Social groups, communities and identities Books

Book SynopsisWhy can't there be enough food, shelter, jobs, health care, homes, schools, education, safety and security for everyone? How can people work together to challenge the way things are, to help redistribute wealth and power, to create a more just and humane society? The answer is Creative Community Organizing. This latest work by legendary activist, musician and author Si Kahn, is a different kind of community organizing book. As with other books, including some by Kahn himself, it does outline many of the practical tactics organizers use. But itâs also about community organizing as a way of thinking and a way of life. Creative Community Organizing suggests ways that readers can identify and analyze the various options for action, weigh the positives and negatives and make choices among them. In other words, focus on the end goal and then determine the best strategies, tactics and methods to achieve that goal. It will help established community organizers become more creative and innovative, encourage them to question established principles and decide whether or not they still work. Those new to the field will discover a whole new way of looking at the world - theyâll gain a new sense of empowerment, understand that things donât have to be the way they are, that the world can be more fair and humane and that they can live and work in ways that help make that happen.

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Book SynopsisMaltese in Michigan is an enlivening volume depicting the struggles and accomplishments of a singular culture, an immigrant narrative at once recognisable and enigmatic. Without realising it, most Americans are probably familiar with the Maltese people through the cross displayed by firefighters, which bears a strong similarity in design and meaning to the one used by the Knights of Malta. The noble qualities embodied by the Maltese Cross are reflected in the pride and accomplishments of Maltese immigrants in Michigan, a small but vibrant ethnic group. Rooted in the post–World War II experiences of the 20th century, the Maltese established themselves in the city of Detroit, and thrived due to a strong work ethic and Catholic faith, while maintaining a strong central identity. This volume is a tribute to the Maltese of Michigan and all who have begun anew in an unfamiliar land and culture.

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Book SynopsisIn this first comprehensive and accessible history of Travellers in twentieth-century Ireland, Aoife Bhreatnach describes the people who travelled Irish roads, showing how and why they were distinguishable from settled people. She demonstrates that the alienation and increasing unpopularity of this cultural minority were a consequence of developments in state and society from 1922. The widening social gulf was often precipitated by government intervention at local and national level which led to conflict over the distribution of resources, particularly of land and welfare. Becoming Conspicuous examines the circumstances that have shaped expressions of anti-Traveller prejudice, thus demonstrating some of the social implications of the evolution of urban and rural landscapes in twentieth-century Ireland. An epilogue describes developments in Traveller-settled relations since 1970, a period distinguished by settlement housing policies and the emergence of Traveller representative groups. The book also contains a useful appendix describing nineteenth- and twentieth-century legislation relevant to Travellers in Ireland and Northern Ireland.Trade Review"a thorough-going academic study" Books Ireland Oct 2006 "I would recommend Bhreatnach's Becoming Conspicuous without reservation to any Irish Studies class, for it is an excellent analysis of both the societal changes in the Republic since Independence and the situation of Travellers in this new climate." Journal of British Studies 2007 "Serious historical study of Traveller/non-Traveller relations in Ireland is long overdue and this book is a welcome pioneer ... offers much to the close reader and will be a key resource and guide for future researchers." Irish Studies Review 15 (4) 2007 "will be the indispensable starting point for any future historical work on Irish Ttravellers in the twentieth century." Thomas Acton - University of Greenwich Irish Economic and Social History 2008Table of ContentsIntroduction; 'Gipsies' and 'tinkers': identifying nomadic groups in Ireland; Intimate strangers: the people of the roads; Travellers in urban areas: landscape and community; Welfare and entitlement: assessing 'impatient and promiscuous charity'; Some practical suggestions: the government response, 1949-63; Assimilation and absorption: the settlement programme, 1963-70. Conclusion; Epilogue: Resettlement and resistance since 1970; Appendix: Legal glossary; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisRace remains a potent and divisive force in our society. Whether it is the shooting of minority people by the police, the mass incarceration of people of color, or the recent KKK rallies that have been in the news, it is clear that the scars from the United States’ histories of slavery and racial discrimination run too deep to simply be ignored. But what are the most productive ways to deal with the toxic and torturous legacies of American racism?Slavery’s Descendants brings together contributors from a variety of racial backgrounds, all members or associates of a national racial reconciliation organization called Coming to the Table, to tell their stories of dealing with America’s racial past through their experiences and their family histories. Some are descendants of slaveholders, some are descendants of the enslaved, and many are descendants of both slaveholders and slaves. What they all have in common is a commitment toward collective introspection, and a willingness to think critically about how the nation’s histories of oppression continue to ripple into the present, affecting us all. The stories in Slavery’s Descendants deal with harrowing topics—rape, lynching, cruelty, shame—but they also describe acts of generosity, gratitude, and love. Together, they help us confront the legacy of slavery to reclaim a more complete picture of U.S. history, one cousin at a time. Funding for the production of this book was provided by Furthermore, a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund (https://www.furthermore.org). Trade ReviewIn its first-hand chronicles of courage, rage, forgiveness, and the solace of an embrace, Slavery’s Descendants unleashes powerful emotions. Full of hard-won wisdom, this book also captures the painful ambiguities our past fastens on us. "I want revelation," one participant says, "and yet, I dread it, too." -- Henry Wiencek * author of The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White *“In these moving essays, we see the testaments of journeys made by both descendants of enslavers and descendants of the enslaved to reckon with pain of the past, and look beneath the skin of the present for healing. Using poetry, essay, oral history, genealogical shard, these writings bear witness to the search to find and give language to our tangled, fraught, but ultimately shared history. Puzzling through the intimate histories that link us as Americans to one another— though often violent or painful— each writer here finds a way of knowing the past that offers the present more freedom, more hope. Here are stories told at a human scale, full of longing, honesty, grief, and also hope. In a difficult time, these writers lay down these meditations in the hope of a better, freer future for all of us. Their efforts are paths we would do well to follow. They offer us a chance for greater wholeness, too.” -- Tess Taylor * author of The Forage House *Fordham Magazine mention of Slavery's Descendants edited by Jill Strauss and Dionne Ford * Fordham Magazine *'"They were once America’s cruelest, richest slave traders. Why does no one know their names?" by Hannah Natanson https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/09/14/they-were-once-americas-cruelest-richest-slave-traders-why-does-no-one-know-their-names/?wpisrc=nl_mostwpmm=1 * Washington Post *Interview with Jill Strauss and Dionne Ford, Slavery's Descendants and Coming to the Table https://networks.h-net.org/node/11465/pages/5424505/interview-jill-strauss-and-dionne-ford-slaverys-descendants-and-coming * H-Net *Table of ContentsContentsForeword: Coming to the Table - Lucian K. Truscott IVIntroduction - Dionne Ford and Jill StraussPart I Uncovering History1 President in the Family - Shannon Lanier2 So Many Names - A. B. Westrick3 The Will, the Woman, and the Archive - Catherine Sasanov4 Overcoming Amnesia: How I Learned the Forgotten History of Two Families Linked by Slavery - Bill Sizemore5 Oregon’s Slave History - R. Gregory Nokes 6 Seed of the Fancy Maid - Rodney WilliamsPart II Making Connections7 State Line - Antoinette Broussard8 The Plantation Cake - Leslie Stainton 9 Am I Black? - Eileen Jackson10 The Immeasurable Distance between Us - Thomas Norman DeWolf11 Making Connections - Karen Branan 12 A Millennial Facing the Legacies of Slavery - Fabrice GuerrierPart III Working toward Healing13 Standing on the Shoulders of My Ancestors - Tammarrah Lee14 So Close and So Far Away - Elisa D. Pearmain 15 Born Both Innocent and Accountable: A Moral Reckoning - Debian Marty16 The Terretts of Oakland Plantation: An Essay of Atonement - David Terrett Beumée17 Not a Wound Too Deep - Karen Stewart-Ross 18 To See/ The Blindness of Whiteness - Sara JenkinsPart IV Taking Action19 Digging Up the Woodpile - Sharon Leslie Morgan 20 On Being Involved- Stephanie Harp 21 Changing the Narrative- Joseph McGill 22 Tangled Vines: A Bloodline Shaped by Slavery - Grant Hayter-Menzies23 A Dream Deferred along Holman’s Creek- Sarah Kohrs24 The Tale of Two Sisters - Betty Kilby Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby Afterword: What a Legacy of Slavery and Racism Has to Do with Me - Jill StraussPostscript: From Branches to Roots - Dionne FordAcknowledgmentsBibliographyNotes on Contributors

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Book SynopsisExamines the relationships between the ruling elites of the Czech Republic and the general public. This title provides important insights into the quality of elite-public relations, the nuance of intra-elite relations, and the values of these groups, both shared and independent.

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