Greetings, MOSES!
From Community Organizer James Morgan
Many of my recent experiences in the larger community have caused me to reflect on organizational capacity, recruitment, and leadership. Our goals and mission to establish a platform for collective power-building dictates that, as your organizer, I must reflect on MOSES and its capacity to build externally, as well as internally. Most recently, when I was talking with someone from another organization, our conversation focused on power and control versus leadership.
We recognized that, far too often, some very well-intentioned individuals can create tension within their organizations by operating from a mindset of power and control. We also noted that there are some fine lines that distinguish how leadership first and foremost must consider the well-being of the organization and the diversity of talents that make up the totality of the organization. The leadership must also recognize the contributions of all persons.
If these things are done, the organization thrives and is better positioned to impact and be of service to the community as a whole, to garner community support for its issues and actions, and to be seen and experienced as a leader in the quest for fairness, equity, and justice. Leadership also considers organizational tone in every communication. Tone and effective communication skills are the tools necessary for building collective power, consensus, and respect.
During my 25-plus years of incarceration, I was elected president of the African Culture Group and was the in-prison coordinator for the United Way Self-Help Program. I held many more positions, all of which allowed me to garner the insight and ability to understand organizational and group dynamics. Trust in our leadership, especially within a prison environment, is not easily acquired from administrators or other residents, or from external communities, to whom we are, for the most part, invisible.
Those experiences, coupled with my weeklong WISDOM Organizer Trainings, which are ongoing, have been pivotal in my ability to engage each of you as valued members of MOSES.This is what has taught me what leadership looks like. My fellow leaders, it is my hope that some of you will give deep consideration to participating in the weeklong Gamaliel training in Eau Claire, Wis., July 21-27, 2024. For further information, please feel free to contact me @ jm9461557@gmail.com
Let’s Do MOSES!