Community-Based Organizations and Issues in Community Development in an Era Constant Change

Abstract: The failure of top-down categorical approaches for generating solutions to many local problemshas led to the adoption of alternate approaches. Many scholars believe that a confluence of local and global forceshave generated complex problems, which call for new approaches to problem solving. Previously, the top-downapproach relied entirely on the knowledgeable elite. Communities were seen as passive study subjects andinformation flow was one way only- from knowledgeable elites to the less knowledgeable community agents orcommunity-based organization acting on behalf of communities. The objectives of this study are to provide areview of governance as a means of organizing community action to address community problems in the BlackBelt Region (BBR) of the Southeastern United States, and an assessment of community problems in the BBRfrom the perspectives of community-based organizations (CBOs). Data was collected from CBOs via a telephonesurvey in eleven Southeastern states and via listening sessions conducted with CBOs in 9 Southeastern states. Thestudy provides valuable insight regarding the challenges faced by these organizations and strategies they employin adapting to serve their communities.