Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS) is a coalition of non-partisan, grassroots community pressure groups based in San Antonio, Texas. It is an affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), a group dedicated to grassroots community organizing that was developed by Saul Alinsky in Chicago during the 1930s. Founded in 1974, COPS’ mission is to secure specific, concrete standard of living improvements for neighborhoods traditionally neglected by city leaders through relational organizing.
Though advocating primarily for the interests of lower-middle class and working class Mexican-Americans on the city's west and south sides, COPS avoids the label of civil rights organization, instead projecting itself as an agent for fair and equitable distribution of city resources and services. The COPS organization included many Catholic clergy, as well as many women determined to improve their communities and opportunities for their children. COPS success in this endeavor to date is remarkable, amounting to over one billion dollars in group-sponsored projects and initiatives.
Footnotes
References
Booth, John A. "Political Change in San Antonio, 1970-82: Toward Decay or Democracy?", in The Politics of San Antonio: Community, Progress, and Power. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983. Rogers, Mary Beth. Cold Anger: A Story of Faith and Power Politics. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1990. Sandoval, Moises. "The Decolonization of a City." https://web.archive.org/web/20061002100025/http://aliciapatterson.org/APF001977/Sandoval/Sandoval04/Sandoval04.html Vazquez, Roberto. "The COPS Revolution." http://lared-latina.com/cops.htm Warren, Mark. Dry Bones Rattling: Community Building to Revitalize American Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001.
External links
C.O.P.S./The Metro Alliance official website
University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries (UTSA Libraries) houses a collection of news clippings, project files, reports, budgets, programs and general office files for C.O.P.S.