CDC Oral History Project

A companion to the video 'Building Hope'

Community development corporations (CDCs) struggle to address problems of social, economic, and physical distress in low and moderate-income communities throughout the United States. Their fundamental mission is to build community leadership and empower low-income people to take charge of their future. Despite great adversity, the field of community development has matured and grown tremendously over the years.

The Pratt Center received the support and encouragement of the Ford Foundation to initiate an Oral History Project that would capture the rich history of the CDC movement from the perspective of some of its founding leaders. The Pratt Center has assisted in the creation of many CDCs, including one of the nation's first - the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. As part of the project, in-depth videotaped interviews with the founders, leaders and supporters of 19 CDCs across the country were conducted. These videotapes are available to researchers, scholars and other interested individuals as part of the permanent collection at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

The organizations included in the Oral History Project represent a broad cross section of the field, and demonstrate the diversity of the leadership styles, development strategies, and geographic, ethnic and racial base of CDCs. While they vary in terms of their goals and strategies for revitalizing the communities they serve, these CDCs share common roots in the civil rights and antipoverty movements of the 1960s.

To inform the broader public about the mission, history, struggles and accomplishments of the community development movement, the Pratt Center and Vanguard Films drew upon the CDC Oral History Project interviews to produce Building Hope, a one-hour video documentary that was aired nationwide on PBS in April of 1994. The Pratt Center has also produced a series of brief written profiles on many of the CDCs (see the submenu to the left). Our intent is to provide community development practitioners, educators, researchers, and the general public with a body of materials that will foster a better understanding of the impact and importance of the community development movement.

Please note that if proper credit is given, the CDC Oral History Project profiles may be duplicated for educational purposes.

Major funding for the CDC Oral History Project and Building Hope was provided by The Ford Foundation. Additional funding provided by: Fannie Mae Foundation, Prudential Foundation, and the Victoria Foundation.

The CDC Oral History Project is dedicated to the memory of Charles Bannerman, Bernard McDonald, Ted Watkins and other leaders of the movement who are no longer with us.

The following organizations are profiled in Building Hope:

* Asian Americans for Equality, NY
* Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, NY
* Chicanos Por La Causa, AZ
* Dineh Cooperatives, Inc., AZ
* Drew Economic Development Corporation, CA
* The East Los Angeles Community Union, CA
* Mississippi Action for Community Education, MS
* New Community Corporation, NJ
* South East Alabama Self-Help Association, AL
* South East Community Organization, MD
* Spanish Speaking Unity Council, CA
* United Durham Community Development Corp., NC
* Watts Labor Community Action Committee, CA
* The Woodlawn Organization, IL
* Zion Non-Profit Charitable Trust, PA