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“Power, Race, Class and the Wisdom of Coalition Building”

The year was 1904. People at the World’s Fair in St. Louis had walked for hours in the hot sun, and they were ready for something to cool them off. That’s why they lined up for what seemed like miles in front of the booth of Arnold Fornachou to get a taste of his frosty ice cream.

The problem was that Arnold’s ice cream was so popular he quickly ran out of paper bowls. The moonlighting teenager scrambled to keep his potential customers by washing and reusing the few ceramic bowls he had on hand. But no matter how hard he worked, many people grew tired of waiting and wandered off in search of another treat. That’s when an unlikely partner emerged to save the day.

His name was Ernest Hamwi, a pastry chef who had grown up in Damascus, Syria. In the booth next to Arnold’s, he was selling a wafer-thin Persian confection called a zalabia. That is... he was offering them, but no one was buying them. When Ernest saw his neighbor’s plight, he was struck with a great idea. Grabbing a warm zalabia, he twisted it into a cornucopia shape and rolled it in sugar. Then he ran over to Arnold’s booth and offered it to him. Still scrambling to wash bowls and wait on customers, Arnold didn’t understand what the older man had in mind. But when Ernest handed an ice cream scoop atop a confection cone to a waiting customer, Arnold instantly got the message. A huge smile spread over his face, and in no time, the two men were working side by side— Ernest made “edible bowls”, Arnold scooped ice cream. Back then, they were called “World’s Fair Cornucopias,” and they were the hit of the fair. Today, we simply call them ice cream cones — and they’re still a hit.¹

Variations of the story abound. Nevertheless, call it a flash of brilliance. It is the stuff of which companies and movements are made; human dignity fought for and preserved. It is a simple example of collaboration, coalition building. In this case two men, having a common agenda, facing a common dilemma, arrive at a solution that would make both of them winners. With nothing to loose from putting their idea to work, their names are forever written in the history books as the quintessential partnership.

Coalition building is the temporary joining together of people, organizations, or nations regarding a common concern and then uniting in action. The purpose is to acquire, maintain, or shift the balance of power regarding a conflict so that their interests and values are recognized and protected. Coalition building is about influencing the future of a conflict. Think of it as a neighborhood watch program coming into being after a woman is murdered as a result of domestic violence. Or, Corporate Accountability International, formerly INFACT, a US-based NGO known most notably for its targeting of Nestlé’s corrupt practices regarding the manufacture and sale of breast milk substitutes around the world. Or, (NYCCELP) the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning in the 5 boroughs of New York populated predominately by people of color and poor whites.

And it goes without saying that people, organizations, and factions within nations utilize this stratagem for ends that exclude and harm others. Multi-national corporations. Fortune 500 companies. Centers of power within political parties.

The instances of this kind of work being done are legion. Even in our own movement we have experienced it in the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America in 1961 into the UUA. But we haven’t stopped there. Since then we are engaged in partnership and coalition with more than 40 organizations. The list includes: People for the American Way, the Interfaith Alliance, the National Low Income Housing Network, Earth Day Network, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Save Darfur Coalition, and the New Sanctuary Movement. It even includes the Religious Action Center for Reformed Judaism, the National Council of Jewish Women, as well as a few Christian denominations such as the United Church of Christ and the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty (a group representing 14 Baptist traditions).² We know how to work collaboratively. It’s in our blood. Our name bears proof of that ideal; harmony, union, concord.

For those of you who have personally lent your voice and skill and passion to an organization working collaborative with another organization know that coalition building has it rewards. One obvious reward is that multiple groups can advance their common interests more efficiently and with more visibility than as organizations acting alone. Then there is the matter of pooled resources and expertise. With more human resources, financial wherewithal, technical and facilitation skills coalition building can bring more power and influence to bear on an issue. When small groups, organizations, corporations, and nations work collaboratively there is also the benefit of raising up new leadership that will take the rains as the old guard steps aside. In this respect, coalition building provides for the creation of a stronger base for affecting the kind of change that is representative of each groups values and interests.

But, and there always is, coalitions are composed of people. And people come with varying levels of commitment, thresholds for dialogue, and ability to share the limelight. With that, coalition building is not for the impatient. Even under the hands of a skilled organizer, the work can move slowly. And because of that many may pull opting to go it alone. The opposite is also true; other groups have become distracted and left off attending to their other work. And there is also the issue of bigotry, bias, and misinformation that people harbor within themselves about those with whom they share common concerns.

Why is this all important? Margaret Mead said it well, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. And two other maxims follow this: “There is strength in numbers”, and “All politics is local.” I would wager you that any movement that has had any substantive impact anywhere in the world, had its beginnings with a few people seated around a table in a kitchen, in a private meeting room of a public library; a classroom, a church. No matter what the issue: (1) concern for a waterway, (2) the safety of a neighborhood, (3) the theft of a pension fund, the result is always the same: individuals and groups who stand to loose their civil rights, their human rights will always find their way to each other to petition for redress.

If human history has taught us one thing, it is that power is never willingly shared, and even less often given up. Substantive change, the kind of change that:

is not dependent on the person in charge,

does not ask a person to give up their dignity

thrives on inclusion and diversity of talents and perspectives

requires all involved to take full responsibility for their personal

future

inspires hope instead of fear and dependency

…this kind of change does not come without a struggle. And it does not come without a meeting of the minds amongst those who sit in the crosshairs of disenfranchisement and manipulation.

In its most pure, life-affirming use, coalition building is a matter of justice, equality, opportunity and possibility. And it has everything to do with the discussion of race and class. There always seems to be an imbalance of power among humans as it relates to the making of public policy, access to goods and services, the use of natural resources, the enforcement of laws. Yet, while there is an imbalance of power, there is hardly ever a total absence of power on the part of those who stand to be disproportionately, negatively affected by an abuse of power. While it is true that people are slow to take on the powers that be at the drop of a hat, woe to the organization, the government that feels it can keep the backs of its citizenry pinned against the wall of abuse and neglect without impunity. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, that, “…the arch of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”³

I am persuaded that there are several reasons why coalition building is integrally connected to the issue of race and class, and is of signal importance to all of us seated in this room, to the Unitarian Universalist movement, and to all people of faith or of no faith.

(1) There is always the realization, the actual speaking of the sentiment, that the issues of poverty and her children: hunger, homelessness, no chronic illness, unemployment/underemployment, substandard education… these are not our problem. They have nothing to do with us but everything to do with a character flaw, or the lack of initiative of the person standing in need. While that may be true in many circumstances, we need to recognize that the root causes of poverty run deep and are nourished by some policy makers in companies and governments that would just as well clean out neighborhoods and erase from the public rolls anyone for whom they are legally mandated to provide sufficient and appropriate means for conducting their life. In our already busy and complicated lives, we often tune them out, justifying our inattention by saying that “that’s just the way some things are; the system is not perfect, but it is better than most.” And so we proceed living our lives, not totally uncaring, but neither actively engaged in any personal way.

Another reason I feel that coalition building is important is that we are blind to how we are being manipulated by the ugly side of capitalism, the comforts of position and wealth. Please understand that I know that not all of us are sitting on a goldmine. Not many of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouth; not even a pewter spoon. And if it is the case that any of us were born into money, was successful to make a lot of money…or at least make for ourselves a very comfortable lifestyle, great. I do not mean to rant on you and suggest that you should feel badly about your wealth. But I do want us to realize again that we are daily marketed to my the various media, and we often give into to the suggestion that we, or those we care about, are not complete without that one newest, most notable, largest/smallest, fastest, most convenient thing.

Our lives have been commercialized; our personhood is determined by the things we have, the schools we attended, the neighborhood we live in, our occupation, where we shop, where we vacation, our investment portfolio, our friends. What kind of person would we be if we didn’t accept the scripts written for us by the marketing firms and sociological gurus? Many of us seem to believe that we have no other choice in living in this society; this is our only alternative to living, associating, and planning for the future.

A fourth reason is for working collaboratively is that as long as a only few of us are close to the centers of power and influence, all of us are susceptible to the suffering and pain of the most vulnerable. And that is an expensive lesson we are learning when it impacts healthcare, the criminal justice system, and education. Eventually, we all end up paying, more in dollars and in the loss of social cohesion, for issues that should have been taken care of years, even generations ago.

Fifth, we are prone to separate ourselves from people who appear to be unlike ourselves, or who are indeed not like us. We all have the right to live where we desire. And many of us have the resources to do just that. But what about what of the friendship we could be forging, the perspectives we begin to understand, and the stability we could help bring to fragile communities?

And because we are so widely dispersed, we sometimes lack the language to speak as one who is informed about the urgency of the matter, and the perspective to know to whom we should properly direct our dismay or offer our support. It is not about being poor enough, or oppressed enough, or black or brown enough. It is about our willingness to lay what we are and what we have on the line for the cause of justice, particularly with those whom we have very little in common from a consumer perspective.

If I have been attentive in listening to many of you in these discussions on race and class, it is clear that the majority of you are persuaded that in Oberlin the issue of class is more problematic than race. This is not to say that race has ceased to be an issue. It is simply that with the passage of time, the gains fought for and won in turbulent days of the civil rights movement have turned to fruit. And many of the barriers faced then are not as insurmountable as formerly were. Things have changed, but there still are issues that need to be raised and effectively dealt with.

Those of you who have spent if only a few years in Oberlin, in Lorain county know that this is a terrific town; full of history, commerce, education, and interracial relations. It is not uncommon here to see whites and black talking and eating together. In other places it is a rare site. Even with all the tension over issues of race and class, Oberlin is still one of the best places on the planet to live. In spite of the “Town and Gown” verbiage, friendship have been forged across racial and class lines. Meals have been shared. Children have learned side by side. Conversations had in the grocery store, in townhall meetings, in parks, and churches. Nonetheless, the elephant is still in the room, and some of us have trouble seeing it. Or, maybe we are not as efficient at leading the elephant out of the room as we could be. I think that it may be a bit of both.

We are making strides at improving the quality of life here in Oberlin as it relates to race. There is the Oberlin Race Relations Committee. The Oberlin Heritage Center. Friends of the Oberlin Underground Railroad. Oberlin African-American Genealogy and History Group, and various groups that have made efforts to gather people together from their individual comfort zones. This past month we saw a week-long celebration of MLK, Jr. This month, the history of Black and Native American. Opportunities to engage in conversation are being offered. Collaborations are occurring. May they continue.

And this Fellowship is engaged in coalition building. Consider the Oberlin Area Cooperating Ministries as the most visible. Monthly we combine our expertise and resources with Christians of several denominations. We have been associated with OACM for at least ____ now. And you would be happy to know that there is a team working to set in place a summer vacation learning experience for children in Oberlin and the surrounding neighborhoods around the them of peace-making. While we disagree on theology and ritual, we can agree that everyone present has something invaluable to say about who we are and what kind of future we will have in this town.

We can talk forever about the scourge of class and race. But the issue is truly about power; who has more of it, how it is being used, and who responsibility it is to call attention to what is really going on. The conflict will continue for as long as people are alive and exist in all kinds of diversity… and as long as someone can capitalize on the struggle to live into that diversity with hope and justice.

The kind of power I am referring to is power utilized in the service of understanding and peace-making. Power that engages all people, and empowers them to be their best advocates. Power that seeks to build bridges, not erect barriers. Power that works to expose corruption, greed, and any other kind of abuse. Power that calls us as religious people to live into the most inclusive and life-affirming declarations of our faith. In our race and class conscious world, if we don’t personally seek to change the dynamics…alter the future course of the conflict, we will all perish. As UU’s, the demographics of who we are work against us. But we can overcome them by joining our voices with others whose values and goals on specific issues are identical to our. We can overcome this gulf that always threatens to swallow us whole, by spreading our table of welcome…taking our table of welcome to those who are not familiar with who we are as individuals. We may not agree with content, style, or delivery of their particular theology or philosophy. But if in the words of Martin King, if it is determined that they are on the “right side of the revolution”, then we need to gather our forces together and join then, lest we be listed alongside those who are the abusers. Let no one in this town identify us as indifferent, unresponsive, and insular.

We are more than our demographics. And the lives of each person seated in this room is just as varied and dotted with hardship and striving as anyone else in this town, in this nation. We have something important to add to this discussion, this struggle for justice, equality, opportunity, and possibility. And what we have to add is central to the entire discussion, because no one people group alone has the key to affecting the kind of sustainable change that needs to enacted. If any one of us is part of the problem, the all of us are part of the solution.

So, let us bring our stories to the table of coalition-building. Let us bring our goodwill; our expertise, our wisdom, and our passion for justice. To be sure, we will say the wrong thing, run ahead of our colleagues, be persuaded that the pace of the agenda is moving too quickly or too slowly. Evenso, we are there. We are not standing aloof, watching to see it all tumble down, ready to see, “Told you it wasn’t going to work.” We are there and we are part of the process to change the course of the conflict for the betterment for all of us, and particularly for those who are the most vulnerable.

Race and class can divide. And power can destroy. But, collective power used in the service of repairing the harms caused by fear and suspicion create a world where everyone has a voice on the quality of life lived in it.

A sermon preached by

Rev. Cynthia D. Heilman at

the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Association

Sunday, 24 February 2008