Direct Action and Research Training Center
Encyclopedia
The Direct Action and Research Training Center (DART) provides training and consultation for its 18 affiliated congregation-based community organizations. Founded in 1982, DART is headquartered in Miami, Florida
. As of 2011, DART has 18 affiliated organizations in five states. John Calkins is the executive director. DART is the fourth largest congregation-based community organizing network in the United States, after the Industrial Areas Foundation
, Gamaliel Foundation
, and PICO National Network
.
’s Homeland Ministries Board hired John Calkins to organize a senior citizens organization in Miami. Concerned Seniors of Dade helped organize African American
congregations in Miami following a three-day riot in 1980. The DART Center was incorporated in 1982 to build a statewide network of congregation-based organizations throughout Florida
, and Calkins was hired as executive director. In the 1990s DART was invited to help build organizations in Michigan
, Ohio
, and Kentucky
. And in the 2000s, DART added organizations in Virginia
and Indiana
.
improvement, crime and drug reform, healthcare provisions, affordable housing
, economic opportunity, accessible public transportation, neighborhood revitalization, and youth and elderly services.
DART affiliates with web pags are listed below.
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. As of 2011, DART has 18 affiliated organizations in five states. John Calkins is the executive director. DART is the fourth largest congregation-based community organizing network in the United States, after the Industrial Areas Foundation
Industrial Areas Foundation
The Industrial Areas Foundation is a national community organizing network established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky. IAF provides training and consultation, furnishes organizers, and develops national strategy for its affiliated broad-based community organizations. There are currently 57 IAF...
, Gamaliel Foundation
Gamaliel Foundation
Gamaliel Foundation provides training and consultation and develops national strategy for its affiliated congregation-based community organizations. As of 2008, Gamaliel has 60 affiliates in 21 U.S...
, and PICO National Network
PICO National Network
PICO National Network provides training and consultation and develops national strategy for its affiliated congregation-based community organizations. As of 2007 PICO had 53 local and regional affiliates, representing 150 cities in 17 states, with 1000 member institutions claiming to represent a...
.
History
In 1977 the United Church of ChristUnited Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
’s Homeland Ministries Board hired John Calkins to organize a senior citizens organization in Miami. Concerned Seniors of Dade helped organize African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
congregations in Miami following a three-day riot in 1980. The DART Center was incorporated in 1982 to build a statewide network of congregation-based organizations throughout Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and Calkins was hired as executive director. In the 1990s DART was invited to help build organizations in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. And in the 2000s, DART added organizations in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
Current program
DART affiliates typically have a broad agenda of issues, including public educationPublic education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
improvement, crime and drug reform, healthcare provisions, affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
, economic opportunity, accessible public transportation, neighborhood revitalization, and youth and elderly services.
Training
DART holds a five-day national leaders workshops once a year for local leaders, and an annual three-day national clergy conference. The DART Organizers Institute, established in 2001, is an annual four-month training program for organizers beginning each July. Since 1982 DART has trained over 10,000 community leaders and 150 professional organizers.Affiliates
DART has ten affiliates in Florida, three in Ohio, two each in Virginia and Kentucky, and one in Indiana. DART and affiliates employ some 35 professional organizers.DART affiliates with web pags are listed below.
- Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Together (CLOUT) – Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
- Building Responsibility, Equality and Dignity (BREAD) – Columbus, OhioColumbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
- Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment (ICARE) – Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
- People Engaged in Active Community Efforts (PEACE) – West Palm Beach, FloridaWest Palm Beach, FloridaWest Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
- People Acting for Community Together (PACT) – Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
- Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together (IMPACT) – Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...