Kim Bobo
Encyclopedia
Kim Bobo is a religious and workers' rights activist, and executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice
. She is widely quoted in newspapers and broadcast media as an expert on worker justice issues.
, and raised a conservative evangelical
, Bobo graduated from Barnard College
with a bachelor's degree
in religion. She later received a master's degree
in economics
from the New School for Social Research.
Bobo is married to Stephen Coats, and has twin sons.
In 1976, Bobo became director of organizing for Bread for the World
, a Christian organization which works to combat hunger. During this time, she wrote her first book, Lives Matter: A Handbook for Christian Organizing.
Bobo left Bread for the World in 1986 and became an instructor at the Midwest Academy
, a community organizing
training institute in Chicago, Illinois. While at the Midwest Academy, Bobo and her colleagues co-authored Organizing for Social Change, a fundamental text in community-based organizing.
In 1989, Bobo became involved with a strike
by coal miners at Pittston Coal. Attempting to organize religious leaders to support the workers, she was startled to find that almost no religious organizations had labor liaisons. She started an informal network of religious leaders to share information about campaigns for worker justice that year.
In 1991, Bobo founded the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues. It was an all-volunteer group led by Bobo and four influential Chicago religious leaders.
In 1996, using a $5,000 inheritance from her grandmother, Bobo launched the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. The organization initially was run out of her home. By 1998, the organization had 29 affiliates throughout the country. The group changed its name to Interfaith Worker Justice in 2005, by which time it had grown to 59 local affiliates and a full-time staff of 10. IWJ has been active on a number of worker's rights and worker justice issues.
Since then, Bobo has delivered speeches, input advice into the labor force, and done volunteer work to help the industries she deals with. She has worked in conjunction with many organizations, and has been hailed as an important and noteworthy person by many others, including Construction Citizen .
Interfaith Worker Justice
Interfaith Worker Justice is a nonprofit, nonpartisan religious organization that educates and mobilizes the religious people of all faiths in the United States on issues important to working people....
. She is widely quoted in newspapers and broadcast media as an expert on worker justice issues.
Life and career
Born in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and raised a conservative evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, Bobo graduated from Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in religion. She later received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from the New School for Social Research.
Bobo is married to Stephen Coats, and has twin sons.
In 1976, Bobo became director of organizing for Bread for the World
Bread for the World
Bread for the World is a non-partisan, Christian citizens' movement in the United States to end hunger. The organization describes itself as a collective Christian voice urging nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad...
, a Christian organization which works to combat hunger. During this time, she wrote her first book, Lives Matter: A Handbook for Christian Organizing.
Bobo left Bread for the World in 1986 and became an instructor at the Midwest Academy
Midwest Academy
The Midwest Academy is a community organizer training institute committed to "advancing the struggle for social, economic, and racial justice," founded in 1973 and based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. From local neighborhood groups to statewide and national organizations, Midwest Academy has trained...
, a community organizing
Community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
training institute in Chicago, Illinois. While at the Midwest Academy, Bobo and her colleagues co-authored Organizing for Social Change, a fundamental text in community-based organizing.
In 1989, Bobo became involved with a strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
by coal miners at Pittston Coal. Attempting to organize religious leaders to support the workers, she was startled to find that almost no religious organizations had labor liaisons. She started an informal network of religious leaders to share information about campaigns for worker justice that year.
In 1991, Bobo founded the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues. It was an all-volunteer group led by Bobo and four influential Chicago religious leaders.
In 1996, using a $5,000 inheritance from her grandmother, Bobo launched the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. The organization initially was run out of her home. By 1998, the organization had 29 affiliates throughout the country. The group changed its name to Interfaith Worker Justice in 2005, by which time it had grown to 59 local affiliates and a full-time staff of 10. IWJ has been active on a number of worker's rights and worker justice issues.
Since then, Bobo has delivered speeches, input advice into the labor force, and done volunteer work to help the industries she deals with. She has worked in conjunction with many organizations, and has been hailed as an important and noteworthy person by many others, including Construction Citizen .
Solely authored books
- Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid - And What We Can Do About It. The New Press. 2008. Available at www.iwj.org or www.wagetheft.org
- Lives Matter: A Handbook for Christian Organizing. Lanham, Md.: Sheed and Ward, 1986. ISBN 0934134871
Co-authored books
- Bobo, Kim, et al. Organizing for Social Change. 2d ed. Washington, D.C.: Seven Locks Press, 2001. ISBN 0929765419
Solely authored articles
- "Do Catholics Still Care About Labor?" America. August 29, 2005.
- "Laboring for Justice: What's Happening in the Religion-and-Labor Movement?" Sojourners. July 30, 2005.
- "Religion-Labor Partnerships: Alive and Growing in the New Millennium." WorkingUSA. 6:4 (March 2003).
External links
- Interfaith Worker Justice Web site
- Wage Theft in America
- A New Vision for the Department of Labor in Dollars & SenseDollars & SenseDollars & Sense is a magazine dedicated to providing left-wing perspectives on economics.Published six times a year since 1974, it is edited by a collective of economists, journalists, and activists committed to the ideals of social justice and economic democracy.It was initially sponsored by the...
magazine, January/February 2009 - Construction Citizen