Including the Excluded: Four Models

by RICHARD WALKER

mbracing the diversity of ... people, we come together to work “E for a society where all individuals - regardless of race, sex, class, age, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, or religion - can lead ful- filling lives.”

-From the mission statement, Boston Rainbow Coalition.

As the Lincoln Filene Center and the National Civic League grap- ple with a new civic agenda for America, we confront a persisting ques- tion: “How can we have a truly participatory society when so many are excluded? Must not a healthy, good or strong civic infrastructure provide a process to encourage, nurture, and affirm all of its diverse citizenry?

Most American cities are becoming more diverse ethnically and ra- cially because of immigration and higher birth rates among minority youth. As Harold Hodgkinson (1986) has noted: “Soon after the turn of the century one out of every three Americans will be nonwhite.” For communities to rebuild their civic infrastructure successfully, they must plan for a multi-racial, multi-ethnic population.

The process of affirming community diversity is difficult. Hate goups fostering anti-Semitism, religious repression, racism, sexism, and homophobia, have always existed. But the lesser evils of day-to-day neglect, misunderstanding, and misinformation may do more commu- nity harm than the publicized acts of hostility from hate groups.

How does a community foster understanding, correct misconcep- tion, heighten sensitivity, and reverse patterns of neglect? One way is to encourage coalitions of “excluded” groups, based on the idea that Richard Walker is associate director of the Lincoln Filene Center for Citizenship and Public Affairs.

41 3

414 / NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW

the struggle for dignity is common to all such people--from Cambo- dian refugee in East Boston, to Vietnamese fisherman in Port Arthur Texas, black teacher in Chicago, or migrant farm worker in California.

Coalitions support the struggle of each constituency group and or- ganize grassroots support across racial, ethnic, sexual, and other lines. Such coalitions speak with an amplified voice, and are a highly posi- tive force - provided that they do not adopt the language and behavior of the hate groups that gave rise to them in the first place!

The four case examples that follow represent different approaches to fostering such coalitions. The Highlander Center (in New Market, Tennessee), formerly The Highland Folk School, is less a community organization, than a center for training in community leadership; High- lander also provides a historical context for the development of multi- racial organizations and has had a particularly significant impact on the development of the civil rights movement. The Boston Rainbow Coalition grew out of the dissatisfaction of blacks and other people of color with their elected representatives. For a quarter of a century, the Clide Memorial United Methodist Church has been ministering to those on the fringe of San Franciscan society (poor Asians, Hispanics, blacks, and whites), addressing not only their spiritual needs, but a whole host of material ones as well. Finally, the Community Boards Program, begun in San Francisco, and now spreading throughout the country, presents an innovative model of community justice that de- mands citizen involvement and responsibility at the same time it reduces the occasion for conflict among neighbors.

1. Highlander Center: New Market, Tennessee In The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement (1984), Aldon Morris

underscores the contributions of the Highlander Folk School: “The HFS played three important roles in the civil rights movement. First, before and during the movement, the HFS assisted in pulling together black leadership. Second, as an institution it provided a visible and success- ful model of a future integrated society. Finally, the HFS developed a successful mass education program that was later transferred to the SCLC, along with three trained staff members. That program was revoluntionary from an educational, political, and social standpoint and was directly involved in the mobilization of the civil rights

INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED I 415

movement.” Now known as the Highlander Center, the organization grew out of

the vision of one man, Myles Horton, who saw adult education as a powerful tool for initiating social change. As Morris notes, the philosophy of the center today remains the same as it has been since its inception in the 1920’s: “Highlander was founded upon the idea that oppressed people know the answers to their own problems and that the teacher’s job is to get them talking about those problems, to raise and sharpen questions, and to trust people to come up with the answers.”

Highlander’s role is to help the oppressed overcome their oppression by training community leaders. Initially, it began as an organization to help poor rural whites in the Appalachian Mountain region. Hor- ton had always envisioned an inter-racial organization, but quickly ran into racism in many Appalachian communities. Few blacks dared at- tend out of fear of harrassment or worse. Not until the union move- ment reached the South in the 1930’s and 40’s was it possible to inte- grate Highlander fully. As Highlander became an influential center of union training and organization, it established the policy that leader- ship training would no longer be conducted for unions that discrimi- nated against blacks. The first union to fall in line was the United Auto Workers, soon followed by the Tennessee Industrial Union and Southern Farmer’s Union.

Eventually, black leaders began to attend Highlander and share methods and tactics. Over the years these interactions forged strong bonds between the union and civil rights movements. Among the black leaders trained at Highlander include such civil rights luminaries as Rosa Parks, Septima Clark, Esau Jenkins, E. D. Nixon, Rev. Fred Shutt- lesworth, and Rev. C. T. Vivien. Highlander also served as a training ground for future leaders such as Washington Mayor Marion Barry, and US. Representative John Levis of Georgia.

Highlander’s multi-racial influence continues in a wide variety of adult education and leadership training programs, and now includes initiatives for young people. Currently, Highlander is running an Eco- nomic Education Program born of the belief that traditional macro- economic models are of little value to small southern communities. The program seeks to utilize locally available resources and create tangible opportunities for local residents. An outgrowth of this program has

416 I NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW

been the development of a community environmental health project assisting rural southern communities through grassroots leadership train- ing on environmental issues. This project, as others at Highlander, have been instrumental in helping diverse southern rural population face com- mon environmental problems.

Finally, Highlander’s Southern Appalachian Leadership Training Pro- gram, discussed more fully in Hubert Sapp’s article in this issue of the NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW, attempts to empower local communi- ties by training locally identified leaders. To develop better ways to gather and compile information about community needs, Highlander has also created a Research Institute Program to train local community residents in community data-gathering techniques. As Highlander Center moves into the 21st Century, it continues to enable many of the excluded to learn from their own life experiences, and to use that perspective to analyze and organize for local improvement.

2. Boston Rainbow Coalition: Boston, Massachusetts Breaking the fast has significant symbolism in Judeo-Christian the-

ology, and breakfast can also be used as a tool for formulating a vi- sion of community. Me1 King - teacher, politician, community leader, and activist - sought to work with other community members to real- ize a vision in which all people of color are empowered and able to participate fully in the political structure.

For years, he regularly held what became known as the “Wednesday Morning Breakfast Group’’ at MIT where he is the Director of the Ur- ban Fellows Programs. Those breakfast meetings were an opportunity to gather together academicians, community activists, students, and others to discuss issues of local, national, and sometimes internation- al concern as they applied to people of color and others traditionally excluded from the political power structure.

Eventually, as dissatisfaction grew with local political leadership, King put himself on the line by becoming the first black to run for the school committee in Boston. Later, he ran for office and was elected, as a State Representative from the racially mixed South End of the city. King’s run for mayor in 1983 and the Rainbow Coalition he founded, solidi- fied the notion of a multi-cultured political organization as a force in Boston electoral politics. While King did not win the final election,

INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED I 417

he was the first black candidate in Boston mayoral politics to win in the primary and reach the final round. Most importantly, King achieved this result by forming a working coalition of blacks, Asians, Hispan- ics, and whites by getting them to realize that their issues and strug- gles were the same and could most effectively be addressed by work- ing together, The Rainbow Coalition later became the national theme for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s campaign for president.

The Rainbow, however, did not fade after King’s loss in the mayoral finals. The political force had been assembled, and the coalition went on to tackle other issues related to empowerment and political con- trol. currently, the coalition maintains an active voter registration drive and has been instrumental in spearheading a referendum for mail-in voter registration. It has also fought court battles against the redistricting of Boston neighborhoods and the possibility of diluting voter clout in black, Asian, and Hispanic sections of the city.

The Coalition’s community organization efforts are focused primarily on issues of community control, housing, and land use. One of its ob- jectives is to establish elected neighborhood councils that would have the power to make decisions about local land use, housing, and eco- nomic development. As a cultural celebration of diversity, the coali- tion draws over 1,000 residents to its annual Martin Luther King Break- fast. At that time, awards are given to local residents for outstanding examples of community service. Building city-wide networks as well as its own membership, the Coalition continues to bring together all community members in a struggle for “seeing and acting in the com- mon interest.”

3. Glide Memorial Church: San Francisco The tradition of the church as a focal point for social change is well

established. But nowhere is social change embraced more fervently than at Glide Memorial (named for benefactor Lizzie Glide) United Methodist Church under the direction of the Reverend Cecil Williams. For the past 23 years, Rev. Williams has been ministering to the needs of his people, both spiritual and basic. Located in the “Tenderloin” neigh- borhood of San Francisco, the church serves three meals a day, seven days a week, to approximately 2,500 homeless and poor people. Wi- thin the community’s boundaries are significant populations of Asi-

418 / NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW

ans, Hispanics, blacks, and whites, all of whom find the church a source of nourishment for the mind and body. The church turns no one away and treats everyone it sees with dignity, no matter what their station or problem.

Among the offerings of the Glide are programs for alcohol treat- ment and referral, battered women, parental support, jobs, creative arts, and literacy for adults and children. The programs are carried out by a small full-time staff and over 400 volunteers.

Beyond providing for those in need, Glide Church teaches those in need to provide for themselves. It has created what it calls the Univer- sity of the Streets, and its allied program, the Urban Ministries Sum- mer Institute. Both efforts design their courses and training to empower those previously unable to regain control of their lives. It offers pro- grams in self-help such as Alcholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, and Adult Children of Alcoholics.

In the Urban Ministries Summer Institute, clergy and laity from around the U.S. and Canada meet in a five-day intensive training ses- sion. The sessions are specifically designed to highlight the needs of the urban poor and provide these community leaders with the tools to help their communities combat the problems of poverty. Teachers include a mix of urban street people who are tackling the issues in their own community, and local professionals who have specific knowledge about current crises such as AIDS.

The Church’s latest initiative is the development of a community leadership training program that will address, through staff, volunteers, and community residents the need to develop local leadership as a me- ans of community empowerment.

4. Community Boards Program: San Francisco Perhaps the most innovative of the models we are discussing is the

Community Boards Program. The organization was founded by Ray- mond Shonholtz, a former attorney and law professor who is current- ly executive director. It represents a neighborhood-based system of justice utilizing the voluntary participation of neighborhood residents.

Volunteers trained by the program work to reduce conflict, resolve disputes, and lower intra-community tension. They work with disrup- tions ranging from barking dogs or loud stereos to petty theft and van-

INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED I 419

dalism, incidents likely to involve people who know one another as neighbor, partner, or spouse. Police departments often do not handle these problems well. Yet, if they are not amicably resolved, they may fester and result in more violent acts. The community justice system, complementary to the traditional justice system, is an effort to find neighborhood solutions to problems, and thereby avoid the need for the municipal justice system to step in.

The volunteers participate in an intensive 26-hour training program, and more than one-third are former disputants. They must be at least 14 years of age and reside in the neighborhood in which they serve, After successful completion of the training program, volunteers can choose among a number of roles including:

Outreach work- explaining the program to the community. Church and law-enforcement work. Case development - interviewing disputants to hear their side of

Follow-up work- determining whether the agreement between dis-

Work as trainees, planners, or evaluators. Underlying the process of the Community Boards System is a foun-

dation of five stated values. These values provide residents with a ra- tionale to assist in the handling of cases in the system, and differenti- ate the Community Boards process from the traditional legal system:

(1) Conflicts are part of life’s experiences and have a positive role (vs. the traditional view of conflict as a violation of the rule of law).

(2) The peaceful expression of conflict within the community is a positive value (vs. the attitudes of legal and mental health systems which generally negate the value of such expression).

(3) Individual and community acceptance of responsibility for a con- flict is key (vs. the transfer of conflict to professional or state agencies). (4) Effective resolution of conflict between disputants involves their

voluntary participation in the process (vs. coerced participation in the traditional legal system).

( 5 ) Recognition of and tolerance for neighborhood and individual differences is essential. As Shonholtz wrote in 1983: “In many respects, the need for community boards arises from the diversity and complex-

the story, or serving as panelists at the hearings themselves.

putants is working out.

420 I NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW

ity of urban neighborhoods. The stability and cohesion of former neigh- borhoods composed of one primary ethnic group is now marked by many different groups, some being recent arrivals to America. In an era of social and economic tension, diversity itself becomes the sub- ject of conflict, disagreement, and miscommunication. Respect for differences and a willingness to learn from others are values to be mo- deled by Community Boards.’’

In the traditional justice system, these ethics have little relevance be- cause we are all considered equal under the law. However, in an effort to preserve equality under the law, the system labels as irrelevant differ- ences in culture, language, race and values. In negating this diversity, the traditional system often undermines the basics on which, for any particular problem, a reasonable resolution, understanding, or evalu- ation can be made.

Finally, in recognizing diversity as an intrinsic value of its operating system, the Community Board Program acts as a catalyst in increas- ing understanding among neighbors and demonstrating the value of tolerance. In Shonholtz’s words: “The diversity within the Community Boards Program is a statement of its strength and vitality.”

Conclusions As we move into the 21st Century, and become a more racially and

ethnically diverse nation, we must learn from those people and groups who have successfully built strong working relationships among the different peoples in their communities.

One clear conclusion from the examples above is the importance of leadership development. Leadership helps formulate a vision and rallying point for current action. The training of leaders ensures that the vi- sion will be sustained in the future.

Similarly, organizational value systems play a central role. Each of the organizations we’ve examined emphasizes in its every effort a respect for diversity, tolerance, self-determination, and the right of all people to be treated with dignity. Each agent of the organization individually acts to reemphasize and legitimize these values, continually forcing the larger community to continually address the issues of diversity and tolerance.

In all American communities, a wealth of knowledge, expertise, in-

INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED I 421

terest and energy exists in the populations that have been traditionally excluded. If our communities are going to work to their potential into the next century, we must recognize this diversity as a positive value.

Sources Hodgkinson, Harold, et al., “Here They Come Read or Not,” Educa- tion Week, Special Supplement (May 14, 1986), p. 14.

Morris, Aldon, The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Change (New York: The Free Press, 1984),

Shonholtz, Raymond, “The Work, Structure and Ethics of a Neigh- borhood Justice System,’’ A Working Paper (San Francisco: The Com- munity Board Program, Inc., 1983), pp. 14-15.

pp. 142-143.