The bus ride from the San Antonio airport with Oscar Vix the driver left us all in stitches. Oscar described his response to a woman on his bus who kept complaining about his driving. " 'Miss,' I told her, 'If I get through today without an accident they'll give me my real license tomorrow.' That got her quiet." The trip to the ranch took about an hour and a half and we laughed all the way. Laughter and learning about community organizing were what the "I Can Be Heard - Represent!" conference was all about..

Most of the 70 kids who attended the conference were between the ages of 12 and 16 and were from the Community Developers Projects, sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries. The Community Developers Program, funded by the Special Sunday Human Relations Day, reaches out with community members to create positive change in distressed neighborhoods..

Held over Marting Luther King Jr. Weekend, the conference took place at T Bar M Ranch, located in the flat hills of South West Texas. As the sun was setting, I was reminded that this part of the country is called Big Sky Territory, because the sky seems to go on forever. Then again, maybe, living in the canyons of skyscrapers in New York City, I'm just not used to seeing the sky. Many of the teens who attended the conference also came from cities, most of them inner city regions forgotten by legislators, plagued by gangs and riddled with high drop-out rates..

On Saturday morning, Jean Gauna from the Southwest Organizing Project, a Community Developers Project, Albuquerque, NM, rallied the gathering with her call to organize. What follows are some of her remarks:

"Why are we organizing? If we do not deal with our own communities, no one is going to do it for us. No one. Not the US government, the Methodists, the Catholics. On the reservations, in the ghettos and the farm worker camps, our people have nothing. But our people have enormous intelligence. We don't need someone from New York to tell us what to do. We have all the brilliance we need. We look to ourselves. Look at our government. It's in disarray. It's disgusting. We look to ourselves. We are winners. You are going to be our leaders of tomorrow. We organize to increase our collective power. Jesus was an organizer."

Workshops on Organizing

Tanessa Robinson, 14, from Little Rock, Arkansas, shared one of the highlights of her experience -- participating in workshops. Of the music workshop led by the Reverend Raymond Wise of Columbus, OH, Tanessa said, "He made everything fun.. Everybody liked him and his music. He's so excellent."

Another workshop Tanessa raved about was led by the Reverend Darryl Totty, Detroit, MI, entitled "Taking Care of Yourself." Tanessa explained, "He gave us a lemon and said it was our life. We could toss it around, put it in ice tea." When I asked what Tanessa was doing with her lemon/life, she responded, "I kept mine. It's sitting on the dresser in my room. It's just sitting there.. Not bothering anybody. Being good."

I led a workshop, called "Standing Up For Yourself." As a stand up comic, drama teacher and writer, I used theater games as a way of speaking up for oneself and working collectively. In one game we stood in a close circle. We each made an "I" statement. For example, one shy teen spoke hers, nearly in a whisper, "I am special." And everyone shouted back, "Yes, you are special!" Through our laughter, we learned to work together and support each other, sometimes loudly..

Over the weekend, the kids participated in several workshops, plenaries, and worship services. On Sunday morning, the kids split up to worship with a half dozen San Antonio congregations. In the afternoon, the teens took a Community Walk through the neighborhood of Monte Sinai United Methodist Church and its adjacent housing projects. On the Monday morning of Martin Luther King holiday, the kids spoke the words of Dr. King, recited their own poetry about him. They also shared the meaning of the weekend's gathering for them.. On the bus ride back to the airport some of us learned that Oscar the bus driver had served in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded by his fellow countrymen in what is ineptly called "friendly fire." Hearing Oscar talk about his life was typical of the weekend "I Can Be Heard - Represent!" where everyday heroes are found in the people around us. The Community Developers Program of the General Board of Global Ministries doesn't take any community members for granted, especially teens. The weekend offered the youth a chance to become, like the Community Developers around them, everyday heroes..

January 25, 1999

To learn more about the General Board of Global Ministries Community Developers Program, call (212) 870-3821 or e-mail rlawson@gbgm-umc.org..