Social Action

Reading Program 2000

AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY: CHRISTIAN AND SECULAR ARGUMENTS AGAINST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

(Study and Discussion)
Herald Press, 1997
207 pages
Gardner C. Hanks #3027/$13.00

Drawing on biblical resources and social arguments, the author shows how the death penalty harms rather than helps in the quest for a just and humane society. Positions of many denominations, including The United Methodist Church are included.

CLAIMING ALL THINGS FOR GOD: PRAYER, DISCERNMENT AND RITUAL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

(Study & discussion)
Abingdon Press, 1998
152 pages
George D. McClain #3040/$13.00

A United Methodist social activist shares his journey to bring together his spiritual life and his activist life. This book offers practical suggestions for others who seek to integrate spirituality and justice work.

CONFRONTING ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM: VOICES FROM THE GRASSROOTS

(Study & discussion)
South End Press, 1993
259 pages
Robert D. Bullard, editor #3042/$13.00

Thirteen grassroots activists document how people of color in urban and rural areas are the victims of industrial dumping, toxic landfills and dangerous waste incinerators. The writers recommend ways governments and corporations can end these racist practices and stop degrading the earth.

THE FIGHT IN THE FIELDS: CESAR CHAVEZ AND THE FARMWORKERS MOVEMENT

Harcourt Brace, 1997
352 pages
Susan Ferriss and Ricardo Sandoval #3050/$13.00

This collection of stories, articles and photographs traces the early life of Cesar Chavez, the poverty his family faced and the faith that shaped his life. It is also the story of the Farmworkers’ struggle for decent wages and working conditions.

LIVING DOWNSTREAM: A SCIENTIST’S PERSONAL INVESTIGATION OF CANCER AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Vintage Books, 1998
384 pages
Sandra Steingraber #3070/$14.00

Written by an ecologist and cancer survivor, this book explores the link between environmental contamination and cancer. The author tells her story and shares recently-released information on the toxins we eat, drink and breathe. The book shows ways we can eliminate environmental contributions to cancer.

MAKING A JUST PEACE: HUMAN RIGHTS & DOMINATION SYSTEMS

(Study & discussion)
Abingdon Press, 1998
160 pages
C. Dale White #3072/$11.00

United Methodist Bishop C. Dale White draws on the Bible and his experience of working for peace and human rights to address systems that lead to hunger, war and the making of deserts.

MERCHANTS OF MISERY: HOW CORPORATE AMERICA PROFITS FROM POVERTY

Common Courage Press, 1996
232 pages
Michael Hudson, editor #3073/$14.95

Award-winning journalists document unjust practices of banks and corporations that prey on low-income, blue-collar and racial-ethnic customers. The book shows how consumer attorneys, neighborhood activists and average people are fighting these injustices and creating alternatives.

MY ROSE: AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHER’S STORY OF AIDS

United Church Press, 1997
86 pages
Geneva E. Bell #3078/$12.95

This is a mother's story of her gay son, Jeffery, as he lived with and died of AIDS. She shares her anger at God and her faith, which enabled her to come to terms with her loss.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER: A STORY OF TWO TOWNS, A DEATH AND AMERICA’S DILEMMA

Anchor Books, 1999
336 pages
Alex Kotlowitz #3080/$14.95

Using the mystery surrounding the death of an African-American teenager, the author explores the effects on two towns -- one 95 percent white and the other 92 percent black -- as a way of looking at the separation of the races in the United States and the need to find ways to bridge those gaps. Warning: The book includes some profanity.

PRAISE JERUSALEM!

Baker Books, 1997
285 pages
Augusta Trobaugh #3081/$13.00

In this novel, three elderly Southern women journey to Jerusalem, Ga., seeking happiness, but first they must overcome social and racial estrangements that isolate them from one another. The journey leads them to surprising revelations about themselves and their cultures, and provides them with the courage they need for facing an uncertain future with respect and dignity.

ROOTED AGAINST THE WIND: PERSONAL ESSAYS

Beacon Press, 1996
197 pages
Gloria Wade-Gayles #3084/$12.00

In these short essays, the author confronts what it's like to be an African-American professional woman in her 50s. She discusses racism, homophobia, interracial relationships, looking and acting too young for her age and going home again. She draws strength from her connection to the black community.

SOWING THE DRAGON'S TEETH: LAND MINES AND THE GLOBAL LEGACY OF WAR

Beacon Press, 1997
167 pages
Philip C. Winslow #3089/$13.00

A veteran journalist introduces readers to people who have been killed or maimed by land mines and meet those who are working to clear the fields of these weapons that hurt 26,000 people each year.

VOICES OF THE VOICELESS: WOMEN, JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN GUATEMALA

Herald Press, 1997
231 pages
Michelle Tooley #3095/$15.00

With insight and passion, the author tells the stories of injustices suffered by women in Guatemala, calling for their voices to be heard. This book invites North-American Christians to confront ways individualism obstructs their responses to injustice.

WHO SPEAKS FOR GOD? AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT

Dell Books, 1997
240 pages
Jim Wallis #3099/$11.95

This book examines the groups of the Religious Right and reveals how their positions actually conflict with the Bible. The humanistic policies of the secular Left are also exposed. The author presents an alternative of political life based on compassion and community.