Building From Within

Tyrone Schiff Political Science 300 When we are young, we are told that we can change the world. As we grow older, we realize how formidable and daunting such a task truly is. Yet, if you notice, our world changes a little everyday, and over longer periods in time, it actually ends up changing a lot. At the foundation of challenging the status-quo are two fundamental principles, power and leadership. These two ingredients are irrevocably connected to one another in the context of addressing public problems. Community leaders and organizers wield and mobilize the powers available to them to accomplish collective goals. Illustrations of this are well depicted by the work of Paul Farmer and his establishment of Partners in Health (PIH) and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI). Furthermore, current Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, acts as a worthwhile example of the personification of power, leadership, and the complimentarity of service and politics. The aforementioned cases were unusually effective and successful in realizing their aims. This is due to the fact that in order to fully unleash the benefits of leadership and power, organizational sustainability has to be built in to eliminate the impact of time and efforts have to grow organically from within1. Paul Farmer used his power as a leader to establish a sustainable organization that is fueled by the community it assists. Farmer was deeply concerned with the health system in Haiti and felt compelled to do something about it2. As a result, he established, along with other supporters, Partners In Health, in 1987 that would serve as a mechanism for channeling money to Cange to make health improvements in the region3. The significance of PIH is the capacity of Farmer as a leader to see a struggle, an issue, a solution that was far bigger than himself. Tracy Kidder, author of Mountains Beyond 1

Kretzmann, John P. 1995. "Building communities from the inside out," Shelterforce (Sept./Oct.). Kidder, Tracy. 2003. Mountains Beyond Mountains. p.82. New York: Random House. 3 Ibid., at p.99 2

Tyrone Schiff Political Science 300 Mountains, articulates this claim when he writes, “[PIH] was a way [Farmer] could institutionalize what he felt so passionately about, a vehicle through which his friends could participate4.” In doing so, Farmer created a perpetual organization that could accomplish goals, solicit support, and fight for progress with or without him. With this infrastructure in place, the mission of taking on tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, while complex and time-consuming, had a solid foundation on which to grow. This is how a leader truly utilizes power. Paul Farmer was also especially cognizant that in order to heal a sick community, he would have to start from the inside5. From very early on, Farmer made use of the assets readily available to him in Haiti. Kidder states, “[Farmer] enlisted five Haitians, all about his age, all of whom had gone at least as far in as the first year of junior high, and they went from hut to hut through Cange […]6” Farmer could have used his power as a leader poorly by bringing assistants from the outside, but he chose to use members of the community he intended to help. There are two marked benefits to this. First, Farmer is educating people in the community about an issue that is afflicting them. Second, by making the community members perform the work it makes the issue at hand real and personal. Due to Farmer’s ability to manage both leadership and power he was able to succeed and accomplish his goals. In a similar vain, the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) is the actualization of a sustainable organization led and powered by the Roxbury/North Dorchester residents. The Dudley area was one of the poorest areas in all of Boston and was afflicted by vacant lots, divestment, arson, and dumping7. In order to revitalize the 4

Ibid. Ibid. 1 6 Ibid. 2 7 Documentary film, "Holding Ground." 5

Tyrone Schiff Political Science 300 area, a group of concerned citizens came together in 1984 to form the DSNI, in doing so, laying the foundation for future progress8. This organization helped in several ways. First, it worked to consolidate the efforts of many in a focused, strategic way. Second, it developed a singular point of reference for those residents who were interested in resolving community issues. And finally, third, it developed an ongoing and recyclable structure of participants by involving children and cultivating leaders from within. Looking over the history and accomplishments of the DSNI is inspiring, because each year of its existence has brought about a little bit more change than the year preceding it. There is absolutely no better example of harnessing the assets from within a community than John Barros, current executive director of the DSNI. Barros has been active in the DSNI since he was 17 years old when he sought greater involvement for youth participants in the DSNI9. Since then, Barros studied at Dartmouth College but returned back to Roxbury/North Dorchester and has collaborated on several efforts relating to neighborhood improvement. He has established himself as a leader in the DSNI. All of this progress may not have been realized without the essential foundation that was laid all those years back in 1984. Even though Barros was not involved in the initial founding of the DSNI, its existence gave him an outlet to contribute his efforts. Having this organization has institutionalized a nurturing culture of leadership in the Roxbury/Dorchester area, one that can sustain itself indefinitely. In so many ways does current Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, exemplify the complemintarity of service and politics. Obama established his political career on the basis of community organizing with the Developing Communities Project (DCP), which

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http://www.dsni.org Ibid. 7

Tyrone Schiff Political Science 300 sought to focus on developing black neighborhoods10. Obama worked on the South Side of Chicago for three years, focusing on transforming congregations to change their neighborhoods together. Even at the young age of 24, Obama took a leadership role in trying to shape the reformation and development of communities. Obama indicates the inextricable connection of service and politics when he says, “I grew up to be a man, right here, in this area [Chicago]. It's as a consequence of working with this organization and this community that I found my calling. There was something more than making money and getting a fancy degree. The measure of my life would be public service11." Obama communicates his work in politics being tied to public service. The two most definitely compliment each other, and Obama’s experience is a visible indication of that. Leadership and power have the ability to change the world. However, the examples of PIH and DSNI reveal the importance in how those elements are utilized. Power is gained by the collective action of individuals summoned together under a unified purpose. The most effective way of achieving this is through the implementation of sustainable organizations. These entities form the backbone of public service initiatives and provide a solid foundation on which communities can grow, progress, and develop. Leadership springs from these institutions almost organically, harnessing and cultivating the strengths and assets of the community it intends to assist. Senator Obama exemplifies the link between leadership, power, service and politics. Public problems can become public solutions with effective leadership and power.

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Moberg, David. “Obama’s Community Roots.” http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070416/moberg. Ibid.