JC

Notes taken on 10/05/99

Subject: we discussed the different ways and tactics of organizing, some of the Dos and Don=ts

We talked about how people make distinctions based on ethnicity, race and gender. There was also talk of how there may be other groups in the neighborhood that may be organizing also but differently. So you have to consider how the groups might work together. We talked about what is the qualities that play a role in effective organizing, and what happens when you have a powerful opponent or strong opposition. The Professor pointed out that an effective organizers goes out and talk to the people in the neighborhood. So you will be able to identify who has the power that you may need. Also that you may have to identify who has the different types of power that you may be able to use.

It was also discussed that it didn=t matter if the person who helped you if they were legitimate or part of the underworld. What mattered was if they help a positive cause that you were organizing. It is important that you find out who are the people the community respects. Sometimes that person might have come from a prominent family or a families who were well off before they lost their possessions. Also we agreed that just because you have the title doesn=t mean that you have power. It is also important that you build social networks. It is also important that you understand how to have dialogue with different ethnic groups so you are not misunderstood.

 

We talked of how women organize differently than men. Women organize in a horizontal way. The women share power and are more nurturing. The female model of organizing was used in a term Aspider web@. We talk of how men organized in a top to bottom approach, and that men and women can learn different strategies

from each other. We talked about strategies and crosscutting. There were discussions about finding different entry and exit points into neighborhoods. We wrapped the discussion up talking about the movie we had viewed titled The Band Played on, we talked about the different characters in the movie.