Blog Post #5 - Review of "The Democratic Promise"

While the name Saul Alinsky was somewhat familiar to me, I could not recall in what context I had heard of him before watching, "The Democratic Promise."  After watching, I remembered that it was probably during the last presidential election when conservative Republicans were being critical of his community organizing movement during some news show (probably on FOXNews.)  


BIOGRAPHY & SUMMARY

Saul Alinsky
"Prophet of Power to the People"

TIME Magazine

Saul Alinsky was born in 1909 in Chicago to Russian immigrant parents.  He grew up in a Jewish ghetto in the slums of Chicago, witness to the squalor and suffering of the Great Depression.  He managed to be one of the few who made it out of the ghetto and received an education, as he earned a master's degree in criminology.  After graduating he worked with many youth organizations and infiltrated himself into the Chicago mafia alongside the infamous Al Capone, to study the connections between criminal behavior, poverty and power.  The first portion of the documentary focuses on the work that Alinsky was able to accomplish both in Chicago and Rochester, NY.  The story is told about how he helped to form the Back of the Yard Neighborhood Council (1939) and The Woodlawn Organization (T.W.O., 1959) in Chicago, to address first, the labor conditions in Chicago's stockyards and later challenge Mayor Daly's political machine in bringing the civil rights movement to the north.  The formation of FIGHT in Rochester, New York (mid 1960's) addressed race relations at the Eastman Kodak plant.  Alinsky's philosophy that a true democracy is one characterized by the participation of its citizens and his efforts to call on the most oppressed people to reorganize and reclaim their own destiny are at the root of his legacy.  The second portion of the documentary focused on this legacy and how it continues in America today.  With the formation of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) Alinsky was able to lay the groundwork for his vision of creating an "organization of organizations."  The IAF continues to work to train future organizers as demonstrated in the second half of the film chronicling the work of the East Brooklyn Congregations and the Dallas Area Interfaith Council.  It is shown how Alinsky's philosophy and techniques are still being utilized in contemporary America to achieve change by the groups of citizen's.


ANALYSIS OF ALINSKY'S CAMPAIGNS, PHILOSOPHY AND TECHNIQUES

Click here to go to IAF Homepage

Alinsky's campaigns began with the effort to gather together all sectors of the community to work on their own collective destiny.  He was able to convince labor unions to work with the catholic church in Chicago to make changes in the working conditions in the meat packing district of the back of the yard district.  He felt poverty had historically been unaddressed and that the inattention to this social problem was at the root of the problems with achieving social justice.  He also worked from the perspective that the government would listen to its people if the people caused enough friction or controversy.  He explained that change would never occur if there were no controversy or friction between people and those holding the power.  Twenty years after making changes in the Chicago meat-packing district, Alinsky helped form the Woodlawn Organization in Chicago in an effort to challenge the Democratic machine of Mayor Richard Daly in bringing the civil rights movement to the North.  Alinsky organized a voter registration drive that substantially increased the voter rolls among blacks, shaking up the balance of power in the city.  This brought the power back to the people allowing changes to occur.  Finally, Alinsky was asked to travel to Rochester, NY and to assist in the race relations problems occurring at Eastman Kodak.  All of these campaigns stem from the influence Alinsky's mother had on him.  According to his son, David, Alinsky's mother, Sarah Rice instilled the ethic in Saul that when you see someone in need, you shouldn't simply turn and walk away.  It is your civic duty and obligation as a human to take responsibility for that person in empowering them to organize and mobilize to attempt to regain power in determining their destiny.  


NOTABLE QUOTES:

"To hell with charity, the only thing you'll get is what you're strong enough to get."

"It becomes a contest of power: those that have money and those that have people.  We have nothing but people."

"We'll see it when we believe it."

 "Individuals must be responsible for other individuals and that you can't just walk away when you see something that's not right."

MY THOUGHTS 


In my opinion, the documentary was well done.  It was enlightening and informative.  It should serve to remind people what happens when we all become complacent and forget that America is supposed to be governed by the people and for the people.  Alinsky's philosophy that change cannot happen without controversy.  It also made a strong case for Alinsky as the founder of the community organization movement.  It is very difficult to find a leading community activist today who hasn't been influenced by Saul Alinsky's philosophy and techniques for affecting change.