Principles 18 страница

Adult allies also benefit from involvement in youth-led initiatives (Young Wisdom Project 2004): ‘‘As allies, adults learn new ways of relating to young people as partners and peers. They learn how to shift to a coach and mentor relationship, supporting young people’s full potential. In turn, they are challenged to continue their own process of learning and developing. ’’ A good learner is someone who can recognize new lessons to be learned in a variety of situations, regardless of the age of the individual imparting the wisdom. Thus, adults can and should be receptive to learning from youth. Unfortunately, most young people have been socialized to think about knowl-edge as only worthwhile when imparted by adults. As a result, adults must be willing to be resocialized to view young people as a source of knowledge.

Within the youth-led model, the role and extent of involvement by adult allies is determined by youth (Delgado 2006). Young people decide when and how adults are to be involved, and under what circumstances they are not welcomed; however, a ‘‘good’’ adult ally almost always is accepted. Consequently, it is important that youth-led community organizing be thought of as a form of coalition, with youth in positions of leadership and adults playing behind-the-scene roles, entering and leaving the joint effort as required by youth leaders.

Conclusion

The fifteen crosscutting themes identified in this chapter highlight both what makes youth-led community organizing unique to this group and the elements they share with their adult counterparts. These crosscutting themes are by no means the only that can exist. We are sure that the reader may disagree with the selection of some of these themes and undoubtedly has his or her own themes in addition. This is expected and even encour-aged. Age-related issues, the role of family, the importance of fun, and the use of technology have distinctive characteristics that highlight how youth-led community organizing differs from its adult counterparts. We believe the crosscutting themes identified here are salient topics for understanding the field of youth-led community organizing. Ultimately, which themes will emerge as the most significant, and which will die a lonely death through lack of attention, no one can predict. However, debate about crosscutting themes will continue as long as the field of youth-led community organiz-ing is growing and venturing into new and exciting social arenas, in this country and internationally.

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Part III

A View and Lessons from the Field

The reason why I say organizing is the best model of youth development is you’re not just focusing on one specific area. You want to develop a young person. . . in a very holistic way and at the same time really raising their consciousness so that they’re not just an individual. They’re not just one person that’s becoming better and then they can better their lives—but that for them to better themselves they also need to better the community as well. [Youth organizing] really changes the concept from an individual to a collective and I think that’s really im-portant to the person’s development. —James, Bringing it Together (2005)

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Youth First in Jackson Square!

¡ Jovenes Primero!

Case Study: Boston, Massachusetts

We will do a disservice to all young people if we do not find ways to create a public idea of youth as change agents: one that starts rather than concludes with the engagement of young people whose lives and communi-ties are most in need of changing. —Pittman, Balancing the Equation (2000)

Case studies can help practitioners see how theoretical concepts can be applied to actual, real-life situations. Practitioners then may be able to apply these principles and methods to their own work. However, local social-change activists must determine which aspects of a case study are trans-ferable, or universal in nature, and which must be modified to meet local considerations. Practitioners often criticize social theories by saying that they fail to take into account local circumstances, such as geographical re-gion, demographic differences, cultural features, political climate, and char-acteristics of nontypical participants. As with other forms of social inter-vention, change initiatives must be contextualized and modified to allow for a wide range of ecological factors. This chapter uses a case study from the field to show one of a multitude of ways that youth-led community or-ganizing can be done and how local circumstances help shape these efforts.

Unlike case material cited in previous chapters of this book, this case has been developed fully to illustrate a particular youth-led community orga-nizing effort. The case integrates key themes and principles discussed earlier in the book, in the hope of providing readers with an opportunity to witness

176 A VIEW AND LESSONS FROM THE FIELD

the translation of basic concepts into everyday practice, as accomplished by organizations sponsoring youth-led community organizing.

We made every effort to select a case study that represents diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, goals, and focus. Youth First (¡ Jovenes Primero! ) does this. In addition, the case was also selected for a variety of additional factors: (1) the relationship between the authors and the organization; (2) the degree of documentation available for the process; (3) the easy geographical access for the authors; (4) the multifaceted and prominent dimensions of youth-led community organizing in this social-action campaign; and (5) the richness of detail concerning the rewards and challenges that youth orga-nizers face in conducting campaigns.

Additionally, this case study is used in one of our macro-practice classes at Boston University School of Social Work, and it has been regarded by our graduate students as an excellent learning tool. At the end of the case study, we offer commentary and analysis that uses the ten principles presented in chapter 4 for assessing grassroots community organizing (Staples 2004a), making comparative analysis easier.

Background

Hyde/Jackson Square is a community viewed as the bridge between the neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. Running along a stretch of Centre Street and separated from Roxbury by Columbus Avenue, Hyde/ Jackson Square also borders the affluent communities of Brookline and West Roxbury. Two major housing developments—Bromley-Heath and Acad-emy Homes—are within the immediate area. The community of Hyde/ Jackson Square has a population of 48, 000, many of whom pass through the Jackson Square Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority (MBTA) subway and bus transit station daily.

This area has been described by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay as one of the most densely popu-lated minority-youth concentrations in the city of Boston. Thirty-one per-cent of the population is under the age of 20, and more than 12, 000 youth and children under the age of 18 live in the neighborhood (Jackson Square Coordinating Group 2003). Over 6, 000 students attend Boston Public Schools within the immediate area of the Hyde/Jackson Square community (Bos-ton Public Schools 2004). Sixty percent of the households with children are headed by single parents. The estimated per capita income is only $17, 253, and more than 40 percent of area households earn less than $25, 000 per year

( Jackson Square Profile Report 1998). Thirty percent of the adult population has not completed high school, and only 27 percent has attained a college degree.

YOUTH FIRST IN JACKSON SQUARE! (¡ JOVENES PRIMERO! )

History of the Hyde Square Task Force

Hyde/Jackson Square has been an immigrant community for more than fifty years. Heavily concentrated with Latino immigrants from South and Central America, the community has maintained the authenticity of its culture, despite the wave of gentrification taking place in other parts of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. Many credit the efforts of a core group of activ-ist residents and organizations that have dedicated the past twenty years to making this area a better environment for the families and youth who call it home. One of the leading organizations is the Hyde Square Task Force, Inc.

Located in the heart of Hyde/Jackson Square, the task force has been serving this community for more than fifteen years. The organization first took shape in 1988, when a group of community activists came together because they were fed up with the gang and drug violence that dominated the neighborhood (Tangvik 2004). In the 1980s, Hyde/Jackson Square was known as the ‘‘Cocaine Capital of Boston’’ by the Boston Police Department. Abandoned properties and unclean streets were the scene of constant shootings among rival gang members and drug dealers.

Tired of being scared to live in their own neighborhood, community activists formed the Hyde Square Task Force as a subcommittee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, a local governing body that serves as an advisory group to the city of Boston (Sheffield 1998). The task force members were community residents, local business owners, and represen-tatives from the local churches. The group met with city and state politi-cians, including Mayor Raymond Flynn and State Representative Kevin Fitzgerald, to discuss the severity of the drug and violence problems (Lupo 1989). In addition, with the closest police station in West Roxbury, they voiced their frustrations with the lack of police presence in the neighbor-hood and urged these officials to invest more time and resources in this long-forgotten community (Schoberg 2001).

The group organized community meetings where residents voiced their fears and concerns about the deteriorating condition of the neighborhood. Realizing that many of the problems were the result of a lack of resources in the community, the Hyde Square Task Force was incorporated in 1991 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to facilitate tax-deductible contributions (Tangvik 2004). The new group took on the mission of bringing in more opportunities, programs, and services for the neighborhood’s families and youth.

The organization faced an immediate challenge when the shooting of Manuela Baez took place in October 1991. Ironically, Baez, a mother of four, was caught in crossfire in broad daylight, during a rededication ceremony hosted by the city of Boston at Mozart Park, a troublesome local playground (Seamans 1991). The shooting left her paralyzed and the event outraged the

178 A VIEW AND LESSONS FROM THE FIELD

community. This high-profile tragedy put Hyde/Jackson Square on the map as one of Boston’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

The newly established Hyde Square Task Force, along with other local activists, began hosting vigils to advocate for peace in the community. They also met with city and state officials to discuss strategies to stop the violence that was leaving many families devastated (Seamans 1991). Finally, in 1993, the shooting of Alex Reyes, a 16-year-old student at English High School, forced Mayor Ray Flynn to promise immediate changes in the community (Dowdy and McGrory 1993). Crack-downs on gang activities and drug busts began to take place regularly, and the local police force became more visible through routine patrols of troubled areas. In 1996, with the in-creasing need for more street patrols, the Boston Police Department finally reopened the E-13 District Police Station in Jamaica Plain to serve the im-mediate area (Schoberg 2001).

While the work of improving community safety was under way, the Hyde Square Task Force began approaching the local elementary school to discuss the possibility of establishing educational and recreational pro-gramming for the local youth (Delgado 1994). The lack of community re-sources had left many young people with no place to go when school was not in session, and increasing numbers were getting into trouble. So, the Task Force worked through its Safe Neighborhood Program to convince the school officials to open space up for the organization’s first educational program, the Evening Tutorial. The program, run entirely by community volunteers, provided a place for young people to go after school and left the community wanting more youth services.

At the task force’s 1995 annual meeting, neighborhood youth and families gathered to advocate for similar youth programs as a positive effort to take back the community. Over the next few years, the area began to turn around, and the Hyde Square Task Force became a visible and respected leader in the revitalization process. During this time, the organization’s programming increased to serve both youth and parents through after-school and English-as-a-second-language education. As the organization’s membership grew, the need for more space and resources became obvious.

In 1998, the Hyde Square Task Force’s board of directors appointed Claudio Martinez, a long-term community resident and activist, as the new executive director (Tangvik 2004). With a background in community or-ganizing and economic development, Martinez immediately began a stra-tegic planning process. He called on residents and young people to envision the future of the Hyde/Jackson Square community, and the creation of a youth and family center was a unanimous response. Hyde/Jackson Square was the only residential neighborhood in the city of Boston without a full-service family center, and such a project could bring much-needed resources into the community (Tangvik 2004).

Under Martinez’s leadership, the task force took the initiative and led the fight to turn the vision of a new community center into a reality. After much

YOUTH FIRST IN JACKSON SQUARE! (¡ JOVENES PRIMERO! )

discussion and serious consideration, the group identified vacant land across from the Jackson Square MBTA Station as the future home of the youth center. This marked the official beginning of the Hyde Square Task Force’s involvement in the Jackson Square Development Area.

History of Jackson Square Development

The Jackson Square Development Area comprises the acres of empty land located around the corners of Centre Street and Columbus Avenue and consists of several different size parcels. The area has been the center of the community’s attention for years. In the 1950s, many families who had been displaced from other parts of the city for economic reasons moved into the Jackson Square community in search of affordable homes (Gail Sullivan Associates 2001). However, the lack of resources to maintain the aging buildings in this historically industrial neighborhood led to rapidly deteri-orating conditions. By the 1960s, many buildings and properties had been abandoned by their owners, and the remaining residents struggled to keep the neighborhood safe and livable.

In the meantime, the state began major demolition projects in the area in preparation for construction of the Southwest Expressway (I-95), which was projected to run straight through the community (Gail Sullivan Asso-ciates 2001). Properties that stood in the way of this project were acquired by the state and demolished under eminent domain. As a result, many existing businesses began to relocate outside of the neighborhood, leaving even more buildings and properties abandoned.

In an effort to take back the neighborhood, many community groups from Hyde Square and Egleston Square began working together to voice their discontent with the city and the state’s disregard for residents’ needs. They organized spirited protests against the proposed expressway and de-manded that the project be stopped immediately. Community opposition ultimately led the state to reevaluate its transportation plan and change its priorities. With agreement from the residents, the Southwest Corridor Project was initiated to relocate the MBTA Orange Line; as a result, the Jackson Square MBTA Transit Station was born.

After the Jackson Square Transit Station was constructed, the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC) of Boston began a city-wide focus on industrial job opportunities within the city in order to increase and enhance existing properties and businesses. In 1987, the EDIC entered an agreement with the Jackson Square Station Area Task Force to plan usages for the MBTA-owned lands that surround the station, with the goal of revitaliz-ing the immediate area. Local organizations, including the Academy Homes Tenant Council, Bromley Heath Tenant Management Corporation, Dimock Health Center, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation,

180 A VIEW AND LESSONS FROM THE FIELD

Urban Edge Housing Corporation, Oficina Hispana, and Southwest Corridor Community Farms, were included in the planning (Gail Sullivan Associates 2001).

The new collaboration between local representatives and the city led to development priorities that would benefit the community. In 1992, the EDIC presented an Economic Development Plan that included projects designed to create more employment opportunities and improve the area’s physical appearance (Gail Sullivan Associates 2001). Even though much of the plan reflected community needs, the suggestion of a recycling plant was widely opposed by the neighborhood. Ultimately, EDIC’s plan never was imple-mented, leaving the future of Jackson Square in limbo.

The Urban Edge Housing Corporation made another attempt in 1995 to develop the area through its Jackson-Egleston Strategy Proposal (Gail Sullivan Associates 2001). Urban Edge, a local community development cor-poration (CDC), has a long track record of community-oriented develop-ments in Boston. Primarily focusing on housing, it has become well known for its aggressive and successful approach to revitalizing traditionally for-gotten communities. Prior to its attention to Jackson Square, Urban Edge had successfully rebuilt the nearby Egleston Square by developing neighborhood-focused projects, including a community center, affordable housing, and space for commercial use. Hoping to bring the same success to Jackson Square, the corporation began an elaborate planning process that included many com-munity meetings and workshops. Hundreds of residents became involved, hoping to contribute to the future of Jackson Square.

In 1997, Urban Edge published its first draft of the Egleston-Jackson Square Strategy, emphasizing priorities for affordable housing, economic development, commercial space, and facilities for youth and resident ser-vices (Urban Edge 1998). Unlike the EDIC’s plan, this one included heavy involvement from the community. As a result, the Boston Redevelopment Authority promised that the city would support and provide resources for development that reflected the community’s vision (Urban Edge 1998). For the first time, the future of Jackson Square Development seemed to lie in the hands of the people who lived and worked in this community.

‘‘No to K-Mart, Yes to Youth’’: Birth of the Youth

First in Jackson Square Initiative

The Hyde Square Task Force was one of the most active organizations involved in the planning for the Jackson Square Development Area. Youth and families worked to ensure that their needs for better resources would be a priority. While the task force began to envision its own future through the 1998 strategic planning process led by new Executive Director Claudio

YOUTH FIRST IN JACKSON SQUARE! (¡ JOVENES PRIMERO! )

Martinez, Urban Edge met separately with various interested developers and investors (Gail Sullivan Associates 2001).

One of the potential investors was the K-Mart Corporation, which was beginning a nationwide inner-city initiative. Representatives from K-Mart approached Urban Edge to discuss the possibility of opening a store in the Jackson Square Development Area. The large parcel of vacant land in an inner-city setting was ideal for the store’s new initiative, and representatives promised the new store would bring jobs and local economic development (Faircloth 1998).

K-Mart’s interest in Jackson Square became public during Urban Edge’s Jackson Square community forum, held on September 23, 1998. The orga-nization presented a drawing of the Jackson Square Development Area that included a K-Mart store and a large-scale entertainment complex (Y. Miller 1999). Representatives from K-Mart attended the meeting and assured community residents that the store would generate employment opportu-nities, boost the local economy, and provide a more affordable and con-venient shopping option (Faircloth 1998).

The plan to include K-Mart as a part of the Jackson Square Development Area upset many community residents and organizations that had been involved in the planning process for years (Bearse 1998a). Local merchants expressed concerns about the effect that a large store like K-Mart would have on their longstanding businesses, while other community residents feared the increased traffic a large-scale store would bring to an already con-gested Jackson Square area. People were outraged most by Urban Edge’s failure to include community input in the negotiations with K-Mart (Bearse 1998b).

Community groups, including the Hyde Square Task Force, Hyde/ Jackson Square Main Street, City Life/Vida Urbana, Jamaica Plain Neigh-borhood Council, Hyde/Jackson Square Business Association, Hyde/ Jackson Square Merchants Association, and Egleston Square Neighborhood Association, began working together to oppose Urban Edge’s plan to bring the store into the area. An editorial written by Claudio Martinez and Ken Tangvik (1998b), two of the task force’s founders, urged the community to focus once again on the needs of youth when envisioning the future of Jackson Square.

Despite widespread opposition from the community, Urban Edge an-nounced in December 1998 that they were in negotiations with K-Mart to sign a letter of intent about possible development in Jackson Square (Bearse 1998). With the drafting of the letter of intent in the works, community members became furious, and they immediately stepped into action. Leading organizations, including the Hyde Square Task Force and area business associations, met with city and state officials and wrote letters to Mayor Thomas Menino strongly opposing the plan (Hyde Square Task Force 1999). These stakeholders suggested that it was extremely inappropriate for Urban

182 A VIEW AND LESSONS FROM THE FIELD

Edge to negotiate any plan regarding Jackson Square without consulting the community, and they questioned the motives of this community develop-ment corporation. Accusations were made that the plan to partner with K-Mart was strictly profit driven, rather than community focused (Lupo 1999a).

In January 1999, with the plan under attack, Urban Edge agreed to cease negotiations with K-Mart until they received further input from the com-munity (Bearse 1999a). A coordinating committee made up of more than seventy community residents and business owners was formed to address the issue. Urban Edge stated that they would hold off any action until the coordinating committee met and delivered its feedback. In the meantime, community residents voted against the K-Mart plan during the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council meeting (Bearse 1999a).

In March 1999, after meeting with community residents and youth, Ja-maica Plain City Councilor Maura Hennigan organized a special city coun-cil hearing on the future of Jackson Square development (Bearse 1999b). During the hearing, held at Roxbury Community College, hundreds of resi-dents voiced their strong opposition to Urban Edge’s plan. Youth leaders from the Hyde Square Task Force held signs with the powerful messages School is out. Where do I go? Kmart? and We must be a part of the process! They spoke in front of the city councilors about their desire for more youth services and a place to go after school (Hyde Square Task Force 1999). The community’s voice was delivered clearly that night and city officials took notice.

Immediately following the meeting, the Boston Redevelopment Author-ity, under orders from Mayor Menino, stepped in to monitor the planning process of the Jackson Square Development Area (Lupo 1999b). As a result, the Jackson Coordinating Group was established in June 1999 to represent the community’s voice during the process (Gail Sullivan Associates 2001). The Hyde Square Task Force was among the thirty organizations identified as part of the Jackson Coordinating Group. In fact, youth leaders from the task force were designated to represent the interests of young people in the community and therefore were considered to be an entity apart from the rest of the task force. Every Jackson Coordinating Group member was given one vote; the Hyde Square Task Force and the Youth Organizing Team were given their own vote.

While the city-monitored process began to pick up the pace, the task force hired its first youth community organizer, Caprice Taylor, to lead a team of fifteen youth organizers. The ultimate goal of the Youth Community Organizing Team was to lead and empower other young people in the community to advocate for more resources, including a much-needed youth and family center (Tangvik 2004). During the Hyde Square Task Force’s annual meeting in November 1999, the organization formally featured the fifteen Youth Community Organizers (YCOs) as a team and launched the ‘‘Youth First in Jackson Square’’ campaign in front of hundreds of residents

YOUTH FIRST IN JACKSON SQUARE! (¡ JOVENES PRIMERO! )

and young people, as a declaration of the battle to bring a youth center to the community. It was considered one of the most significant moments in the history of the Jackson Square Development project because neighborhood youth finally were given a voice to represent their own needs.

Take Back the Land

While the Hyde Square Task Force prepared to launch the ‘‘Youth First in Jackson Square’’ campaign, Urban Edge announced its plan to conduct a ‘‘shopper’s survey’’ during November 1999 as a way to gather more in-formation on the needs of the community (Mason 1999). The shopper’s survey was a four-page questionnaire developed by an independent firm; it featured questions to identify participants’ current shopping habits, as well as their preferred shopping environment. The plan was to administer the survey at the local transit station and to announce the results by early 2000.

The shopper’s survey immediately was attacked by the same people who opposed the K-Mart development. Many suggested that the survey was just another expensive tool used by Urban Edge to push the K-Mart propa-ganda. The Hyde Square Task Force, skeptical of the motives behind this plan, invited several professional statisticians to evaluate the survey and the process by which it would be administered. All of these experts suggested that the survey was no more than a marketing tool to push a specific agenda (Friar 2000; Terrin 2000). They stated that the questions were formulated so as to guide the participants to provide biased answers; furthermore, it was considered statistically unsound to administer a questionnaire about resi-dents’ shopping habits during the holiday shopping season.

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