Barack Obama, Community Organizer

The Los Angeles Times recently published an article about an event in Barack Obama’s career as a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980’s.

The story focuses on a camaign that Obama organized with residents of the Altgeld Homes public housing project. Obama organized a trip downtown with residents to confront public housing officials about asbestos in apartments. In addition, there was a fractious public meeting with officials at the housing project.

The coverage is negative, implying that in his memoir
“Dreams From My Father” Obama exaggerated his role in the campaign and did not give sufficient credit to resident leaders working on the issue.

Obama’s campaign has issued a point-by-point rebuttal of the article. In the midst of a Presidential campaign, candidates are forced to respond immediately to bad news with massive force. The effect is overkill, but understandable.

The key point in my mind, having read both the memoir and the article, is that the LAT reporter has no clue about the purpose of either community organizing or memoir.

A community organizer works with the residents of the community, providing the research, strategic planning and encouragement that will allow disenfranchised people to speak for themselves and advocate for the improvements that will change their lives. The article does note that Obama stayed out of the limelight and let the residents have their say. He did his job and did it well, as many residents he worked with relate that he was quite inspiring.

The article faults Obama for giving short shrift to the efforts of one resident, a woman who had worked on this issue for many years. However, organizing is by definition not a solo game. People without money and influence have only one weapon, numbers. While the resident had done admirable work documenting the problem, no real progress had been made in dealing with the problem. It took an organized group of people jamming into a downtown office unannounced and a raucous 500+ person meeting at the housing project to get the Housing Authority to move on the issue.

Any criticisms about Obama focusing on his feelings and ideas about the campaign in his memoir are just flat out crazy. Is not a memoir about personal reflection? These events educated Obama, both about his abilities to influence and direct people and the power organized people have to influence entrenched power.

The section in Obama’s memoir on his time in Chicago before law school is the longest part of the book. During this time, Obama learned about the hopes and dreams of grassroots people and the power of community organizing. It is a major reason many people believe he can be more than just another gladhanding pol, and it is why I believe in Barack Obama.