew from my own experience and hard but heartening work that this candidate valued the diversity of perspectives one finds in any community. I believed in his campaign’s message of hope. Because my own experience of organizing helps me appreciate that change was possible, that when people organize to achieve something, it was as Margaret Mead so famously said “Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”

Last winter I was out in Iowa organizing farmers, making my best effort to rally them to call for meaningful health reform. I was watching closely as candidate Obama worked the Iowa caucuses. His efforts inspired me. I could see that he knew what it meant to reach out to people, to call them to a higher vision. His Iowa work gave me hope.

I could see that Obama understood that organizing is messy and frequently challenging—but so necessary. Necessary not just to win, but to win in a way that ensures the growth of a solid, grounded and consolidated vision comes out of what must begin as that messy plurality of views.

I believe we are at a moment in history that requires our president to have spent significant time working at the neighborhood level. I believe that what we now face will require a transformation that can only come when each of us is effectively called to action. We need a leader that can inspire everyone, and call upon the talents and skills of those who are too often unnamed and undervalued. Our diversity is our strength. I believe President Obama will be the one that gathers us up and leads us all to a New America.