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Going Public: An Organizer's Guide to Citizen Action
Urban decay can sap the determination—not to mention the soul—of anyone who experiences it. But there are forces that can and do reverse it. They are not spectators, or critics, or occasional demonstrators. They are groups of citizens, encouraged and trained to take power with dignity and creativity and unrelenting determination, and to make it work for them, day by day, month by month, and year to year.
For more than twenty-five years, Michael Gecan has been a professional organizer with Industrial Areas Foundation, which has trained thousands of little-known community groups from Brownsville, Texas, to Brownsville, Brooklyn. Having grown up witnessing at close range the destructive effects of political patronage on powerless, disenfranchised Chicago communities, Gecan knows from experience that strong relationships in the public sphere and sustained and disciplined organizing can spark the public and private alchemy necessary to achieve sidewalks, parks, schools, housing--and the collective renewal that results.
Full of good advice and entertaining accounts of success, Going Public is the story of those who, says Gecan, “succeed in unexpected ways and in unexpected places.”
For more than twenty-five years, Michael Gecan has been a professional organizer with Industrial Areas Foundation, which has trained thousands of little-known community groups from Brownsville, Texas, to Brownsville, Brooklyn. Having grown up witnessing at close range the destructive effects of political patronage on powerless, disenfranchised Chicago communities, Gecan knows from experience that strong relationships in the public sphere and sustained and disciplined organizing can spark the public and private alchemy necessary to achieve sidewalks, parks, schools, housing--and the collective renewal that results.
Full of good advice and entertaining accounts of success, Going Public is the story of those who, says Gecan, “succeed in unexpected ways and in unexpected places.”
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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December 1, 2013
Michael Gecan, a longtime community organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation, shares in this book a practical philosophy of organizing through a series of concrete stories. On an initial reading, the book seemed painfully disjointed; once I started summarizing the point of each chapter in a phrase, the structure made a lot more sense (part of the problem is that several of the chapter titles are significantly misleading). At any rate, in case it's helpful, here's my synopsis:
Why organize? = Gecan's background; intro = advocacy is about power; (relating:) 1. the heart of organizing is relationships; 2. be realistic but not a pushover; (action:) 3. don't be put off by the 'activist' stereotype; 4. build recognition (respect, credibility, not image) first; 5. things get done because of power, not merit; 6. the jury is out on whether these techniques can work at the national level; 7. once you have a relationship, you have to maintain it, but also use it, which can involve taking risks; (organization:) 8. don't institutionalize action, that kills it; 9. good organizations take a lot of work to build, and a lot of ongoing work to keep fresh and effective; (reflection:) 10. organizing = cultural work, or civil society; 11. thoughts on different challenges our society faces; 12. now go organize. Much of this is right, and the stories are helpful and illuminating - though they don't always offer the message Gecan says they do, and it's important for a reader to constantly ask both, 'how would another observer who was there have explained that story?' and 'in retrospect, did Gecan's approach work?'
One of the best pieces of advice, it seemed to be, was largely implicit, although made explicit very briefly in the middle of the book: in dealing with majority decisionmakers, powers, or the media, "leave race, class, and faith out of it" [69], and position one's asks (demands) on concrete goals. He's not saying race, class, or faith are irrelevant - he clearly sees that they lie at the heart of many social injustices - but he's focused on how to actually win change. Some passages in the book kick liberals while they're down, disparaging social welfare programs; in the context of the book as a whole, this feels more like rhetoric intended to free Gecan from the prison of perceived partisanship. Finally, Gecan is an adopted New Yorker, and the book was originally published in 2002 - written at least in part just weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks - and the intense grief and commitment stirred by that event shows up throughout the book in references that now feel forced or out of place. That quibble aside, the book is a fast, interesting read that is likely to stimulate advocates while perhaps falling flat with readers who haven't previously encountered strategic advocacy or community organizing.
Why organize? = Gecan's background; intro = advocacy is about power; (relating:) 1. the heart of organizing is relationships; 2. be realistic but not a pushover; (action:) 3. don't be put off by the 'activist' stereotype; 4. build recognition (respect, credibility, not image) first; 5. things get done because of power, not merit; 6. the jury is out on whether these techniques can work at the national level; 7. once you have a relationship, you have to maintain it, but also use it, which can involve taking risks; (organization:) 8. don't institutionalize action, that kills it; 9. good organizations take a lot of work to build, and a lot of ongoing work to keep fresh and effective; (reflection:) 10. organizing = cultural work, or civil society; 11. thoughts on different challenges our society faces; 12. now go organize. Much of this is right, and the stories are helpful and illuminating - though they don't always offer the message Gecan says they do, and it's important for a reader to constantly ask both, 'how would another observer who was there have explained that story?' and 'in retrospect, did Gecan's approach work?'
One of the best pieces of advice, it seemed to be, was largely implicit, although made explicit very briefly in the middle of the book: in dealing with majority decisionmakers, powers, or the media, "leave race, class, and faith out of it" [69], and position one's asks (demands) on concrete goals. He's not saying race, class, or faith are irrelevant - he clearly sees that they lie at the heart of many social injustices - but he's focused on how to actually win change. Some passages in the book kick liberals while they're down, disparaging social welfare programs; in the context of the book as a whole, this feels more like rhetoric intended to free Gecan from the prison of perceived partisanship. Finally, Gecan is an adopted New Yorker, and the book was originally published in 2002 - written at least in part just weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks - and the intense grief and commitment stirred by that event shows up throughout the book in references that now feel forced or out of place. That quibble aside, the book is a fast, interesting read that is likely to stimulate advocates while perhaps falling flat with readers who haven't previously encountered strategic advocacy or community organizing.
February 18, 2009
Gecan has a lot of good advice for people who want to affect their communities: make your meetings well organized, start on time, end on time. Publicly recognize people who do good work, but don't let them rest--remind them that you'll be checking up on their next project. Have face-to-face, intimate meetings; really get to know the people you're working with. Don't be afraid to de-construct organizations/committees once they've served their purpose. Before meeting politicians or the media, rehearse what you'll say and how you'll act.
Gecan shares some incredible anecdotes about his work as a professional organizer. For them, I would give this book 5 stars. But when he's not recounting old tales, he writes in a slick, unlikable marketing-ese. Also, I couldn't get too emotional about some of his victories, because they were all based on religious organizations. All the rallies, the political meetings, the post-demonstration celebrations involved prayer. Gecan has written a highly readable book about creating political change, but on a purely personal note, I'm a bit skeeved by some of it.
Gecan shares some incredible anecdotes about his work as a professional organizer. For them, I would give this book 5 stars. But when he's not recounting old tales, he writes in a slick, unlikable marketing-ese. Also, I couldn't get too emotional about some of his victories, because they were all based on religious organizations. All the rallies, the political meetings, the post-demonstration celebrations involved prayer. Gecan has written a highly readable book about creating political change, but on a purely personal note, I'm a bit skeeved by some of it.
April 28, 2007
Going Public is a book for politically-minded people who are just as turned off by politics-as-usual as they are by activist cultures that exclude. Gecan writes well for his purpose. His prose is engaging, but he waxes poetic only to the extent necessary to make a point. And the final chapters, more philosophical than historical, reiterate his vision for a politics of engagement very well.
If the book lacked anything for me it was answers to questions it unintentionally raised, which is a compliment, in a way. I work in what is largely an issue-oriented movement. Community in the queer world is and is not traditional (i.e. territorial). So when Gecan talks about organizing communities for continued action, his strategies more clearly relate to communities as in neighborhoods. And I wanted to know what his take is on communities connected more by identity than place. That said, I've seriously considered drafting a long letter full of probing questions to send to Mr. Gecan. Given his heartfelt appreciation for the personal meeting, I have a feeling he would reply.
If the book lacked anything for me it was answers to questions it unintentionally raised, which is a compliment, in a way. I work in what is largely an issue-oriented movement. Community in the queer world is and is not traditional (i.e. territorial). So when Gecan talks about organizing communities for continued action, his strategies more clearly relate to communities as in neighborhoods. And I wanted to know what his take is on communities connected more by identity than place. That said, I've seriously considered drafting a long letter full of probing questions to send to Mr. Gecan. Given his heartfelt appreciation for the personal meeting, I have a feeling he would reply.
January 19, 2021
'Going Public' di Michael Gecan è uno dei testi fondamentali (insieme a quelli di Alinsky e a 'Roots for Radicals' di Ed Chambers) per comprendere la pratica del community organizing nella versione proposta dalla Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) e dai suoi affiliati. Gecan, statunitense di origine croata, è una figura centrale nel community organizing contemporaneo, avendo guidato per lungo tempo le attività di community organizing nel quartiere di Brooklyn a New York e la stessa Metro-IAF.
Nel libro, in cui si alternano le storie e gli aneddoti e gli spunti teorici relativi all'attività di organizer, sono chiariti bene alcuni punti che nelle opere di Alinsky rimanevano scarsamente definiti.
In primo luogo, in particolare nei primi due capitoli del libro, si definisce la natura relazionale del lavoro degli organizer IAF di oggi, che si discosta parzialmente dal lavoro di Alinsky, focalizzato maggiormente sulle dinamiche di potere e sul self-interest degli attori. Lo strumento dell'incontro relazionale, con la condivisione delle proprie storie, emerge quindi come la principale metodologia per costruire organizzazioni di quartiere durevoli, basati su relazioni umane profonde.
Questo non significa che l'aspetto del potere sia trascurato: al contrario, nelle successive parti del libro (dedicate ad azione, organizzazione e riflessione) l'analisi del potere emerge come un altro elemento fondamentale per un'efficace azione di organizing. Gecan chiarisce come l'obiettivo per un community organizer non sia avere familiarità con le figure di potere, ma bensì mantenere un'efficace relazione pubblica caratterizzata da dialogo ma anche da un certo livello di tensione.
Queste dinamiche sono semplicficate magistralmente dal capitolo 7 del libro, 'Ambiguity, Reciprocity, Victory', in cui si descrive il complesso rapporto fra gli organizer IAF e il sindaco di New York Rudolph Giuliani: un rapporto decennale caratterizzato da fasi di collaborazione alternate ad altre di freddezza se non di aperta ostilità.
Un altro aspetto del community organizing che veniva lasciato in ombra da Alinsky e che è illuminato da questo libro è il rapporto fra l'azione locale e quella nazionale. Gecan è consapevole del paradosso rappresentato dalle organizzazioni della IAF, con un forte radicamento territoriale ma spesso con uno scarso impatto sulla politica nazionale statunitense. Questo non lo porta a rinnegare il modello. Al contrario, rivendica i successi ottenuti dal suo movimento (in particolare le prime leggi sul salario minimo; la bonifica di quartieri periferici urbani degratati; e la costruzione di migliaia di case popolari a basso costo) sulla base di sperimentazioni locali costruite lentamente dal basso che poi, via via, si estendono ad altre realtà fino a diventare issues di rilevanza nazionale.
Questo, naturalmente, risolve solo in parte il paradosso, in quanto lo stesso Gecan si rende conto che sarebbe necessario un numero molto più ampio di organizers in molte più città per avere un impatto nazionale significativo. L'idea è tuttavia quella che non sia possibile forzare i tempi, o il passaggio dal livello locale a quello nazionale, senza perdere il patrimonio di relazioni e di competenze costruito lentamente e faticosamente nelle organizzazioni locali di vicinato. Quella che emerge, quindi, pare essere una sorta di costruttiva rassegnazione a rimanere una minoranza pur di non sacrificare la propria autenticità.
Un altro aspetto del community organizing descritto da Gecan che un lettore europeo potrebbe trovare ostico è il fatto che le reti della IAF si realizzano quasi esclusivamente a partire dalle congregazioni religiose e dai loro aderenti. Una scelta, questa, non condivisa da altre organizzazioni americane di organizers, come la oggi defunta ACORN; e che pone anche la questione di quanto il modello IAF sia replicabile fedelmente in contesti europei caratterizzati da una società civile più secolarizzata e da un quasi-monopolio religioso cattolico al posto del pluralismo americano.
Nel complesso, quindi, una lettura stimolante, da cui chiunque voglia approfondire la teoria e la pratica del community organizing ricaverà molte risposte, ma anche altrettante domande; e pone sfide interessanti per chi intenda utilizzare questa pratica al di qua dell'Atlantico.
Nel libro, in cui si alternano le storie e gli aneddoti e gli spunti teorici relativi all'attività di organizer, sono chiariti bene alcuni punti che nelle opere di Alinsky rimanevano scarsamente definiti.
In primo luogo, in particolare nei primi due capitoli del libro, si definisce la natura relazionale del lavoro degli organizer IAF di oggi, che si discosta parzialmente dal lavoro di Alinsky, focalizzato maggiormente sulle dinamiche di potere e sul self-interest degli attori. Lo strumento dell'incontro relazionale, con la condivisione delle proprie storie, emerge quindi come la principale metodologia per costruire organizzazioni di quartiere durevoli, basati su relazioni umane profonde.
Questo non significa che l'aspetto del potere sia trascurato: al contrario, nelle successive parti del libro (dedicate ad azione, organizzazione e riflessione) l'analisi del potere emerge come un altro elemento fondamentale per un'efficace azione di organizing. Gecan chiarisce come l'obiettivo per un community organizer non sia avere familiarità con le figure di potere, ma bensì mantenere un'efficace relazione pubblica caratterizzata da dialogo ma anche da un certo livello di tensione.
Queste dinamiche sono semplicficate magistralmente dal capitolo 7 del libro, 'Ambiguity, Reciprocity, Victory', in cui si descrive il complesso rapporto fra gli organizer IAF e il sindaco di New York Rudolph Giuliani: un rapporto decennale caratterizzato da fasi di collaborazione alternate ad altre di freddezza se non di aperta ostilità.
Un altro aspetto del community organizing che veniva lasciato in ombra da Alinsky e che è illuminato da questo libro è il rapporto fra l'azione locale e quella nazionale. Gecan è consapevole del paradosso rappresentato dalle organizzazioni della IAF, con un forte radicamento territoriale ma spesso con uno scarso impatto sulla politica nazionale statunitense. Questo non lo porta a rinnegare il modello. Al contrario, rivendica i successi ottenuti dal suo movimento (in particolare le prime leggi sul salario minimo; la bonifica di quartieri periferici urbani degratati; e la costruzione di migliaia di case popolari a basso costo) sulla base di sperimentazioni locali costruite lentamente dal basso che poi, via via, si estendono ad altre realtà fino a diventare issues di rilevanza nazionale.
Questo, naturalmente, risolve solo in parte il paradosso, in quanto lo stesso Gecan si rende conto che sarebbe necessario un numero molto più ampio di organizers in molte più città per avere un impatto nazionale significativo. L'idea è tuttavia quella che non sia possibile forzare i tempi, o il passaggio dal livello locale a quello nazionale, senza perdere il patrimonio di relazioni e di competenze costruito lentamente e faticosamente nelle organizzazioni locali di vicinato. Quella che emerge, quindi, pare essere una sorta di costruttiva rassegnazione a rimanere una minoranza pur di non sacrificare la propria autenticità.
Un altro aspetto del community organizing descritto da Gecan che un lettore europeo potrebbe trovare ostico è il fatto che le reti della IAF si realizzano quasi esclusivamente a partire dalle congregazioni religiose e dai loro aderenti. Una scelta, questa, non condivisa da altre organizzazioni americane di organizers, come la oggi defunta ACORN; e che pone anche la questione di quanto il modello IAF sia replicabile fedelmente in contesti europei caratterizzati da una società civile più secolarizzata e da un quasi-monopolio religioso cattolico al posto del pluralismo americano.
Nel complesso, quindi, una lettura stimolante, da cui chiunque voglia approfondire la teoria e la pratica del community organizing ricaverà molte risposte, ma anche altrettante domande; e pone sfide interessanti per chi intenda utilizzare questa pratica al di qua dell'Atlantico.
January 26, 2023
Strong start and utterly compelling middle. Examples of participatory democracy, relationality and story-telling at it's finest. An invigorating call to action. I would love an updated foreword. As an international reader, the end dragged a little but has definitely entered my rotation of rereadable non-fiction!
June 27, 2017
I think there are lots of great points about how to involve a community of people in making changes but this wasn't overly captivating.
June 14, 2018
solid overview of IAF principles for organizing
November 24, 2020
Very inspirational and instructional. If there's an updated version, I'd like to read it!
December 31, 2021
braggadocious white man offers commno sense suggestions
Read
February 9, 2025‘Power is the prime moving force of the world… you can’t get near what the world should be unless you build and use power, unless you manipulate that power so that you can slog through the mud of the world as it is.’ This book (and my experience of community organising) is that you have to accept the reality that you have to make things happen).
To me, the two main points of Going Public were:
- the explanation of why the Third sector is so important in the face of the market and bureaucratic institutions
- the idea that to build on the Third Sector’s power you need to organise and act… ‘test how plastic the world really is.’
(I read it to get more of an idea of Community Organising so I was a bit more focused on the latter, but the former does prove the need for CO).
Main takings….
Building power through relating:
- relating to others is crucial and helps build powerful public relationships (it is the role of an organiser/leader to relate)
- one to one relations dissolve official roles and labels and allow better connections
Know your audience:
- tailor your action to the individual audience
Recognition and public relationships are important:
- ‘Without power, there’s no real yet recognition… without recognition, there’s not reciprocity; there’s not even a you to respond to.’
- ‘The more public relationships you have with leaders and potential leaders, the more you see yourself as part of a larger relational whole’ allows you to wield more power in society because you have more knowledge, relationships, and experience
- You have to build up power with the people below the people at the top to make change sometimes
- Third sector leaders ‘know that their ability to act depends on the number and quality of relationships that they can muster and sustain.’
- The bottom line of people who relate are ‘expanding pools of reproving and trust among people who can act with purpose and power.’
Action:
- ‘When more than one person focused on a specific issue engages a person in power directly responsible for that issue for the purpose of getting a reaction.’
- ‘Intelligent action, even public confrontation, is at bottom an attempt to engage and relate.’
- Building a long, strong, and powerful public relationship allows for the best actions
- actions should be fun
- celebrate successful actions!
Manipulating power:
- ‘If the formal process doesn’t work or is a fraud or a trap, don’t waste much time depending on it. Figure out how to create your own.’
Why CO isn’t people trying to get ‘special allowances or favours’:
- CO undoes the barriers to democracy that the private and public sector put up ‘we were not looking for anything special or different- regular meetings, a professional patten of responses to our requests.’
The only thing I didn’t quite understand:
- the idea of leaders needing to disorganise more… I interpreted it as organisations need to break their habits, if something isn’t working: stop. But, I’m not too sure.
To me, the two main points of Going Public were:
- the explanation of why the Third sector is so important in the face of the market and bureaucratic institutions
- the idea that to build on the Third Sector’s power you need to organise and act… ‘test how plastic the world really is.’
(I read it to get more of an idea of Community Organising so I was a bit more focused on the latter, but the former does prove the need for CO).
Main takings….
Building power through relating:
- relating to others is crucial and helps build powerful public relationships (it is the role of an organiser/leader to relate)
- one to one relations dissolve official roles and labels and allow better connections
Know your audience:
- tailor your action to the individual audience
Recognition and public relationships are important:
- ‘Without power, there’s no real yet recognition… without recognition, there’s not reciprocity; there’s not even a you to respond to.’
- ‘The more public relationships you have with leaders and potential leaders, the more you see yourself as part of a larger relational whole’ allows you to wield more power in society because you have more knowledge, relationships, and experience
- You have to build up power with the people below the people at the top to make change sometimes
- Third sector leaders ‘know that their ability to act depends on the number and quality of relationships that they can muster and sustain.’
- The bottom line of people who relate are ‘expanding pools of reproving and trust among people who can act with purpose and power.’
Action:
- ‘When more than one person focused on a specific issue engages a person in power directly responsible for that issue for the purpose of getting a reaction.’
- ‘Intelligent action, even public confrontation, is at bottom an attempt to engage and relate.’
- Building a long, strong, and powerful public relationship allows for the best actions
- actions should be fun
- celebrate successful actions!
Manipulating power:
- ‘If the formal process doesn’t work or is a fraud or a trap, don’t waste much time depending on it. Figure out how to create your own.’
Why CO isn’t people trying to get ‘special allowances or favours’:
- CO undoes the barriers to democracy that the private and public sector put up ‘we were not looking for anything special or different- regular meetings, a professional patten of responses to our requests.’
The only thing I didn’t quite understand:
- the idea of leaders needing to disorganise more… I interpreted it as organisations need to break their habits, if something isn’t working: stop. But, I’m not too sure.
September 4, 2016
For the many moments that I hated this book, there were a couple moments that I enjoyed. First, a few of Gecan's points actually made sense: his insight on the natures and necessary steps of citizen action, the 3 cultures of the world, and most significantly, his comparison of "the world as it should be" to "the world as it is." However, throughout the rest of the book, I felt terribly jostled by his jumping between his life stories and his lessons. First of all, his introduction and prologue did not adequately present or explain his overall thesis, leaving me confused as to his purpose throughout the whole book. This proved to be a theme throughout most of the chapters as well. Second, Gecan's odd theme of religion in his book threw me off. I am certainly not opposed to religion, but he seemed to sort of skirt around his beliefs and threw his Catholicism in on the side quite regularly (it's hard to explain...but it's weird). Finally, half of this book is about random people and places in New York, Chicago and other places in Gecan's life that no one else cares about. He doesn't bother to explain most of them or the significance in including specific names and places, he just throws them in, almost as if he were trying to reach a certain word count.
Overall, I felt that this book taught some valuable lessons, but that the delivery was atrocious. Going Public probably could be reduced to half its size and its points made much more clearly.
Overall, I felt that this book taught some valuable lessons, but that the delivery was atrocious. Going Public probably could be reduced to half its size and its points made much more clearly.
June 12, 2020
This book is forgettable. I know it is because I read it and almost immediately forgot it, which was a bummer because I had a strong incentive to remember it.
Once upon a time I was trying to work for the organization Gecan is part of and I read the book a little while before meeting him. While talking with him, we talked a lot about writing, and I kept mentioning things I thought would be cool for him to write about and he kept saying that he had written about them in this book. Which was embarrassing, because I had read it.
But it's one of those slim, lightweight books that's easy to forget as soon as you read it. The words pass right through you.
From what I recall, it reads more like someone justifying their own life's work then it does like a storyteller telling some stories.
Once upon a time I was trying to work for the organization Gecan is part of and I read the book a little while before meeting him. While talking with him, we talked a lot about writing, and I kept mentioning things I thought would be cool for him to write about and he kept saying that he had written about them in this book. Which was embarrassing, because I had read it.
But it's one of those slim, lightweight books that's easy to forget as soon as you read it. The words pass right through you.
From what I recall, it reads more like someone justifying their own life's work then it does like a storyteller telling some stories.
February 21, 2013
Michael Gecan is an experienced community organizer with Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) who recounts stories of his work largely in East Brooklyn with the Nehemiah Homes Project, and in so doing shows definitively how everyday folks, well organized, can make a difference in their communities. Gecan is a good writer and a great storyteller and highlights many of the basic concepts used in organizing. While I found the book easy to read, had I wanted to learn about how to do organizing I would have been very frustrated. The techniques and strategies were embedded in the stories and occasionally he would step back to make a point, but as such it was not instructive in this sense. But for those who have a understanding of the basics of community organizing this is an inspiring book
May 24, 2013
Interesting and inspiring accounts of local people who faced government neglect or injustice, and organized to make a difference in their situation. Gecan's experience shows that good intentions and a strong moral cause are sometimes not enough; collective action may be required to bring about change. I'm truly impressed that he was able to organize & motivate true grassroots organizations led by local volunteers who spoke for their communities. The division of public life into 1) Market 2) Government 3) Social was helpful, but the implications for growing healthy cities were inadequately developed and less clear.
November 23, 2009
Very interesting book. I heard about it from the Unitarian Universalist Social Action portion of their Web site. A very readable book. The author gives concrete suggestions for effective organizing and includes lots of stories from his work, stories which include Mayors Koch, Giuliani and then Lt. Gov. Cuomo. One reason I liked this book is because I am the opposite of the person blessed with the traits to make a good organizer: courage, conviction and the ability to see the big picture, among others.
May 30, 2007
Gecan is a veteran community organizer and retails some of the best stories of his times doing broad based community organizing. These stories serve as illistration to a foundation of organizing principles. It's a much quicker and more entertaining read than Ed Chambers' _Roots for Radicals_ but doesn't go as deep as Chambers does in the theory.
This is an excellent first read for anyone interested in community action. It's inspiring and motivating.
This is an excellent first read for anyone interested in community action. It's inspiring and motivating.
September 26, 2007
This is a decent book. Gecan really wants to professionalize organizing, for better or worse, and wants to play to the middle. Unfortunately, he does so through disparaging other activists, which really doesn't make sense strategically, not to mention morally. He does have a good handle on tactics though, and there are some really good stories worth reading.
December 29, 2009
Awesome. Mike Gecan is a great writer. I laughed out loud so many times--something I definitely wasn't expecting from a book about community organizing. He really lays out what exactly this whole 'organizing' thing really means, and the most effective ways to institute change. Any politically-minded person should read this.
July 13, 2015
This book was one of my textbooks for my Community Organizing class and I would say that I would highly recommend this book and the other Gecan book to be studied in a Sunday school or book study course together so that others can not only learn about how to lead but learn of the impact of the importance of being a leader.
April 9, 2009
This books was really interesting and gave me a lot of insight into community organization and how to organize power within communities. It was however much less of a "how to" and much more of a "how it happens". Definitely recommend it.
April 29, 2016
"People capable of change and committed to change emerge from a disciplined culture of individual meetings and faithful relationships, of strict training and ongoing education, and of experimental action and tough evaluation."
February 17, 2016
If you would like to gain a clearer picture of what my work entails read this book by my supervisor, Mike Gecan, co-director of the Industrial Areas Foundation... Through stories Mike describes the organizing craft.
September 7, 2007
really helped me understand my husband's career
August 16, 2015
The book my brother, sister, and I always wanted Dad to right - to help us answer that deceptively complicated question, "what does your dad do for a living?"
June 23, 2009
A moving organizer's memoir. Good to read if you're interested in Alinsky-style organizing.
September 8, 2009
Builds on Roots for Radicals, moving Chambers's work into today's context. Great storytelling!
June 28, 2011
Many incredible stories, few concrete steps in how to make community organizing a reality. But the stories were certainly worth reading the book for.
January 6, 2014
Beautiful, thoughtful and amazing read. Great way of recycling practices and thoughts, in an attempt of getting better at connecting with others and empowering our communities.
May 17, 2014
The chapter on disorganizing and reorganizing was worth the price of admission and should be read by every church vestry or council....
January 1, 2024
I wish I would have read this sooner in my organizing journey and it would have rated higher!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews