Welcome back!
Good Governance—Leadership Excellence
Saturday, October 17, 2009; 9 AM – 3 PM; Lunch included. Whittier Area Community Church, 8175 Villaverde Dr., Whittier, CA 90605
A board of directors needs to know its job and have the right tools. The job of governance is about values, vision, empowerment of both board and staff, and the strategic ability to lead leaders. This workshop looks at how a board of directors brings added value to a new organization. The workshop is designed as an introduction and to help everyone from beginners to veterans.
As workshop participants, board members and staff leaders will gain an appreciation of leadership through governance; define the roles of management and board distinct from one another; identify the unique job outputs of the board; and learn how to avoid meddling and "rubber-stamping" by boards.
A nominal fee of $50 for the first person from an organization and $20 for additional persons from the same organization will be charged. WACC will provide scholarships for Whittier organizations that serve the poor or disadvantaged of the community.
Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Still looking for bibliography recommendations
I am still looking for the best pro-immigrant literature that will be accessible to a general reading audience. Please feel free to post your suggestions in the comments. I you haven't had the opportunity, click on the books below, buy a copy and read it.
- Bailey, Rayna, Immigration and Migration (Global Issues)
, Facts on File (March 30, 2008)
- Carroll R., M. Daniel, Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible
, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008, 172 pages. And in Spanish: Cristianos en la frontera/ Christians at the Border (Spanish Edition)
Dr. Carroll also blogs at: Immigration and Other Matters.
- De La Torre, Miguel, Trails of Hope and Terror: Testimonies on Immigration
, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, (October 31, 2009 release date)
- Kennedy, John. A Nation of Immigrants
, Popular Library, New York (January 1, 1964)
- Soerens, Matthew and Hwang, Jenny, Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate
, Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2009, 240 pages. I reviewed this for Sojourners. You can read that review, "Love and the Law."
- Sen, Renku, The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization
, Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1 edition (September 1, 2008)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
New Biblical Blog on Immigration
M. Daniel Carroll R., author of Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible has started a new conversation on a blog: Danny Carroll. Check it out, join in the conversation and let me know what you think.
has started a new conversation on a blog: Danny Carroll. Check it out, join in the conversation and let me know what you think.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Decennial 2010 Census and Trust
There is a group of pastors calling for a boycott by their congregations of the 2010 Census, reported in the Wall Street Journal and Christianity Today. Beverly Platt offers Three Reasons Latina/os Should Not Boycott the U.S. Census. It may not be that easy.
In 1990 and 2000 I worked at a community development organization housed with a church. Our constituency included people who had fled governments who did not have the best interests of its citizens in mind. People who had fled local and state police, federal policies that prohibited free speech and freedom of the press. People were familiar with governments that could arrest without cause and incarcerate without trial. People experienced being deprived their livelihood.
It was in the context of this church-based community organization where we provided a venue for the United States Department of Commerce to recruit, test, train and deploy census workers in order to enumerate people in our community for the best interest of the neighborhood, community, and region. The workers with whom we interfaced were quite clear that there was no reason for anyone to fear the census process and the government. It was clearly stated that it is illegal and impossible to find anyone directly from the census information that was collected, maintained, stored, and distributed by the Census Bureau.
I was repeatedly asked about the trustworthiness and purpose of the questionnaires that people received for the census. Recent immigrants who for good reason did not trust the governments of their countries of origin asked these questions. It was my habit at that time to repeat the assurances of the Census Bureau’s people and documents. They could be trusted. Because of my position in the organization and at the church, my words would have implicitly had some moral authority, even been spoken on behalf of the church or God himself.
My assurances were often met with utter disbelief. Eyes inquisitive and incredulous. I know that often, the census questionnaires were left unreturned. In-person canvassers were evaded. The census workers and authorities, in lieu of filled-out forms or personal interview, made poor estimates. Immigrant populations and persons of color were undercounted and therefore became underrepresented.
If asked again in 2010 I might answer the same way as I had before. Yet, I have much less confidence. Now my eyes are filled with distrust and unbelief. I have seen families separated by the practices of the Department of Homeland Security that has deputized local police and armed its own Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to arrest workers in factories and restaurants. People I know have been involuntary removed from this country without due process, taken from their homes and families. I have had community workers tell me that the US government has separated US citizens from their own children and removed people only because the looked like they were from another country. I have been told of women who were trafficked to this country to be sex workers. When they were liberated from their oppressors they were put on a plane for Mexico City because they spoke Spanish, not because they were from there or had any resources upon their arrival there.
Should I give the same advice that I did in 1990 and 2000 about the US Government? I would do so with little confidence or enthusiasm. Today, I understand much more about the pain of those people I would have served 10 and 20 years ago. Today, I have had the experience of waiting at the gate of the US-Mexico border for a friend to be dropped off by a bus after a judge had told him there was no reason for him to have legal counsel. He only needed only to sign this paper, a “voluntary departure” and be on his way. Ultimately, my opinion and my voice is one from white-majority-privilege that recommends my immigrant brothers and sisters to participate in the decennial 2010 census.
I might feel more confident if congress were to pass comprehensive immigration reform that is compassionate, just and consistent with the American ideals that I understand of allowing opportunity, freedom, due-process and equality to everyone who works and contributes to the vibrancy of our communities and neighborhoods and our country.
In 1990 and 2000 I worked at a community development organization housed with a church. Our constituency included people who had fled governments who did not have the best interests of its citizens in mind. People who had fled local and state police, federal policies that prohibited free speech and freedom of the press. People were familiar with governments that could arrest without cause and incarcerate without trial. People experienced being deprived their livelihood.
It was in the context of this church-based community organization where we provided a venue for the United States Department of Commerce to recruit, test, train and deploy census workers in order to enumerate people in our community for the best interest of the neighborhood, community, and region. The workers with whom we interfaced were quite clear that there was no reason for anyone to fear the census process and the government. It was clearly stated that it is illegal and impossible to find anyone directly from the census information that was collected, maintained, stored, and distributed by the Census Bureau.
I was repeatedly asked about the trustworthiness and purpose of the questionnaires that people received for the census. Recent immigrants who for good reason did not trust the governments of their countries of origin asked these questions. It was my habit at that time to repeat the assurances of the Census Bureau’s people and documents. They could be trusted. Because of my position in the organization and at the church, my words would have implicitly had some moral authority, even been spoken on behalf of the church or God himself.
My assurances were often met with utter disbelief. Eyes inquisitive and incredulous. I know that often, the census questionnaires were left unreturned. In-person canvassers were evaded. The census workers and authorities, in lieu of filled-out forms or personal interview, made poor estimates. Immigrant populations and persons of color were undercounted and therefore became underrepresented.
If asked again in 2010 I might answer the same way as I had before. Yet, I have much less confidence. Now my eyes are filled with distrust and unbelief. I have seen families separated by the practices of the Department of Homeland Security that has deputized local police and armed its own Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to arrest workers in factories and restaurants. People I know have been involuntary removed from this country without due process, taken from their homes and families. I have had community workers tell me that the US government has separated US citizens from their own children and removed people only because the looked like they were from another country. I have been told of women who were trafficked to this country to be sex workers. When they were liberated from their oppressors they were put on a plane for Mexico City because they spoke Spanish, not because they were from there or had any resources upon their arrival there.
Should I give the same advice that I did in 1990 and 2000 about the US Government? I would do so with little confidence or enthusiasm. Today, I understand much more about the pain of those people I would have served 10 and 20 years ago. Today, I have had the experience of waiting at the gate of the US-Mexico border for a friend to be dropped off by a bus after a judge had told him there was no reason for him to have legal counsel. He only needed only to sign this paper, a “voluntary departure” and be on his way. Ultimately, my opinion and my voice is one from white-majority-privilege that recommends my immigrant brothers and sisters to participate in the decennial 2010 census.
I might feel more confident if congress were to pass comprehensive immigration reform that is compassionate, just and consistent with the American ideals that I understand of allowing opportunity, freedom, due-process and equality to everyone who works and contributes to the vibrancy of our communities and neighborhoods and our country.
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