ORGANIZING IN FRESNO: WHO ARE PICO, ACORN, AND THE IAF?

ORGANIZING IN FRESNO: WHO ARE PICO, ACORN, AND THE IAF?
By Mike Rhodes

In the last several years, Fresno and the Central Valley have experienced an increasing interest by national “community-based organizing projects.” These organizations are setting up shop, building bases of support, and competing for influence in the area. Recently we have seen ACORN <http://www.acorn.org/>, PICO <http://www.picocalifornia.org/index.html>, and the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) <http://www.iafnw.com/portland.asp> playing a role in the local organizing scene. Who are these organizations and what do they want? What impact will their presence have on this area’s progressive community?

I became aware of the Relational Culture Institute’s (RCI) work in this area in October 2001. Keith Bergthold, chief executive officer for the RCI approached me and wanted to know about Fresno-area community groups. During several meetings with Keith and his staff we discussed many of the dynamics of groups in the progressive movement in this area. They were interested in labor, religious, and grassroots community groups. The institute, it was explained, works with grassroots groups to empower their leaders through skills-training workshops and conferences. The RCI has sent organizers to skills-training conferences held by both the IAF and PICO.

According to the IAF website, that group was “organized in 1940 by Bishop Bernard Shiel of the Chicago Catholic Archdiocese, retailer Marshall Field, Kathryn Lewis (daughter of labor leader John L. Lewis), and Saul Alinsky. The ‘modern’ IAF emerged in the 1970s. In 2001, there are 62 affiliated organizations in the United States network, and organizations in Great Britain and South Africa.” Saul Alinsky is an icon of a particular organizing style which has been used by numerous groups including the United Farm Workers. In fact, all three of these groups use the techniques of Saul Alinsky in their work. One thing that struck me about the Relational Culture Institute approach to this work was that it was content neutral. They had not come to Fresno to build a progressive movement for peace and social and economic justice. What they are doing is training grassroots and faith-based activists in organizing skills—empowering the disenfranchised. Not a bad goal. Again, quoting from the IAF website about its political purpose:

“IAF's work is building Broad-Based Organizations, which are large scale (city-wide or metropolitan), and based in Mediating Institutions of church, synagogue, mosque, union, school, strong civic, environmental, housing and health groups.

1. Developing deep Relational-Action-Reflection culture within the Civic Sector Mediating Institutions, in which members of those institutions come to know each others' stories and interests at profound levels.

2. Developing the capacity to negotiate with Government and Market Sector decision-makers, who sit at tables where strategic decisions are made that impact the lives of our people.”

The Relational Culture Institute began in Fresno by working with churches, many small, mostly rural groups, and then began working to build a community–labor alliance with the Central Labor Council. Their vision was to build a safe relationship with organized labor that primarily consisted of connecting them with churches and more or less politically neutral community groups. Two years later, The Relational Culture Institute is an emerging power within the community that is well connected with organized labor, the religious sector, and an increasing number of community groups.

Fresno Area Congregations Together (FACT) has been active in Fresno for several years. Primarily active in West and Southeast Fresno, FACT is a strong advocate for the poor, working closely with churches, and has until recently been affiliated with PICO. FACT is the group that held the forum in West Fresno to demand that a junior high school be built. Most of the students in West Fresno were being bussed out of the area and the residents were not going to take it any more. With the help of FACT, parents, students, and neighbors came together and demanded that school board members pledge themselves to change the situation. After the forum the school board agreed to build a new junior high on the West Side and now the activists in FACT know what it is like to achieve a victory in their community. FACT has held other community meetings, such as the one that included hundreds of community members demanding that Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer change the culture of the department to be more respectful of area residents.

At the time of these community meetings, FACT was affiliated with PICO. Here is how PICO describes itself on its website:

“PICO's mission is to assist in the building of community organizations with the power to improve the quality of life of families and neighborhoods. PICO carries out its mission through leadership-training seminars; the recruitment of and development of professional community organizers; and ongoing consultation and technical assistance.

Through the PICO network, people learn to participate in and influence our political system and democratic institutions. Those who were previously ignored, excluded, or apathetic become involved. People's stake in our society is made real. Family life is strengthened. The once-torn fabric of neighborhoods and communities is rewoven. At the very heart of this mission is the process of helping people to help themselves.

Local organizing activities within the PICO Network are guided by the principles and concepts found in the Congregation-Community Model of Community Organization. Congregations of all denominations are the building blocks of the community organization. The members of a local congregation and those living in the neighborhood join together in a powerful expression of unity that transcends racial, ethnic, and income differences. PICO seeks to involve all elements of a community based on the following principles:

1. Respect for human dignity
2. Creation of a just society
3. Development of the whole person.”

FACT, which is no longer affiliated with PICO, has shifted gears and is now working on a voter empowerment project with Southeast and Tower district voters. Manuel Toledo, project coordinator, says that he is “working to empower the emerging majority of Latino voters in this area so they have real political power” that matches their numbers in this community. This project is about focusing on a small number of precincts in a district election and influencing the balance of power in this community. “Not only will we help elect candidates, we will hold them accountable to the community,” Toledo added.

The third group, and the newest to the area, is ACORN. According to its website: “ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate-income families, with over 150,000 member families organized into 750 neighborhood chapters in about 60 cities across the country.” ACORN is still getting established in Fresno and its staff is going door-to-door in Southeast Fresno to build membership. Once established, expect ACORN to work on such issues as better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities from banks and governments, and better public schools.

The Relational Culture Institute is now working closely with PICO through a new group called Faith in Community (FIC), which is a network of local congregations. FIC is affiliated with PICO. That association will mean a closer relationship between the Institute and the religious community. With their already strong ties with organized labor, an even closer connection with the religious community through their association with FIC, and a firm connection with many grassroots community groups, the Relational Culture Institute is becoming an influential group in regional politics.

What does all of this mean for the progressive community in Fresno?

Poverty, racism, environmental degradation, and economic exploitation in the Central Valley are so intense that most people can’t see how it can ever change. They feel powerless and beaten down. That is about to change because now we have groups here, and they are willing to train grassroots activists how to organize for change. All of these groups want to empower poor and working people to stand up for their rights. Each of them has a different culture and some slightly different techniques and styles of work. But, in the final analysis, each organizer they train and every victory they achieve will make Fresno a better community. Fresno’s progressive community welcomes PICO, ACORN, and the Relational Culture Institute. In unity there is strength.

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ACORN
560 E Shields
Fresno CA
(559) 441–7131
caacornsjro [at] acorn.org

Fresno Area Congregations Together [DNS Mike, Need PICO info, not FACT info? –B]
2839 Mariposa
Fresno, CA 93721
Ph. (559) 442–3120
Fax (559) 441–3126
organizerpoet [at] comcast.net

The Relational Culture Institute
3485 West Shaw Ave
Fresno, CA 93711
Ph. (559) 266–6172
Fax (559) 266–6175
keith [at] relational-culture.com