In a previous post I talked about a trip I was planning with colleagues from the Manitoba Research Alliance (MRA) and  the KIP International School – Universitas Programme, to attend World Urban Forum 7 (WUF7) in Medellin Colombia.

Sara Swartz (Universitas), Lynne Fernandez (CCPA & MRA), Shauna MacKinnon (UW Urban and Inner City Studies and MRA) at WUF 7.

Medellin, Colombia

Our journey to Medeillin began In 2013, when the University of Winnipeg and the Department of Urban and Inner City Studies signed a memorandum of collaboration with KIP-Universitas Programme,  the University of Manitoba, the Province of Manitoba and several Winnipeg based organizations. The purpose of the project is to conduct research and share stories about existing initiatives that are having an impact in reducing poverty and building inclusive neighbourhoods.

Dr. John Loxley (UM Economics and MRA principle investigator introduces signatories: Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger; Sara Swartz (Universitas),; Dr. Shauna Mackinnon (UW & MRA); Brendan Reimer (CCEDNet); Kathy Mallet (CEDA); Diane Roussin (Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre; Dr. David Barnard (President UM); Dr. Lloyd Axworthy (President UW)

Signing of Memorandum of Collaboration, Circle of Life ThunderBird House, Winnipeg, May 2013

Dancers from Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre Pow Wow Club help us celebrate 

Our trip to Medellin provided us with an opportunity to talk about our collaboration, introduce researchers and development practitioners attending our session at WUF 7 to the inner city of Winnipeg.  It was also an opportunity to encourage others to join our collaboration  and to inform them of a special issue journal to be published  through Universitas Forum in January 2015, thanks to funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Getting ready for our presentation in the City Changer Room – WUF 7

Sara Swartz introduces panelists from Colombia, Canada, Mexico and Peru

WUF7 – Principles for Inclusive Cities

In the article titled World Urban Forum 7: Lessons from Colombia, we talk about our experience in Medellin, drawing particular attention to the similarities we observed in the two very different cities of Winnipeg and Medellin. 

A highlight of our trip was a visit to the neighbourhood of Moravia with a group of local women who have been leaders in transforming a neighbourhood once devastated by  violence at the hands of the infamous Pablo Escobar drug cartel.

A walk through Moravia

The women took us for a tour of their community and showed us how, with support from the State, have transformed a toxic garbage site that was once home to hundreds of local residents, into a community garden and emerging social enterprise. It is here that we realized the similarities with our own community.  In Winnipeg’s inner city neighbourhoods, women continue to be the quiet leaders, building safe and healthy neighbourhoods for local families..

 Lynne Fernandez from the MRA learning about Moravia from a local activistTransformation in Moravia
Military taking a break while waiting for the President of Colombia to tour the gardens. While most of the residents are happy to leave ‘garbage hill’ behind for new housing in Moravia, others are resistant to leave their homes.

Back in Winnipeg, people living and working in inner-city communities continue to build more inclusive, healthy communities, and better living conditions, A new sign for Selkirk Ave. Garden – 2012 
Dufferin Residents Association: Planting event in the Selkirk Ave. 

North End residents participate in Dufferin Community Clean-up in the North End , Dufferin Community

The University of Winnipeg is contributing to inner city development in many ways.  One way is through the Urban and Inner City Studies Program (UICS), located on Selkirk Ave. This program provides opportunities for local residents interested in pursuing a University degree to begin their journey in a small, safe, local learning environment.  Selkirk Ave.  is becoming a hub of intergenerational learning in Winnipeg’s North End.

UICS is temporarily located in the Makoonsang Childcare building, with plans to relocate in Merchants Corner once this building, now owned by the community, is redeveloped. This video describes the intergenerational learning hub that is fast becoming known as the “North End Campus”.

It was nice to share our inner city stories with people from around the world attending WUF7 in Medellin, and it was a great opportunity to learn about the revitalization work being done in other cities.  But the most interesting lesson we took home is that our communities are more similar than we imagined.  People living and working in inner city neighbourhoods know what they need – but they need state support to help them make it happen.

With only a few final papers left to grade and marks to post, I’ve got some time to think about the winter 2014 term. Since I ask my students to reflect on what they learned throughout the term, it only seems fair that I do the same.

I taught two classes this term. Urban Poverty and Policy is one that I have taught a few times now. The second class, Community Organizing, was a new one for me, and the first time it was offered in the Urban and Inner City Studies Program.

My classes were offered in the morning. This winter was the longest, coldest winter in my memory, and that made it awfully tempting for students to skip their first class of the morning—especially if it was off campus in the North End. The weather kept a few students away each week but generally attendance was good throughout the term.

I am always taken aback by the interesting comments and conversations that take place in our classroom. I think there is something about the unique environment at Urban and Inner City Studies that inspires open and sometimes emotional dialogue. I love how much the students learn from being exposed to different perspectives and experiences—how much they learn from each other.

And I learn a lot too.

A final assignment I include in all of my classes is a written and oral presentation about “what I learned”. This is always my favourite class of the year. It is always well attended (a chance for a few extra marks!) and always very interesting, inspiring and sometimes powerful.

When reading through students written reflections of the term, one student ended his paper with a question. He asked:

“I wonder what kinds of things Professor MacKinnon learned form our class this time around?”

Well, I learned a lot as I always do. I learned how much young adults are struggling to make sense of a world that is increasingly unjust. I learned how much students are concerned about the environment and Canada’s obsession with and reliance on resource extraction. As one student rightly pointed out in his reflection, a common concern for students in class is the ‘economy’. But students concerns about the economy are not the same as those politicians, business leaders, and some economists raise, at least what we see in the mainstream media. They are concerned that we continue to defer to an economic model that has proven not to work for most people in the world.

While many would dismiss their concerns as the naivety of youth, these students are right to be concerned. In the recently released book titled Capital in the 21st Century, French economist Thomas Piketty also raises serious concerns about our economic model and where it is taking us. Recently translated into English, Capital in the 21^st century is fast becoming a bestseller and putting rightwing commentators on the defensive.

In this article from the Guardian, Len McCluskey sums up Piketty’s assessment of capitalism at work:

“Piketty’s argument is that, in an economy where the rate of return on capital outstrips the rate of growth, inherited wealth will always grow faster than earned wealth. So the fact that rich kids can swan aimlessly from gap year to internship to a job at father’s bank/ministry/TV network – while the poor kids sweat into their barista uniforms – is not an accident: it is the system working normally.”

American economist and Nobel prize winner Paul Krugman has reviewed Piketty’s book in the New York Times and is interviewed by Bill Moyers about it. Both the article and interview are worth a look and will likely inspire you to rush out to pick up the book.

Piketty gives startling evidence of movement away from democracy to a global “drift toward oligarchy”—a power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. Piketty prescribes a number of solutions to reverse the trend—in particular taxation of wealth and inheritance, a serious increase in taxes on capital and high incomes to allow for redistribution of wealth.

While some are calling Piketty’s prescription for change utopian—because the powerful will never agree to it— others are more hopeful that not only is it possible, it is essential.

This brings me back to what I learned from students this term.

Although we may get tired, cynical and hopeless in a world that has become increasingly driven by greed; optimism, hope and a desire for change, and yes, a bit of naivety, is necessary if we are to create a better world.

Many thanks to all my students for your inspiration!

The University of Winnipeg participated in the Spur Festival this past week by providing grade 11 and 12 students with an opportunity to participate in the Spur Young Scholars Winnipeg event. I have to admit, I didn’t know much about Spur but I agreed to participate by teaching a class  on Friday afternoon titled Introduction to Urban and Inner City Studies. 

In preparation for the class I tried to think of what might interest a group of students that I didn’t know anything about except that they would likely be 16-17 years old. Students tend to like visual presentations and I wanted to present them with something that they could relate to, so I decided to show a film produced by Carole O’Brien that captures a project that I worked on a few years ago through the CCPA Manitoba and the Manitoba Research Alliance. It remains one of the more memorable education projects that I have worked on for a variety of reasons.

It was a particularly challenging project. It involved bringing high school students from suburban schools together with students from the North End based CEDA Pathways to Education Program and Aboriginal Elders, to discuss some challenging social issues in our city. Without getting into the details, it was a complicated project that came to a surprisingly successful end with the gathering of students. teachers  and Elders at the Circle of Life Thunderbird House and the making of a fabulous film that captures as best as was possible, the power of the day.  The story is written up in the 2012 State of the Inner City Report titled Breaking Barriers – Building Bridges but the film that was produced really shows what is possible when we bring young people from diverse backgrounds and experiences together.

Tragically, months after the day at Thunderbird House one of the students actively involved in the project took his life. Shaun was bright and kind – a young person seen as a leader among his peers. This is pertinent to the story that follows because a few of his friends happened to attend my Spur class.  As the saying goes, Winnipeg is indeed a ‘very small town’.

We began the class with introductions. It was a small group. All but one student was from the inner city.  Interesting I thought.  Some of the students were from the North End and It immediately occurred to me that they may have known Shaun, so I made a mental note to deal with that after showing the film.  But first, we talked about perceptions of the inner city.  We talked about racism, poverty and the realities that our city is very much a ‘divided’ city.  They were a very perceptive and engaged group of students.

Then we viewed the film.  When Shaun appeared in the film I heard a few whispers.

Otherwise there was silence.

So, “what do you think” i asked when the film credits rolled.

“I like that idea of bringing students from different places together with elders”  said one of the students. Others nodded. “I would really like to do something like that” said another.

Then I confronted the elephant in the room.  “I am wondering if some of you might have known Shaun” I asked. Three of the students immediately said “yes” and they shared with the others that Shaun was a wonderful person and they were very sad that he had died. But they said that they were happy to see him in the film – a reminder of what a great person he was. We talked about that for awhile and one of the students asked if she could show a film that she made about suicide.  We watched it together and chatted a bit more about suicide, the inner city and other issues. I talked a bit about the Urban and Inner City Studies program on Selkirk Avenue. and before we knew it our hour was up.

As I packed up to leave one of the students approached me and asked me where she you could find “Shaun’s film”.  I gave her the link.  She went on to talk about what a wonderful person he was and how kind he had been to her. She said that seeing him in the film made her very happy because she wanted to remember him that way. She thanked me for showing it.

It was a powerful Friday afternoon. Thanks to all of the Spur students who attended my class. I enjoyed spending the hour with you.

It’s March 12, nearing the end of the term and I am overwhelmed with assignments to grade, papers to write, emails to answer, meetings to attend, and classes to prepare for. While I love to teach and look forward to discussions with my super smart students, I have to confess that when I woke up this morning thinking about all that I have on my plate, I had a fleeting thought that if I could skip class today I might get caught up a bit.

Of course I wouldn’t do that and especially not today. Some of the students in the Community Organizing class that I teach presented their term papers. I also had a presentation prepared. It was about an interview I recently read with the Greg Sharzer, the author of the book No Local.  Sharzer provides a Marxist analysis of the limitations of localism. I found the article a good fit with the course material on many levels but his message about the necessity of collective struggle and resistance was particularly pertinent.

The first student presentation was a critical assessment of a community-based organization that while providing important services to its ‘community’ falls short, or so it seems, when it comes to politicizing its constituency and advocating at a broader political level.

A second presentation focused on an organization that does quite the opposite. There appeared to be at least two fundamental differences between this organization and that in the first presentation. The first example was an organization that did not grow organically from the population that it served. Its mandate was essentially that of ‘helper’ and in order to ‘provide help’ it received funding from various state bodies. The second example was an international organization built from the struggle of peasants, small farm owners and farm workers – resisters of the neoliberal marketization of food.

A third presentation was interestingly “in between”.  It was the story of a local organization that grew from the struggle of disabled activists but had lost some of its activist steam along the way. A common reality for organizations that have come to depend on charitable and state funding but limited in what they can do—in effect silenced —through the confines of the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act

These were all great presentations (further demonstrating how super smart my students are!).

But a fourth presentation spoke to the power that can come from struggle in a different way.  It was a presentation about the private and collective struggle of individuals living with and fighting against the stigma that comes with having a mental illness. I was moved to tears by the student’s personal and extremely insightful story and her generosity. I was grateful that Jen selflessly and generously trusted the class enough to share it with us.

I was also taken with how her story of struggle is not completely different than the struggle described in the other presentations and in the interview with Sharzer.

Jen informed us that “in experiences of trauma, it is common for individuals to blame themselves for what happened and to believe that there was something they could have done to stop it from happening”.  And while she was referring to trauma of a different and deeply damaging kind, I couldn’t help but think of the billions of people living in abject poverty, those who have lost their jobs, their homes, their pride—all as a result of the unbridled neo-liberal global capitalism that Sharzer speaks of,  yet are conditioned to believe that they are to blame for their ‘misfortune’. Surely they could have done something to “stop it from happening”.

Jen’s final thoughts. which she graciously permitted me to share in this post,  articulate the power that she has found in her struggle.  What she may or may not realize is that what she has learned through her personal journey is also applicable to the collective struggle for social and economic justice. She says:

“…l know that the dialogue has begun to take place more and more between myself and others, and that we share a determination that is about far more than finding healing and wholeness for our own selves. It’s about walking and struggling with others…about listening to stories and telling our own.  It’s about ending the shame that suffocates people in silence. It’s about being able to step forward together and say.  “I matter too, as much as you, and this has got to change.”.

Thanks for the lesson Jen.

The term ‘poverty’ is used often but rarely defined.   One of the most important lessons I hope students in my Urban Poverty and Policy  Class take with them is an understanding of how their personal beliefs and values shape the way they view poverty.

One tool I use to get students to think about poverty from the perspective of people who live it, is by sharing Joe’s Story with them.  “Joe” (not his real name) describes what life in poverty is like for him. Joe is in a situation that requires him to rely on the  generosity of others to survive.  Living in poverty, says Joe, is to “have no choices…I  hate having no choices”.

Joe’s story is a great way to get students to think about poverty in a different way.  To think about what it would be like to have to rely on charity each and every day.  To begin to understand the limitations of charity and the damaging effects that poverty has on a persons sense of self.  To begin to see poverty as a structural problem that cannot be solved by charity.

I met the man who has come to be known by my students as “Joe” after receiving a telephone call from him in the summer of 2009.  He found my contact information after reading a newspaper article that I was quoted in.  The article was about the shortage of safe and affordable housing for people living in poverty in our city.

Joe called to tell me his housing story.  Every once in awhile I get calls like this.  I feel terrible when I receive them because there really isn’t anything I can do except listen or refer them to various service organizations or government representatives.  I hate that it must seem to them like I am yet one more person passing them off to someone else.

I had quite a long conversation with Joe.  He was very articulate about his situation and had a solid analysis.  It led me to think that if he was willing, it would be useful to tell his story.  Joe was familiar with the “fast facts’ series that the CCPA produced.  Often these commentaries are picked up by the Winnipeg Free Press – the primary local print media.

So, I made the suggestion that he tell his story in a ‘fast facts’.   He said that he wasn’t much of  a writer.  “No problem” I said “I can help you with that”.  And to ensure his privacy I suggested we could refer to him as “Joe”.  He liked that idea.

A few days later Joe dropped by my office with his notes.  We worked together to type them up.  He ensured that I accurately captured the details he wanted to share.  We sent it out to CCPAs many ‘fast facts’ subscribers and the Winnipeg Free Press published it as well.  Joe was delighted.  He said it felt good to tell his story.

Joe kept me informed over the following months as he tried to find affordable accommodations.  He dropped by one day, thrilled to report that he had been accepted into public housing.  He would finally have a safe and affordable place to live.

I’ve seen Joe many times since then.  Not as much lately since i’ve relocated to the University of Winnipeg, but he continued to visit me every few months at CCPA, updating me on the events of his life.   While Joe continues to live in poverty,  life is better.  Stable housing has made a difference.

I decided to share this story in this post as a way of thanking Joe for sharing his story with me.  Joe doesn’t know that he has made a huge contribution to my student’s education.  I’ve never told him that and I should.

A note to self for the next time that we meet.