Saul D. Alinsky

Saul D. Alinsky

The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Counsel strike, 1939

     "The Democratic Process" is about Saul Alinksy working towards organizing communities to support negros towards working, getting involved, and making demands for their communities. Mr Alinsky was born in Chicago in the early 20th century. In the 1930s he graduated with a bachelors in Criminal Justice. After getting his degree he worked alot with youths in their communities, also working with juveniles he gained experience working with the under privileged. During that time in Chicago wages were cut three times in one year.  Main focus in the era and time was that communities were to work and come together to create social justice through American Democracy. Alinsky went on to create The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Counsels in 1939 which showed the way to organize a community and it created a welfare station cut in morality rate by half.  Right when the BYNC was created a strike broke out.  Other committees were also created in this time frame to create community organization, such as International Areas Foundation (IAF). Alinsneky died on June 12, 1972, he was 63 at the time and died of a heart attack.

Sara Rice

     Saul Alinsky's key focus was always on community organizing.  His campaigns main principle was on bringing the black and white community together and to get them to share amongst themselves.  Also advocating for the black community to go after what they deserve and rightfully should get, they have a "right to a job".  He was interested in an organization that was involved in all sectors.  Saul was also focused on "revolution not revalation".  He wanted to make changes from the bigger side of the picture.  He focused on the greater community than the individual members in the community.  Saul's brother David mentioned in the video that "Sara Rice (his mother) motivated him, that it's the responsibilty of individuals to be responsible for other individuals and you just can't walk away when you see something that's not right".  Alinsky had said that "social justice can be changed through American Democracy" and that "you can't get change for social justice without confronting it".  Two theories that one could say is related to Alinsky and his beliefs are: the theories of social organization and social change for the first one and theories of economic growth and development.   The reasons for those two are given directly in the title, which were the direct ways that Alinsky was trying to work with communities.  Alinsky was on the constant move of talking to people whether at colleges, debates, or even just meetings he was really out trying to spread the word of change and organizing to come together.  Malcolm X himself said that Alinsky knows about organizing.  Alinsky believed that his organizations were creating a way, a way for those to come.

Some really interesting words that I got from the films are as followed:

• What can this white man do for black liberty?
• Black Power spells FIGHT
• Hell with charity, you'll get what you're strong enough to get.
• Real education from work on the street.
• Only contribution Kodak made to race relations was with making colored films.

     This film was a bit boring, but it taught me that macro practice doesn't have to be something of a broad topic but that instead you can tune your energy in on just focusing on one topic.  It taught me that for something to be macro it just has to affect more than 10 people.  This video also taught me that macro practice isn't always about just policy but of making change on a larger scale that individually.  It also showed me that when working on a macro level scale it is always helpful to have more that a couple of people working with you but it is good to know what you are after so you can be specific and explain it to those whom are interested.

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