Saul David Alinsky (January 30, 1909 - June 12, 1972) is generally considered the grandfather of community organizing. A criminologist by training, Alinsky in the 1930s organized the Back of the Woods neighborhood in Chicago (made famous by Upton Sinclair's The Jungle). He went on to found the Industrial Areas Foundation which trained organizers and assisted in the founding of community organizations around the country. In Rules for Radicals (his final work, published one year before his death), he addressed the 1960s generation of radicals, outlining his views on organizing for mass power.

Famous Quotations

"Power goes to two poles: to those who've got money and those who've got people."

Published Works