_________________________________________The 4th Estate, April 9, 1970... 3
Only BUF Making Progress
Halifax Waiting For A Knight In Armor?
By NICK FILLMORE
Social activist Saul Alinsky provided no cure-all for the problems of minorities in Nova Scotia during his visit last week.
Alinsky bluntly told organizers they were fooling themselves if they thought anything important was happening in Halifax which would improve the lot of the poor.
He said that full-time, professional organizers were needed to work in the community and said that institutions like the Maritime School of Social Work should be producing people who are willing to challenge the social structure and work for change.
Alinsky, who has organized blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans and poor whites in the U. S. to fight for their rights, said that organizations working for change should not have to rely on government .funds as is the case in almost all Nova Scotia programs. Funds should come from the community.
His criticisms clearly showed the failure of· social workers to come to grips with a system that forces thousands of families in Nova Scotia to live at sub-standard levels. He denounced the claims of welfare clients that people could not be organized because of fear of reprisal.
Alinsky's final session In Joseph Howe School before more than 800 citizens was disappointing to most people.
"What the hell do you expect the second coming?" barked Alinsky when youth worker Eddie Carvery said the famed American wasn’t dealing with local Issues. During earlier sessions at St. Mary's University; however, he had laid the basic groundwork for organization.
He said organizers could expect to spend months sitting on back porches or having coffee with people before it would be possible to get their trust and have them unite behind a common cause.
Alinsky’s theory may apply to North End Halifax, where deprived residents are fed up with the disorganized attempts_ to confront the establishment over such matters as housing, recreation and welfare payments. They are, for the large part, a broken people who would require months of field work to unite behind a solid front of any sort that would [make them] able to stand together on an issue.
People who have considered themselves community leaders were in some cases despondent because Alinsky so clearly showed them nothing really was happening in Halifax.
Even as Alinsky spoke, and as various speakers from the floor confronted him, many people seemed to be looking for a knight in armor to come charging onto the scene to lead the poor. But he didn’t appear. It just doesn't happen that way.
BUF THE EXCEPTION
The only exception maybe the organizers behind the Black United Front, who seem convinced that a five-year program will do much to unite and improve the lot of Nova Scotia’s 18,000 blacks.
The appointment' of Jules Oliver to head BUF may already have been announced by the time The 4th ESTATE goes to press. Oliver, who is also highly rated by federal officials who are financing BUF, may have the organizational ability to make the body function properly. But a capable staff to begin self-help programs in the various black Communities is also vital.
Racial problems at Halifax City Hall recently may have, set back race relations considerably. There is evidence of a white backlash.
And still to be resolved is the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission public Inquiry Into charges by BUF chairman Carlyle Warner that he was discriminated against in nor being considered for the job as Chief Planner in Halifax. And his more recent charges that there were acts of reprisal against him at city hall appear more serious.
The entire future of race relations -- as far as black community leaders are concerned -- could depend on the tone and outcome of the Warner inquiry. Also at stake may be the future of the Human Rights Commission.
Present day community activists are invited to respond or to reflect to this flashback from the past and they may do so by leaving a comment on this site or by emailing me directly at fsjboyd@yahoo.com.
Only BUF Making Progress
Halifax Waiting For A Knight In Armor?
By NICK FILLMORE
Social activist Saul Alinsky provided no cure-all for the problems of minorities in Nova Scotia during his visit last week.
Alinsky bluntly told organizers they were fooling themselves if they thought anything important was happening in Halifax which would improve the lot of the poor.
He said that full-time, professional organizers were needed to work in the community and said that institutions like the Maritime School of Social Work should be producing people who are willing to challenge the social structure and work for change.
Alinsky, who has organized blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans and poor whites in the U. S. to fight for their rights, said that organizations working for change should not have to rely on government .funds as is the case in almost all Nova Scotia programs. Funds should come from the community.
His criticisms clearly showed the failure of· social workers to come to grips with a system that forces thousands of families in Nova Scotia to live at sub-standard levels. He denounced the claims of welfare clients that people could not be organized because of fear of reprisal.
Alinsky's final session In Joseph Howe School before more than 800 citizens was disappointing to most people.
"What the hell do you expect the second coming?" barked Alinsky when youth worker Eddie Carvery said the famed American wasn’t dealing with local Issues. During earlier sessions at St. Mary's University; however, he had laid the basic groundwork for organization.
He said organizers could expect to spend months sitting on back porches or having coffee with people before it would be possible to get their trust and have them unite behind a common cause.
Alinsky’s theory may apply to North End Halifax, where deprived residents are fed up with the disorganized attempts_ to confront the establishment over such matters as housing, recreation and welfare payments. They are, for the large part, a broken people who would require months of field work to unite behind a solid front of any sort that would [make them] able to stand together on an issue.
People who have considered themselves community leaders were in some cases despondent because Alinsky so clearly showed them nothing really was happening in Halifax.
Even as Alinsky spoke, and as various speakers from the floor confronted him, many people seemed to be looking for a knight in armor to come charging onto the scene to lead the poor. But he didn’t appear. It just doesn't happen that way.
BUF THE EXCEPTION
The only exception maybe the organizers behind the Black United Front, who seem convinced that a five-year program will do much to unite and improve the lot of Nova Scotia’s 18,000 blacks.
The appointment' of Jules Oliver to head BUF may already have been announced by the time The 4th ESTATE goes to press. Oliver, who is also highly rated by federal officials who are financing BUF, may have the organizational ability to make the body function properly. But a capable staff to begin self-help programs in the various black Communities is also vital.
Racial problems at Halifax City Hall recently may have, set back race relations considerably. There is evidence of a white backlash.
And still to be resolved is the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission public Inquiry Into charges by BUF chairman Carlyle Warner that he was discriminated against in nor being considered for the job as Chief Planner in Halifax. And his more recent charges that there were acts of reprisal against him at city hall appear more serious.
The entire future of race relations -- as far as black community leaders are concerned -- could depend on the tone and outcome of the Warner inquiry. Also at stake may be the future of the Human Rights Commission.
Present day community activists are invited to respond or to reflect to this flashback from the past and they may do so by leaving a comment on this site or by emailing me directly at fsjboyd@yahoo.com.
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