By Barbara Paulsen, Boulder City UMC, Nevadans for the Common Good

In 1974 an organization, grounded in community organizing principles developed by Saul Alinsky in the 1940s, was founded in San Antonio Texas. Communities Organizing for Public Service (COPS) became the first organization of the "modern" IAF and the initial member of what is now known as the West/Southwest IAF (WSWIAF). Today the WSWIAF includes 33 local broad-based institutional members located across 11 states.

In recognition of this 50-year organizing history, a symposium was held in San Antonio on December 8, 2024, to honor WSWIAF's past and to build for its future. The symposium included segments on IAF and WSWIAF history, habits and practices of  organizing as well as presentations by key leaders in education, history, and philosophy who shared their experiences working with WSWIAF and how this interaction impacted them. Ernesto Cortes, Jr. and Sr. Christine Stephens were recognized as the key founders of COPS and WSWIAF. The best part of the symposium, as with all IAF gatherings, was the opportunity to interact and share with leaders and organizers across the network.

We had challenging conversations on hard money, leadership formation, and the process of continuing to build this community organizing heritage in today's world. The early history of the IAF reminded me how the late 1930s when IAF was created was a time of conflict, chaos, and dramatic change in this country. It was not dissimilar from our current time and the need for our work is as vital today as it was then.

In addition to the symposium on December 7, attendees could also attend a tour of COPS' work in West San Antonio celebrating COPS' past work and an action celebrating the 50th anniversary of their founding and the opening of their jubilee year. It was an amazing weekend of learning, sharing, introspection, hope, and commitment.

It's hard to put on paper the many thoughts and feelings I experienced during my time in San Antonio, but here are a few on the COPS tour and public action:

West San Antonio Tour

The bus tour was led by Sr. Pearl Ceasar, a long-time leader and organizer in Texas. It was inspiring to hear about the early work in this section of the city from an individual who "lived the experience." Key take aways.

• In 1974, all San Antonio City Council members were elected at-large. All council members were white males although San Antonio has always been majority Hispanic. COPS successfully worked to have the council members elected by district and to gain Hispanic representation.
• Flooding has been a huge problem in the city, and in West San Antonio, people died from the floods; some in their homes and in their beds. COPS played a significant role in getting a massive drainage system built in this community as well as major work on housing and other infrastructure.
• Many projects that COPS undertook were initiated by core teams within member institutions. The work by core teams within their own institutions and with the larger organization is impressive.
• It's important to remember that they have been at this for 50 years. None of this came quickly or easily. It's both humbling and inspiring to see what has been done knowing the time, energy, and commitment by many, many people to achieve these results.

COPS Public Action

Public Actions conducted by local IAF organizations are always exciting and uplifting. To me, they are the public face of hours spent conducting 1-1 s, house meetings and research actions. They demonstrate the power of people coming together and engaging the power structure in an organized, disciplined, and proactive manner. Having the public action be the last event of the weekend was the perfect ending to a weekend of celebration and learning.

For the Common GoodVolume 2, Issue 1, Newsletter for Nevadans for the Common Good