I was gifted this biography of the founder of the Industrial Areas Foundation, Saul Alinsky from the leaders of DuPage United. The author- Sanford Horwitt is an academic and writer, also former staffer for Illinois Congressman Abner Mikva. His intimate details of Chicago politicians and power brokers certainly qualifies him as a biographer of Alinsky in the city where he first put his organizing theories to work.
Saul Alinsky, considered the father of modern community organizing seems to come back from the dead every few years. In recent memory, it was former President Obama's start as a grassroots organizer in the Southside of Chicago linked to where Alinsky himself organized. This called to mind the grassroots power building techniques Alinsky pioneered in inner cities through Post WWII until his death in 1972.
He grew up the son of Jewish immigrants, in a slum neighborhood, where the city structure systemically neglected working class minority neighborhoods. On paper, he has the experience to be the selfless and noble organizer yet a love for notoriety and his ego were core to his character. Throw in a jack of all trades aptitude, irreverence towards anyone at any given moment, and a Machiavellian lens to his work- and one is amused at how his mission seemingly contradicted his character.
His vision to build power across race and local geographies in Chicago, LA, Rochester was meant to wrestle the rights for decent housing, elect officials from one's community and get access to quality jobs.
This commitment to building power was the charm that allowed him to fundraise in American socialite and corporate circles (the Midas empire for example) and have his theories resonate with students, faith leaders and power brokers.
In reality he pulled off only a handful of projects: Chicago, Rochester, Southern California were his landmark successes. He laid a blueprint for building the community infrastructure to participate in democratic civil society. Principles like self-interest guiding civil life, the urgency to build power across marginalized communities becomes easier to digest with concrete examples. Horwitt gets into the specifics of the fight in Rochester on securing jobs for black community members at the city's largest employer Kodak. Yet the details make it clear, the best run organizations weren't as rosy as Alinsky touted in his victory speeches.
Horwitt connects Alinsky to the larger backdrop of the civil rights movement and racial tension that marked American civil society after WWII. This is in stark contrast to how IAF tells their own story, so it was a pleasant surprise for me to learn how Alinsky was ideologically a staunch integrationist in South Chicago and that he understood organizing across ethnic communities was the lynchpin to fighting back against elitist power players, institutions and policies. But a combination of pragmatism and Machiavellian tendencies made him stop short on thorough integration in exchange for victories on singular campaigns and to secure funding for his organization.
Alinsky by his own rhetoric has a disinterest in faith, yet he worked and found his strongest leaders amongst clergy and lay faith leaders. It safe to say Alinsky wasn't a practicing Jew, but faith institutions were the foundation for building his citizens organizations.
Horwitt notes his IAF successors (Ed Chambers, Arnie Graff, Michael Gecan, Larry McNeil) kept "the values of family and church at the center of all discussions- values that are, as they say repeatedly, the basic raison d'etre for building a community organization."
Organizers today draw on Alinsky's concepts of self interest, power, unconventional and irreverent tactics- either directly from IAF training, or through the dozens of organizing schools that were inspired by the IAF and had their offshoots (like Midwest Academy).
This overlap is not limited to ethos and tactics, but extends to the fundraising of grassroots organizations- where making the case to big time donors or foundations to award $100k to a grassroots democracy projects echoes from Alinsky's fundraising experiences throughout his career.
The problems he saw and sought an answer for- economic inequality, marginalization of communities of color, and having a strong participatory democracy are identical to what we face today. Horwitt's read on Alinsky and assessment of American civil society reads the same today as it did when the book was published in 1988. What's different now is there are more diverse organizers- black, brown, women and more cultural/moral values that inform how to operate in the public space.
Reveille for Radicals, Rules for Radicals and the flood of other handbooks have taught concepts and tactics to hundreds of organizers. I'd recommend Horwitt's book to appreciate the cultural context that Alinsky emerged out of. The spirit to shape our own political destiny is alive and well.
Relevant links
Horwitt's book on Mikva
Von Hoffman's book on Alinsky
Community Organizing Resources
http://www.citizenshandbook.org/
https://organizingforpower.org/
https://beautifultrouble.org/
Saul Alinsky interview, 1967:
Saul Alinsky, considered the father of modern community organizing seems to come back from the dead every few years. In recent memory, it was former President Obama's start as a grassroots organizer in the Southside of Chicago linked to where Alinsky himself organized. This called to mind the grassroots power building techniques Alinsky pioneered in inner cities through Post WWII until his death in 1972.
He grew up the son of Jewish immigrants, in a slum neighborhood, where the city structure systemically neglected working class minority neighborhoods. On paper, he has the experience to be the selfless and noble organizer yet a love for notoriety and his ego were core to his character. Throw in a jack of all trades aptitude, irreverence towards anyone at any given moment, and a Machiavellian lens to his work- and one is amused at how his mission seemingly contradicted his character.
His vision to build power across race and local geographies in Chicago, LA, Rochester was meant to wrestle the rights for decent housing, elect officials from one's community and get access to quality jobs.
This commitment to building power was the charm that allowed him to fundraise in American socialite and corporate circles (the Midas empire for example) and have his theories resonate with students, faith leaders and power brokers.
In reality he pulled off only a handful of projects: Chicago, Rochester, Southern California were his landmark successes. He laid a blueprint for building the community infrastructure to participate in democratic civil society. Principles like self-interest guiding civil life, the urgency to build power across marginalized communities becomes easier to digest with concrete examples. Horwitt gets into the specifics of the fight in Rochester on securing jobs for black community members at the city's largest employer Kodak. Yet the details make it clear, the best run organizations weren't as rosy as Alinsky touted in his victory speeches.
Horwitt connects Alinsky to the larger backdrop of the civil rights movement and racial tension that marked American civil society after WWII. This is in stark contrast to how IAF tells their own story, so it was a pleasant surprise for me to learn how Alinsky was ideologically a staunch integrationist in South Chicago and that he understood organizing across ethnic communities was the lynchpin to fighting back against elitist power players, institutions and policies. But a combination of pragmatism and Machiavellian tendencies made him stop short on thorough integration in exchange for victories on singular campaigns and to secure funding for his organization.
Alinsky by his own rhetoric has a disinterest in faith, yet he worked and found his strongest leaders amongst clergy and lay faith leaders. It safe to say Alinsky wasn't a practicing Jew, but faith institutions were the foundation for building his citizens organizations.
Horwitt notes his IAF successors (Ed Chambers, Arnie Graff, Michael Gecan, Larry McNeil) kept "the values of family and church at the center of all discussions- values that are, as they say repeatedly, the basic raison d'etre for building a community organization."
Organizers today draw on Alinsky's concepts of self interest, power, unconventional and irreverent tactics- either directly from IAF training, or through the dozens of organizing schools that were inspired by the IAF and had their offshoots (like Midwest Academy).
This overlap is not limited to ethos and tactics, but extends to the fundraising of grassroots organizations- where making the case to big time donors or foundations to award $100k to a grassroots democracy projects echoes from Alinsky's fundraising experiences throughout his career.
The problems he saw and sought an answer for- economic inequality, marginalization of communities of color, and having a strong participatory democracy are identical to what we face today. Horwitt's read on Alinsky and assessment of American civil society reads the same today as it did when the book was published in 1988. What's different now is there are more diverse organizers- black, brown, women and more cultural/moral values that inform how to operate in the public space.
Reveille for Radicals, Rules for Radicals and the flood of other handbooks have taught concepts and tactics to hundreds of organizers. I'd recommend Horwitt's book to appreciate the cultural context that Alinsky emerged out of. The spirit to shape our own political destiny is alive and well.
Relevant links
Horwitt's book on Mikva
Von Hoffman's book on Alinsky
Community Organizing Resources
http://www.citizenshandbook.org/
https://organizingforpower.org/
https://beautifultrouble.org/
Saul Alinsky interview, 1967: