Stand Up!: How to Get Involved, Speak Out, and Win in a World on Fire

Gordon Whitman

Jan 2018 · Berrett-Koehler Audio · Kuchazwe ngu-Tom Dheere

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“Grassroots organizing is our best hope. If you're serious about making change from the bottom up, read Stand Up! and pass it on.”
—Congressman Keith Ellison

Each of us faces a moment of truth—at a time of crisis, do we stand up and speak out or retreat into our private lives? This book is for those frustrated by what they see happening in the world but not sure what they can do about it.

Veteran organizer Gordon Whitman shows that we have the power we need to create a racially and economically just society. But it won't happen if we stay on the sidelines sharing social media posts and signing online petitions. We win only if we're willing to join other people in the kind of face-to-face organizing that has powered every successful social movement in history.

Whitman describes five types of conversations that enable people to build organizations that can solve local problems and confront the greatest challenges facing our country—from gun violence to climate change. The book is a road map for standing up to the bullies who've hijacked our democracy and divided us against each other.

Find your voice, make it heard, create lasting change, and live your purpose in the world!

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Gordon Whitman is deputy director of Faith in Action (formerly PICO National Network), with a membership of 3,000 faith institutions and 2.5 million people. As a community organizer, legal services lawyer, and strategist, he helps working families build strong and effective multiracial community organizations.