Edward T. Chambers

Edward Thomas Chambers (April 2, 1930 – April 26, 2015) was the executive director of the Industrial Areas Foundation from 1972 to 2009, a community organizing group founded by Saul Alinsky.[1] Chambers was born in Clarion, Iowa to Thomas Chambers and Hazella Downing.[2] He is credited with developing systematic training of organizers and leaders of congregation-based community organizations, and establishing relational meetings (or "one-on-ones") as a critical practice of organizers. He is the author of Roots for Radicals: Organizing for Power, Action, and Justice (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003, ISBN 0-8264-1499-0.[3]). A memorial article in The New Yorker called him "community organizing’s unforgiving hero." [4] He died of heart failure in Drimoleague, Ireland in 2015.[2]

  1. ^ Brazil, Eric (January 11, 2004). "A grassroots radical works for democracy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  2. ^ a b Roberts, Sam (May 1, 2015). "Edward Chambers, Early Leader in Community Organizing, Dies at 85". New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "Bowling with organizers: real-world answers to academic worries about the breakdown of community". City Limits. January 1, 2004. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  4. ^ Freedman, Samuel G. "Ed Chambers: Community Organizing’s Unforgiving Hero." New Yorker, May 6, 2015. http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/edward-chambers-community-organizings-unforgiving-hero