Jennifer Knox takes community organizer job in Virginia
That community feeling
That community feeling
Jennifer Knox is moving to the northern
Virginia area to be a community organizer for
Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community
Engagement (VOICE).
Virginia area to be a community organizer for
Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community
Engagement (VOICE).
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
Growing up in South Madison was a blessing for Jennifer Knox. Where others often focus on
South Madison’s shortcomings and challenges, Knox saw the strengths of South Madison including the
sense of community and citizens banding together to deal with challenges that they faced. “I am very
grateful for growing up in South Madison,” Knox said over coffee at Cargo Coffee on S. Park Street. “I
went to the Boys & Girls Club every day after school. I was around when the teen center was built. I
lived here when folks were really trying to clean up Penn Park and when the Boys & Girls Club was
getting better. I saw things happening. I don’t know if I would be an organizer if I hadn’t seen all that.
When I think of community organizing, I kind of think about building a community. You have to come
from one to know it. Unfortunately, not everyone comes from the experience of seeing a community
grow. It has helped me understand that people make communities better. They don’t just happen. You
have to work at them and build them. I’m glad I got to see that in Madison.”
Knox was in Madison for a spell before she began her new job as a community organizer for an
affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation — which was established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky and is
based in Chicago — called Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (Voice). Madison’
s own Dane County United is also an affiliate.
Part 1 of 2
Growing up in South Madison was a blessing for Jennifer Knox. Where others often focus on
South Madison’s shortcomings and challenges, Knox saw the strengths of South Madison including the
sense of community and citizens banding together to deal with challenges that they faced. “I am very
grateful for growing up in South Madison,” Knox said over coffee at Cargo Coffee on S. Park Street. “I
went to the Boys & Girls Club every day after school. I was around when the teen center was built. I
lived here when folks were really trying to clean up Penn Park and when the Boys & Girls Club was
getting better. I saw things happening. I don’t know if I would be an organizer if I hadn’t seen all that.
When I think of community organizing, I kind of think about building a community. You have to come
from one to know it. Unfortunately, not everyone comes from the experience of seeing a community
grow. It has helped me understand that people make communities better. They don’t just happen. You
have to work at them and build them. I’m glad I got to see that in Madison.”
Knox was in Madison for a spell before she began her new job as a community organizer for an
affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation — which was established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky and is
based in Chicago — called Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (Voice). Madison’
s own Dane County United is also an affiliate.
Organizing is in Knox’s blood. As she entered her freshman year at UW-Madison, Knox immediately immersed herself into organizing. When
MEChA, the Latino organization on campus was faced with defunding by the student government, Knox and other students joined the fray.
“They thought it was a racial attack on their Latino student organization and an attack on student of color organizations,” Knox said. “We organized a
group of students to run for student government in order to ensure funding for diversity programming at UW-Madison. I grew up in Madison and it
didn’t take me much to know that the UW can always improve on diversity issues. There is a lot of work to be done. Students were already fired up
and I think I came already fired up, ready to work on racial and diversity issues on campus. We ran a slate and got a majority of students elected.
Being able to work with students from a bunch of student organizations across campus and to win something on a campus where you are the
minority got me really excited about it.”
Over the course of the next four years, Knox was engaged in some type of organizing effort including her father’s successful aldermanic run. “It’
s definitely a passion,” Knox said about community organizing. “I am a very opinionated person. I think I learned early on that it is good to have an
opinion, but it is even better to have an opinion and be ready to work. I talk a lot and I try to get people moving in a direction that makes things
better. Racial justice issues and things about fairness really get me pumping. Growing up on the south side, it was easy for me to find things that
needed to be better. I went to campus and it was also easy for me to see that for students of color there needed to be some things made better and
we were going to work for that. We’re going to talk about it and we’re going to work for that as well.”
While Knox may have been involved in community, she was also very interested in her academics. She graduated in four years business
degree in business information systems with the help of a four-year Powers-Knapp Scholarship. Knox also worked part-time to round out a very
hectic schedule.
During her senior year after she had formally left her student government position, Knox still acted as a mentor to some of the younger student
leaders. It was also the year that Ward Connerly, the anti-affirmative action advocate came to town. Many students became riled up.
Knox worked with the chair of the diversity committee of the student government to gain the skills she needed for the fight. “I helped her with a
teach-in on campus, which was packed, beforehand to make sure students understood who Ward Connerly was and what he was talking about,”
Knox recalled. “We wanted them to get excited about recruiting their communities. We had a little press conference on campus and then marched
with a lot of people to the Capitol. I thought it was pretty good. By far, the best way to work on that issue is to prevent it from getting on the ballot to
begin with because it is a divisive issue. It’s set up to anger and rile people and not something you can build community around. Luckily we were on
top of it early enough to really have a discussion on why we didn’t need it on the ballot. It would be harder to have a broader initiative across the
state and have conversations with people about race in a short period of time.”
The student campaign against Connerly’s initiative was also aided by some important allies. “We had some UW administrators who were very
solid,” Knox recalled. “We actually met with Chancellor Wiley ahead of time. He issued a statement against it. There were many administrative
advocates who were against it and also students. I think the community was very solidly against it. There were a couple of people on that legislative
committee who wanted to make a statement. I think it was very clear that there was no support from the community for Connerly.”
Knox’s first job after graduating in May 2007 was right up her student organizing alley. Knox landed a job in student organizing for the
University of California Student Association (UCSA) in Oakland. “It was related a lot to my student organizing work,” Knox said. “When I was in
school, I organized on campus and I was also part of a national group, the United States Student Association, which brought together a lot of
students who were doing higher education access organizing. I knew some students from California and I basically went to work as a staff person
supporting student organizing in California. California students have a long history since the free speech movement of being strong organizers at
Berkley, UCLA and a lot of different campuses there. I worked statewide organizing students at all of the UC campuses.”
What gives UCSA its power is its autonomy from direct campus funding. “We’re a membership organization,” Knox said. “There are about
250,000 students in the UC system and many of them pay $1.25 to our organization. Some pay more. It’s almost all membership funding, which is
good. It gives us a lot of autonomy to support students. Sometimes we’re advocating right along with the UC to get more funding from the state. And
sometimes, they need to go talk to their chancellor about something that is going on. Our funding is separate from the UC’s funding, which is nice.
We can support them to do what they want to do or issue they want to work on.”
Knox had a few things to adjust to in California. During her second week, she was sent to UC-Santa Barbara. She flew into Los Angeles and
drove up the coastal highway. Forest fires had been raging in the LA area.
“Tornadoes I’m familiar with,” Knox said with a smile. “Flash floods and blizzards I’m familiar with. Wildfires I’m not familiar with. I was driving
up the coast in the morning and there was this sea mist where it is foggy. I was driving down the highway and I slammed on my brakes because it
looked like smoke. Luckily I was on the highway by myself. I rolled down the window and looked out. It took me a few minutes to realize that it didn’t
smell like smoke and that I was safe. I kept driving to campus.”
Next issue: Student issues and community organizing in Virginia
MEChA, the Latino organization on campus was faced with defunding by the student government, Knox and other students joined the fray.
“They thought it was a racial attack on their Latino student organization and an attack on student of color organizations,” Knox said. “We organized a
group of students to run for student government in order to ensure funding for diversity programming at UW-Madison. I grew up in Madison and it
didn’t take me much to know that the UW can always improve on diversity issues. There is a lot of work to be done. Students were already fired up
and I think I came already fired up, ready to work on racial and diversity issues on campus. We ran a slate and got a majority of students elected.
Being able to work with students from a bunch of student organizations across campus and to win something on a campus where you are the
minority got me really excited about it.”
Over the course of the next four years, Knox was engaged in some type of organizing effort including her father’s successful aldermanic run. “It’
s definitely a passion,” Knox said about community organizing. “I am a very opinionated person. I think I learned early on that it is good to have an
opinion, but it is even better to have an opinion and be ready to work. I talk a lot and I try to get people moving in a direction that makes things
better. Racial justice issues and things about fairness really get me pumping. Growing up on the south side, it was easy for me to find things that
needed to be better. I went to campus and it was also easy for me to see that for students of color there needed to be some things made better and
we were going to work for that. We’re going to talk about it and we’re going to work for that as well.”
While Knox may have been involved in community, she was also very interested in her academics. She graduated in four years business
degree in business information systems with the help of a four-year Powers-Knapp Scholarship. Knox also worked part-time to round out a very
hectic schedule.
During her senior year after she had formally left her student government position, Knox still acted as a mentor to some of the younger student
leaders. It was also the year that Ward Connerly, the anti-affirmative action advocate came to town. Many students became riled up.
Knox worked with the chair of the diversity committee of the student government to gain the skills she needed for the fight. “I helped her with a
teach-in on campus, which was packed, beforehand to make sure students understood who Ward Connerly was and what he was talking about,”
Knox recalled. “We wanted them to get excited about recruiting their communities. We had a little press conference on campus and then marched
with a lot of people to the Capitol. I thought it was pretty good. By far, the best way to work on that issue is to prevent it from getting on the ballot to
begin with because it is a divisive issue. It’s set up to anger and rile people and not something you can build community around. Luckily we were on
top of it early enough to really have a discussion on why we didn’t need it on the ballot. It would be harder to have a broader initiative across the
state and have conversations with people about race in a short period of time.”
The student campaign against Connerly’s initiative was also aided by some important allies. “We had some UW administrators who were very
solid,” Knox recalled. “We actually met with Chancellor Wiley ahead of time. He issued a statement against it. There were many administrative
advocates who were against it and also students. I think the community was very solidly against it. There were a couple of people on that legislative
committee who wanted to make a statement. I think it was very clear that there was no support from the community for Connerly.”
Knox’s first job after graduating in May 2007 was right up her student organizing alley. Knox landed a job in student organizing for the
University of California Student Association (UCSA) in Oakland. “It was related a lot to my student organizing work,” Knox said. “When I was in
school, I organized on campus and I was also part of a national group, the United States Student Association, which brought together a lot of
students who were doing higher education access organizing. I knew some students from California and I basically went to work as a staff person
supporting student organizing in California. California students have a long history since the free speech movement of being strong organizers at
Berkley, UCLA and a lot of different campuses there. I worked statewide organizing students at all of the UC campuses.”
What gives UCSA its power is its autonomy from direct campus funding. “We’re a membership organization,” Knox said. “There are about
250,000 students in the UC system and many of them pay $1.25 to our organization. Some pay more. It’s almost all membership funding, which is
good. It gives us a lot of autonomy to support students. Sometimes we’re advocating right along with the UC to get more funding from the state. And
sometimes, they need to go talk to their chancellor about something that is going on. Our funding is separate from the UC’s funding, which is nice.
We can support them to do what they want to do or issue they want to work on.”
Knox had a few things to adjust to in California. During her second week, she was sent to UC-Santa Barbara. She flew into Los Angeles and
drove up the coastal highway. Forest fires had been raging in the LA area.
“Tornadoes I’m familiar with,” Knox said with a smile. “Flash floods and blizzards I’m familiar with. Wildfires I’m not familiar with. I was driving
up the coast in the morning and there was this sea mist where it is foggy. I was driving down the highway and I slammed on my brakes because it
looked like smoke. Luckily I was on the highway by myself. I rolled down the window and looked out. It took me a few minutes to realize that it didn’t
smell like smoke and that I was safe. I kept driving to campus.”
Next issue: Student issues and community organizing in Virginia
