By
Mac Legerton, Executive Director, Center For Community Action
This paper is a review of the
development, activities, and impact of the values-based, grassroots leadership
development program of the Center For Community Action (CCA). The Robeson County Grassroots Leadership
Development Institute (RCGLDI) is the result of a three-year planning
process undertaken by CCA through its participation in the
Southern Grassroots Leadership Development Learning Program of the Mary
Reynolds Babcock Foundation and MDC.
Following a description of the county, organizational, and program
context, the paper provides a description of the development and use of a values-based,
grassroots leadership curricula and the interplay between the RCGLDI Institute,
its community-based clusters, and community change.
Robeson County is a
large, rural county located in the Coastal Plains of Southeastern North
Carolina. Based on the 2000 Census, its
multiracial population of 123,000 is 38% Native American, 32% European
American, 25% African American, and 5% Latino/Hispanic. The Asian population is less than 1%. Its highly diverse population earns Robeson
County the distinction of being the most ethnically diverse rural county in the
U.S. (Flora, Flora, Spears, & Swanson, 1992). It is the home of the Lumbee, the largest Native American tribe
East of the Mississippi River. Its
present poverty rate of 24% and illiteracy rate of 38% are indicators of low
economic and social well being that have persisted for generations.
While the
people of Robeson County have made major advancements in improving political
conditions and systems reform, the county’s contrasting
decline in economic and social conditions reveals the significant nature of its
present and most serious economic and social crisis in the last 75 years. On
the one hand, Robeson County has advanced further in the past 20 years than
most, if not all, N.C. counties in achieving racial inclusion and
representation in all levels of government through the concerted effort of the
majority of its people. On the other hand, its economic and social conditions
have significantly declined in the last 10 years, more than most, if not all,
N.C. counties as a result of the negative impact of national trade policies
that are totally removed from its local control.
Since NAFTA was
enacted in 1994, Robeson County has experienced a loss of 8,000 jobs, largely
in the textile-manufacturing sector. In
October 2001, the unemployment rate reached 12.5%, the highest in N.C. The rapid, downward spiral of social
conditions in Robeson County parallels the massive decline in the economy. According to the January 2002 report of the
North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction, Robeson County led the state with
its high dropout rate. During the
2000-2001 school year, 10% of all 9-12 graders dropped out of high school.
Other social indicators reveal the drop in well being, including the County’s
status as the nation’s leader in the number of cases of Syphilis per 100,000
population (Source: Center For Disease Control).
Although its social and economic indicators are in
decline, Robeson County is rich in ecological and cultural resources.
It is home to 50 swamps and 8,000 Carolina Bays, one of the most unique
geological features in the Eastern U.S. The Lumber River flows across the county and has been
its lifeblood for centuries. Together,
the biodiversity and cultural diversity of Robeson County present a base for
new approaches to asset building and sustainable development.
“Grassroots Leadership
embraces many personal values and skills,
from strength of character to a practical commitment to fairness and equity,
and from a willingness to listen actively and strive for consensus to the
ability to set reasonable goals and fulfill commitments”. (Source:
“Rationale for a Values-Based Curricula,” Center For Community Action).
The Center for Community Action (CCA) is a
non-profit, multicultural, community-based organization that was formed in 1980
to organize and empower individuals, families, communities, and institutions in
order to unite and improve the quality of life and the equality of life in Robeson
County, N.C. It was developed out of a
recognized need for a long-term, multiracial and multicultural, grassroots
empowerment organization that utilized community development and systems change
strategies to achieve social justice. CCA has facilitated and partnered with
other organizations to achieve major systemic changes such as: establishing a
public defender system; halting three toxic waste facilities; merging five
separate school systems into one county system; redistricting county commission
and state legislative lines; restructuring the county’s law enforcement and
judicial practices; and acquiring equitable racial representation on the school
board, the Board of Commissioners, and the NC House of Representatives.
CCA has also collaborated in many community
development efforts, including a prenatal outreach program, a countywide AIDS
Task Force, the establishment of five Family Resource Centers across the
county, a school readiness and family literacy program, and the establishment
of the Robeson Enterprise Community and the Robeson County Partnership For
Children. CCA’s presently has major
projects that focus on community organization, adult and youth leadership
development, school reform, family literacy, environmental and cultural
education and promotion, economic justice, and sustainable development.
“Of all the new skills needed, none are as
critical as leadership that is home grown, committed to the resolution of local
problems and issues, respectful of cultural and ecological diversity, and
mindful of the diverse needs and aspirations represented in Robeson County.
This is the style of leadership that CCA seeks to expand and nurture inside
Robeson County and promote far beyond its borders”.
(Source: “Rationale for a Values-Based Curricula,” Center For Community
Action).
As a result of its
participation in the Organizational Development Program of the Mary Reynolds
Babcock Foundation in 1997-1999, the Board of Directors of the CCA decided to
regenerate and expand its membership base in community-based cluster groups in
the diverse communities of the county.
Clusters are community associations that hold regular monthly meetings
and address community needs and issues on the community and countywide
level. The Board also decided
to initiate its first, formal grassroots leadership development program in
order to educate and train cluster leaders in the skills of community
organization and empowerment. This decision was based on many factors,
including:
(1) The
need for a broader and different approach to grassroots leadership development.
This need was created by the new access of the grassroots community to
political representation and power resulting from the success of CCA’s projects
and collaborations with other organizations.
(2) The
need to institutionalize CCA’s commitment to a grassroots membership and
leadership program and create a development plan for it.
(3) For
the first time, CCA had the capability to develop a formal curricula and
educational program due to increased staff capacity. In 1996, CCA developed a
15-session, formal curricula and educational program entitled Learning
Together, a highly participatory, school readiness and family literacy program.
In 1999, CCA
developed its first place-based education curricula in collaboration with
public school teachers and the Rural School and Community Trust.
(4) Although
CCA sponsored numerous grassroots leadership workshops, conferences, and
trainings over its 20 year20-year
history, they were all short-term and utilized educational and training
materials that were prepared for immediate, not long-term, use.
In 2000, CCA was selected as one of 17
Southern nonprofit organizations to participate in the Southern Grassroots
Leadership Development Learning Program of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and MDC.
CCA responded to the compelling need for a new approach to grassroots leadership development by planning and
implementing its Community Organization, Resource, and Education (CORE)
Program. Now entering its third year, the CORE Program provides an
institutional base and long-term focus
for CCA's commitment to formal grassroots leadership development and civic
engagement in the context of its formal, community-based membership clusters
and projects. The project acronym was selected to describe its central role in
the organization and express CCA’s commitment and relationship with its
grassroots members, leaders, and their communities.
The three goals of the CORE Program are:
(1) the
development, use, evaluation, and improvement of a formal curriculum for
grassroots
leadership development in Robeson County;
(2) the
organization and facilitation of the Robeson County Grassroots Leadership
Development Institute (RCGLDI), a 12-month program in grassroots leadership
development and community organizing; and
(3)
the organization, development, and ongoing support of community-based,
membership
cluster
groups and their participation in issue-based projects on the community and
countywide level.
In the CORE Program, CCA has
institutionalized and formalized grassroots leadership development on two
levels instead of one: the community cluster level and the cluster leadership
(countywide) level. While some of the education and training work is the same,
the cluster level work is more instrumental and technical in nature, focusing
more on the how-to skills that are needed for community organizing and
implementing local issue-based projects. The countywide education and training
work of cluster leaders focuses on the values-base of the organization and is
more transformational and relational in nature, under girding the culture and
principles which guide CCA’s grassroots work. The education and training work
on both levels combines to deepen and broaden the spirit and power of
participants, their communities, the organization, and the county as a whole.
The
three CORE Program goals posit three distinct capacity building outcomes for
grassroots leaders.
1. Grassroots
leaders will exercise influence from an explicit values and skills base that
shapes their role and actions as grassroots leaders. Participants will be clear
about their motivations and consistent in the values that inform their
commitments, particularly the values addressed in the CORE Program curriculum.
Evidence of success takes
the form of grassroots leaders who are honest in a manner that mediates and
reconciles differences, who do what they say they will do and follow through,
and who are compassionate, caring, and fair in attitude and behavior. Other
indicators include the spirit and activities within the membership cluster
groups that demonstrate unity among their members and the ability of diverse
groups of people to work together for the common purpose of community change.
Session-based, peer evaluation, focused not only on espoused values but also on
the cluster-generated local projects that "incarnate"present them
those values, will help leaders do all that they can to inform and
inspire others
to participate in community change.
2. Grassroots leaders will demonstrate competence in the basic skills of
community organizing
Evidence of achievement
includes the form of well-facilitated cluster meetings; coherent and persuasive
written plans for need-based projects
and issue-based campaignsprojects;
routine and consistent attendance at meetings; use of sign-in sheets; published
flyers, press releases, and reports; carefully and persuasively written
recommendations and proposals to decisionmakers;
thorough minutes from meetings with
decisionmakersof policymakers; project evaluations that
document accomplishments and challenges; and policy changes resulting from
issue-based
projects and collaborations.
3. Grassroots Leaders will deepen their knowledge, vision, perspective and
commitment to help address the "big picture" issues that
significantly impact County residents.
Evidence of accomplishment
takes the form of leadership in need-based and issue-based projects that effectively
and successfully address policies and trends in such areas as the "4
'E's" of CCA: economic development, education, environment, and equity. At
the present time, Robeson County is dealing simultaneously with many hardships,
including massive job loss caused by NAFTA, struggling schools, and a
significant rise in social problems and deteriorating conditions. The
engagement of our new leaders in helping cluster groups focus on issues larger
than their own neighborhoods will indicate their level of vision and/or
commitment to see and address institutional and systemic issues in Robeson
County.
What does an effective grassroots leader
look like? The best of CCA’s grassroots leaders combine logistical skill, issue
knowledge, personal enthusiasm and trustworthiness necessary to inspire and
sustain community commitment to resolving persistent community problems. They
have the skills and wisdom needed to organize effectively, to work with
people from all walks of life, and to address more systemic and long-term problems facing the
County. They are also trusted to help
local residents make firm and plausible connections between the problems
plaguing their communities and those affecting the county, state, region, and
nation.
“What I liked best about the Institute is combining
the different communities together,
learning about each communityies,
and listening to each other’s opinion” Institute Member
“When you want to know more,
you learn more. I’ve learned something new every time I’ve come.” Institute
Member
OIn
October 10, 2001, 24 cluster leaders and organizers from throughout the county
gathered at the Center For Community Action in Lumberton to hold the first
meeting of the Robeson County Grassroots Leadership Development Initiative
(RCGLDI). As they registered for the meeting, each person was given a card and
instructed to write down one “Gift of Themselves” that they bring into the
Institute. The meeting began with a “Go-Around”, a standard CCA practice for
opening and closing all meetings: of “going around” the circle or table and
inviting everyone to speak. The instructions were to share the one gift of
themselves that they wrote down on their card.
As everyone spoke with sincerity, a standard of respectful listening was
established. This activity marked the beginning of the Institute and set the
tone for all sessions to come.
Four members from each cluster and their
organizer attend the Institute. Each session focuses on a distinct value that
is germane to grassroots leadership and the development of knowledge, skills,
and practice, and the contributions of this value to the social action
practice. In Year 1 of
the RCGLDI, teams of four cluster leaders and their organizers came from
Maxton, Pembroke, Red Springs, Saddletree, and Lumberton. These are areas represented by the five
membership clusters of CCA. It was a
group diverse in race, gender, age, and location. In Year 2 of the Institute,
two new clusters will be organized with participating leaders: one in Rowland
and one among the County’s growing Latino/Hispanic population. Institute
participation will reach 30 in Year 2 with the addition of two new clusters and
their organizers. It is anticipated that as membership clusters grow in number,
additional Institutes will be formed to accommodate the education and training
of additional grassroots leaders and organizers. With over 70
distinct communities in Robeson County, the potential for Institute and cluster
expansion is only limited by will and resources.
There is a common theme in the CCA’s CORE Program values: “be ‘lovingly
pro-active’ and ‘creatively strategic’ as opposed to ‘angrily re-active’ and
‘conventionally strategic.’” Community
change is demanding work but, with the right leadership, it can also be
exciting, engaging, and connecting work.
CCA promotes the demonstration of loving, creative values for three main
reasons: (1) there is significant cross-cultural evidence that this is the most
effective way to do social action; (2) it is a proven way to attract others to
engage in civic action; and (3) it brings balance and perspective into deliberations often dominated by
confusion and conflict. (Source: “Rationale
for a Values-Based Curricula,” Center For Community Action).
The
Board of Directors of the Center For Community Action held three retreats over 1
½1-½
years to lay the groundwork for the values-based curricula that is now used in
the Robeson County Grassroots Leadership Development Institute. Led by Juan
Sepulveda, CCA’s GLD consultant, the retreats were soul-searching, energizing,
and deeply spiritual. The retreats were profoundly engaging and successful in
meeting the Board’s goal of identifying, selecting, and framing the core values
for the Institute curriculum and itstheir
content. Members raised many piercing
questions regarding leadership values and responsibilities, such as:
“Now that we are at
the table of power and influence and have more access to it, do we have the
leaders we need to take advantage of these new opportunities?”
"What are the values of leadership and
social justice that are important to us and how can we express, promote,
infuse, and transfer them?"
Following the retreats, CCA
staff typed up all of the content notes from the Board
Retreats and designed curricula activities with the assistance of
Bob Zuber, curriculum consultant, and Juan Sepulveda. From 2000-2002, CCA Board and staff members also attended five
Learning Institutes on Grassroots Leadership Development and four Curriculum
Development Cluster Meetings that were facilitated by MDC in collaboration with
the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. The development of the curricula included
over 30 days of group meetings and over 90 days of research, planning, and
writing during 2001-2002.
A list
of the values-based curriculum themes for each session of the Institute is listed
below.
Session
1 - Theme: The Importance of Values in Shaping our Vision, Knowledge,
Leadership, and Action: CCA and the RCGLDI
Session 2 – Theme: Honesty That Heals
Session 3 – Theme: Empowerment – CCA’s Cluster Model
Session 4 – Theme: Leading With Integrity
Session 5 – Theme: The Roots and Use of Power
Session 7 – Theme: Responsibility and Democracy
Session 8 – Theme: Respect –
The Cornerstone of Effective Teamwork and Leadership
Session
9 – Theme: Social Justice - Balance, Equality, and Equity
Session 10- Theme: Spirituality and Social
Action
Session 12- Theme: Celebration - Graduation
Program
The CORE Program
values chosen by CCA’s Board of Directors are a combination of:
(1) Cross-cultural
leadership values such as honesty, integrity, cultural preservation and
promotion, respect, and celebration; and
(2) Social
Justice leadership values such as power, empowerment, responsibility,
democracy, equality, equity, social action, and reflection.
Leadership curriculum
often emphasizes one or the other type of values. CCA has taken its lead in developing a holistic set of values
from the influence of traditional, indigenous cultures, including Native
American, African, European, and Latin American. In traditional cultures, there
is little no
division between the individual and the social, and the personal and the
political. These identities and responsibilities are all intertwined
in the value of honoring and respecting the interdependence of all life.
In developing its set
of cross-cultural and social justice values for the Institute, CCA developed a
statement entitled: “Rationale for a Values-based Curricula.” The statement
speaks to the meaning of values and why these values were chosen for CCA’s
grassroots leadership development program.
“By ‘values,’ we don't
mean abstract notions of social justice, grassroots organizing, or leadership.
We mean ways and habits of life that are vital to fundamental, community and
cultural transformation.”
The statement
describes the needs for both the values being transferred on the Institute
level and the skills being taught on the cluster level in this way:
“Creating the
leadership base to effectively address community concerns takes more than issue
expertise and cause-oriented skills – it takes an honest assessment and
practice of the values that drive the search for credibility in the social
justice field. It takes people who
honor commitments. People who seek to
understand more than to be understood.
It takes people who are dependable and fair. It takes people who listen and seek to involve everyone is the
conversation. It takes people who have an abiding faith, but not the kind that
excludes the faith of others. It also
takes people who are not deceived about their own motivations and who strive to
be consistent in the values that inform their community commitments”.
Diverse learning
methods and activities are employed to deliver the curricula content of the
RCGLDI. The following quotes and stories illustrate the connections between the
Institute’s curricula and values development among its membership.
“ I have a deeper
understanding and greater respect of difference”. People do things differently. I have also learned that we can express
opinions without being argumentative.” Institute Member
“I
listen more now and I know more about the relationship between listening and
talking”. Institute Member
“People often announce
that they have something to say in meetings and then express their feelings in
ways that are totally disrespectful of others. They call names, argue, and get
angry, often when they become defensive. They say: “I’m just being honest!” and
“Don’t take this personally”, then keep right on going. It totally disrupts the
group and everybody is ready to go home.” Institute
Member
There is honesty that
heals and honesty that harms. There is honesty that restores relationships and
honesty that destroys them. Session 2 of the RCGLDI focuses on the value of
restorative honesty and utilizes discussion, presentation, and reflection to
develop deeper understanding and effective skills to express honesty in a way
that magnifies integrity and heals misunderstanding and relationships. In an
exercise entitled: “Honestly Speaking”, Institute members write out two
expressions of honesty in separate columns.
The Expressed Conversation is written in the right column and the Silent
Conversation is written in the left column. Words in the right column
demonstrate what you would say and words in the left column demonstrate what
you would really want to say! In groups
of three, members take turns sharing their voices of honesty and discussing
them with each other. Can some of the deeper feelings in the left column be
expressed in the right column in a respectful manner? Are there words in the
expressed column that need to be moved to the silent column out of respect for
others and an understanding that another setting or time for sharing would be
more appropriate?
To further assist with
skills and concept development of “honesty that heals”, Institute members are presented with a
handout on “Filtering” during the large group discussion following the
activity. Filtering is described as the
process of determining how best to express honesty in a group while: (1)
honoring and respecting one’s own feelings; (2) honoring and respecting the
feelings of others; and (3) focusing on a manner and content of speech that
guides the group to a deeper level of understanding and moves the discussion
forward, not backward or sideways. The image of an air and oil filter and their
function are used as examples of this leadership ability. In the group
discussion during Session 2, reflection turned to the will and skill needed to
effectively filter one’s words without loosing respect for either oneself or
for others. An elder called this a spiritual value and skill.
“Honesty that Heals is grounded in
the principles of love, compassion, and kindness. It requires a new way
of being: more intentional requires a new way of being: more intentional
in our speech and more loving in our outreach.” Source:
RCGLDI Handout, Session 2
“The
more that all of these stations are empowering on many different levels,
the
more empowered we will be in our lives.” Source: RCGLDI
Handout, Session 5.
“I
understand better that culture needs to be preserved or it will be lost,
that
it is a basis for identification,andidentification,
and a deciding
factor in determining one’s behavior.” Institute Member
Source: RCGLDI
Handout, Session 6, Adapted from “Alaska Native Values for the Curriculum”,
produced by the Alaska Native Knowledge Network.
Session
6 includes interactive small group activities and large group discussions,
including developing a historical timeline of your ones own
community and defining and identifying ethnic cultural values and practices.
The countywide Green Map Project and cluster-based mapping projects are
illustrated as one strategy for perpetuating and promoting history and culture.
The session ends with a “Go Around” in which each membersmember is
invited to speak briefly and respond to the following question in 10 words or
less. The question is written on newsprint and read to the group. The
facilitator emphasized to everyone that the question has two parts and that you
can’t use more than 10 words (or so) to answer the question.
“If
you were leaving tomorrow on a trip to another country and could only take one
cultural value with you, what would it be and how would you practice it?”
Each
session of the Institute begins with small group activities that start as soon
as three people enter the meeting. There is no waiting for everyone to arrive.
Members that arrive on time or even early spend more time in their small group
activities. Aesop’s Fable of the Fox and the Stork provides the basis for
lively small group and large discussion on the meaning and distinctions between
equality and equity at the beginning of Session 9. Written discussion questions
are used to facilitate reflection in small groups. A brief summary of the fable
follows. Given equal helpings of soup, the stork went hungry when it was served
in a plate and the fox starved when it was served in a jug. Both the stork and
the fox prepared food for themselves and each other and they were treating each
other “equally”. The problem was that the fox did not treat the stork fairly.
The stork, then, responded in kind to the fox. They treated each other equally
(i.e. with equality) but not fairly (with equity).
Handouts on Equality
and Equity are passed out after the Fable is fully interpreted and discussed by
Institute members. More discussion follows. Specific examples of their
differences in real-life situations are outlined. Examples of different types
of “affirmative action” are discussed as strategies for equity in order to
overcome inequality. Following the
large group discussion, Institute members return to their community cluster
teams. They then identify and discuss issues of equality and equity in Robeson
County and share their findings through reports to the large group. The session
ends with a Go Around and response to this question: “Share one insight that
you gained as a result of your participation in this session?”
For
many Institute members, this session on “Social Justice: Balance, Equality, and
Equity” proved to be the most transformative in terms of developing a new
perspective and conceptual framework related to social values and issues.
Respect: What
Ddoes
iIt Mean and How Do We Practice It?
These questions and
scenarios were presented as members walked in the door to
Session 8: Respect – The
Cornerstone of Effective Teamwork and Leadership. Institute members wrote down
their answers individually and then met in their community cluster teams for
discussion. Following their small groups, each cluster team reported on their
discussion and answers to the questions. The “Story of Two Birds” was passed
out. Institute members divided into groups of two, read the story and discussed
it. Briefly, the story goes like this. There were two birds, one sitting near
the top of the tree and the other near the bottom. They argued over the color
of the leaves on the tree based on what they saw. The dilemma was that the tops of the leaves were green and the
bottoms of the leaves were white. It
wasn’t until they came together and were about to fight that
they looked up and realized that they were both right. With their partners,
Institute members then developed “10 Principles of Respect” and shared them
with the large group. The Session ended with a Go Around in which each Institute
member answered this question in 10 words or less: “How will you improve your
ability to be more respectful of others?”
“ I have a deeper
understanding and greater respect of difference”. People do things
differently. “ I have also learned
that we can express opinions without being argumentative.” Institute
Member
“I
have deeper insight and am more understanding of different opinions. I am able
to better motivate others, open up easier, and am more tolerant of others.” Institute
Member
“ Leaders must be diverse in thinking and recognize
that other ways mabemay be better than theirs.” Institute
Member
“I learned that good leaders
respect all differences within the group or organization and allow input from
everyone.”
Institute Member
“CCA’s clusters are
the life force and energy that fuel the organization”. Institute Member
One
of the key elements in CCA's strategy to create change mechanisms that have
longevity and impact is the development of membership cluster groups in which
community residents of all ages and ethnic backgrounds meet together on a
regular basis to assess their communities, evaluate local needs and talents,
develop programs to deepen their knowledge, and create agendas for change. This
process of identifying community needs and resources is of fundamental
importance to the health and stability of the county, and cluster groups have
helped people become agents of their own renewal, whether the issue was related
to zoning, agriculture, environmental health, school quality, or the judicial
system. The clusters are
community-based citizens groups where, working alongside CCA staff, members
identify issues of importance to themselves and their families, research resources
and options for change, and develop and implement local and countywide project
plans.
Five
communiltycommunity-based,
membership clusters are active in the Maxton, Pembroke, Red Springs,
Saddletree, and Lumberton areas of Robeson County. The three major activities
of each cluster are:
1. Monthly cluster meetings focus on discussing community needs, problems and
issues, identifying their root causes, and strategic planning. In their
clusters, people speak their mind openly, identify specific rather than vague
sources of concern, see beyond the most obvious sources of blame to some of the
more structural and pervasive causes of economic and social problems in the
County, and decide what to do.
2.Cluster members develop and implement short and long-term strategies to
address community issues. Clusters are designed to be solution oriented, moving
people as quickly as they are able from identification of problems to a
strategic plan and implementation of solutions. Cluster members discuss various
tactics for change and receive advice from other membership clusters and staff
at the Institute meetings. Networking with organizations outside the county is
utilized in order to collaborate on issues of policy that impact grassroots
persons on a state, regional, and national level.
3. Participation
in RCGLD Institute – 4 cluster members are elected to attend the Robeson County
Grassroots Leadership Development Institute along with their cluster
organizer. Four new members are sent to
the Institute each year.
Cluster
members who successfully engage in our leadership
trainingleadership-training program will
beare
equipped to perform multiple tasks to facilitate change in the County. Within
their own community, they will generate and receive suggestions
for local and County improvements, air concerns regarding the quality of life
in their community, and decide strategies to meet community needs and solve
community problems.. Within the County, cluster leaders will
beare
able to confidently and knowledgeably represent their community in
conversations with County officials responsible for health care,
infrastructure, law enforcement, education and other civic functions. Leaders will
also better understand the mandates under which officials operate,
the appropriate "channels" for pursuing grievances, the rights of
citizens under the law, and the means by which laws and policies can be amended
or displaced. Cluster leaders will beare able to
advise County officials about local needs and concerns, enlist active support
for policies that benefit local constituents and assume greater levels of
responsibility for community and countywide planning, including the potential
to run for public office. Their primary task, however, is to reinforce at all
levels of policy that social services are no substitute for community-based
analysis, education and action, and that the best judge of needs and solutions
are the people who live amidst the problems and opportunities.
CCA
members presented the values represented in the curricula of the Grassroots
Leadership Development Institute through organized action in their community
cluster groups. Four examples of community development and policy leverage
projects that were infused with Institute values are provided below.
Saddletree is one
of the oldest Lumbee communities in Robeson County and is home to the newest
CCA membership cluster group. Magnolia School is a K-8 school that is located
in the heart of Saddletree. It is a
community school that plays a vital role in the life and spirit of the people
of Saddletree. The Institute provided the first major leadership training for
its new grassroots leaders. Members of
the Saddletree Cluster Leadership Team learned how to facilitate empowerment
processes and to achieve empowered outcomes.
As a result of participation in the Institute, Saddletree Cluster
members worked with Magnolia School and the Robeson County Family Support
Program to turn the Family Resource Center in the School’s Old Agricultural
Building into a fully operational community and educational center with
expanded programs for parents, children, and senior citizens. Now, the
Saddletree Cluster Group will have a permanent place to meet and a base for
diverse community programs and projects. Cluster members decided to work in
collaboration with the Family Resource Center and chose youth leadership
development and disability policy advocacy as two of its key issues.
During
Session 11 on “Reflection: The Power to See with the Mind and Heart”,
Saddletree Members wrote and spoke:
“What I liked best about
the Institute is learning to work together, developing leadership skills, and
the fellowship with new friends”
“I
have learned a lot about how to come together and get organized. We have officers in our cluster and each has
a job title, knows what they are to do, and does it.”
“I learned that I need to choose
people with values such as honesty and integrity. I need to recruit people of action, people that are respectful of
others, people who are willing to gain knowledge of a vision and accept the
responsibility to put it into action.
We need people who are community oriented.”
After
their graduation from the Institute, Saddletree Cluster members completed work
on the Community Center building in January, 2003.
“I
learned that you can have equality without equity.I gained a better
understanding of the definition of the two: equality means that one has equal access and equity means equal
treatment. There are many situations in
Robeson County where there is equal opportunity shown, but not equal
treatment.”
Institute Member
Red
Springs is the 2nd largest town in Robeson County with a majority
African American population and a rapidly growing, Latino/Hispanic population.
As a result of participation in the Grassroots Leadership Development
Institute, Red Springs Cluster Members decided to implement a policy research,
development, and advocacy project to review access to representation from the
entire town of Red Springs on the two major elected Boards in Robeson County:
the Board of Commissioners and the School Board. At the present time, Red
Springs is split down the middle and has two School Board Districts and two
County Commission districts that cover the East and West sides of the
municipality and much larger territories and populations in the adjoining
non-municipal areas. None of the four districts are predominately African American:
two are predominately Native American and two are predominately European
American. Consequently, there are two White and two Indian elected officials
from these districts. Fortunately, one of the four – a School Board member – is
from Red Springs. The question facing the African American community in Red
Springs is: “How can we acquire electoral representation on these Boards?
The
issue of representation is more complex because the citizens in Robeson County
engaged in a highly participatory, redistricting process and program during
1988-1992. Three campaigns successfully achieved equitable racial
representation on the Board of Commissioners, the School Board, and in the N.C.
Legislative Delegation for the first time in the history of the county. The
Center For Community Action was a key partner in these efforts that included
the merger of five, distinct school systems into one countywide system. The problem for Red Springs is that there
was no African American leadership at that time that strongly advocated for
majority African American districts in these three governmental bodies to be
developed in the Red Springs area. African American leaders in other
communities of Robeson County successfully advocated to place the majority
African American districts in their areas. Consequently, there are no School
board or Board of Commissioners districts that unite all of Red Springs and
provide an opportunity for an African American candidate to be
successfulelected.
During
the course of the Institute, Red Springs Cluster members developed a plan to
determine diverse options for representation, including running a candidate for
an at-large seat on the School Board or requesting that the three remaining,
at-large districts on the school board be eliminated and that Red Springs be
united into one of three new single districts. They utilized the “Relationship Mapping” Technique learned in
Institute Session 7, entitled “Responsibility and Democracy”, to determine who
they needed to consult regarding their concerns, options, and strategies.
Cluster leaders drew a “Relationship Map” of leaders and who-knew-who and
determined how to navigate and utilize the relationship networks among
grassroots and professional leaders and advocates in order to build
both their understanding and influence. Session 9, entitled:
“Social Justice: Balance, Equality, and Equity”, provided Red Springs cluster
leaders with the conceptual understanding of the difference between equality
and equity and the support to move forward to acquire equitable representation
for their highly populated, but under-represented, town.
“I
have learned how to talk to people who talk to people that I can’t talk
to. For example, Mr. _______ has a good relationship with our town manager. He can go and drink coffee all day with him,
but I can’t.” Institute
Member
“I’ve
learned that my way may not be the best way.”
Institute Member
I
listen more now and I know more about the relationship
between
listening and talking.” Institute
Member
“By listening and
understanding each other we can become better leaders
by seeing through the
same eye.” Institute Member
“Love and compassion are the roots of justice. If justice does not manifest love and compassion, then
it is not just.” Mac Legerton, Session
9 presentation
Prospect
is a large, rural Lumbee community that has retained a strong identity and
culture, including its own ethno-English pattern of speech. Its name is derived from Prospect Church
that is at the center of the community and is the largest United Methodist,
Native American congregation in the U.S.
As a result of participation in the Grassroots Leadership Development
Institute, Members of the Prospect Cluster Group increased their knowledge and
understanding of the importance of preserving and perpetuating their Native
history and culture. During the course of the Institute, Prospect Cluster
Members led the way for the county in publishing the first of over 70,
community-based Green Maps in Robeson County. Working with CCA staff and the
national and international Green Map System program, Prospect members have
documented the environmental, historical, cultural, civic, and recreational
sites and assets of their distinct community and created the first asset map of
the natural and cultural resources of Prospect. The Prospect Green Map will be
used as a model for all of the other community-based Green Maps being developed
in Robeson County.
In the end, all of the
local Green Maps will be combined into one Robeson County Green Map, a thorough
compendium of the abundant natural and cultural resources that are unique to
the county. From the Lumber/Lumbee River Watershed, its abundant and beautiful
cypress swamplands, to the Carolina Bays, to its edible and medicinal plants,
to its potters, fishermen and women,
drummers, musicians, and equestrians,
to the site of a major anti-Klan uprising, and to the places where
Federal troops encamped while searching for Henry Berry Lowry, Robeson County has a powerful biodiversity
and cultural diversity that are its strongest assets and foundation for
sustainable development. The Robeson County Green Maps will also provide
"common texts" for residents seeking a more active role in planning
and development decisions in the County.
During Session 11 of the
Institute and during interviews on the Green Map Project, mapmakers wrote and
spoke:
“I learned the importance of preserving culture. I
learned that culture is used as a basic form and tool of identification. Culture can be a determining factor of one’s
behavior. I learned to be
more acceptant of others people’s beliefs.”
“We need people who stress values with a
positive nature and can listen and reflect on their values in action.”
“Because of the Institute,
we see a little better… We look at what supports us from the past and what is
before us in the future and how to be the best among the brethren.”
”Most people in our
County don't seem to know much or even care much about the abundant treasures
that exist around us, and thus are rarely inclined to nurture or protect
them. The failure of our adult leaders to value their local culture and
environment guarantees that our children will most likely seek and find their
futures elsewhere.”
“What are the stories and values of our
elders that we need to share? What practices do we need to perpetuate? How can
we organize more people to respect and promote our local treasures? How can we
provide opportunities for our youth that will compel them to come back home and
use their talents and skills in this place?”
Through the national and
international Green Map network, youth and adult members of the Prospect
Community are meeting other people and learning about other communities and
cultures throughout the nation and world. Following the publication of the
Prospect Green Map, it was displayed and discussed at the first International
Green Map Conference held in Bellagio, Italy in December 2002.
Job Displacement and Immigrant Expansion: The Impact of Globalization
in Robeson County
“The
economic and social fabric of the county is literally falling apart.” Institute
Member
Throughout
the first year of the Robeson County Grassroots Leadership Development
Institute, an invisible but foreboding cloud hung over the county. It was
discussed at every monthly session of the Institute. There were these questions and more:
“What are we going to do?”; “How are people going to
survive?”; “Why are all the Mexicans coming here?”; “Why do they send their
money home instead of spending it here?”; “Why did our
government not only let, but encourage, these companies to pack up and leave?”;
and “Why don’t they get a union?”
Robeson
County lost 8,000 jobs between 1993 –and 2003,
more than any county in N.C. and perhaps the nation. The federal government identified most of these jobs as
NAFTA-related losses and thousands of unemployed residents now receive extended
unemployment and re-training funds as their only household income. Just at the
moment of great progress when the people in the most ethnically-diverse, rural
county in the nation achieve equitable representation in governance and sit
together for the first time at the tables of decision-making –
the legs of those same tables are cut out from under them by a public policy
far beyond their control. The concept
of economic dependence and the need for policy advocacy could not have been
made any clearer. During the same time, state government promoted the development
and construction of the Smithfield Hog plant, the largest meat packing plant in
the world in neighboring Bladen County. Large-scale hog businesses invaded
Eastern N.C. and Latin American immigrants were brought to work in the
Smithfield plant, choosing to live in Robeson County because of its diverse
population, availability of mobile homes, and close proximity.
to the plant.
Discussions regarding both the massive job loss and
rising tensions with immigrants at the Institute sessions always ended with
this question: “What can we do?” Strategies focused on starting a new project
in CCA that would include research, community organizing, public policy and
program development and advocacy, and recommendations to and negotiations with
public and private sector leaders. Institute members agreed to select
representatives from each cluster to serve on a Project Advisory Board. In
September, 2002, the Robeson County Sustainable Communities Project was formed.
A seed grant of $10,000 was received from the Public Samaritan Program of the
Economic Justice Committee of the N.C. Council of Churches. Research on the
economic and social impact of the massive job displacement is now underway. The strategies of
community organizing and policy advocacy on the federal and state level
will follow.
CCA
has established values and dimensions of effective and successful grassroots
leaders through its CORE Program. The
complementary systems of values and skills development demonstrated in the
Institute and Cluster models provide new opportunities for grassroots leaders
to broaden their leadership commitments and strengthen their leadership
competencies at the same time. It is
these CORE Program values, properly developed and utilized, that will ensure
that grassroots leaders develop in quality, quantity, influence, and
recognition. More than all else, the presence of CORE Program values in action
will result in significant improvements in the lives of people and communities
in Robeson County, N.C. and, perhaps, be a model and inspiration for
others beyond its borders.
For
More Information on the Center For Community Action and its programs, contact:
Center
For Community Action, P.O. Box 723, Lumberton, N.C. 28359
Telephone:
910-739-7851; Fax: 910-618-9839; email: cca@carolina.net