Unlike other parent organizations, the Community Coalition relies strongly on politics and political analysis. According to Dominique Mendez, a community organizer for the coalition, such political knowledge and savvy “doesn’t just stay with the staff members.” Parent leaders and activists attend “educationals” where they receive a political education on the social and economic conditions in South Los Angeles. The topics of these seminars include, “Wealth and Poverty,” “Democracy and Capitalism,” and “The History of Education.” These seminars offer political insight into the state of schools and facilities in Los Angeles and empower parents to become stronger advocates for their students.
According to Mendez, “Parents have to get that political education to understand that it’s not always the individual student or the actual institution. It’s a broader situation that we have to also look at to make any systemic change.” Parents participating in the Community Coalition recently participated in a voter education project in which they got trained in precinct blocking, voter education and electoral work. These activities become a part of the parents’ education process and enable parents to develop a “broader sense of their role in the movement for change.”
Another distinguishing factor about the Community Coalition is their commitment to unifying the Latino and African-American populations. According to Mendez, the Community Coalition affirms that unity is vital to building a strong community and effecting change. “I’ve gone to community meetings where district officials will blatantly try to use certain race cards. They’ll try to sell the idea that we’re taking African-American homes and building Latino schools.” According to Mendez, the Community Coalition doesn’t "shy away" from discouraging or taking a stand against such divisive comments, understanding that “without this type of unity there is no way that we’re going to get the progress that we need.”
http://www.ccsapt.org
