I emphasize self-esteem, self-confidence, and dignity, not as an ideal, but as a real test of community organization. Without leadership development, community organizations do not have staying power.

Successful organizing is based on the recognition that people get organized because they, too, have a vision.

I emphasize self-esteem, self-confidence, and dignity, not as an ideal, but as a real test of community organization. Without leadership development, community organizations do not have staying power.

What makes community organizing especially attractive is the faith it places in the ability of the poor to make decisions for themselves.

A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstances of people's lives, a politics that does not speak to and include people, is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail.

Why don't we call on the credit card companies to be accountable? They need to be held accountable for their predatory lending practices.

Politics is not left, right or center ... It's about improving people's lives.