Getting Organized: Anti-Poverty Organizing and Social Citizenship in the Seventies

Creating organizations through which the poor could have a voice was the primary goal of the anti-poverty movement in Montreal in the early 1970s. The authors point out that through confrontation politics, the movement made claims on the state and mobilized those traditionally excluded from the wider political process. Its most significant impact was to transform those on welfare from a marginalized group into active citizens. The authors examine an English speaking anti-poverty movement in Montreal during the 1970s. They discuss its vision and strategies, as well as some of the conflicts within the organization, particularly as these shaped the possibility of the poor 'speaking for themselves'. Throughout, the authors show that the movement propelled a new form of citizenship for poor people.

Community Development Journal

Vol. 34

no. 4

328-339

October 1999

en