About this ebook
“A hopeful testimony to how racial injustice can begin to be addressed constructively within one form of democratic practice.” —Sociology of Religion
Faith-based community organizers have spent decades working for greater equality in American society, and more recently have become significant players in shaping at the highest levels of government.
In A Shared Future, Richard L. Wood and Brad R. Fulton draw on a national study of community organizing coalitions and in-depth interviews of key leaders to show how faith-based organizing is creatively navigating the competing aspirations of America’s universalist and multiculturalist democratic ideals, even as it confronts three demons bedeviling American politics: economic inequality, federal policy paralysis, and racial inequity. With a broad view of the entire field and a distinct empirical focus on the PICO National Network, Wood and Fulton’s analysis illuminates the tensions, struggles, and deep rewards that come with pursuing racial equity within a social change organization and in society. Ultimately, A Shared Future offers a vision for how we might build a future that embodies the ethical democracy of the best American dreams.
“A critically important book.” —Mark R. Warren—author of A Match on Dry Grass: Community Organizing as a Catalyst for School Reform
“Loaded with firsthand accounts, accessible critical analyses, and spirited conviction, this book exemplifies religious witness and political participation.” —Christian Century
“Unabashedly promoting a liberal agenda to address issues of growing inequality, poverty, educational disparities, racial injustice, voter suppression, and policy paralysis at the national level. Highly recommended.” —Choice
“A remarkable achievement. . . . Timely and relevant.” —American Journal of Sociology
Faith-based community organizers have spent decades working for greater equality in American society, and more recently have become significant players in shaping at the highest levels of government.
In A Shared Future, Richard L. Wood and Brad R. Fulton draw on a national study of community organizing coalitions and in-depth interviews of key leaders to show how faith-based organizing is creatively navigating the competing aspirations of America’s universalist and multiculturalist democratic ideals, even as it confronts three demons bedeviling American politics: economic inequality, federal policy paralysis, and racial inequity. With a broad view of the entire field and a distinct empirical focus on the PICO National Network, Wood and Fulton’s analysis illuminates the tensions, struggles, and deep rewards that come with pursuing racial equity within a social change organization and in society. Ultimately, A Shared Future offers a vision for how we might build a future that embodies the ethical democracy of the best American dreams.
“A critically important book.” —Mark R. Warren—author of A Match on Dry Grass: Community Organizing as a Catalyst for School Reform
“Loaded with firsthand accounts, accessible critical analyses, and spirited conviction, this book exemplifies religious witness and political participation.” —Christian Century
“Unabashedly promoting a liberal agenda to address issues of growing inequality, poverty, educational disparities, racial injustice, voter suppression, and policy paralysis at the national level. Highly recommended.” —Choice
“A remarkable achievement. . . . Timely and relevant.” —American Journal of Sociology
About the author
Richard L. Wood is professor and chair in the department of sociology at the University of New Mexico. He is the author of Faith in Action, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Brad R. Fulton is assistant professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University.
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