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Show rifelllF n8 ilinMgrtFgtfiwfiBtfifgrrrtiiiiTfr ' rift iwh There's No Status In Being 'Grass Roots' At recent Region a IV Council Citizens Participation training seminar at Athens, Georgia, Robert L. Moore, special I assistant in the Washington office of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a call for economic and political unity among the poor. Because the problem of unity f f I exists among low income residents in the model neighborhood, i.e., disputes over neighborhood council friction within boundaries, anti poverty programs, power struggles within neighborhood councils, distrust and fighting by -- residents against agencies established to help them and among minority groups, we are publishing portions of his dis-unitH y speech. by Robert Moore my remarks today would like to review the Model Cities I n I Program, destroy some myths about Citizen Participation, speak of some forecasts for the future and reflect on some realitites of the present. In this would hope that I approach could begin to define Citizen Participation and point out some I critical issues that need addressing in our communities if we are to have viable communities in the future. First, would like to begin with the present. We are living in what has been called a super industrial society, a society that makes travel to the moon almost I society that can shrink distances of thousands of miles into a matter of minutes by jet aircraft, a society that can produce a gross national product simplistic, of one a trillion dollars, a technological age that allows us to call Atalnta via a computer connection in Lost Angeles in a matter of seconds. And, we live in a society where five percent of the population controls 90 of the wealth. Poor people often come to I ia 9 the wrong conclusion by 3 analyzing the wrong problem. There is no status in being called the so called "grass roots" and we i a ? 1 $ I should not try to invent mythology about what it is like to be poor. For truly, we are the roots of the community, but in reality we are only the grass. We the grass without housing, without adequate incomes, are - I without ownership i i ; t 1 of land, without ownership of business or industry and too often powerless to demand change. In slavery, there were both black and white slaves, they had full employment, but they had no equity. Therefore, when slavery legally ended, both down south and up south, many were fooled with so called reconstruction. Unfortunately, while the emancipated slave played ownershi p gap and the power gap. It may be much of what we do in the next ten years will not directly benefit you or I. It may be that what we are about is building for the future. If so, we have blown a real opportunity in the Model Cities program to prepare our youth to replace us. see very few youth present to begin learning what the game is all about. (Very true in Salt Lake City. The Model Neighborhood News will begin publishing a Youth Section through the community power games and developed a mythology about being grass roots, the dominate society was about the business of increasing his income, ownership of land and his political power. For the job ahead, you and must seek to acquire a wide variety of skills relevant to rebuilding our communities. For as the grass, we have been stepped on, not nurtured; relocated, dislocated and renewed and we still have little to show for it. In our super industrial society, with all of its benefits and capabilities to go to the moon and beyond, for the poor, we are still talking about in our CP I I schools in the model neighborhood in an attempt to get the young people to take a look at the Model Cities program. What can you do to get meetings compensatory education youngsters involved?) How does all this relate to citizen participation? The most important issue is to make the Model Cities program effective order to arrive at a educational level where the dominant society has just left. We are still talking about rent supplement, when everyone else is talking about new town development. We are talking about struggling to decrease infant mortality among blacks when others are talking about transplants to prolong life. Now some of the terms used might mystify you, you would be wise to learn them and insure that your children learn them. For the people in power will not wait for you to learn them and rest assured a lot is lost in the translation to what is called "grass root terminology." in now. Citizen participation much more crucial than just the Model Cities program. However, each city must prove how well you have used these resources to improve the quality of life for the residents. (Ed. Note: For those who have spent all their time I fighting the Model Cities program, what have they gained? What has the community gained from their efforts?) And let's not critize the government for requiring plans to be submitted - the paper work. For without federal review of the plans, you would not be getting what little you have. The up and doing only a mediocre job at playing catch up. When this nation set a course to land on the moon, the President did not federal government always understand the technology or lunar exploration. He brought the brightest people together he could find and gave them ten years to get there. All during those ten years government played citizen, they planned, monitored and evaluated but most of all government controlled the resources. I have always been told a man who does not plan is in for a lifetime of surprises. A person who has no idea as to where he is going, any road will lead him there. We must quit playing destructive games and get down to the kind of planning that builds communities and empowers people. Let me list for you what games are disfunctional: of division among residents. 2. Petty power games. 3. The don't know game lack of knowledge. Model Cities can provide the poor with an opportunity to build a new agenda. The agenda that we must talk about today is different from 30 years ago. Each Model City program must reflect three (3) basic problems that underlie the problem of the "have nots." They are, the income gap, I from first to home, nonstop. must fill the stands and the farm team with our youth who should be training to take our place. And we must score some runs that We no equity in $2.25 per hour. There is equity in putting together corpoiations, banks, housing developments, development companies. You should have residents skilled in negotiation, planning, community organization, change the way people live. There are no commercials for the poor people, yet, we are the evaluation, business biggest consumers. Our confrontation, politics. Together, as people left out of the system, information systems must be a teaching instrument. (Ed. Note: Watch for training programs in communications for residents.) The reason we don't know the lingo is because we are not at a economic and power level where the words have meaning. There is i development, employment, policy making, strategizing, black, white and brown, we must band together to seek our own survival. We can fight the battles of race, personality and status later. It's easier to fight with resources at a later date because each side will have someting to bargain with. 0000l Riley Community School Begins RILEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL Begins Monday, September 18, 1972. MONDAY so-call- Yes, we are still playing catch 1. Lines is that everyone gets a chance to touch the ball. We must fill the bases with programs that can run -- is ) critized until the mayor decides to use all the money to change the course of a river, then the cry from the residents goes up. Let me ask some critical questions. How many of you have read in deatil your CCDP, CDA-3- , CDA-11- , TAB-3- , the revenue sharing legislation? (Ed. Note: This information is available at the Model Ciites Agency, 467-9416- , if anyone should desire it.) But there is hope! For in the struggle of the poor to survive the super industrial state, we have to develop a broad range of skills. Clearly we do know the problems best and often, we know the solutions. That is the easy part of the ball game. That is, knowing that you must have a bat to hit the ball and knowing that the team who makes the most runs wins. Our next steps are putting together a line up, learning how to catch, getting people on base, filling the stands with supporters and scoring some runs. must be The line-u- p composed of the most effective staff we can buy, combined with the most well informed and skilled citizens. Learning howto catch is learning how to create ventures where the Model Cities funds stay in the community so Guitar (12 and under) Calorie Club Stretch-N-Se- w FRIDAY Jr. Homemaker Recreation Arts & Crafts 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Riley Band 4:00 2:00 5:00 4:00 - 5:00 4:00 - 5:00 Friendly Club (Senior Citizens) 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. 2:00 - - p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. All above activities will be held each week at Riley Community School, 1431 So. 8th West. The classes are FREE. Only cost is for materials. Register September 18. Call Dr. Karl Lingwall at 466-314- 1 after 2:00 p.m. if you have any questions. |