Community Organizing

Every day, we find ourselves in gatherings, Priya Parker says in The Art of Gathering. If we can understand what makes these gatherings effective and memorable, then we can reframe and redirect them to benefit everyone, host and guest alike. Parker defines a gathering as three or more people who come together for a specific purpose. When we understand why we gather, she says - to acknowledge, to learn, to challenge, to change - we learn how to organize gatherings that are relevant and memorable.

The crisis of the progressive movement is so evident that nothing less than a fundamental rethinking of its basic assumptions is required. Today's progressives now work for professional organizations more comfortable with the inside game in Washington, DC (and capitols throughout the West), where they are outmatched and outspent by corporate interests. In No Shortcuts, Jane McAlevey argues that progressives can win, but lack the organized power to enact significant change, to outlast their bosses in labor fights, and to hold elected leaders accountable.

Modern society is plagued by fragmentation. The various sectors of our communities - businesses, schools, social service organizations, churches, government - do not work together. They exist in their own worlds. As do so many individual citizens, who long for connection but end up marginalized, their gifts overlooked, their potential contributions lost.

A revealing and practical guide to community organizing that pulls together the accumulated lessons, strategies, and secrets from Si Kahn's 44 years of experience at the forefront of many civil rights, labor rights, and other social justice battles.

This book is a guide for leaders seeking to build a community, to strengthen the community they already have, or who may not think of themselves as community leaders but who are envisioning a group they hope to create. These communities can be formal, with official memberships and administrations, or informal, tied by shared values and commitments.

This audiobook attempts to spark public discussion by revealing the tainted origins of modern policing as a tool of social control. It shows how the expansion of police authority is inconsistent with community empowerment, social justice - even public safety. Drawing on groundbreaking research from across the world, and covering virtually every area in the increasingly broad range of police work, Alex Vitale demonstrates how law enforcement has come to exacerbate the very problems it is supposed to solve.

It’s the great paradox of the digital age, what Radha Agrawal calls “community confusion” - the internet connects us to hundreds, thousands, even millions of people, and yet we feel more isolated than ever, with one in four Americans saying they have zero friends to confide in. Where are our people? The answer is found in Belong, a highly energetic guide to discovering where and with whom you fit.

A beloved folk singer presents an impassioned account of the fall and rise of the small American towns she cherishes. Dubbed by the New Yorker as "one of America's very best singer-songwriters", Dar Williams has made her career not in stadiums, but touring America's small towns. She has played their venues, composed in their coffee shops, and drunk in their bars. She has seen these communities struggle, but also seen them thrive in the face of postindustrial identity crises.

Imagine if there was a single, elegant solution to the biggest challenges facing healthcare: chronic disease, escalating costs, physician shortages, care access and affordability, physician burnout, loneliness, and mental health. In his second book, James Maskell shows how the community - specifically, group medical visits - can help us solve these challenges. A supportive community provides the context for ongoing healthy behaviors, a key to reversing chronic illness.

How Real Estate Developers Think considers developers from three different perspectives. Brown profiles the careers of individual developers to illustrate the character of the entrepreneur; considers the roles played by innovation, design, marketing, and sales in the production of real estate; and examines the risks and rewards that motivate developers as people.

Being in a relationship without knowing how to share your feelings and receive your partner’s feelings in useful ways is like jumping into a pool without knowing how to swim. You can flail around all you want, but it’s not going to keep you afloat for very long—you need to be able to move in any direction at will. Like swimming, knowing how to share your feelings and respond to your partner's feelings will move your relationship in the direction you want: toward more intimacy, closeness, connection, and trust.

Pop star sensation, Sierra Rayne had it all—fame, fortune, and millions of adoring fans. But when she is threatened with an arranged marriage to a ruthless mob boss, she escapes incognito to a sleepy Outer Banks island and finds refuge at Moonlit Inn, a charming bed-and-breakfast run by a hunky widower, Hank Whitman, and his high-spirited sixteen-year-old daughter, Emma. Emma is delighted that her pop star idol lives under her roof, but letting out Sierra’s secret would jeopardize her safety and that of the entire community. Meanwhile, Hank, still nursing his wounds from his loss, is ...

Where does one go, you might ask, when the world falls apart? When the immutable facts of your life—the mundane, the trivial, the take-for-granted minutiae that once filled every second of every day—suddenly disappear? Where does one go in such dire and unexpected circumstances? I went home, of course.

The 3-0 is a thrilling, cat and mouse story that’s based on the true story of the largest police corruption scandal in the history of the New York City Police Department - The Dirty Thirty - It's also a story of bringing a divided community together. The actual events led to the arrest of 33 police officers. The story is set in the 1990’s in the 30th Precinct in Harlem. But the story of “The 3-0” is not just about police corruption. It’s the story of what happens when the social order collapses under the weight of politics, race, fear, drug cartels, illegal immigration, the rights...

In 2013, Alicia Garza wrote what she called “a love letter to Black people” on Facebook, in the aftermath of the acquittal of the man who murdered seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin. Garza wrote: Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter. With the speed and networking capacities of social media, #BlackLivesMatter became the hashtag heard ’round the world. But Garza knew even then that hashtags don’t start movements - people do.

DIY Resistance celebrates the power of the people and shows how listeners can take inspiration from the actions and words of leaders, activists, and historical heroes; how we can learn to take care of ourselves physically and emotionally in troubled times, and do our part to look after the larger community around us. Our fight is not a new one. It has been going on continuously for thousands of years, as individuals and movements have stood up to despots and demagogues.

Weaving personal narrative with political analysis, Community as Rebellion offers a meditation on creating liberatory spaces for students and faculty of color within academia. Much like other women scholars of color, Lorgia Garcia Peña has struggled against the colonizing, racializing, classist, and unequal structures that perpetuate systemic violence within universities.

You are a successful, intelligent person with so much to feel good about. But when you are confronted with the omnipresent clutter in your life, you feel like a failure. No matter how hard you try to get organized, you can’t figure out how to make the clutter go away for good. You can tell that there’s something bigger going on, but you have no idea what it is. You’re stuck. The good news is, you absolutely can learn how to free yourself from clutter.

To have a thriving society, we need people and communities who are actively involved in civic life. For politicians, public servants, corporations, or planners to engage with communities in any positive way, they need to learn a new way of doing things.

Introducing "Pathfinder Society" - the ultimate guide to unraveling the secrets of the multilayered mystique of this renowned fantasy role-playing game! Dive into the exhilarating world of angels, demons, and legendary heroes as you embark on an awe-inspiring journey, unveiling the tantalizing layers of Pathfinder's illustrious history, structure, and gameplay. This comprehensive eBook features 25 meticulously crafted chapters to ensure a thorough understanding of the game, from its inception to the fascinating future prospects of organized play. Guiding you through character creation, ...