I am a Community Organizer

In response to the scornful comments made about community organizers at the Republican National Convention last week, bloggers have chosen to blog today on the hard, thankless, never ending, oh so important work of community organizers. In honor of all the contributors at I Am Suing Patriarchy and countless others I am fortunate to call friends and commrades, I want to take a moment give thanks for community organizers.

Community organizers have been at the root of any social change. While it can take many forms such as protests, petitioning, advocating, celebrations, canvassing, educating, registering voters, vigils, fundraising, marching, church meetings, neighborhood watches, government funded organizations, non-profits who rely solely on donations and volunteers, letter writing campaigns, feeding those without food, speaking for those who are not heard, listening to someone share her/his story, and many other ways, it always is done by working with people in the community. Community organizers are the first to respond to injustices that unfairly target certain groups of people. They are often from the community they are advocating for, providing an authentic voice in an ever-increasing world of meaningless quips and political banter. While politicians talk about their "real responsibility", it is the community organizers who suffer with the community when policies fail and promises are broken.

It was community organizers who first questioned the rule of England in what would become the United States. It was community organizers that developed the Underground Railroad and demanded that all be free in this country. It was community organizers who insisted that people of color and women have the right to vote. It was community organizers who advocated against child labor and for adequate public education. It was community organizers who saw a need to support the disadvantaged in our country and created social services. It was community organizers who fought for civil rights throughout history for countless groups. It was community organizers who demanded that women have a choice about their bodies and when they have children. It was community organizers who spoke out about the violence perpetrated on targeted groups. It was community organizers who protested war after war, and it was community organizers that advocated for veterens who were forgotten by the country who asked them to sacrifice all. It was community organizers who believed that everyone has the right to practice the faith of their choice and called upon our government to create a separation of church and state. It was community organizers who protected and supported when all others turned a blind eye. It was community organizers that fought for every right you have.

It will be community organizers that make sure you have your needs met should you not be financially able to. It will be community organizers that help you raise your voice high so that you are not forgotten about in our society and government. It will be community organizers that work to protect you should you be violently targeted for your identity. It will be community organizers who demand that your vote count. It will be community organizers who fight for your right to equal and adequate resources. It will be community organizers who demand that you have healthcare regardless of whether you can pay or not. It will be community organizers that insist on your right to age with dignity and proper support. It will be community organizers who work to ensure that you always have a choice. It will be community organizers who protect you from government corruption. It will be community organizers who will demand access to healthy and non-toxic foods and products for you. It will be community organizers who will fight for you when you cannot. It will be community organizers who stand by you when others walk away.

It would be easy for me to launch into a diatribe against the Republicans and promote the agenda of the Democratic party, but that's not what I want to do today. I want to take a moment to reflect on the deep saddness I felt when hearing government leaders mock the hard work and history of so many in this country. I think of all those people, both past and present, who never had a convention in their honor or even heard so much as a thank you from these leaders for doing the work that should have already been done by the government tasked with protecting us all. It frightens me that current leaders are so out of touch with the people in this nation that they would revel in their privileged status on television while many that night went to bed worrying about when they will get a job, where tomorrow's meals will come from, what to do if they get sick, or how to go on another day in a society that systematically denys them protection and equal rights. The remarks that night prove to me that there is still so much work to be done. No matter who wins the election in November, we must all continue to fight for what is rightfully ours and hold our government to the standards of nothing but excellence. Although we were mocked and disparaged that night, I know I am a small part of a great history of people who cared enough to do something when injustice occured.

I am proud to be a community organizer.