About Us

The Citizens Action Brigade was founded in 1981 by a group of friends who didn’t like the way they were losing faith in the community around them. After the presidential election in November 1980, things looked bleak. Ronald Reagan had been elected mostly because he was a celerity, not an experienced leader. People were polzized over social an economic issues. The US was in the grips of a recession. White suburban demanded "law and order" even while the so-called War on Drugs was putting away Black Americans at a rapid pace.

Things looked bleak, and it was sometimes hard to see how things would get better. It seemed at times like everyone was out for themselves.Founding CAB member Maria S. wrote in her journal, “I have started to see only the worst in people. When did other humans become obstacles and enemies?”

Maria and four of her friends came together to discuss their feelings of helplessness and anger. Soon, the group began meeting each week, and their discussion turned to wishes for their community. They tried out various ideas to build a stronger community. There are, of course, so many different kinds of work that can be done to benefit a community. The group decided to focus their efforts to connect with the people around them, and to strengthen their own abilities to make a difference. They recorded the different methods they tried, and brought more people into the group to get additional perspectives on the process.

Eventually, the founding members wrote down their methods in a training guide that they hoped would help others develop skills to have better relationships with their own communities. These methods are still used today!