Study Notes on Anti-Oppressive Practice With Communities

Community Practice: Refers to the work at the community level, with synonymous terms including community intervention, community organization, and community organizing.
Community Organizing vs. Community Organization: Community organizing often seen as a sub-category of community organization within social work, though some community organizers dissociate from social work influences (DeFillipis et al., 2010).
Community Intervention/Practice: Preferred term in the context of social work to describe interventions at the community level. This practice lies between micro-level work with individuals/families and macro-level work in movements and policy.

Complex Concept: Community can be perceived in a multitude of ways; often categorized by geography (place) or by interest/identity.
Intersectionality: Communities defined by geographic boundaries may also share identity ties. Conversely, identity-based communities may be geographically diverse.
Importance of Community: Communities influence daily life, labor markets, and political involvement. They are vital in delivering social services and housing (DeFillipis et al., 2010).

Ferdinand Tönnies: Introduced key terms:
- Gemeinschaft: Refers to informal, mutual relationships typically found in agrarian societies.
- Gesellschaft: Concerns formal, bureaucratic relationships seen in industrial societies. These concepts align with Hegel's notions of family-society and civic-society (Weil, 2005a).
Historical Shift: Tönnies suggested a societal transition from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft correlating with the shift from agrarian to modern industrial societies.

Locality Development: Focuses on collective action for community well-being.
- UN Definition of Community Development: A process for economic and social progress with active community participation.
- Critique: Locality development may face slow change and co-optation by conservative interests prioritizing privatization.
Social Planning/Policy: Technical in nature, prioritizing detailed assessments for service organization, while less focused on community involvement.
- Distinction: Social planning involves local efforts, while social policy often has broader implications.
Social Action: Emphasizes structural change and redistributing power/resources for marginalized groups through advocacy tactics.
- Methods: Includes demonstrations, civil disobedience, and disruptive actions.

Community practices may incorporate elements from multiple intervention modes.
Example: The United Farm Workers combine advocacy with community development practices.

Features:
- Focus on social conditions impacting poverty.
- Integrated approach, serving community and fostering cross-class solidarity.
- Advocacy for social and political justice.
Lugenia Burns Hope and the Atlanta Neighborhood Union: Advocated for community needs through surveys and health services.

Increased radicalism in organizing due to economic failures; pivotal in forming local councils and working with groups like the Communist Party.
Saul Alinsky: Influential in labor and community organizing, focusing on local issues.

Expansion of community organizing, ignited by significant social movements (e.g., civil rights, Black Panthers).
Black Panther Party: Initiated community programs like schools and free breakfast, challenging systemic inequalities.

Community work adaptations towards conservative models occurred post-1970s, fueling the growth of community development corporations (CDCs).
The emergence of coalitions and conservative groups aimed at countering progressive movements (e.g., ROAR).

Community Inquiry: Engaging community in assessing their conditions leading to informed action. Example: Hull House’s investigations into public health concerns.
Community Mobilization: Facilitating grassroots power through the organization of diverse community members (e.g., Saul Alinsky’s work).
Popular Education: Utilizing community experiences as a knowledge base, prioritizing participatory methods (Freire's influence).
Resilience-Based Organizing: Communities taking control through self-governance and mutual aid.
Cultural Organizing: Integrating arts in community narratives and movements (e.g., creative placemaking).
Participatory Action Approach: Emphasizing community-led data collection and planning (e.g., PRA techniques).
Sustainable Development: Emphasizing social, economic, and environmental health, addressing environmental racism.
- Definitions:
  - Sustainable Development: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations.
  - Environmental Racism: Racism in environmental policies and their enforcement, targeting communities of color (Chavis, 1994).
Community Asset Mapping: A shift from deficit-focused to asset-based community development practices, identifying strengths within communities.

Capitalist Influences: Neoliberalism has directed community work towards privatized approaches. Anti-oppressive practitioners must navigate these waters to promote justice-based objectives while resisting co-optation of community narratives.

Grassroots Organizing Potential: Current socio-political climates present opportunities for grassroots movements to enact real change. Active engagement and discernment in tactics are essential for effective practices.