for Success

George Luján grew up among people dedicated to bettering their community. They challenged social, racial and environmental injustices, and, in 1980, they founded the Southwest Organizing Project.

“My dad was a community organizer and worked at SWOP over the years. He introduced me to social justice practices and values. And the founding directors of SWOP are people I grew up around,” he says.

Now, as executive director of SWOP, Luján has taken up the mantle. “This kind of work is so attractive because once you get involved in it, you feel really good. It renews your faith in the community,” he says.

Not that the work is easy. “A lot of times we’re focusing on problems, and it can wear you down. You go out door knocking, canvassing in different neighborhoods, and it’s kind of tough to strike up conversations with people. You might get a door slammed in your face or have to run from a dog,” Luján says.

“You can do that for hours and hours and all it takes is one nice conversation to change your whole attitude. It might be a grandmother making beans at the stove or someone working on their car. A lot of times their eyes light up because maybe they’ve never had anyone ask them their thoughts before. I’ve had so many great conversations like that, and there are certain faces from years ago that I still remember.”

Before joining the SWOP staff in 2008, Luján was a volunteer, working on community garden and youth projects and designing posters and other graphics. As a University of New Mexico graduate who studied media and fine arts, he helped build SWOP’s media platforms and worked with organizers to advance campaign strategies.

Of the dozens of campaigns and initiatives SWOP either leads or partners in every year, the major work falls into these categories: environmental justice, food justice, gender justice and feminisms, cultural and civic engagement, and youth rights.

“We’ve also modeled ourselves as an organizing hub. So, groups can come here and get tech support or strategy support or we’ll include their message in our newsletter. There are a lot of ways we can support other groups without taking on the full lift of the work,” Luján says.

Empowering people to believe in themselves and their ability to make a positive difference is important. “I think there are a lot of things that can break people down to feel less worthy or not enough, or that there’s something wrong with their community,” he says. “But when you talk this through, you can discuss the problem as a symptom of the root problem.”

He cites extreme poverty in New Mexico as an example. “It’s not a reflection on the value of the people, land or culture,” he says. “It’s about systems of oppression that have been here for many years. When you work it out like that, you can flip people’s mentality so they see, ‘I am developing tools and analysis skills to make positive changes, and I can feel hopeful.’

As a community organizer, your job involves pulling people together, making connections that maybe weren’t there before and helping people develop their skills. You’re always preparing the next wave of advocates or organizers,” he says. “Never do something for an individual that they can do for themselves. We’re always trying to push responsibility down.”

That said, it seems natural that Luján followed in the footsteps of his father, Joaquin Luján, and the other SWOP founders. And possibly that his own young children, Lorena, 6, and Emilio, 4, will do the same. —LISA

OCKER

White Flour Tortillas

Ingredients

4 cups white flour

2 teaspoons baking power

2 teaspoons salt

¾ cup shortening

1 ½ cups lukewarm water or milk (Luján uses milk)

Directions

Sift flour and then soft again with baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening and then slowly add water or milk to make a pliable dough. Make about 24 balls the size of medium eggs, cover with wax paper and let stand for 15-20 minutes. Roll out into 6-inch circles on a floured board and lightly brown on an un-greased hot griddle.