Page 30 RAIN Spring 1986 / ACCESS: Politics Resource Manual for a Living Revolution: A Handbook of Skills and Tools for Social Change Activists, by Virgina Coover, Ellen Deacon, Charles Esser, and Christopher Moore, 1985, 330 pp., $9.95 from: New Society Publishers 4722 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19143 This handbook is packed full of useful and time-tested ideas and tools for those who wish to engage in nonviolent action for social change. It's more like a recipe book than a book than you'd read straight through. Most of the techniques in the book have been developed and refined during years of political activism and education and training efforts by the Movement for a New Society (MNS), and have been used worldwide by community organizers, human rights activists, and women's, peace, anti-nuclear, and environmental groups. One section helps the reader develop a theory of social change that traces social problems back to their root causes, relates personal life to society at large, and offers strategies for action. Another presents ideas for working in groups, including consensus decision-making process, tools for facilitators, conflict resolution techniques, and a discussion of group dynamics. Other sections discuss models for building “communities of support” to avoid political burnout, personal growth and consciousness raising, and community organizing for both “constructive programs” and protest activity. Games, excercises, and multiple models are provided throughout. —FLS Heart Politics, by Fran Peavey, with Myra Levy and Charles Varon, 1986, 192 pp., $9.95 from: New Society Publishers 4722 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19143 In her introduction to Heart Politics, Fran Peavey declares her commonness as a working American and as one four- billionth of the human species. This commonness, and Peavey's experience of the “power of context” (the influence of cultural background in shaping our belief systems) in her life and work, make this activist's recollections inspiring reading. Neither autobiography nor political harangue, this book is a candid sharing of one person's growing sense of connection From Resource Manual for a Living Revolution with the world. As a young teacher in a racially-mixed neighborhood in San Fransisco in 1963, Peavey was confronted with a legacy of her Idaho upbringing—racial prejudice toward Mexican-Americans, which she absorbed during years watching migrant workers pick crops grown by her family's friends. Rather than deny or rationalize her feelings, she quietly looked within herself and admitted what was there. Later that year, she realized she knew little about how blacks live, so she asked the local NAACP chapter to give her “black lessons.” They arranged for her to hang out with blacks in the neighborhood in order for her to gain some understanding of their culture. Self-examination and direct learning from people unlike herself exemplify Peavey's approach to social change work, which has guided her well through diverse projeets in the Bay Area and around the world. Some of the most interesting stories in Heart Politics come from Peavey's “American Willing To Listen” project, begun in the 1970s to discover the concerns of citizens in other countries. To reach them, she sold her home, bought a round-the-world airplane ticket, and set off, alone. She had a few contacts to interview, but felt she could talk with many more people by sitting in public places with a sign reading “American Willing To Listen.” Peavey openly acknowledges her ambivalence, and even fqar, about being in such an unguarded position. During her travels, she discovered how little she knew about issues that didn't directly involve the U.S., and how much American policy impacted lives far from our borders. She also came to recognize her addiction to a lifestyle maintained at the expense of people she was getting to know. In the 1980s, much of Fran Peavey's energy has been directed toward nuclear issues. Around the world, she discovered, nuclear war fears are common mental baggage. At home, Peavey and her friends took the terrifying step of admitting that these weapons would someday be used, and studied their effects in order to figure out what they could do to help afterward. The more they learned, the worse they felt. Deep depression set in. Then, late one night, they snapped, and began to joke about nuclear bombs! As they laughed, their power to act returned. Now, Peavey and her fellow Atomic Comics take to the road, to help others overcome nuclear paralysis. For Peavey, connection with people brings pain as well as joy. She says the pain of connections made, and sometimes broken, is preferable to the numbness of separation. Her book provides examples of how to keep the best of the American heritage, without cynicism, while replacing the worst of it with a broader perspective. To paraphrase Walt Kelly's Pogo: “We have met the ally, and she is us.” —RC “Resources for Local Government Support,” compiled by Adam Quan, in Economic Development and Law Center Report, March-June 1985, $4/single issue from: National Economic Development and Law Center Report 1950 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94704 For those working in neighborhood development organizations in consort with local government agencies, here's a useful list of national organizations that have expertise in such partnerships. It provides addresses, phone numbers, and descriptions for 13 different organizations, such as Center for Community Change, Conference on Alternative State and Local Policies, National Association of Neighborhoods, and the Urban Land Institute. —FLS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz