"My message to other activists across the country is: develop a long term strategy to go beyond the tactical and short-term defensive struggle; pay attention to building regional coalitions between key sectors; pay attention to combining grassroots organizing, public policy advocacy, good research and analysis; apply this work to both the electoral arena and public policy arena."

-Anthony Thigpenn, President,
Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE),
Los Angeles

"It's important to have people at the table when you don't have an issue that you are addressing immediately. I think the prime example of that is ... elections. You have the politicians coming out to faith-based organizations because they want your support or want to understand what your concerns or issues are. But there is no form or structure for accountability.

"But if we can collectively organize, and have an agenda beforehand where we have worked out the logistics and details . . . then we get the opportunity to come back with one voice and a written agenda where we can say ‘Did you do this?'

"The [Civic Leadership] institute was a way that I got to interact with other people, especially from the labor movement, which I didn't know much about.  I thought ‘Wow! There are a lot of people doing the same type of work in different arenas.' 

"As we build relationships, and as we work together on issues and projects, then we build the trust and the ability to strategize and to move forward with a common agenda."