How The Rural Poor Got Power: Narrative Of A Grass-Roots Organizer

by Paul Wellstone

Wellstone's first book, published in 1978 when he was a professor at Carleton College in MN. Describes Wellstone's grassroots work with OBRC (Organization for a Better Rice Country) which helped poor people gain a political voice to get better health and welfare benefits.

248 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1978

About the author

Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College. Wellstone was a liberal and a leading spokesman for the liberal wing of the national Democratic Party. He served in the Senate from 1991 until his death in a plane crash on 25 October 2002, 11 days before the US senate election in which he was running for a third term. His wife, Sheila, and daughter, Marcia, also died in the crash. They had two other grown children, David and Mark, who now co-chair the Wellstone Action nonprofit group.

Reviews

[Polly Trout · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1978, this is Wellstone's narrative account of his work with the Organization for a Better Rice County (OBRC), a grassroots social justice organization for the rural poor in Minnesota. OBRC did some great stuff and then fell apart, and Wellstone's analysis of what worked and what didn't is interesting. Here's some quotes from the book I liked:

"On evening during a class I taught on "poverty politics" for Headstart mothers and staff, we had a discussion of Saul Alinsky's book, Rules for Radicals. The focus was on applying Alinsky's analysis to rural poverty...The conclusion reached by the class was that the first organizing project should be to get rid of the director of the agency."

Wellstone reprints this anonymous poem:

I was hungry --
And you formed a committee and discussed my hunger
Thank you

I was naked --
And in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance
Thank you

I was sick --
And you knelt and thanked God for your health
Thank you

I was homeless and lonely --
And you preached to me about that spiritual of the love of God
Thank you

You seem so holy, so close to God!
But still I am very hungry and very lonely and very cold.

---------
I also loved this quote, from Phyllis Hanson, a rural and poor activist that Wellstone interviews in the book:

"It takes time to gain knowledge from books and papers. The rolling wheels of poverty do not allow us this time. Knowledge is the only way to bring social change to the poor peacefully. If we split this learning time, and pass it one to another, we will have change. We will demand it once we know how to demand it. Our fear leaves us as we grow in knowledge and numbers. We are respected because we stand for a just cause, and we have regained our self-respect."

Finally, I loved this statement from Wellstone: "The conclusion I have reached is that successful organizing is built not on "economic rationality" but rather on dignity and a sense of purpose. Poor people dedicated themselves to OBRC out of a sense of purpose. Once they realized their voice could make a difference...they viewed themselves in a different light -- as strong and independent people not afraid to speak up for their rights."

[Timothy Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into the birth and death of a community organization. Paul Wellstone's writing style is approachable and conversational, which makes what might otherwise be a sometimes-dull subject a painless read. I would have preferred if he had released an updated edition a decade or two later, because I was left curious as to what happened to the community and the people involved after the demise of the OBRC.

[Emily Cardinal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish our world still had Paul Wellstone. Luckily, we have his words and his legacy. I hope to return to some of the takeaways from the Organization for a Better Rice County in my own organizing career.

Organizing is going out and selling a whole organization, selling a dream, getting people involved and interested, actually hitting them where it hurts in order to get them up on their feet and doing something about their problems. People have the attitude, “Well there really isn’t an awful lot I can do about it,” and we are going to come along and tell them there is a lot of things they can do about it if they get together and work with some other folks and try.
(Franie Dwyer) p 165

Organizing is an interlocking, building type of thing where people begin to depend on one another and they become part… You’ve got a dream, an idea, a plan—you go to the people. (Phyllis Hanson) p 139

Occasionally we come on strong, but we first make an attempt to come out with our coffee cups and our soft-spoken voice and approach them, and if they brush us off then we come on stronger, and if they still refuse to listen then we come on stronger. It’s the only way.
(Isabelle Goodwin) p 149

It is best to build slowly and broadly. The organizer needs to work with many people. She should dig for leadership. She must create situations where people feel they are needed and have a contribution to make. p 213

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great account of Wellstone's time as a organizer in rural Minnesota (Rice County)