Gerald Kellman reflects on his career as a community organizer, and discusses his relationship with Barack Obama, whom he hired in 1985 as the apprentice director of the Developing Communities Project. Kellman considers the history of community organizing in Chicago; outlines the methods, practices, and strategies of the community organizing efforts with which he was closely involved; and discusses the prevailing conditions in the communities on Chicago's South Side in which he worked, including the closure of steel mills and long-term deindustrialization. Kellman shares memories of his initial impressions of Obama and of their work together, considers the attributes that made Obama well-suited to organizing on the South Side, and describes the importance of one-on-one conversations with community members to their work. Kellman also speaks widely about major themes relevant to Obama's years in Chicago and later political trajectory, including the diversity of South Side communities, the limitations of community organizing and the importance of formal political power, the significance of Harold Washington's election and the electoral prospects of Black candidates, and the role of the Black church and the development of Obama's relationships with faith-based institutions. Also discussed are the evolution of Obama's political ambitions, Obama's involvement with workforce and vocational education programs, and Kellman's pseudonymous treatment in Obama's book "Dreams From My Father"
Presidents--United States; Community organization--Chicago (Ill.); Community development--Chicago (Ill.); Social action--United States; South Chicago (Chicago, Ill.) Social conditions; Kellman, Gerald; Obama, Barack
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
55 pages
Note (Biographical)
Gerald Kellman is an American community organizer and journalist. In 1985, Kellman hired Barack Obama as the apprentice director of the Developing Communities Project in Chicago, which grew out of the Calumet Community Religious Conference, a group th at was engaged in organizing communities in South Chicago during the midst of the crisis of deindustrialization and the closing of local steel mills. Kellman mentored Obama in community organizing, and later served as the media spokesperson for community organizing for the Obama 2008 presidential campaign. He also spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. At the time of the interview, Kellman was senior advisor to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and had served in that role since 2013
Note
Interviewed by Adam Green on April 18, 2022. This interview is part of the University of Chicago: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Gerald Kellman, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023