September 2004

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award Winners

The Gustavus Myers Center for the study of Bigotry and Human Rights (www.myerscenter.org) is a national organization striving to foster social change by promoting "in depth approaches that challenge ways of thinking and acting." The theme of this year's award is creative resistance to all that oppresses.

The following books were named winners of the 2003 Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award. Descriptions have been edited to fit this space.

Eyes Off the Prize: The United Nations and the African American Struggle for Human Rights 1944-1955, Carol Anderson. (Cambridge University Press 2003)

A look at how United Nations member states, particularly the United States, approached the issue of human rights fifty years ago. Anderson focuses on the US domestic politics of white supremacy intertwined with Cold War anti-communism behind the opposition, and leftist efforts to convince the UN to investigate lynching.

Rights of Inclusion: Law and Identity in the Life Stories of Americans with Disabilities, David M. Engel and Frank W. Munger; (University of Chicago Press 2003).

Rights of Inclusion offers a look at how rights get extended to those who are the subject of new civil rights legislation. Engel and Munger's question: what is the real pay-out for beneficiaries/"protected classes"? They focus on two subgroups: persons with learning disabilities and persons using a wheelchair. Highlighted are narratives of personal and daily lived experiences.

Subversive Southerner: Anne Braden and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South, Catherine Fosl; (Palgrave Macmillan 2002)

This is the story of the impact of the Cold War on the US South and of how anti-communist witch hunts successfully diverted attention away from entrenched white supremacy. In chronicling Anne Braden's evolution from privileged southern white youth to committed activist for racial and economic justice, Subversive Southerner provides a window into perseverance and integrity in the face of hostile social forces.

Prison Nation: The Warehousing of America's Poor, Tara Herivel and Paul Wright, Editors; (Routledge 2003)

Prison Nation contains selected articles on various aspects of the prison industry. Most entries are prisoner-written; progressive analysts outside of jail write others. The topics of articles range from lack of effective legal representation to the impact of prisons on communities; from poor medical care for prisoners and other abuses committed by prison staff to general societal stigmatization of the poor as "superfluous people."

Lessons From Turtle Island: Native Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms, Guy Jones and Sally Moomaw; (Redleaf Press 2002)

The authors offer multicultural and cross-cultural suggestions for early childhood educators and parents, around five related themes: children, home, families, community and environment. It includes activities, guidelines, and resource lists for integrating Native and multicultural issues into the classroom while helping young children move away from stereotypical portrayals of indigenous people in mainstream culture.

The Interpreter: A Novel, Suki Kim; (Farrar, Straus, Giroux 2003)

This unsettling novel centers around a 29 year-old Korean American translator for the New York City court system and the complexities of walking the line between cultures. Suki Kim's first novel includes mystery, intrigue, self-deprecating drama, dysfunctional family dynamics, and explorations of cross-racial relations in her descriptions of the intricacies of cultural and linguistic translation.

Troubling Education: Queer Activism and Anti-oppressive Pedagogy, Kevin K. Kumashiro; (RoutledgeFalmer 2002

Kumashiro is committed to empowering educators to more confidently introduce, and sustain, anti-oppressive techniques and strategies in the classroom that help students challenge multiple oppressions.

Reaching for the Sun: Kids in Cuba, Trish Marx and Cindy Karp; (Millbrook Press 2003)

Written for young readers, Reaching for the Sun tells the story of a children's theater group in Cuba inviting a children's creative arts group from Los Angeles to collaborate in writing and performing a play at the National Theater of Cuba. In the process of creating, rehearsing, and performing, the young people learned perseverance and accomplishment through cross-national interchange.

Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision, Barbara Ransby; (University of North Carolina Press 2002)

This biography of a twentieth-century eclectic radical speaks of a lifetime of involvement in social movements, providing insight into the nuances of the elusive thing we tend to call "the movement." Ella Baker was a feminist-before-the-word-came-into-use, a non-sectarian internationalist, and a staunch proponent of the power and efficacy of ordinary grassroots people.

The Democracy Owner's Manual: A Practical Guide to Changing the World, Jim Shult; (Rutgers University Press 2002)

A primer on social change organizing and advocacy, The Democracy Owner's Manual guides the reader though everything from strategy to research to analysis to organizing to building coalitions to working with media, and includes helpful tips and resources.

When Race Becomes Real: Black and White Writers Confront their Personal History, Bernestine Singley et al; (Lawrence Hill 2002)

A cast of thirty writers, of African-descent and white, "drop arm's-length objectivity" to share reflections on the nuances of race from a candidly personal point of view. The commentaries describe how racism and privilege are negotiated, challenged, or ignored and their own experiences with racism, and the other side of the coin: white privilege.

Race in the College Classroom: Pedagogy and Politics, Bonnie TuSmith and Maureen Reddy, et al; (Rutgers University Press 2002)

A collection of commentaries from teachers of various racial and ethnic backgrounds and their experiences with monocultural whiteness. The refreshingly honest essays combine to portray the wider political context in which allows assumptions about "whiteness as rightness" to continue.

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