From Vancouver. Social organizing is not philanthropy and most philanthropists do not fund it. What then is the connection between those two modalities of "private action in a public space"? Two visions and two methods of making the world a better place, from two different positions in the present articulations of power? We all want "Change," as Obama understood. We all want to change or preserve something. And we come at it with what we have: for some money and board seats and linkages at the highest levels of policy and governance; for others the ability to reach laterally and engage a few friends, who engage a few friends. Philanthropy measures, manages, fixes at the margins; activism, shakes the tree so that the philanthropists fall out like ripe fruit. That too could be measured and managed. But few MBAs go into that unpaid or poorly paid work. So the cultures of philanthropy and social change meet at the margins, in a pile of grant applications stamped, "Rejected." But even just getting the grant applications must be gratifying to those in charge.
In the April 21 FRONTLINE special "Poisoned Waters", the governor of Washington state remarked that without citizen engagement, Puget Sound would become a dead zone. That engagement, noted FRONTLINE, revolved around the state's Growth Management Act.
Growth Management itself was the result of a 1990 citizen's initiative requiring governments to accommodate public participation. Those of us who heeded the call to organize our communities for this purpose were threatened, assaulted, and harassed by vigilantes organized and funded by the Building Industry Association. In 1996, eight of those vigilantes went to prison for making bombs to murder community activists and elected officials.
The lesson was not lost on those on the verge of becoming involved. If you are effective, they will kill you. Judi Bari rest in peace.
Posted by: Jay Taber | May 03, 2009 at 02:53 PM
Let's try to keep it upbeat, Jay, this is a philanthropy blog. Activism is pretty grungy. The building industry must have some kind of foundation, right? So, they are doing good. Let's emphasize the positive.
Posted by: Phil Cubeta | May 03, 2009 at 05:08 PM