evaluation of rainbow push coalition

Running head: FUTURE DIRECTIONS 1

Dominique Thomas

Future Directions: A Critique of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition

Introduction to Community Psychology

Georgia State University


The organization being evaluated in this critique is the Rainbow PUSH Coalition based

out of Chicago, Illinois. The mission of the organization is to protect, defend, and gain civil

rights by leveling the economic and educational playing fields, and to promote peace and justice

around the world. Issues that the organization focuses on include poverty and hunger, peace and

justice, gun violence, home foreclosure, corporate inclusion, and voter registration. There are

two initiatives in particular that help to uphold this mission are One Thousand Churches

Connected and PUSH for Excellence. One Thousand Churches Connected attempts to spread the

message of economic responsibility to families through churches. PUSH for Excellence has the

goal of pushing youth and parents to strive for academic excellence. For the sake of space

allotted in this critique, much of the evaluation will be based on these two initiatives because of

their connection to leveling educational and economic playing fields and because the overall

mission of the organization is so broad. The critique of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition will be

based on the two community psychology concepts of empowerment and the ecological model.

Certain aspects of the program will addressed as both a strength and a weakness because there

certain characteristic that allow the program to be successful, yet that same characteristic may

possess an inherent flaw that has to be addressed. Also, some concepts will be assessed in terms

of both empowerment and the ecological model. The two concepts are very intertwined because

empowerment can be addressed both within each system of the model and among systems in the

model. The first set of critiques will come from the perspective of empowerment.

Empowerment

Empowerment can be conceptualized in a number of different ways; it is typically

approached from an individualistic point of view. Speer and Hughey (1995) conceptualized

empowerment as “the manifestation of social power at individual, organizational, and


community levels of analysis.” Specific to community organizations, empowerment can be seen

as the ability of the community organization to reward or punish its target group, influence the

way people and public officials think about their communities, and control the topics of

discussion (Speer & Hughey, 1995).

Strengths

In order to adequately assess the strengths of the organization in terms of empowerment,

a distinction has to be as to whether it is an empowered organization, empowering organization,

or some combination of the two. Empowered organizations “successfully develop, influence

policy decisions, or offer effective alternatives for service provision” (Zimmerman, 2000).

Rainbow PUSH is an empowered organization that is able to influence policy at higher levels. It

was successful in convincing major corporations within Black communities to hire more Black

and minority executives and supervisors and to include Black suppliers, wholesalers, and

distributors on their purchasing lists. Also, it is proposing the Rainbow PUSH Education

Stimulus Plan that urges lawmakers to spread the benefits of the government bailouts to students

who are paying off loans. Rainbow PUSH is also shown to be an empowering organization

because of its promotion of empowerment for individuals. One of the goals of PUSH to

Excellence is to promote leadership and collaboration within local communities that will

generate more adult/youth mentoring, coaching and supportive relationships. One Thousand

Churches Connected seems have a goal of changing ways of thinking about economic

responsibility. These two programs appear to have strengths that go in line with promoting

psychological empowerment.

Psychological empowerment consists of an individual’s beliefs about his/her competence,

attempts to exert control, and understanding of their socio-political environment. If


empowerment is looked at from the perspective of Riger (2003), then not only does

empowerment include ideas of mastery and control, but it also includes aspects of cooperation

and communion. Looking at empowerment in this way, PUSH to Excellence’s strength comes in

increasing the bond between parents, teachers, schools, and churches. Establishing cooperation

between the individuals within communities would likely give them a greater sense of influence

within their community.

One Thousand Churches Connected’s strength comes helping to increase the competency

of individuals within the community through its workshops and seminars. The strengths of these

two programs encompass each of the three dimensions of psychological empowerment:

interpersonal, interactional, and behavioral. The intrapersonal dimension includes perceived

locus of control and self-efficacy (PUSH/Excel and One Thousand Churches). The interactional

dimension concerns the use of analytic skills to influence the environment (One Thousand

Churches). Finally, the behavioral component relates to taking action and participating in

community activities (PUSH/Excel) (Zimmerman, 2000). Empowering individuals through the

three dimensions explains the success of Rainbow PUSH in its goals and mission.

Weaknesses

While Rainbow PUSH has definitely made strides in the area of empowerment, there are

weaknesses within its approach that must be assessed. One weakness is the mission itself. The

mission is so broad and expansive that it becomes difficult for the organization to make

significant gains in term of empowerment. This is also causes an issue because such a broad and

unspecific set of goals makes it difficult for individuals to know how to take advantage of and

utilize the organization’s resources. If an individual does not know how to use such resources


then his/her perceived control is diminished, therefore the individual is less psychologically

empowered.

For One Thousand Churches Connected, this program may alienate some members of

who are not Christian. The program does not interact directly with the individuals within the

community. The churches serve as an intermediary between the program and the community.

The structure of the program indicates that such workshops and seminars take place mostly

within the church during services and this becomes an issue when there are people in the

community who are not Christian or who do not attend church. Gruber and Trickett (1987) cite a

case study involving a public school in which efforts for empowerment failed because existing

inequalities from a larger broader context were inherent in the program. Because the church is

such a strong institution in African American communities, such an approach runs the risk of

contributing to inequalities within the community. African Americans are not a homogeneous

population and this fact could explain why this program may not reach everyone and how

individuals may be alienated.

This point is also evident in the organization’s leadership structure. Approximately one-

third of the national board of directors are reverends. Because the mission does not identify

specific groups to whom it caters to, it can be at the board’s discretion as to whether certain will

reap the benefits of its programs. Will certain groups such as individuals with different sexual

orientations and individuals who practice other religions be able to reap the benefits of these

different programs? The fact that this question can be asked serves to show that lack of

specificity can be dangerous if it can result in intensifying existing inequalities. Having a group

placed in a position to empower others is troublesome because the institutional structure that

places that group in such a position can also be the reason why empowerment efforts can be


stifled (Gruber & Trickett, 1987). Such a paradox in the organization’s approach and structure

of its program is enough to warrant serious consideration and introspection in order formulate

adequate solutions.

Ecological Model

The second critique of Rainbow PUSH will be based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological

(Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Bronfenbrenner, 1986). This model demonstrates how individuals reside

in nested social systems. There are five levels of this model. The first is the microsystem; this is

any setting that involves the individual such as the family and school. The mesosystem is the

interaction of multiple microsystems such the interaction between the family and the school.

Exosystems are systems affecting the individual that do not actually contain the individual. The

macrosystem is the level that contains social systems that impact the individual through each of

the smaller systems within the model. The final system is the chronosystem; this consists of the

impact of time on the development of the individual. For the purpose of relating to the specific

topic, focus will be given the microsystem, mesosystem, and macrosystem. Also, although the

ecological model is the main method through this section critiques Rainbow PUSH, literature on

levels of social change will be cited in order to address the amount of change within these

systems. This is justified due to the highly intertwined nature of these two concepts of

community psychology.

Strengths

Rainbow PUSH is an organization that has been able to cause social change at multiple

levels. It is attempting to enact change at the macrosystem level through its Education Stimulus

Plan. If passed, this stimulus plan would have a wide reaching effect and allow for students to

pay back their student loans more easily. At the microsystem level, Rainbow PUSH brought


change by influencing the hiring practices of corporations within African American community,

which presented more opportunities to individuals in the communities. Just as with these

examples, Rainbow PUSH possesses strengths in its implementation of PUSH/Excel and One

Thousand Churches.

In terms of its PUSH/Excel program there are definite strengths that must be emphasized.

Its attempt to engage the media industry regarding violence is change at the macrosystem level

because the media industry has such a power effect on society and culture. If an organization

wants to make change within a society, a good place to start would be a medium that transmits so

many messages about society and culture to almost everyone. This program is also strong at the

mesosystem level due to its ability to strengthen the bond between different stakeholders within

the community. It is so effective because it has the goal of strengthen ties at the community

level, which precipitate a better environment for change at the individual level of the students.

For the One Thousand Churches Connected program, Rainbow PUSH’s strength comes

from its change at the microsystem level of the church. As stated earlier, the church is such a

strong institution within African American communities so it makes perfect sense to funnel the

program through the church. Urging ministers to preach and to hold workshops on economic

responsibility within their churches also helps at the individual level because members of the

congregation have the opportunity learn how to be more economically responsible and increase

their financial literacy.

Weaknesses

While Rainbow PUSH has been able to make change at multiple levels, there are areas of

concern that have to be addressed. Its mission statement and goals cover too broad of an area.

Having such a large and expansive set of goals makes it difficult for the organization to


realistically make significant gains toward meeting that expectation. Weick (1984) states that

people often conceptualize social problems in a way that makes it much more difficult to solve

them. Also going for such big wins can be counterproductive in some way. Going back to

Weick, a small win for one coincides with a small loss for another; however, with big wins

comes big losses and the threat of big losses can cause a severe backlash.

Another issue is the fact that Rainbow PUSH receives contributions and support from

significant number of corporations. This can deter the organization from attempting to make too

much change at broader levels for fear of backlash from their financial supporters. There is also

an issue of the paradigm from which the organization operates, specifically in the case of One

Thousand Churches Connected. A quote from their website states: “The growth of many

communities across the country is stifled by a mentality that encourages people to carry large

amounts of personal debt. The problem is compounded by overuse of credit cards and playing

the lottery, practices that may ultimately result in unnecessary bankruptcies.” There is virtually

no mention of societal and institutional inequalities as the root of this issue, but the mentality of

the individuals and their behaviors are cited. This can be construed as victim blaming on the part

of Rainbow PUSH. Seidman (1983) states that mindscapes, or ways of thinking, predetermine

how a social problem is defined and whether it is identified at all. The mentality and behavior of

the individuals in the community is defined as a problem, but societal and institutional

inequalities do not seem to be identified as a problem.

One Thousand Churches Connected also has shortcomings in that it may not bring forth

true community or mesosystem change. Yoshikawa and Shinn (2002) make the point that even

though a setting level is chosen, it can still focus on only change at the individual level. While

this program serves to change thinking in communities, it may only have true influence at the


individual level. This is illustrated by a point made earlier in that the church is where this

program is centered, yet it is an erroneous assumption to make that the church will reach all or

even most of the members in the community. It cannot be considered true change at that level if

structural and societal inequalities are not addressed nor if the benefits are not extended to all

members of the target group.

PUSH/Excel has a weakness in this regard as well. While change is made at the

mesosystem level with the strengthening of ties between the various microsystems, there does

not seem to be any change in the structure of the microsystem that is the school. While it

commendable to attempt to bring the different stakeholders to the table, if the system within the

school remains the same and if students are not given a more active voice, then many of the same

issues will still occur with lower academic outcomes for African American youth.

Alternative Approaches

Rainbow PUSH has some shortcomings that were addressed, but the section will be

dedicated to presenting alternative approaches that will help to enhance the efficiency of this

organization. One alternative approach works for the organization as a whole, but specifically

for the One Thousand Churches Connected program. There should be more inclusiveness for

individuals of different religious backgrounds and areas of society. This would make the One

Thousand Churches Connected program because working with other organizations within the

community would ensure that as many individuals as possible can be reached, regardless of

whether they attend the churches included in the partnership. Hardina (2005) outlines ten

characteristics of an empowered organization and of them is that “empowerment-oriented

organizations explicitly develop policies and procedures that can be used to bridge cultural,

ethnic, gender, and other demographic barriers to effective service delivery.” This highlights the


importance being more inclusive because religion can serve as a barrier just the same as race,

ethnicity, and gender. Hardina also gives another characteristic that relates to this approach as

well. Such organizations should implement decision-making practices that minimize power

differentials (Hardina, 2005). Because the church is such a dominant institution within the

African American community, that has to be kept in check in order to prevent the exaggeration

of already existing power differentials.

Another way in which the organization can be enhanced is in a shift of its paradigm. The

conceptualization of the social problem it wishes to fix needs to be scaled down significantly.

Failing to do so presents the danger of Rainbow PUSH overextending itself and severely

undermining its effort to be an agent of social change. Specifically for the One Thousand

Churches Connected program, the issue has to be approached in another way. The problem

cannot be defined just on the behavior and thinking of the individuals, the context in which the

individuals live has to be understood at a deeper level. Bishop (2009) contends that the

functioning of the group and its social, political and historical context. Based on this, Rainbow

PUSH has to realize the effectiveness of its programs is directly influenced by social and

political factors that are not always obvious.

Conclusion

The mission of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition is to protect, defend, and gain civil rights

by leveling the economic and educational playing fields, and to promote peace and justice.

Because of the breadth of the mission, specific focus was given to leveling the economic and

educational playing fields. With this, much of the critique was directed toward two programs:

One Thousand Churches Connected and PUSH to Excellence. Rainbow PUSH as a whole and


the two programs were critiqued on based on empowerment theory and Bronfenbrenner’s

ecological model.

In terms of empowerment, Rainbow PUSH is both an empowered organization that has

the ability to influence public policy (Education Stimulus Plan) and an empowering organization

that promotes psychological empowerment in individuals. PUSH/Excel promotes leadership and

collaboration within communities that generate more supportive relationships and environments

suitable for academic success. One Thousand Churches Connected increases the competency

and control over resources for its beneficiaries through the promotion of economic responsibility.

Issues arise with the overall breadth of the mission; the mission may be too large to meet many

of the goals and this may make it more difficult to individuals to take utilize the organization as a

resource. Also, there may be individuals who could be alienated from the organization because

of One Thousand Churches only being directed through the church and the large contingent of

religious authorities within the executive board of the organization.

Based on the ecological model, Rainbow PUSH has been able to make changes at

different systems levels. Change at the macrosystem is being made through its proposed

Education Stimulus Plan and PUSH/Excel’s attempt to engage the media industry regarding

violence. At the mesosystem level, change is being made because of the strengthening of bonds

between the microsystems of the school, family, and church. Change at the microsystem level is

apparent because of the usage of the church as a medium through which economic responsibility

is taught to individuals within the congregation. Once again, the issue of the mission being too

broad has to be addressed. The conceptualization of the issue makes it much more difficult to

manage and more unlikely that change can be made at broader levels. Also, receiving

contributions and support from corporations can be problematic. This may hinder the


organization from trying to make too much change within particular systems for fear of backlash

from their partners. There is also too much of a focus on the individual level with less

consideration given to broader systemic inequalities that are present and embedded within each

of its programs. Alternative approaches to these issues could help to enhance the efficiency of

the organization. One approach would be to include individuals from different religious

backgrounds and areas of society. Another would be to change the paradigm of the organization,

placing more emphasis on the inequalities that are embedded within social institutions and

structures. By maintaining its strengths and improving upon its weaknesses through alternative

approaches, Rainbow PUSH will be better equipped to tackle issues that arise in the foreseeable

future.


References

Bishop, B. J., Vicary, D. A., Browne, A. L., & Guard, N. (2009). Public policy, participation

and the third position: The implication of engaging communities on their own terms.

American Journal of Community Psychology, 43, 111 – 121.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development.

American Psychologist, 32, 513 – 532.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development:

Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22, 723 – 742.

Gruber, J. & Trickett, E. J. (1987). Can we empower others? The paradox of empowerment in

the governing of an alternative public school. American Journal of Community

Psychology, 15, 353 – 371.

Hardina, D. (2005). Ten characteristics of empowerment-oriented social service organizations.

Administration in Social Work, 29, 23 – 42.

Riger, S. (1993). What’s wrong with empowerment. American Journal of Community

Psychology, 21, 279 – 292.

Seidman, E. (1983). Unexamined premises of social problem solving (pp. 48-68). In E. Seidman

(Ed.) Handbook of Social Intervention (pp. 48-68). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Speer, P. W. & Hughey, J. (1995). Community organizing: An ecological route to

empowerment and power. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 729 – 748.

Weick, K. E. (Jan, 1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. American

Psychologist, 39, 40-49.

Yoshikawa & Shinn (2002). Facilitating change: Where and how should community

psychologist intervene? American Journal of Community Psychology, 33-45.


Zimmerman, M.A. (2000). Empowerment theory: Psychological, organizational, and community

levels of analysis. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.). Handbook of Community

Psychology (pp. 43-64). New York: Kluwer.

evaluation of rainbow push coalition

Documents