Making Democracy Matter

Karen Brodkin

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Author
Karen Brodkin
Publish Date
2007-02-12
Subtitle
Identity and Activism in Los Angeles
Book Type
Paperback
Number of Pages
248
Publisher Name
Rutgers University Press
ISBN-10
0813539803
ISBN-13
9780813539805
citemno
251182
Edition
Illustrated
SKU
9780813539805

Description

What makes a social movement a movement? Where do the contagious energy, vision, and sense of infinite possibility come from? Students of progressive social movements know a good deal about what works and what doesn't and about the constituencies that are conducive to political activism, but what are the personal and emotional dynamics that turn ordinary people into activists? And, what are the visions and practices of democracy that foster such transformations?

This book seeks to answer these questions through conversations and interviews with a generation of activists who came of political age in Los Angeles during the 1990s. Politically schooled in the city's vibrant immigrant worker and youth-led campaigns against xenophobic and racist voter initiatives, these young activists created a new political cohort with its own signature of democratic practice and vision. Combining analytical depth, engaging oral history, and rich description, this absorbing and accessible book will appeal to all those interested in social movements, racial justice, the political activism of women and men of color, and the labor movement today.