Best of
Social-Issues

1998

Something Beautiful


Sharon Dennis Wyeth - 1998
    Lee's "beautiful" fruit store, and the "beautiful" smooth stone Old Mr. Sims always carries. The girl soon understands that beautiful means "that when you have it, your heart is happy." Young readers will enjoy appreciating the beauty of friendship and the power of hope in this encouraging story.

Standing at the Scratch Line


Guy Johnson - 1998
    But when the teenage King mistakenly kills two white deputies during a botched raid on the DuMonts, the Tremains' fear of reprisal forces King to flee Louisiana. King thus embarks on an adventure that first takes him to France, where he fights in World War I as a member of the segregated 369th Battalion—in the bigoted army he finds himself locked in combat with American soldiers as well as with Germans. When he returns to America, he battles the Mob in Jazz Age Harlem, the KKK in Louisiana, and crooked politicians trying to destroy a black township in Oklahoma. King Tremain is driven by two principal forces: He wants to be treated with respect, and he wants to create a family dynasty much like the one he left behind in Louisiana. This is a stunning debut by novelist Guy Johnson that provides a true depiction of the lives of African-Americans in the early decades of the twentieth century.

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late


Thom Hartmann - 1998
    The inspiration for Leonardo DiCaprio’s web movie Global Warning, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight details what is happening to our planet, the reasons for our culture’s blind behavior, and how we can fix the problem. Thom Hartmann’s comprehensive book, originally published in 1998, has become one of the fundamental handbooks of the environmental activist movement. Now, with fresh, updated material and a focus on political activism and its effect on corporate behavior, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight helps us understand--and heal--our relationship to the world, to each other, and to our natural resources.

The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics


George Lipsitz - 1998
    Addressing the common view that whiteness is a meaningless category of identity, this book aims to show that public policy and private prejudice insure that whites wind up on top of the social hierarchy.

Mama Flora's Family


Alex Haley - 1998
    Mama Flora, born to poor sharecroppers in Tennessee, is forced to raise her children alone after the murder of her husband. But it will not be Willie, her son, who fulfills her ambitions, but Ruthana, the niece she raises as her own. Inspired by her love for the radical poet Ben, Ruthana seeks her soul in Africa even as Willie's son and daughter embrace Black Power and drugs in their embattled coming-of-age. Throughout all the seasons of their lives, it is Mama Flora who prevails, whose quiet determination and love bring them back, as she leads her own quest for justice in tumultuous times.From the Paperback edition.

Free the Children: A Young Man Fights Against Child Labor and Proves that Children Can Change the World


Craig Kielburger - 1998
    Free the Childrenis a passionate and astounding story and a moving testament to the power that children and young adults have to change the world, as witnessed through the achievements of one remarkable young man.

De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century


Elizabeth Martínez - 1998
    and the Latina/o youth movement, De Colores Means All of Us will appeal to readers and activists seeking to organize for the future and build new movements for liberation.

The Road to Peace: Writings on Peace and Justice


Henri J.M. Nouwen - 1998
    In other writings Nouwen reflects on the presence of Christ among the oppressed poor of Latin America, the legacies of Oscar Romero and Thomas Merton, and the lessons of the heart which he learned among his handicapped friends at LArche. The final pieces include a moving talk on compassion in the time of AIDS, and the call to solidarity with the human family.

Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition


Kamala Kempadoo - 1998
    Drawing on their individual narratives, it explores international struggles to uphold the rights of this often marginalized group.

Losing Our Virtue


David F. Wells - 1998
    Continuing the series begun with David Wells's No Place for Truth and God in the Wasteland, this acclaimed volume urges the church to regain its moral weight and become a missionary of truth once more to our relativistic postmodern world.

The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom


Barbara Smith - 1998
    As one of the first writers in the United States to claim black feminism for black women, Barbara Smith has done groundbreaking work in defining black women’s literary traditions and in making connections between race, class, sexuality, and gender.Smith’s essay “Toward a Black Feminist Criticism,” is often cited as a major catalyst in opening the field of black women’s literature. Pieces about racism in the women’s movement, black and Jewish relations, and homophobia in the Black community have ignited dialogue about topics that few other writers address. The collection also brings together topical political commentaries on the 1968 Chicago convention demonstrations; attacks on the NEA; the Anita Hill–Clarence Thomas Senate hearings; and police brutality against Rodney King and Abner Louima. It also includes a never-before-published personal essay on racial violence and the bonds between black women that make it possible to survive.

Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment


James I. Charlton - 1998
    Nothing About Us Without Us is the first book in the literature on disability to provide a theoretical overview of disability oppression that shows its similarities to, and differences from, racism, sexism, and colonialism. Charlton's analysis is illuminated by interviews he conducted over a ten-year period with disability rights activists throughout the Third World, Europe, and the United States. Charlton finds an antidote for dependency and powerlessness in the resistance to disability oppression that is emerging worldwide. His interviews contain striking stories of self-reliance and empowerment evoking the new consciousness of disability rights activists. As a latecomer among the world's liberation movements, the disability rights movement will gain visibility and momentum from Charlton's elucidation of its history and its political philosophy of self-determination, which is captured in the title of his book. Nothing About Us Without Us expresses the conviction of people with disabilities that they know what is best for them. Charlton's combination of personal involvement and theoretical awareness assures greater understanding of the disability rights movement.

The Stolen Children: Their Stories


Human Rights Commission - 1998
    Personal stories, mostly unedited from unlocked confidential files.

Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy


David S. Cecelski - 1998
    Frustrated by decades of African American self-assertion and threatened by an interracial coalition advocating democratic reforms, white conservatives used violence, demagoguery, and fraud to seize political power and disenfranchise black citizens. The most notorious episode of the campaign was the Wilmington race riot of 1898, which claimed the lives of many black residents and rolled back decades of progress for African Americans in the state.Published on the centennial of the Wilmington race riot, Democracy Betrayed draws together the best new scholarship on the events of 1898 and their aftermath. Contributors to this important book hope to draw public attention to the tragedy, to honor its victims, and to bring a clear and timely historical voice to the debate over its legacy.The contributors are David S. Cecelski, William H. Chafe, Laura F. Edwards, Raymond Gavins, Glenda E. Gilmore, John Haley, Michael Honey, Stephen Kantrowitz, H. Leon Prather Sr., Timothy B. Tyson, LeeAnn Whites, and Richard Yarborough.

Chicken Soup for Little Souls: The Braids Girl


Lisa McCourt - 1998
    Now these classic books have been resized and rewritten into intermediate-level readers that kids 6 and up can read themselves. While the text has been shortened and simplified, it retains the enduring Chicken Soup message of sincere and heartfelt virtue. The new reader series starts with two books: In The Best Night Out With Dad, Danny can't wait to go to the circus with his dad. It's going to be the best night ever! But the night has a surprise ending when Danny meets Victor in the ticket line. In The Greatest Gift of All, Izzy finds out that her parents won't let her go to Pine View Camp. Her summer is ruined! But things begin to change for Izzy when she starts to do Give-back Time with Grandpa Mike and meets the Braids Girl. With a lower price point, friendly format and the power of the Chicken Soup brand, these books will inspire children as they teach the joy of reading. Key Features The previous books were for parents to read to children; the new books have been shortened by approximately 25% and redesigned to make them appropriate for intermediate readers (ages 6 and up). The books contain 4-color illustrations throughout, including many full-page bleeds. The recognizable brand, along with the lower price point and smaller trim size, make this a perfect impulse purchase for busy parents.

Aruna's Story


Pinki Virani - 1998
    Brain-dead for sight, speech and movement, yet hopelessly alive to pain, hunger and terror, she now lies, barely alive, in the hospital where she once treated patients back to health. Virani's investigations also unearthed the crowning tragedy: while Aruna has been in coma for over twenty-five years, her rapist, a sweeper in the hospital, walked a free man after a mere seven years in prison for 'robbery and attempt to murder'. Vivid and gut-wrenching, this is a book that will haunt the reader long after the final page has been turned. 'Pinki Virani has narrated Aruna's brutalization through meticulous and persistent research. The structure of the book is notable in the way it resists sensationalism.' --The Telegraph 'Virani's book is researched, thought-provoking, sharp. It is both sad and angry, scathing and restrained.' --Pioneer '...her storytelling skil

The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt and 'The Final Solution'


Bernard J. Bergen - 1998
    Bergen, the questions that preoccupied Arendt were the meaning and significance of the Nazi genocide to our modern times. As Bergen describes Arendt's struggle to understand 'the banality of evil, ' he shows how Arendt redefined the meaning of our most treasured political concepts and principles_freedom, society, identity, truth, equality, and reason_in light of the horrific events of the Holocaust. Arendt concluded that the banality of evil results from the failure of human beings to fully experience our common human characteristics_thought, will, and judgment_and that the exercise and expression of these attributes is the only chance we have to prevent a recurrence of the kind of terrible evil perpetrated by the Nazi

A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America


Shelby Steele - 1998
    In A Dream Deferred Shelby Steele argues that a second betrayal of black freedom in the United States--the first one being segregation--emerged from the civil rights era when the country was overtaken by a powerful impulse to redeem itself from racial shame. According to Steele, 1960s liberalism had as its first and all-consuming goal the expiation of America guilt rather than the careful development of true equality between the races. This "culture of preference" betrayed America's best principles in order to give whites and America institutions an iconography of racial virtue they could use against the stigma of racial shame. In four densely argued essays, Steele takes on the familiar questions of affirmative action, multiculturalism, diversity, Afro-centrism, group preferences, victimization--and what he deems to be the atavistic powers of race, ethnicity, and gender, the original causes of oppression. A Dream Deferred is an honest, courageous look at the perplexing dilemma of race and democracy in the United States--and what we might do to resolve it.

The Triumphs Of Joseph: How Today's Community Healers Are Reviving Our Streets And Neighborhoods


Robert L. Woodson Sr. - 1998
    Always accessible and colorful, this powerful appeal for the health of America's inner cities can resurrect the passion to fight poverty--but only through the vision and deeds of street-level heroes.

Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD


Lou Cannon - 1998
    Lou Cannon, veteran journalist, combines extensive research with interviews from hundreds of survivors, offering the only definitive story behind what happened and why.Official Negligence takes a hard look at the circumstances leading up to the riots. Cannon reveals how the videotape of the brutal beating of Rodney King had been sensationally edited by a local TV station, how political leaders required LAPD officers to carry metal batons despite evidence linking them to the rising toll of serious injury in the community, and how poorly prepared the city was for the violence that erupted.

Race riot 1921: Events of the Tulsa disaster


Mary E. Jones Parrish - 1998
    

Ranches, Rowhouses, and Railroad Flats: American Homes: How They Shape Our Landscapes and Neighborhoods


Christine Hunter - 1998
    She discusses interior spaces, connections to the immediate outdoors, mechanical and plumbing connections, and connections to society. She emphasizes the varied and often conflicting environmental concerns, and examines how homes are grouped and combined with other building types and open spaces into neighborhoods.

Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic


Thomas Goltz - 1998
    Author Goltz was detoured in Baku in mid-1991 and decided to stay, this diary is the record of his experiences.

The Flight of Jesse Leroy Brown


Theodore Taylor - 1998
    A star athlete and an outstanding student, Jesse turned a deaf ear to everyone who told him that he should attend a black college, or that he didn't stand a chance of becoming a Navy pilot. Undeterred, he made his way from the deep South to the campus of Ohio State University. Then, defying the wishes of his family and an unwritten rule of racial exclusion, he qualified for the Navy reserve and was accepted into the Naval Air Training School at Glenview, Illinois-the first black man to enter the program. On March 18, 1947, late morning, like a bird, like a kite, like an impossible dream, Jesse Leroy Brown was flying.While other applicants-many from upper-class backgrounds-were weeded out of the rigorous qualifying process, Jesse forged ahead, often directly in the face of shameful racism and hostile superior officers. When he arrived at the cradle of Naval aviation in Pensacola, Florida, in 1947, he knew the washout rate was high and the odds were stacked against a man openly referred to as "nigger." But Jesse Leroy Brown had lots of practice beating the odds, and now he was on his way to becoming the first black man to fly a Navy fighter and make a carrier landing. He was also on his way to becoming an American hero over the battlefields of Korea."The Flight of Jesse Leroy Brown" is both a stirring story ofa man breaking historic racial barriers and a thrilling tale ofNaval carrier aviation. Award-winning author TheodoreTaylor, a master of adventure on land and sea, has written abiography that will speak to boththosewho love the excite-ment of combat in the air ... and to anyone who has everdreamed the impossible dream.Jesse Leroy Brown was raised in the segregated South by a hard-working, loving family who instilled values of dignity, education, and perseverance. A star athlete and an outstanding student, he was determined to become a Navy pilot, although such a thing was unheard of for a black man in the 1940s. Undettered, he entered Ohio State University, rather than a black college, and was able to qualify for the Navy reserve and was accepted into the Naval Air Training School at Glenview, Illinois. Despite racism, and open hostility by many of his superior officers, he finally reached his goal, flying a Navy fighter plane and landing it on a carrier--the first African American ever to do so.

It's Up to You... What Do You Do?


Sandra McLeod Humphrey - 1998
    If a friend had wronged you, how would you react? What if someone could give you all the answers to a big test in school? Is there an "easy way out" of hard work? Is being "popular" important? From about age six through elementary school and junior high, young people are exposed almost daily to questions of personal values just like these and their responses help to develop those unique virtues that govern their actions for years to come. The twenty-five contemporary anecdotes in this book offer challenging situations involving school-age children who must make their own choices in life. Whether reading alone or sharing these stories with an adult, young readers are asked to think about what they would do. Sandra McLeod Humphrey defines the principles that support strong character: personal integrity, compassion, loyalty, perseverance, self-discipline, personal accountability, and many others. Far more important than reaching a "correct" answer is the process of arriving at a well-reasoned conclusion.

Abortion and the Early Church


Michael J. Gorman - 1998
    Gorman. It turns out that, far from being a modern medical procedure, abortion was rampant in the ancient world. Especially in Rome. And Christians, as well as Jews, consistently opposed it, standing up for life from the very earliest days of the church. The book was out of print for awhile, so I’m delighted to see it is available again." -Gene Edward Veith

Blessings


Sheneska Jackson - 1998
    She knows what thrills, angers, and motivates them, and she shares the secrets that spill out from under hair dryers with heartbreaking and often hilarious candor. At Blessings, Patricia Brown's Los Angeles salon, we listen in on the dish and the drama and get real with the four unforgettable women who work there. Pat is the owner and matriarch of the salon, and she presides over Blessings with a kind but commanding air-- preventing fiery arguments, smoothing over conflicts, and lending a sympathetic ear to those who need it. But she may never get a chance to be a mother of her own children. After discovering she is infertile, she embarks on a mission to adopt a child, but learns that the process is filled with more anguish than she expected.Zuma is Blessings' star stylist, and she knows it. This brash diva is a self-described superwoman committed to making her dream of being both a businesswoman and a mom come true. She's got so much confidence that she has vowed to get artificially inseminated if she doesn't find Mr. Right soon-- and she secretly hopes that this will eradicate the indescribable sorrow lingering from the abortion she had years ago.Faye, another stylist, can't quite forget the memory of her late husband. Lonely and overweight, she turns to food to dull the pain of raising her two children alone. Her daughter has grown up into an explosive young woman, and her little boy is learning the hard way how to survive in the world without a dad. But companionship and support will come along when she's least expecting it.Sandy, the manicurist, is still searching for her own fulfillment and can't be bothered with the needs of her two small kids. Though she makes no apologies for her highly neglectful mothering, she ultimately makes a mother's biggest sacrifice.Written with Jackson's trademark skill and sass, "Blessings" paints a deeply moving picture of female struggle and triumph. As Pat, Zuma, Faye, and Sandy laugh, weep, argue, and console each other, Jackson reveals the priceless, inextricable bond between motherhood and sisterhood, and shows why she's become a beloved chronicler of the hearts and minds of women.

Her Choice to Heal: Finding Spiritual and Emotional Peace After Abortion


Sydna Masse - 1998
    Or maybe it's your friend, sister, coworker, or the woman sitting next to you at church. Regardless, post-abortive women are in pain, and at some point, most will experience post-abortion syndrome (PAS), a form of post traumatic stress disorder. But they may never talk about it. Many are silent because they are filled with shame, grief and guilt, afraid of judgment and condemnation. Few realize that peace is attainable through Christ's mourning process and the knowledge that because of His grace, they will reunite with their lost loved ones in Heaven.Her Choice to Heal is designed to help women find a way to God's healing after this devastating choice. Written by a post-abortive woman, it includes testimonies of strength, healing and hope. Sydna compassionately leads you on the difficult journey through denial, anger, and grief, to forgiveness, redemption, and letting go. Her Choice to Heal offers a roadmap to healing - practical suggestions, resources for help, space to journal, with the encouragement and hope found in Christ alone.

The Unread Vision: The Liturgical Movement in the United States of America 1926-1955


Keith F. Pecklers - 1998
    Conciliar developments, however, did not emerge in a vacuum; they were the result of years of hard work that involved thousands of people across the United States and the world.As a social history of the liturgical movement, The Unread Vision introduces readers to the movement's pioneers and promoters and to the issues that emerged from the movement in the U.S. in the years 1926-1955. The Unread Vision explores the foundational years of the movement and its major themes and discusses how the movement, its goals and principles, was received by the broader community of American Catholics.Chapters include The European Roots:1833-1925," "The Beginnings of a Movement: Toward Full and Active Participation in the Liturgy," "The Liturgical Movement and Social Justice," "The Liturgical Movement and Education," and "The Liturgical Movement and the Arts. "Biographies on leading figures of the liturgical movement, as well as histories of related organizations, are also included.Keith F. Pecklers, SJ, is professor of liturgical theology and history at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, Rome, Italy. He is also the author of "Liturgy from Trent to Vatican II" included in theHandbook of Liturgical Studies published by The Liturgical Press."