PhD Candidate Christopher Wheeling with an off-campus observation, and a reflection on learning from the world around us:

Local Knowledge: The Power of Community Voices

As a first year community development graduate student at Rutgers Camden, I’ve spent much my time immersed in various theories of power, structure, and conflict describing the reality of poverty. This view of poverty conveyed by textbooks and journal articles was interesting and instructive. But for me, this was very much removed from observations of reality.

However one day, this reality came into vivid focus through the voices of the Camden community, providing valuable local context for these ideas. 

One Tuesday, after grabbing lunch along Market Street I noticed a curious gathering of people assembled around a dais just in front of City Hall. I ventured over to the site of the commotion to check out what was going on. A mother that had lost her 12 year old daughter to a vicious attack and was making an impassioned plea for information on the perpetrator. She was later followed by a succession of neighborhood ministers rallying the local community for peace. From there came an angry diatribe against the culture of violence that was now locking up young black men, the police for not doing more to bring violent criminals to justice, and the Governor and Attorney General for not doing more to crack down on violence in Camden. The perception was that the rest of the county and state did not care about Camden’s problems, only people actually living there cared, and they couldn’t get the people with power to listen. These resident voices seemed more authentic and powerful than the theories and case studies described in textbooks, journal articles, and class presentations. It seemed more real and connected to direct human experiences. 

For me, this rally jarringly and unexpectedly provided a window on the knowledge and experiences of the off-campus Camden. What I heard was years of pent-up frustration, disappointment, and despair. This cry for help seemed to be emblematic of a much deeper frustration with lack of public safety that had built up and now was expressing itself vocally and angrily on a public stage.  Why do people get away with violent crime in Camden? Why is the crime problem getting worse? Why are innocent children now being victimized?  These questions were quite profound, it really gave a concrete sense of the importance of crime in Camden and the effects of crime on communities that deal with it.

Such a powerful experience was an invaluable contribution to my education. For the first time I witnessed directly what was important to residents, what was the nature of their reality, manifested in a context remarkably close to campus.  

So venturing beyond the campus limits offers the potential for gaining powerful and authentic local knowledge. Knowledge that can’t be gleaned from a trip to the library. Knowledge that won’t be gained in a classroom lecture. Knowledge that speaks directly to the reality confronted by the people that call Camden home.

For me, it only took that curious first step of seeking local knowledge through the power of community voices.