Kicking The Poor People Off the Bus: A Case Study of Perceived and Real Power in a Rural Economic/Health Development Project in South Carolina

The COPASCities Research Project is a 5 year USDA study documenting the use of community organizing strategies in food systems change efforts in South Carolina.  In the summer of 2013, a new grass roots issue campaign was organized to press city council members to fully fund a community kitchen project in a rural community.  Coalition leaders organized a day long bus tour of successful regional community kitchen projects in order to educate decision makers on the benefits.  Simultaneously, the COPASCities research team organized a complimentary bus tour to bring along recent community participants of a Photovoice project.  These participants were largely recruited from nearby food assistance programs and not typically associated with having decision making power.  On the eve of the tour, one coalition leader unilaterally decided to cancel a van rental, and call community participants to inform them that there was no longer space available on the tour.  When a research team member arrived the following day to pick up the participants, he was informed that he would need to drive decision makers in his van and that the community participants would not be attending the tour.

This case study uses ethnographic field notes and participant interviews to set up dilemmas faced by the research team and community participants in combatting classist, top-down decision makers that leave the community members most impacted by their decisions, out of decision making processes.  Discussion will be guided to consider the goals of community organizing strategies as a response to presented dilemmas.