History of the War on Poverty

In preparation for my upcoming History of War on Poverty workshop, May 3-7, I have been re-reading Launching the War on Poverty: An Oral History by Michael L. Gillette.

I have been focusing a lot on some of the big-picture attributes of the war on poverty -- the advocacy, the experimentation, the empowerment.

I had someone come into my office a couple weeks ago to talk to me about Community Action overseas. They listed some countries that were interested in developing poverty programs based on the Community Action model. It was as if they were reading a page from my workshop notes. Each of the goals that they brought up – empowerment, community development, jobs, building the middle class, citizen participation, experimentation – matched exactly the intended purpose of the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Economic Opportunity Act.

I have been going through a process of thinking about Community Action not in an individual locality concept, but as a significant national and international presence with much broader, much grander objectives. I am doing this because of the emerging leaders who will be attending my workshop, because of the upcoming Community Services Block Grant reauthorization and because of the fierce competition for federal dollars.

I want to make sure that people see us for all that we can bring to the table. I also think the time may be right to take the Community Action model around the world.