Social Action

Reading Program 2003

ALL OUR RELATIONS: NATIVE STRUGGLES FOR LAND AND LIFE
South End Press, 1999 241 pages
Winona LaDuke #3301/$16.00

This account of Native people’s resistance to environmental and cultural degradation speaks for self-determination and community. It presents a daring vision of political, spiritual and ecological transformation.

CHOOSING MERCY: A MOTHER OF MURDER VICTIMS PLEADS TO END THE DEATH PENALTY
Orbis Books, 2001 239 pages
Antoinette Bosco #3306/$17.00

This is a story of how grief was transformed into forgiveness when a woman’s son and daughter-in-law were murdered. It calls for an end to capital punishment. A resource for the 2002-2003 mission study on restorative justice.

DISPOSABLE DOMESTICS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN WORKERS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY (Difficult reading, study & discussion)
South End Press, 2000 235 pages
Grace Chang #3313/$15.00

Author Grace Chang counters the image of immigrant women of color as a drain on society showing the unrewarded work they perform as caregivers, cleaners and servers. She shows how they actively resist exploitation.

FORGIVENESS: BREAKING THE CHAIN OF HATE
BookPartners, 2002 187 pages
Michael Henderson #3324/$14.95

Author Michael Henderson writes about people who have broken the chains of hate to forgive those who harmed them. He addresses questions like, "How can representatives of entire peoples be reconciled with those who exploited them?" and "How can the offenders find the grace to apologize?"

HIGH SCHOOL HAZING: WHEN RITES BECOME WRONGS
Grolier Education, 2000 143 pages
Hank Nuwer #3331/$8.95

This book reveals potentially deadly practices that many teenagers and adults consider harmless pranks. It examines hazing and pledging activities in college fraternities, which threaten to trickle down to high-school groups.

IN OUR OWN BEST INTEREST: HOW DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS BENEFITS ALL AMERICANS
Beacon Press, 2001 219 pages
William F. Schultz #3335/$15.00

This book, with stories from around the world, delineates the connection between U.S. prosperity and violations of human rights around the world. Author William F. Schultz builds a case for defending U.S. interests by safeguarding human rights of people everywhere.

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS: EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS THAT ANGER, ANNOY AND DIVIDE THE RACES (Easy reading)
Harcourt, Inc., 2000 268 pages
Lena Williams #3336/$13.00

This book takes a candid approach to race relations by translating words, expressions, gestures and body language to help readers understand and live with each other.

LIVING PEACE: A SPIRITUALITY OF CONTEMPLATION AND ACTION
Random House, 2001 227 pages
John Dear Hardcover/#3338/19.95

Author John Dear, a leader of the ecumenical peace movement, says spiritual life combines contemplation and action, maintaining inner peace, and projecting that peace into the world as exemplified by the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and others who remained true to ideals while addressing the world’s problems and conflicts.

LYING DOWN WITH THE LIONS: A PUBLIC LIFE FROM THE STREETS OF OAKLAND TO THE HALLS OF POWER
Beacon Press, 2000 220 pages
Ronald V. Dellums #3339/$15.00

Author Ronald V. Dellums chronicles his years in the U.S. House of Representatives, and offers lessons for those in the United States who are committed to democratic social change.

A MIGHTY LONG JOURNEY:REFLECTIONS ON RACIAL RECONCILIATION
Broadman & Holman, 2000 228 pages
Timothy George & Robert Smith Jr., editors #3343/$18.00

Writers and pastors from various backgrounds reflect on the state of affairs of race relations in the Church including past sins, present repentance and future redemption.

MORE THAN WELCOME: LEARNING TO EMBRACE GAY, LESBIAN,BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDERED PERSONS IN THE CHURCH
(Study & discussion)
Chalice Press, 1999 153 pages
Maurine C. Waun #3345/$17.00

Author Maurine C. Waun calls readers to engage in loving Christian involvement with people of all sexual orientations. Personal stories give insight into difficulties faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people and how they are marginalized and condemned by the Church.

SAY IT LOUD: MIDDLE-CLASS BLACKS TALK ABOUT RACISM AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
The Pilgrim Press, 2000 177 pages
Annie Barnes #3359/$16.95

This collection of personal accounts of 150 college students documents their encounters with racism at school, at work, in their neighborhoods, in restaurants and at shopping malls, bringing to light the daily indignities suffered by Blacks in the United States. The book offers simple yet profound suggestions for confronting and responding to racism.

STORIES FROM BELOW THE POVERTY LINE
Herald Press, 2001 112 pages
George Beukema #3367/$10.00

Author George Beukema relates personal experiences that portray urban U.S. residents who struggle to survive below the poverty line, including their experience of God’s grace.

WHEN STARS BEGIN TO FALL (Easy reading)
Bethany House, 2001 444 pages
Denise Williamson #3380/$13.00

This novel set in the 1800s tells the story of one woman’s conflict when she finds herself dependent on northern in-laws who support slavery for its economic benefits, as she tries to preserve her husband’s legacy of aiding fugitive artisans.