On Getting Power to the People

The Promise of Redemption[i] or On Getting Power to the People

Chapter 4 of Durr and Durr (2008) is the first of three chapters that discuss empowerment. Chapter 4 is about relocating power back to people, communities in Chapter 5, and in Chapter 6 in organizations. These are, according to Durr and Durr (2008) the three pillars of community organization. All three pillars are essential and help further progressive change.

Like the words “community” and “development” discussed already in this class, there is an ambiguity with the term empowerment. The textbook notes that empowerment happens “…when individuals feel they have the capacity to solve problems, control the means to do so, and as a group have authoritative say in decision making (Durr and Durr 2008:61, originally Perkins 1995).” Then the authors go on Page 61 to argue that “Empowerment is ‘both an outcome and process (Banach, Hamilton, and Perri 2003:85). Empowerment, to me, simply fits the old phrase “power to the people.”

Empowerment means different things to different people. Obama (2004:329) wrote

Back in the States, I’d been able to translate such feelings into politics, organizing, a certain self-denial. In Kenya, these strategies seemed hopelessly abstract, even self indulgent. A commitment to black empowerment couldn’t help find Bernard a job. A faith in participatory democracy couldn’t buy Jane a new sheet of sheets. For the first time in my life, I found myself thinking deeply about money: my own lack of it, the pursuit of it, the crude but undeniable peace it could buy.

So, we need to be careful about the term and realize that these abstract concepts may mean nothing when someone is starving, without home, or dodging bullets.

Nowadays the role of technology in providing formerly marginalized people a voice is gaining a deeper appreciation. Around the world, we have witnessed the change in the political landscape resulting to social networking sites and applications. Delanty (2003) was ahead of the curve when he suggested one of the strengths of virtual communities lies in empowering individuals. We see this now in country after country such as Tunisia and Egypt. Do you think this process is translatable to issues within your own community that require a higher level of commitment and civic engagement on the part of the citizens? Is there more hope for positive change in Cairo than in Jackson?

Power is not given by those in power freely. On the other hand, individuals and marginalized groups often relinquish what power they have to those in power. In other words, the powerful get more powerful, and the weaker get weaker.

It is wise to remember Saul Alinsky’s (1989) point “Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.” Empowering people means strategy—how others (friend or foe) perceive that person—their assessment of his or her strengths and weaknesses. What Alinsky is referring to is presentation of self. On a related note, recall the logic behind labeling theory. The labels that others attach to us have implications for what we see ourselves as (e.g. learned inefficacy). Community activists and marginalized people need to frame their own agenda. Letting others define us or our situation is disempowering.

Regarding disempowerment, Obama (2004:230) mentioned Chicago’s Altgeld projects. He pointed out how community workers such as

…teachers, drug counselors, policemen…were there only for the paycheck; others sincerely wanted to help. But whatever their motives, they would all at some point confess a common weariness that was bone-deep. They had lost whatever confidence they might have once had in their ability to reverse the deterioration they saw all around them. With that loss of confidence came a loss in the capacity for outrage. The idea of responsibility—their own, that of others—slowly eroded, replaced with gallows humor and low expectations.

Many people buy into the rhetoric of those in power. You may have realized this when you see a lower-income person voting against their own self interest. Such actions help someone or some group but not that individual. Much of our day-to-day assumptions reinforce status quo. The current accepted notion of government is that it is bad and business is good. This statement is like looking at an object in a faceted lens—we see different things depending on the angle from which we are looking at. Much power and wealth, is clouded or hidden from our perception. We tend to add layers that make the view even more opaque (e.g. system bias, extreme individualism, self-blame). What is often not asked is why is the accepted view of whatever the only legitimate view?

Rubin and Rubin (2008:63) mention that “…humiliation often renders [people] powerless.” Earlier, Alinsky noted that “Ridicule is man’s potent weapon.” Frequently we blame the victims. You may have heard someone mention that they invited harm to themselves by the way they dressed or acted. The view is shifted away from the violator/perpetrator/abuser to the target. Rubin and Rubin mentioned the culture of poverty as an example of blame shifting. On its face, I find it hard to believe that people prefer to be marginalized and oppressed. It is ironic that those who make such claims are well-heeled. You may have heard such rhetoric recently about unemployment insurance and how it provides an incentive for unemployed people to remain lazy.

As a white male, I should be aware of how my master statuses of whiteness and being male have presented opportunities to me that other people are not likely to receive. My teenage years were poverty-stricken and isolated—yet I was able to overcome that context to become who I am today. I am pretty sure my story would have been much different if I had been a pregnant teenage girl. I also had a nurturing environment—truly my case was one in which it did take a village to raise a child.[ii]

Rubin and Rubin (2008) mention some ways that the powerful marginalize people. There is “attacking the messenger.” Remember this tactic that was used so effectively in the lead-up to the Iraq War? Ridicule as I already mentioned is powerful (e.g. disempowering through personalization). Arguing if community or society concedes some resources to one group hurts another group (zero-sum) is another popular tactic. The final tactic mentioned was system bias where interlocking directorates, essentially oligarchies, keep power and resources to themselves. There is a long history in sociology that focuses on system bias (see G. William Domhoff or Gaetano Mosca’s circulation of elites).

Combating Disempowerment

According to the textbook knowledge/skills and hope are important tools empowering people. If you recall there are models of community development organizations that revolve on economic and social development. One underappreciated aspect of the importance of knowledge/skills in capacity building is the ability to (borrowed heavily from Berger 1963:25-53):

• Debunk-questioning unquestionable societal questions.
• Unrespectible—looking at the displeasing facets of society and not relying on authoritarian worldviews.
• Relative—appreciating the diversity of opinion. Rarely is there unanimity in anything. Remember variety is the spice of life.
• Cosmopolitan—Rising above a parochial view of life.

The key is sociological imagination or the ability to see that our personal problems are connected to bigger issues within society. Remember, our tendency (which benefits those in power) is to see ourselves as islands. If many people share the same problem, how can it be anyone individual’s fault alone?

Teaching people to become empowered is itself, an empowering experience. Moreover, if you remember our past discussions, a movement without hope is just an exercise in failure.

RESOURCES

Alinsky, Saul David. 1989. Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals. Vintage Books ed. New York: Vintage Books.

Berger, Peter. 1963. An Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective. Garden City, New York: Doubleday Anchor.

Delanty, Gerard. 2003. Community. 1st ed. Routledge.

Feagin, Joe R., and Hernan Vera. 2008. Liberation Sociology: Second Edition. 2nd ed. Paradigm Publishers.

Obama, Barack. 2007. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. 1st ed. New York: Crown Publishers.

Rubin, Herbert J., and Irene S. Rubin. 2008. Community Organizing and Development. 4th ed. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon

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[i] Obama 2004:135

[ii] I highlighted this point on a visit to my high school where I talked with a former teacher who is now the school superintendent. She remarked about how much I achieved. I let her know that if it were not for her and others I would not be where I am today.