The Good Fighter
Harry Lehotsky and his life of activism and vision
Nick Ternette
As most of you likely know, community activist — and my
good friend — Harry Lehotsky was diagnosed with terminal
cancer and hasn’t been given long to live. This column is
a tribute to the work Harry has done over the past 25 years.
Harry has received many tributes, cards, e-mails and visits since
we learned about his illness. One comment I remember reading is
that labelling Harry an ‘activist’ is limiting his
potential as a human being. I beg to differ.
To me, the activist label encompasses the role of the citizen
and, ultimately, his or her role in democracy. Saul Alinsky, the
founder of community organizing, formed many of the principles
that Harry stands by, and it is rare for someone to be able to
go beyond the personal world and dedicate him or herself to changing
communities and the way in which a city is seen. In part, it’s
about giving back to your community what you have gotten from
it. And Harry has done just that.
Harry has lived in the West End for the past 25 years and has
actively participated in making it a healthy community. His Ellice
Street Café and Theatre sparked a renaissance of the business
community in the West End.
In my humble opinion, Harry shares the same company with three
other activists who have worked so hard to make Winnipeg a better
place:
Sister McNamara founded Rossbrook House and also saved the Logan
neighbourhood by stopping the construction of the Sherbrook/McGregor
overpass.
John Rogers, founder and executive director of the Main Street
Project, had an unparalleled commitment to those surviving on
Main Street. John was instrumental in ensuring that Jack’s
House, a hostel for men in need, was built, and he helped change
the legislation relating to vagrants.
Finally, Dr. Carl Ridd was the head of theology at the University
of Winnipeg. Later in life, Carl became involved in peace issues
as well as civil-liberty issues in the community.
Coincidentally, all three of these great activists died of cancer.
According to Alinsky, in order to be a good organizer you have
to have imagination — and Harry surely has that. The organizer
is, by necessity, an outsider in dealing with the rivalries, fears,
jealousies and suspicions within a community. An organizer’s
moral standing and behaviour must be impeccable, which Harry’s
are, and he or she cannot identify with any one side or cause.
An effective organizer must not make judgments about a community’s
values, traditions and attitudes. Harry suffers alongside the
people in his community and, along with many living in the West
End, resents those who are destructive to that community. Harry
shoots straight from the hip. He uses language that people understand.
Harry and I approach community development from two different
ideological perspectives. I am a socialist and believe in collective
accountability and responsibility of a neighbourhood. Harry, on
the other hand, is a conservative who looks at neighbourhoods
from the perspective of individual responsibility. What we share
is a vision of what healthy neighbourhoods should look like, and
we respect one another’s means in working to make that vision
reality.
Harry is not to be ignored or silenced, either in his work or
in his writings. He has the courage to speak because he seems
to operate from a principle deep in his being that bears witness,
always, to the good, the true and the beautiful — which
cannot be silenced.
Nick Ternette is a community and political activist, freelance
writer and broadcaster. |
Uptown
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