COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...
COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...
COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...
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individuals. The poor would ultimately be displaced when new development or taxes<br />
were implemented. They believed the only way to improve the quality of life for the<br />
poor was through educating them about policies and laws that were not in their interest.<br />
In general, they believed the only way to improve the quality of life for the poor and<br />
make it possible for them to improve their economic situation was if the government<br />
distributed resources evenly among individuals. They argued the poor are poor because<br />
of inequities in the political economic system. Therefore, they organized the poor in<br />
hopes of empowering this group to take leadership positions and make policy changes<br />
that will affect their situation.<br />
The Labor Association often had “differences of opinion” with city<br />
representatives and these differences of opinion could sometimes lead to confrontational<br />
disputes. They picketed for service worker’s rights at the State Capitol, lobbied to<br />
oppose legislation they felt would negatively affect the low-income, wrote a monthly<br />
publication that included articles on issues that affected low-income services workers,<br />
canvassed low-income communities to recruit new members, and searched for<br />
organizations that would sponsor or provide free donations/services to their organization.<br />
They did not support the revitalization of Oak Park and organized their work towards<br />
confronting revitalization agendas.<br />
Non-profit organizations in the community had their own agendas to improve the<br />
quality of life for lower-income residents. They created programs to serve the needs of<br />
the poor on an on-going basis and provided basic needs to individuals in the community.<br />
The individuals operating these programs perceived their programs as having a long-term<br />
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