Community partnership, and thereby endorsement, is critical in establishing an effective action base when working for social change. About thirty years ago, I was a member of a ecumenical, multiracial social-action ministerial group called the East Oakland Clergy. I clearly recall a dynamic African-American Baptist preacher, J. Alfred Smith, giving us advice on helping his community: “Just give us a hand and get out of the way”. We followed Dr.Smith's advice: we fought to keep our church-sponsored inner city schools open, which not only provided discipline and education but also gave a focal point and a sense of identity to neighborhoods; we organized community; we included the community in decison making bodies. My friend, Rev. James A. Hagan, has spent the last 25 years laboring in bahalf of the Catholic Church in the alredadores of Tijuana, helping people build chapels and homes, then branching out to the construction of a hospital for the poor (particularly children); and lately he has completed the construction of a second Center for developmentally impaired and challenged children (C.A.N.O.A.). Along the way, he formed community and imparted skills, hope, and opportunity where there was none. The ever-arriving multitudes from Mexico and points south do not dishearten but give a greater opportunity for inclusion. |