Abstract

1. We’re informing people about how harmful the trucks are. People [in Delray] don’t know that other communities don’t have the level of asthma that they do. Sadly, all these things become everybody’s everyday reality. • - CBC Organizer. June, 2011. • How do you make them care? The problem is too many people look at it like a business transaction. So what do we do? It’s kind of like putting all this bail out there and hoping to catch the big fish. • - CBC leader and Delray resident, December, 2011 • People need to understand that this bridge will happen and if it doesn’t, the City of Detroit has no plans to help this area. Delray will become the wasteland of Detroit. This bridge is our way to improvement. • - CBC leader and Delray resident, December, 2011. • The best way that we can benefit is through a Community Benefits Agreement. But to get that, we need to unify. If we are just concerned about ‘what happens to me’, then they will pick us off individually. Each one of us needs to look out for all of us.... We are asking for jobs and the improvement of properties and the community. If we cannot unify, they we have lost already.” • - Delray resident, March, 2012. Building Power and Critical Consciousness within a Context of Extreme Inequality Amy Krings, XhensilaVelencia, and Sam Russ University of Michigan Abstract Our Case Research Question Findings Political Capacity Building Community organizations act as mediators between the state and civil society. How do low-resource community organizations help their constituents to understand what their political interests are and what policies are apt to advance those interests, within a context of extreme inequality? In a context of extreme inequality, why and how do marginalized community members come together, strategically and collaboratively, to influence public policy?  Social change theorists suggest that a prerequisite of democratic collective action is the development of a critical consciousness (Friere1968; McAdam 1982).  Yet the processes through which citizens come to understand their interests and the policies that are apt to advance those interests are under-studied.  Drawing from an in-depth case study of a community-based organization that represents highly marginalized constituents, we explain how organizers engage, educate, mobilize, and build political capacity within community members to build their critical consciousness and, ultimately, attempt to influence decision-makers. Delray is a low-income neighborhood located on the Detroit River in Southwest Detroit. Home to around 2,800 residents, 48% of whom are White, 33% Black, and 31% Hispanic, the neighborhood hosts several hazardous facilities including steel mills, a salt mine, and the region’s waste water treatment plant. These industries contribute to residents’ poor health outcomes, poverty, and isolation. Findings Engagement Community organizers, their leaders, and volunteers engage with constituents with the goal of educating and mobilizing them. These interactions can clarify issues and develop a shared understanding of the meaning of likely outcomes. They can also provide constituents with a sense that they “are not alone.” Consciousness Raising Community organizations create “safe spaces” to facilitate information sharing and deliberation among constituents. During this process, individuals may reveal their personal hopes and concerns, fostering the development of relationships between people with common interests and problems while transforming their understanding of social situations. As a result, people are less likely to see their problems as personal, but rather as political.  The community organization helps constituents to define who or what is to blame for their problems, while offering a new, alternative vision for the future. Finally, the organization presents a vehicle for how to solve the problem. This mechanism is framed as fair, winnable, and something that just makes sense. Organizers find, filter, and focus on key issues. They can help constituents identify and influence targets, allies, and opponents. In this case, they often educate residents about the political process, including threats and opportunities. Literature Review Critical consciousness, defined as the collective assessment of a system as unjust and able to be transformed, is a prerequisite of democratic collective action (Freire 1968; McAdam 1982). Thus, when a critical mass of people socially construct a sense of injustice and view action as likely to produce favorable results, collective action is more likely to emerge (Snow et al. 1986; Benford 1997; Snow et al. 1998; Kim 2003). The role of community organizations in facilitating these collective understandings and assessments has been under-studied. This poster aims to explain the processes through which marginalized people assess and respond to political threats and opportunities. In 2008, an international trade crossing was proposed to land in Delray, thereby streamlining the “NAFTA superhighway” between Detroit and Windsor. Since then,the issue has been debated in the Michigan legislature. The billionaire family that owns a private crossing just two miles north of Delray employed its resources to oppose the competing crossing through court cases, political donations, lobbying, and influencing public opinion. As for Delray, if new the bridge is built, the new crossing will bring thousands of diesel trucks through the neighborhood every day, resulting in emissions, noise, and the displacement of residents, businesses, and faith organizations. Itcould also bring much-needed investment. A group of Delray stakeholders formed a community organization: The Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition (CBC) to protect those who will be displaced and to mitigate harm while capitalizing on investment for those left behind. The policy tool through which they are seeking protections and benefits is a community benefits agreement.The case is of particular importance because the CBC and its constituents have so few resources, in contrast with the the individuals that support and those that oppose the bridge. Methods and Data We are employing a qualitative case study research design to study strategic processes within a low-resourced community organization (Yin 1994; Bennett and George 1997). Our data has been collected through nearly two years of ethnographic participant observation, interviews, and media analysis. Interview respondents include organizational leaders and members, Delray stakeholders, elected officials, lobbyists, and journalists. All data have been coded and analyzed with the software NVivo (Emerson, Fretz et al. 1995).   Organizations help constituents present their ideas, concerns, and demands to the state. This process can “put a face on political issues”. Community Based ParticipatoryResearch