Mr. Miles S. Rapport

What were some of your favorite memories and activities while attending Midwest Academy session or Internship?

The training I received at the Midwest Academy formed a fundamental part of my understanding of what has to happen in order for real change to take place. The three basic tenets we learned were: win concrete victories, seek structural changes, and alter the relations of power. Since that time, whether as a community organizer, or an elected official in state government in Connecticut, or now as President of Demos, recognizing the intertwining of those three key goals has been a key part of how I have understood my work.

How has the training at Midwest Academy prepared you for your current position?

In one way, the work I am doing now is very different from my Midwest Academy Training, in that the training assumed that the arena of work was organizing in a community and grass-roots context. That is obviously different from running a think tank that is attempting to change the terms of public debate and public understanding on key issues, nationwide. And yet, the basic combination of perspectives that the academy taught, joining together a commitment to concrete policy victories (advocacy) and a commitment to looking at broader structural changes and not just piecemeal reforms, has shaped the way Demos is attempting to be both a research and policy center, and an advocacy center at the same time.

Do you have a success - that in part is due to your training at Midwest Academy?

Between my fifteen years as a community organizer, and my current position running a national policy center, I spent 15 years in politics in Connecticut. There is no question that the organizing skills and lessons I learned at the Midwest Academy were pivotal in shaping the kind of energetic, change-oriented, grass-roots campaigns that we always ran throughout my political career. When I first ran in 1984, I unseated a 10-year Democratic incumbent through a very powerful, grass-roots, organizationally based campaign.

Please tell us about your professional achievements and community involvements?

In addition to being one of the founders of Mass Fair Share, and the director both of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group and Northeast Action, I spent ten years in the Connecticut legislature, and four years as Secretary of the State in Connecticut. During that period, we won a state income tax for Connecticut, won several key health care reforms, passed numerous pieces of solid labor and environmental legislation, and derailed all kinds of right wing mischief that came down the pike. Along the way, I married a feisty union organizer whom I met on a picket line in Boston, and we have two politically savvy and active children.

Anything you'd like to say to future Midwest Academy students?

When I began organizing, it seemed to our parents and to many of us that progressive activism was something you did for a couple of years before getting a "real job". Now, thirty years later, it is clear that for people with the commitment and tenacity, it is possible to make a difference, make a living, and have a satisfying career experience all within the context of doing significant progressive work. Getting trained at the Academy is one of the best "credentialing" and learning experiences you can have, so I'd say to get the training, learn well, and keep the fire burning as you go forward.

Final Thoughts?

There's a great quote that was originally made about a teacher, but applies doubly to the Midwest Academy. "Teaching is like throwing a stone into an irregularly shaped pond. The ripples emanate out, criss-crossing each other, spreading in a myriad of directions; one never knows where the influence stops." Thanks, Heather, Paul, Jackie, and Steve, for throwing so many stones, so beautifully, for so long.