Advocacy Books

Updated 7/29/04

Action Letter Portfolio: Writing Advocacy Letters that Work, by White, G.,Thompson, R., Nary, D., The Research and Training Center on  Independent Living, University of Kansas, Publication Fall 1999. (last accessed 7/17/04) 

• How to write an advocacy letter
• Writing your personal concern action letter
• Action letter follow-up
• Exemplary letters
• Facts and figures
• Resources on disability and advocacy

Order from The Research and Training Center on Independent Living University of Kansas, 4089 Dole Center, Lawrence, KS 66045-2930, indicate any need the manual in an alternate, (785) 864-4095 (voice/TDD) or (785) 864-5063 (fax).

The Activist's Handbook : A Primer for the 1990s and Beyond,  by Randy Shaw,  Paperback - (June 1996), University California Press.

• Concrete examples of successful or unsuccessful grassroots social change organizations.

• Includes:

·       Don't Respond, Strategize

·       Elected Officials

·       Coalition Activism

·       The Media: Winning More Than Coverage

·       Lawyers: Allies or Obstacles to Social Change?

·       Direct Action: ACTing UP and Sitting In

·       Getting Started: Agenda Setting and Action Plans
 

Basics of Organizing, by Shel Trapp, Chicago: National Training and Information Center, 1986.  Good information regarding leadership development, organizing small groups, public meetings and demonstrations.  Also, shares tips regarding negotiating, presenting facts and organizing staff meetings, retreats, newsletters, and working the media. (last accessed 7/17/04) 

Cold Anger: A Story of Faith and Power Politics, By Mary Beth Rogers, Denton, TX, University of North Texas Press, 1990. Cold Anger is a story about politics by working poor people who incorporate their religious values into a struggle for power and visibility.

Dynamics of Organizing, by ShelTrapp, Chicago: National Training and Information Center, 1986.  A look at power analysis, strategy and tactics, developing an issue group, organizing a coalition, building power and victories, and the values that organizers subscribe to. (last accessed 7/17/04)

  Fundraising for Social Change,   by Kim Klein, Paperback 3rd edition (June 1994), Chardon Press.

Let the People Decide: Neighborhood Organizing in America, By Robert Fisher, Updated Edition, New York, Twayne Publishers, 1994. Traces the history of Community Organizing in the U.S The book is regarded by many as an indispensable resource for those who want to understand Community Organizing.

How To Kick Ass and Win, By Barbara Bradford Knowlen, Self-published 1998.

• "VR (Vocational Rehabiltation)told me they don't have enough money for me."
• "VR says I'm too severe to rehabilitate."
• "VR won't send me to college."
• "VR won't buy me a computer."
• fight back … get results …keep your sanity in the process

The author, long-time advocate, bases this book on her own successful battle with Kansas VR for a stand-up wheelchair.  But the book is written with a generic scope and style, for use by all  for whatever service it is we need. $12 + $3 postage from: Barrier Breakers, II 06 Irving Ave., N. Minneapolis, MN 55411, (612) 521-5317

I’ve Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle, By Charles M. Payne, Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, 1995. Demonstrates the importance of Community Organizing efforts in the Mississippi civil rights movement. As Aldon Morris has commented, “It shows how ordinary Black people   pushed their churches, ministries, organizations, and institutions to get involved in the  fight to destroy racial segregation and inequality.” This is history from the bottom-up, an  authentic version validated by many participants that challenges popular views of what drove the movement and brought it profound results.

Parents Guidebook on the Civil Rights of Individuals with Disabilities,  7/94,  by Cape Organization for Rights of the Disabled, helps parents understand the civil rights of their children and encouraging them to fight for those rights, 15 pages.

Pathways to Performance: A Guide to Transforming Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization, by Jim Clemmer, Hardcover - 322 pages (May 1995), Prima Publishing. Practical how-to points in two parallel paths -- strategies for team or organization improvement and techniques for personal transformation.

Putting Advocacy Rhetoric Into Practice: The Role of the Independent Living Center, 32 pages, published by the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) Research and Training Center on Independent Living, Houston, 1988.

This monograph challenges people involved in managing Centers for Independent Living to ensure advocacy is prominent. Includes: why advocacy is so important; advocacy and service: the dual commitment; establishing an effective systems advocacy approach; advocacy's place in direct services; independent living networks; lobbying; need to determine advocacy priorities; development of new disability leadership; preventing or reducing the impact of burn-out; cloning; devoting significant time and resources to systems advocacy; what constitutes representative community input; who is responsible for systems advocacy; threat of co-optation; and much more! A must-read for serious board members, advocacy skill trainers, staff and volunteers of Centers for Independent Living or disability-related organizations by, for, or of people with disabilities.

Organizing for Power and Empowerment, By Jacqueline B. Mondros and Scott M. Wilson, New York, Columbia University Press, 1994. Examines specific strategies for building a successful progressive Community Organizing organization. Recruiting members, developing leaders, building consensus, identifying issues, and developing and implementing practices. Incorporates the practice of over 80 local to national organizers and leaders, and gives detailed advice on everything from planning and implementing strategy, to evaluating and publicizing organizational victories, to structuring and funding social action groups.

Organizing the Movement: The Roots and Growth of ACORN, by Gary Delgado, Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1986. ACORN was launched in 1970 and is one of the country’s most prominent and effective organizing networks. ACORN is  a poor people’s organization first and foremost, and has confronted and overcome immense challenges in its evolution. — Good decisions and the mistakes get balanced treatment.

Organizing for Social Change: A Manual for Activists in the 1990's, by Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendall, Steve Max, Kimberly A. Bobo, Paperback 2nd edition (January 1996),  Seven Locks Press. 

• For grassroots organizers working for social, political, environmental, and economic change at the local, state, and national level.

• Learn a systematic approach to the techniques of organizing, of building and using power, and of creating lasting institutions that are both self-defense organizations and avenues for citizen participation in public life.

• Anecdotes about a wide variety of real organizations working on issues concerning labor, pollution,  housing, voter registration, racism, health care, peace, religion, consumer, protection, energy, and public campaign  financing.

  Reveille for Radicals, by Sail D. Alinsky, Paperback - 235 pages Reissue edition (October 1991), Vintage Books. Classic call to organize  people to claim their rights and powers of citizenship. Many regard Alinsky as the “father” of modern Community Organizing. His views and methods continue to influence Community Organizing today, but the book is particularly useful for establishing a baseline and helping readers to understand how Community Organizing has evolved, and is evolving language.

  Rules for Radicals : A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals, by Saul D. Alinsky, Paperback - 196 pages Revised edition (November 1989), Vintage Books.

• Required reading for any community or labor organizer.
• Writes from decades of experience in direct action organizing and training of organizers.

Who Will Tell the People: The Betrayal of American Democracy, By William Greider, New York, Touchstone, 1993. Points to Community Organizing as a route to making government work for the people.

Self-advocacy: Learned Optimism : How to Change Your Mind & Your Life, by Martin E. Seligman Paperback - (March 1998) 319 pages.

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