In the past year and a half as a Bonner intern, specifically in the past few months at the Jackson Center, I have come to more fully realize and appreciate the level of passion and commitment that is needed to perform the duties of- and survive as- a community organizer. No matter what specific position or role he or she fills, community organizers must live and work with a markedly different mentality and sense of purpose than many other volunteers or regular workers. At the Jackson Center, our goals and actions are constantly changing based on needs of the community, and accordingly, our roles and tasks can vary daily, if not hourly. To be able to perform this style of work on a regular basis, a certain degree of deep-rooted commitment is absolutely necessary, particularly in the face of frequent shortcomings or obstacles.
This passion for and commitment to community activism is easy to lose sight of, however. In the face of what seems like endless meetings, emails, and logistics, I often find myself forgetting the purpose of my work, the reasons for which I started working at the Jackson Center in the first place. Despite actively trying to avoid it, there are days in which I am working not with the community and families and people who make my job so incredible, but for whatever deadlines or tangential assignments I happen to be focused on that minute. Of course, this straying-from-course is natural; we all become caught up in the upper branches of our duties every once in a while, where it is easy to see other branches to jump to, but difficult to see the roots from which we came. If we are aware enough of our surroundings, however, we soon realize that we have climbed too far, and need to go back down.
I have discovered this year that the best way for me to escape these upper branches of distraction and superficiality and get back to the grounding of my work as a community organizer is surprisingly very literal. When I feel like I have climbed so far into my work that I cannot see the community that I am helping to foster, I grab a handful of copies of the Northside News, literally climb down the steps of the Jackson Center to the sidewalk of Rosemary Street, and start walking. By walking down streets, knocking on doors, and talking to community members, I am instantly reminded of just exactly who I am working with, and why I dedicate my time and myself to such a pursuit. For me, all I need to do is put some boots on the ground to re-realize the roots of the community and activism within it, and the commitment and passion that it takes to do such work with such a worthy cause.
Zack Kaplan
Jackson Center
December 3, 2012
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