Danny Cotton Interview

When did you get involved in KFTC?

At the beginning of this year. I had been aware of it before, but I hadn’t been active until this.

Why do you like FTC?

Because KFTC fights for the issues no for the candidates, parties, financial intrests but for the issues that are important to the people of Kentucky.

What issues does KFTC work on that you care about?

KFTC works on a myriad of issues, but I am personally most interested in fighting mountain top removal mining and the other disastrous affects of coal mining on Kentucky’s environment and people. Being from a rural area, I’m also interested in sustainable AG.

Explain the lobbying work KFTC does ?

KFTC is a particularly good at mobilizing citizen lobbyists, They don’t bring a bunch of slick talking suits, they bring real concerned citizens, who are talking to legislators about things they care about, not issues they’re highly paid top care about.

What does KFTC mean when they say they are a grassroots bottom up membership driven organization?

It means that KFTC chooses positions and issues based on the input of members. This is largely democratic organization, we vote on everything. Also they allow chapters to focus on issues that are important to that particular area. So while Louisville may focus on racial justice, Harlan county is working on MTR and UK is working on tuition. 

Dave Newton Intrerview

 What is KFTC?

A 26 year old grassroots deeply membership driven organization with a lot of roots in Eastern KY, but we’ve expanded statewide.

 What does KFTC do?

 KFTC works on several issues: stopping mountain top removal, increasing the minimum wage, racial justice.  It might seem like all these issue are crazily disconnected, but they are brought together by a grassroots effort by people to make their community a better place.

How did you become involved in KFTC?

I was an activist at UK working on ending sweat shop labor goods at UK. KFTC was very active in this campaign.

What is your job at KFTC?

I’m a community organizer. Which means all of my members in my chapter are my boss and I work with people on leadership development, to build consensus, and facilitate campaigns.

 What is your best moment/ favorite aspect of your job?

So many moments and victories to point to. Winning the Lextran referendum jumps to mind pretty quickly. The many good bills that KFTC has helped pass and the many bad bills that KFTC has helped bring sown.

The Most satisfying moment is when I talk to someone and there eyes are opened to the possibility that they can make a difference. Or when I hear, “This is the first political thing i’ve done.” Stuff like that has a big impact on me.

What is your most disappointing moment/ frustrating aspect of your job?

People think activism is all high action, but it also includes lots of boring administrative work.

Apathy is incredibly frustrating. When your out in a community, and people don’t seem to care. Apathy is a societal problem that we encounter too often on a personal level.

Why did KFTC start working on restoration of voting rights (rvr) ?

In 2004 we did lots of election work, voter registration especially. We’d go door to door especially in low income communities and so many people told us they would love to, but couldn’t. They couldn’t because they were former felons and in Kentucky former felons are denied the right to vote unless they go through a long and arbitrary process. After dozens of conversations we decided it was an issue we had to work on.

Why do you thing felons are denied the right to vote?

It comes from a desire to keep minorities and people in low income communities from voting.

How does KFTC work on the issue.

We find former felons and work with them to become spokes people. Our work involves lots of community outreach and awareness building. This includes events, videos, going door to door, tabling speakers. We also go to Frankfort and lobby legislators.

We have a bill to change KY’s Constitution and we put pressure on legislators all across the state. The bill passed the state house, but stalled in the state senate.

Reading analysis of Race to Incarcerate by Marc Mauer

Race to Incarcerateby Marc Mauer is an interesting book about the criminal justice system. Mauer is the director of the Sentencing Project an organization that promotes reforming the criminal justice system. In the book Mauer examines why America’s prison population is so high.  Mauer writes that, “The book tries to asses how U.S. society has come to rely on the use of imprisonment to an extent that was entirely unforeseen and even unimaginable just thirty years ago.” The main thesis of the book is that prison is a poor way to prevent crime, and that preventive measures are necessary to address the problem.

 Mauer first gives the reader a history of the prison system in the United States. The penitentiary began in Pennsylvania under the rule Quakers before the American Revolution.  By the 1800s the system that Quakers had designed had spread throughout the country due to the formation of larger cities and higher populations. Mauer makes the point that it is surprising how little the prison system has changed over two hundred years. He makes the observation, “While the philosophical orientation and stated goals of the prison have fluctuated, the basic concept of imprisoning people in cages remains the central feature of the system.”

The 1970s is closely examined in the book. This is due to the fact that a huge spike in America’s prison population can be traced here. The decade began with the hope that incarceration would be rarely used. Mauer explains why the opposite proved to be the case. Mauer attributes the rise to several factors, but the main causes were the rise of the “Tough on Crime” and the “War on Drugs” movement.  These movements not only led to more arrests, it also caused the implementation of mandatory sentencing.

 Race to  Incarcerate  also explains how different presidents from Regan to Bush Jr have handled crime. With few exceptions Mauer argues that all the president’s have made the situation worse. While the roots of problem began with Nixon, Regan made the situation much worse. Mauer declares, “However, the Reagan administration had succeeded in stoking the ideological fires for “tougher” crime policy, and this success would carry over into the administration of George Bush.” Policies like mandatory sentencing that were created by several administrations would have a disproportionate affect on minority communities and lower income communities.

 The African American community has been greatly affected by the criminal justice system. Mauer observes, “Nearly half of all prison inmates are now African American, and another 19 percent are Hispanic-percentages far out of proportion to their numbers in the general population.” Mauer argues that this proportion is due to several factors including: profiling, targeting, racial bias in prosecution and sentencing, and bias in responses to crime. These factors are a major cause for the disparity, but they are not the only ones.

The “War on Drugs” has had a very negative impact on the black community. Mauer especially focuses on sentencing.  Drugs like crack cocaine are predominantly used by African Americans, and have a longer mandatory jail sentence attached to them. While drugs like powdered cocaine which are use primarily by whites have a shorter sentence. Mauer notes, “The vast majority of persons charged with crack cocaine offenses in the federal system-81 percent in 2001-02- have been African American.”

Mauer reserves the last chapter of the book, titled “A New Direction for a New Century” for solutions to the problem. This was the one area of the book that is lacking. While the author dedicates several chapters to the problem he only reserves seven pages to the solution. Unfortunately Mauer offers very few specifics. Basically the premise is that America needs to end its harsh sentencing practices, but Mauer gives no specific alternatives making the close of his book very disappointing.  

The election and other happenings

KFTC was out in full force on election day. We gave people rides to the polls from 6:00am to 6:00pm. We also had KFTC’S sound car out and about. Every election KFTC rents a mic system and sets in a car. Than a tem of two people hit the streets reminfing them that its election day. Riding in the sound car was a lot of fun and it proved to be a unique way to get people out to vote. KFTC also set up a table on campus where we provided students information on where they vote and we passed out or voter guides. Another major thing KFTC did was phonebanking. We made sure to call all our members to remind them to vote. When the polls closed we headed down to the county clerk’s office and gave them a thank you card to show how much we appreciate the hard work they do. After that around twenty or thirty KFTC members headed to Mellow Mushroom where we ate pizza and watched the election returns come in.

Right now KFTC is in the midst of trying to raise it membership and fundraising. KFTC is hoping to be 5,000 members strong by the end of the year. We set this goal with the hope of increasing our influence statewide. We are very close, but still have a ways to go. We have a number of special events planned including a concert at the Dame, phone-banks, and much more. I’m am very confident that we will reach our goals.

Lessons from the concert and Tuesday’s election

 Concert for the Commonwealth was an overall positive learning experience. Not nearly as many people came as I had hoped they would. At its peak there were around one hundred people there. The rain kept people away. It forced us to move the concert inside Memorial Hall. This in turn caused us to scale down the food we offered, due to UK’S regulations about food in Memorial Hall. Had it not rained I believe the event would have been hugged. We could have the concert in Memorial’s amphitheater which would have attracted more people, we would been able to provide a wider variety of food, and people are just more likely to come to events when the weather is nice.

For planning major events in the future I learned some important lessons. Communication is key. We had some difficulties the last day contacting bands and other organizations. This caused a high level of stress and could have been avoided had we been in more constant contact. Also, a great understanding of relevant rules and regulations is very helpful. In order to get money from Student Government a student group needs a ten digit account. We did not learn this until the day of the concert and we had to use Amnesty Internationals.  Planning events when the weather is generally nice is incredibly important.

This Tuesday Kentuckians head to the polls to vote on some important offices including: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Agriculture Commissioner. I’ll be out with KFTC getting people to vote. Preceding the election KFTC set up a website Kentuckyelection.org with information on where the candidates stand. We have also handed out voter guides all over UK and Lexington. On election we’ll be giving people rides to the poll and making sure they know where to vote.

The Concert and other happenings

The organizing workshop that KFTC hosted on campus was great. Dave Newton The Central Kentucky organizer led the workshop, and I feel that I learned a great deal about the mechanics of organizing. Dave began the workshop by asking what people to list problems and there roots causes. The responses varied from mountain top removal to pot holes in the streets. The root causes tended to center around greed, corruption, and poor leadership.  

Dave than went on to list the different kinds that deal with these problems. Service organizations like the Salvation Army or different church groups tend to focus on the problem, but not the root cause. They will feed the poor, but not lobbying legislators to help the poor. Advocacy groups were the next group that Dave mentioned. They include groups like the Sierra Club. These groups work on both problems and their root causes, but are very top down in their decision making. This can make their membership feel alienated from the process. Dave than explained what organizations like KFTC do. Like advocacy groups they work on both the problem and the root cause, but unlike advocacy groups they are membership driven. This means they focus on the grassroots and people power. The workshop was a great deal of fun and I learned a lot.

Concert for the Commonwealth is coming up tomorrow. This is KFTC’s biggest event on campus this year. Lots of different bands will be playing including: the Dialectics, the Sepia Tones, Fitch Lane, Hambone, Charlie Denison and Friends, Richard Becker, and Eyes and Arms of Smoke. We are planning on having the event in Memorial Hall amphitheater, but will move the event inside if it rains. The event is happening from 6pm to 11pm. So come out and learn about KFTC and other great organizations. Or just enjoy the free music and food.

Analysis of We Make Change by Kristin and Joe Szakos

            We Make Change by Kristen and Joe Szakos is essential reading for anyone who is interested in community organizing. Both have experience in the field. Joe Szakos was the founding coordinator of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) and Kristen Szakos is a former editor of The Appalachian Quarterly a journal about community organizing. The authors set out to define what community organizers do, how they do it, and why they do it. As Harry C. Boyte writes in the introduction, “We Make Change profiles a diverse group of organizers, their perspectives, their experiences, their hopes and their fears. What comes through vividly are the gritty up and down experiences of organizing as well as its relational and political qualities.” By interviewing organizers in a broad spectrum of fields including labor, environmental, and faith based the authors manage to give the reader a greater understanding of what organizers do, how they are effective, and why their job.
           

            The book is set up where one chapter will ask a question about organizing followed by the responses from a number of organizers. The book also includes in depth profiles of specific organizers. The tile of the first chapter is What is Community Organizing? The authors separate the responses of the organizers under different categories. The responses included: getting people to work together, democracy, developing leaders, and many others. A response I liked in particular d came from Makiva Harper when she declared, “I think the community organizer is meant to mobilize people and help them build the power that they once believed they didn’t have to win on the issues of justice in the community.” It is quickly made apparent that there are a number of ways to define community organizing and it largely depends on the person who is being asked the question.

            Another point that the Szakos’ make is that organizers come from a variety of backgrounds and are motivated by a number of things. Organizers come from rural and urban areas, liberal and conservative backgrounds, poverty and wealth. Many were motivated by a desire to make the world around them a better place. Aaron Browning responded, “I honestly do not believe that we can bring about lasting change without grassroots organizing.” Organizing is not easy by any means, and this made clear in We Make Change. Rhonda Anderson, who the authors gave in depth profile to, wrote about struggling to balance her work and her family. Her oldest son was killed, her other son is in prison, her eldest daughter is single and with child at age twenty, and her youngest daughter is only twelve. But even with all these pressures she continues to organize because the work is worth it. She writes, “Like I said, it’s labor-intense and stressful and hard. But I enjoy myself too.”

 How to be an effective organizer was a major focus of the book. A variety of traits were suggested passion, anger, focus, the ability to work with others, patient, optimistic, and many others. The Szakos are correct when they write, “There are lots of traits that make a good organizer, but different combination work best in different people.” This highlights a central point that the authors make throughout the book: that the field of organizing is very broad and that there are lots of ways to go about it.

 

We Make Change is an interesting and insightful book on the challenges of community organizing. By letting the reader see the organizers direct responses the reader is given a good sense of what it means to be a community organizer and how to be effective at it.

The Concert and Voter Registration

KFTC is staying active on campus. We had a strong presence at the Latino festival, the Robinson forest forum, and we are planning on hosting a number of events on campus. Talking to people at the Latino Festival ,in Lexington, was lots of fun. We registered people to vote, raised awareness on restoration of voting rights, and managed to sign up a few new members in three short days.

Next Sunday KFTC is hosting an Organizing workshop on campus. The event starts at 3:30 and will end around 6:30. Dave Newton, the central Kentucky KFTC organizer, is going to lead the workshop. He will go over many things that relate to organizing including:  issue awareness, fundraising, mobilization, lobbying, and many other issues. If anyone is interested please feel free to stop by. Were having the event in room 231 of the Student Center.

With the voter registration deadline quickly approaching KFTC has been busy registering people across campus. Last week we tabled Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Each day we managed to get at least thirty new voters registered some days we got as many as hundred to two hundred. On Monday we’ll be tabling again. So if anyone needs to register stop by the Journalism building at UK. As I say to people all days it’s quick, easy, and fun.

Plans for the concert are moving forward. Student Government agreed to cosponsor the event. They even accepted our grant proposal and allotted us a thousand dollars to get our plans off the ground. The money will pay for our sound equipment, t-shirts, promotional material, and other things that will make Concert for the Commonwealth the best event all year. So please come check it out October 23 at Memorial Hall.

Roots and Heritage festival and other happenings

The Roots and Heritage festival was lots of fun. KFTC was out in full force. We registered voters and had a chance to talk to people about restoration of voting rights for former felons. For those of you who don’t know much about the issue Kentucky is the only state where felons don’t automatically get their voting rights back. The process is long and arduous a former felon must right an essay, pay a fee, have three recommendations, and than a full pardon from the governor. This is something that dates back to Jim Crow and disenfranchises mostly minorities and poor people. In order making the return of voting rights automatic Kentucky has to change its constitution.

KFTC was out at the Roots and Heritage festival informing people about the issue and getting to them to sign post cards asking State Senate President David Williams to support the issue. Currently he is blocking efforts to bring the bill before the state senate. The state house of representatives overwhelming supported the bill.

Our efforts on campus have started to take off as well. We have managed to register even more students to vote. After some difficulty we finally managed to find a meeting location that accommodated the size of our organization at the Center for Student Involvement at the UK student center.

We have been really active. KFTC is planning on having even more voter registrations tables. Were also planning a huge concert that is set for October 23^rd from six to 11 pm. We’ll have free food and entertainment. Depending on the weather the event will be at Memorial Hall or the amphitheater. WRFL, Greenthumb, Amnesty International, Lasso have all agreed to cosponsor. So come and check it out.

KFTC Internship “The early days”

The first weeks of working for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth have been great.  The main goal of my internship is to reach out to the UK community and the surrounding area. Making sure people are registered to vote, informed on the issues, and mobilized on Election Day. So far I have focused on UK ‘S community.

Over the summer fellow KFTC member Joe Gallenstein and I started a KFTC chapter at UK. We had no idea if this would be successful, but we were determined to try. Having a chapter at UK ,we reasoned, would enable us to reach out to students and get KFTC’s issues out on campus. So we got to work. We registered our organization, created a facebook group, flyered all over campus, talked to students at every welcome event that we could. We set our meeting time and reserved a room in the Student Center. Now all we could do was wait and hope for a good turnout.

Over thirty people showed up to our first meeting. It went great. UK KFTC has been very active on campus so far. We have registered over two hundred students to vote, and plan on having one voter registration drive a week until the registration deadline.  We are working on hosting a concert to promote issues like stopping mountain top removal, restoring former felons voting rights, and implanting a state wide progressive tax code.

Today my good buddy Joe and I are heading to the Roots and Heritage festival to reach out to the larger community.  We plan to register voters and promote restoration of voting rights. More on this in my next post.