Democratizing Cleveland: The Rise and Fall of Community Organizing in Cleveland, Ohio 1975-1985

by Randy Cunningham

Democratizing Cleveland: The Rise and Fall of Community Organizing in Cleveland, Ohio, 1975-1985 is the result of almost fifteen years of research on a topic that has been missing from local works on Cleveland history: the community organizing movement that put neighborhood concerns and neighborhood voices front and center in the setting of public policies in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Originally published in 2007 by Arambala Press, this important work is being reprinted by Belt Publishing for a new generation of activists, planners, urbanists, and organizers.

Genres: Nonfiction

178 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2007

Reviews

[Michael Boyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Christmas gift for a relative that I tucked into first, fwiw. I grew up in Cleveland, so this book is if some interest, even if I’m clearly not the target, since I’m very skeptical of the Alinksky models of organizing.

It’s thorough, and clearly full of lots of original research, but it details a whole bunch of stuff I would have ignored, the hierarchies in the Catholic Church and their relation to politics, while ignoring the larger political questions: about race and white supremacy, about gentrification, about an organizing model that seems particularly fruitful for co-option, and willfully ignorant of global concern.

While Cunningham advances some critique in the last chapter, he’s not interested in the questions that I would have asked. Particularly glaring is the missing discussion/ about the police- there are several references to increased police funding or block watches, but no mention of how organizers viewed the police, or the struggles against police brutality.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Randy Cunningham describes the rise, work, and eventual decline of community organizing groups in Cleveland and discusses their legacies. As a relative newcomer to Cleveland, I appreciate learning the background of some of the social justice issues that continue today and reading about the efforts in various neighborhoods to improve conditions and systems. I run into a few of the same people mentioned in the book--and Randy Cunningham--at social justice and political actions today. Well organized, researched, and written. The title might suggest something rather dry, but this book tells some great stories. Recommended to Clevelanders and anyone who works or volunteers in community organizing or development.

From the book:

"It is undeniable that the funding organizations of Cleveland preferred the well-behaved development groups to the often-outrageous community organizations. It is also clear that institutions such as foundations have long sought a form of democracy that will not inconvenience business. The history of citizen participation schemes shows how such institutions crave the legitimacy of grassroots organizations and find the transmission of information that they gain from the relationship useful, but they are not interested in losing control of the ability to frame and define issues before the public or of finding their interests challenged, both of which happen frequently when grassroots organizations begin to develop." (p. 189)

On the decline of community organizing in the 1980s:
"Empowerment could not be photographed. Democracy could not be charted. How the process of working with a community organization helped a neighborhood person gain self-confidence, learn skills, change her life for the better, or broaden her view of the world could not be described statistically on a spreadsheet or boiled down to the bottom line." (p. 195)

[Dro Sohrabian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valuable history, but I had trouble staying engaged. Felt like meandering through a lot of acronyms mechanically and with limited details that give color or context to what's going on and why beyond basic anecdotes. Also felt wanting more about how current CDC environment is connected to the past

[Steven Volk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed and informative history of local-level organizing in Cleveland between 1975-85. I only wish it was updated!