The Quiet Revolution: The Story of a Small Miracle in American Life: How Migrant Workers, Together with the Company that Employed Them, Managed to Transform the Life of a Community - Hardcover

Harris, Sara And Allen, Robert F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0892560541 ISBN 13: 9780892560547

Publisher: Rawson Associates Publishers Inc., 1978

Synopsis

This is the story of a small miracle. A miracle that took place in the most unholy of places and among the most desolate of people. Central Florida, a land of pleasure for most of its visitors, has also for many years harbored a subculture of migrant workers for whom life was not worth savoring, but rather, an ordeal to be withstood. Happiness was alien to their existence and "self-esteem" a word not found in their vocabulary. Among these were the orange pickers of Auburndale, Florida, employees of Minute Maid, which recently had become a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. Into this grim world, the writers of this book ventured, key participants in an experiment developed by their organization, the Human Resources Institute, and The Coca-Cola Company. Dedicated to the idea that change for good must come from the workers themselves, the company and HRI set about developing a plan to involve workers in programs and policies that would dramatically alter and enrich the quality of life in the groves. Education, housing facilities, medical and financial aid, labor benefits, social outlets, and most significantly, consciousness raising, were the vehicles through which these workers gained independence and self-esteem, and finally became owners of their own destiny. But before this dream was realized, the authors were to face prejudice, distrust, and disillusion. They were to enter the homes of these migrants and know the sting of rejection. But what resulted is the story of a miracle that no government agency or other program ever dreamed of accomplishing, a miracle that transformed many lives and even now is serving as a pilot program for change elsewhere. In Auburndale lives the proof of a humanity transformed through love and belief in people.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rawson Associates Publishers Inc.
• Publication date: 1978
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0892560541
• ISBN 13: 9780892560547
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 283