F o r
Leadership
Matt W. Cummings
Assistant Director for Spirituality, Service, and Social Justice
DePauw University
@mattwcummings
“Come see the world
not as a static reality,
but as a reality in
process, in
transformation” –
Paulo Freire
What is coming:
1. The Reason
2. The Content
3. The Story
If we want social change
We need social theory 1
Charity
Has
Failed
Us
The Reason
1 Poverty rates over 40 years and no change
The Reason
2 Charity fosters dependence on the ruling class
False charity constrains the fearful and
subdued…to extend their trembling hands. True
generosity lies in striving so that these
hands….extend less in supplication…and more
become human hands which work, and
working transform the world. – Paulo Freire
The Reason
3 Noble intentions are not always effective outcomes
Next to money and
guns, the third largest
North American
export is the U.S.
idealist - Ivan Illich
The Reason(s)
1
2
3
Poverty rates over 40 years and no change
Charity fosters dependence on the ruling class
Noble intentions are not always effective outcomes
“Charity is false, futile, and poisonous
when offered as a substitute for justice.”
–Henry George
The Content: Want Change? Do
This. 2
Idea #1 Community Change Starts on the Block
Not the (town)‘Square
Local
People
Local
Issues Address
The role of community
development is not
economic development
It is ownership and
empowerment to
control one’s future
Idea #2 Creating Anti-Oppressive Leadership
Create a culture of constant dialogue
and feedback
Develop a shared vision that is
co-authored by stakeholders
Start with where people are at
Not where you expect them to be
Idea #3
Mobilize, Organize, Never Stop
Moving
Alinsky-Based Model
1 The power of change comes through social
capital
Alinsky-Based Model
1
2
The power of change comes through social
capital
Strengthen the unity within an already existing
organization
Alinsky-Based Model
1
2
3
The power of change comes through social
capital
Strengthen the unity within an already existing
organization
Identify the common enemy, seize it, polarize it.
Alinsky-Based Model
1
2
3
The power of change comes through social
capital
Strengthen the unity within an already existing
organization
Identify the common enemy, seize it, polarize it.
4 Mobilize and energize the poor and then turn over
leadership to them.
Change means movement.
Movement means friction.
Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict. – Saul Alinsky
Feminist-Based Model
1 Birthed originally under constrains of
patriarchal relationships
Feminist-Based Model
1
2
Birthed originally under constrains of
patriarchal relationships
Focuses on the responsibility connected
through relationships and collective orientation
Feminist-Based Model
1
2
3
Birthed originally under constrains of
patriarchal relationships
Focuses on the responsibility connected
through relationships and collective orientation
Implements small team approach that builds
relationships with power holders
Tupelo Model
Economic
Development
Community
Development
Organization Development
Leadership Development
Human Development
The Story: This is who we are 3
What are your stories and how will you create new movements of justice?
Let’s Recap
1. Charity models are too old-
school.
2. Change comes through locality.
3. Always be mobilizing and
networking.
THANK YOU!
Matt W. Cummings
Assistant Director for Spirituality, Service, and Social Justice
DePauw University
@mattwcummings
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