Nellie Stone Johnson was a remarkable and wonderful woman, I worked with over the years, and interviewed for several book projects.
She also embodied a populist political tradition -- different than what goes by the name these day -- which is of extraordinary importance for th 21st century, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and everywhere else. Nellie believed in a populism which is savvy about power and politics, and which teaches ordinary people to think big, in sophiscated political ways. She also believed in "people's institutions" -- I will never forget her descriptions of the days unions used to have store front offices, where people could interact and talk about issues; or the vitality of settlement houses as sites of action. She also believed in the vision of the commonwealth, always the heart of democratic populism -- democracy as a way of life, not simply a platform or program. When I first moved to Minnesota in 1976, I asked Nellie what she thought "commonwealth" had meant in the 1930s farmer labor movement (I knew about the Commonwealth Platform of the FLP in 1934). She said, "that's the problem with young radicals. They've forgotten the commonwealth, and what it meant to ordinary people." Minnesota and national politics and democratic action will miss her greatly, but we also need to remember the vibrancy of her vision and the political tradition of "people's power" for which she fought thorughout her life. Harry Boyte "Democracy is a journey, not a destination." William Hastie, 1940 Harry C. Boyte, Ph.D. Co-director, Center for Democracy and Citizenship Senior Fellow, Hubert H.Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs 301 - 19th Ave. South Minneapolis, MN 55455 612-625-5509, fax 612-625-3513 _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
