Dry Bones Rattling: Community Building to Revitalize American Democracy

Mark R. Warren

ISBN 10: 0691074321 / ISBN 13: 9780691074320

Published by Princeton University Press, 2001

About this Item

Looks at how to rebuild the social capital of America's communities while promoting racially inclusive, democratic participation. This book shows how Industrial Areas Foundation network works with religious congregations and other community-based institutions to cultivate the participation of Americans most left out of our elite-centered politics. Series: Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International and Comparative Perspectives. Num Pages: 344 pages, 13 halftones. BIC Classification: 1KBB; JFS; JHMC; JPHV. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 229 x 152 x 21. Weight in Grams: 485. . 2001. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780691074320

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dry Bones Rattling: Community Building to Revitalize American Democracy
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691074321
• ISBN 13: 9780691074320
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Dry Bones Rattling offers the first in-depth treatment of how to rebuild the social capital of America's communities while promoting racially inclusive, democratic participation. The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) network in Texas and the Southwest is gaining national attention as a model for reviving democratic life in the inner city--and beyond. This richly drawn study shows how the IAF network works with religious congregations and other community-based institutions to cultivate the participation and leadership of Americans most left out of our elite-centered politics. Interfaith leaders from poor communities of color collaborate with those from more affluent communities to build organizations with the power to construct affordable housing, create job-training programs, improve schools, expand public services, and increase neighborhood safety.


In clear and accessible prose, Mark Warren argues that the key to revitalizing democracy lies in connecting politics to community institutions and the values that sustain them. By doing so, the IAF network builds an organized, multiracial constituency with the power to advance desperately needed social policies. While Americans are most aware of the religious right, Warren documents the growth of progressive faith-based politics in America. He offers a realistic yet hopeful account of how this rising trend can transform the lives of people in our most troubled neighborhoods. Drawing upon six years of original fieldwork, Dry Bones Rattling proposes new answers to the problems of American democracy, community life, race relations, and the urban crisis.

About the Author

Mark R. Warren is Associate Professor in the School of Education at Harvard University.