Fire in the Heart: How White Activists Embrace Racial Justice (Oxford Studies in Culture and Politics)

Fire in the Heart uncovers the dynamic processes through which some white Americans become activists for racial justice. Drawing extensively on rich interview material from fifty activists, Mark Warren shows how white Americans can develop a commitment to racial justice, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because they embrace the cause as their own. The first study of its kind, Fire in the Heart brings to light the perspectives of white people who are working day-to-day to build not a post-racial America, but the foundations for a truly multiracial nation rooted in a caring, human community with equity and justice at its core.

Mark R. Warren is Associate Professor of Education at Harvard University. He is a sociologist and has published widely on community organizing and on efforts to build alliances across race and class to revitalize urban communities, reform public education and expand democracy.