Social Action

Reading Program 2004

AMERICA NEEDS HUMAN RIGHTS
Anuradha Mittal and Peter Rosset, editors 237 pages
Food First Books, 1999 (#03511) $13.95

Millions of people in the United States do not share the nation’s economic benefits. This book makes a persuasive case that the letter and spirit of universally recognized human rights are routinely violated by U.S. government policies that safeguard profits rather than people.

THE BLACK CHURCH IN THE POST-CIVIL RIGHTS ERA (Bonus book)
Anthony B. Pinn 175 pages
Orbis Books, 2002 (#03515) $18.00

This snapshot of the Black Church puts a spotlight on its vibrant worship, its approach to doctrine and its role in social activism. It is a valuable introduction to the Black Church in the present era.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AND THE BIBLE
Gardner C. Hanks                          288 pages
Herald Press, 2002                 (#03518) $17.00

How did Jesus and the early church extend God’s love in restorative justice? Does the use of capital punishment in the United States meet Old Testament standards for fairness? Author Gardner C. Hanks shows that the use of the death penalty is not consistent with Jesus’ call for love and forgiveness.

FAST FOOD NATION: THE DARK SIDE OF THE ALL-AMERICAN MEAL
Eric Schlosser 383 pages
HarperCollins Publishers, 2002 (#03524) $13.95

Eric Schlosser’s myth-shattering survey stretches from California’s subdivisions to the industrial corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike. It is a collection of unsettling truths from the unholy alliance between fast food and Hollywood to the seismic changes the industry has created in food production, pop culture and even real estate.

FOR FREEDOM’S SAKE: THE LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER
Chana Kai Lee 255 pages
University of Illinois Press, 2000 (#03526) $14.95

This is a biography of civil-rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. It documents her lifelong crusade to empower the poor through collective action, her rise to national prominence, and the personal costs of her struggle to win a political voice and economic self-sufficiency for Blacks in the segregated South.

GLOBALIZATION AT WHAT PRICE? ECONOMIC CHANGE AND DAILY LIFE
Pamela K. Brubaker 142 pages
The Pilgrim Press, 2001 (#03527) $12.00

In the midst of rapid economic change on a global scale, many people feel ill equipped to respond. This book explains the dynamics of globalization and how it affects ordinary people. Drawing on Scripture and exploring successful economic justice efforts, the author provides options for addressing globalization.

I’D RATHER TEACH PEACE
Colman McCarthy      Hardcover/140 pages
Orbis Books, 2002                  (#03536) $18.00

This is the story of one man’s passion for peace education, as seen during one semester in six schools where risk-taking students found themselves challenged and inspired by an unconventional course and by a man who believes if we don’t teach our children peace, someone will teach them violence.

INCLUSION: MAKING ROOM FOR GRACE
Eric H.F. Law 130 pages
Chalice Press, 2000 (#03538) $17.00

This book offers insight on inclusiveness and practical suggestions on how to deal with the issues of inclusion and exclusion in the church.

LEGAL LYNCHING: THE DEATH PENALTY AND AMERICA’S FUTURE
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.,
Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. and Bruce Shapiro 174 pages
Random House, 2001 (#03544) $12.00

This book explores the death penalty debate, including the history, myths and realities of state-sponsored killing. It challenges old assumptions with new facts, and leads the way out of capital punishment.

THE LOYAL OPPOSITION: STRUGGLING WITH THE CHURCH ON HOMOSEXUALITY
Tex Sample and Amy DeLong, editors 204 pages
Abingdon Press, 2000 (#03546) $16.00

This book brings together historical perspective, scriptural interpretation, doctrinal position, United Methodist disciplinary process, and the witness of faith of United Methodist leaders and scholars.

NICKEL AND DIMED: OR (NOT) GETTING BY IN AMERICA
Barbara Ehrenreich 240 pages
Henry Holt & Co., 2001 (#03553) $13.00

How does a person survive on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, the author worked minimum wage jobs from Florida to Maine to Minnesota. She discovered low pay work—from motel maid to diner table server—requires exhausting effort.

SET FREE: A JOURNEY TOWARD SOLIDARITY AGAINST RACISM
Iris de Leon-Hartshorn, Tobin Miller Shearer 167 pages
and Regina Shands Stoltzfus (#03566) $15.00
Herald Press, 200

Using story, analysis and scriptural reflection, this collaborative project brings together decades of experience dismantling racism and the perspectives of an African-American woman, a Mexican-Amerindian woman and an Anglo-American male. Grounded in real life, this is a resource for those ready to move beyond surface solutions to addressing racism’s subtle evil.

SILENCING POLITICAL DISSENT:HOW POST-SEPTEMBER 11 ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES THREATEN OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES
Nancy Chang 168 pages
Seven Stories Press, 2002 (#03568) $9.95

Just six weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress approved the USA Patriot Act with virtually no public hearing or debate. This book examines how the act endows the executive branch of the federal government with unchecked powers, erodes civil liberties and privacy, and impacts immigrants.

SWEATSHOP WARRIORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN WORKERS TAKE ON THE GLOBAL FACTORY (Bonus book)
Miriam Ching Yoon Louie 306 pages
South End Press, 2001 (#03576) $18.00

Sweatshop Warriors introduces women who refuse to accept their assigned place at the bottom of the sweatshop pyramid. The Chinese, Korean and Mexican immigrant women whose testimonies are included in this book provide inspiration and leadership for those who seek ways to resist corporate globalization.

WATER WARS: PRIVATIZATION, POLLUTION AND PROFIT (Bonus book)
Vandana Shiva 156 pages
South End Press, 2002 (#03582) $14.00

Vandana Shiva uses her knowledge of science and society to analyze the historical erosion of communal water rights. Examining such issues as damming, mining and the international water trade, she exposes the destruction of the earth and the disenfranchisement of the world’s poor as they are stripped of their right to clean water.