Obama Youth

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

Palin also insinuated that a community organizer doesn't have "actual responsibilities." Probably not the best thing to do when your campaign is trying to appeal American workers, some of whom are community organizers.

Both campaigns have said some things that pissed me off. This was one of those things. I'm also disappointed that McCain thinks the most critical areas of federal spending are veterans and war.

Honest question - what is the definition of a community organizer? Is it more of an informal grouping ( one in which you get to define what it means to be one - and they are all independent of one another), or do they have an umbrella group to which you can belong if you are one? And how many are there?

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Honest question - what is the definition of a community organizer? Is it more of an informal grouping ( one in which you get to define what it means to be one - and they are all independent of one another), or do they have an umbrella group to which you can belong if you are one? And how many are there?

One definition:

Community organizing is a long-term approach where the people affected by an issue are supported in identifying problems and taking action to achieve solutions. The organizer challenges those he or she works with to change the way things are—it is a means of achieving social change through collective action by changing the balance of power. The tactics and strategies employed by the organizer are similar to the processes of leadership including timing the issue, deliberate planning, getting the attention of the populace, framing the issue in terms of the desired solution, and shaping the terms of the decision-making process.

Source: http://www.marininstitute.org/action...munity_org.htm

Community Organizers fall under NAICS code 21-1099 "Community and social service specialists, all other." As of 2006, there were approximately 109,970 employees in this category.

Source:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ioindex/soc_21.html
http://www.bls.gov/OES/current/oes211099.htm

ETA: Certifying agencies for Community Organizers are still being developed but there are some out there. The Southeastern Association of Community Action Agencies does certify Community Organizers.