Christians are increasingly interested in justice issues. Relief and development work are important, but beyond that is a need for advocacy. This book shows how transforming systems and structures results in lasting change, providing theological rationale and strategies of action for evangelicals passionate about justice. Each of the authors contributes both academic expertise and extensive practical experience to help readers debate, discuss, and discern more fully the call to evangelical advocacy. They also guide readers into prayerful, faithful, and wise processes of advocacy, especially in relation to addressing poverty.
Current economic and social forces are creating a society with less equality, justice and opportunity for all but the privileged few. Social workers are called upon by their code of ethics to counteract these trends and actively work to achieve social justice. Hoefer's empirically-based, step-by-step approach demonstrates how to integrate advocacy for social justice into everyday social work practice. The book shows through anecdotes, case studies, examples, and the author's own personal experiences, exactly how advocacy can be conducted with successful outcomes. Each chapter builds upon the previous to provide a concise yet detailed blueprint for conducting successful advocacy. The previous two editions of this book have been used and admired by professors and students alike. Students value its clarity and praise the book for opening their eyes to what they often believed was "the scary and bad" world of politics and policy. After reading the book, they are motivated to become advocates for social justice because they understand how to do so. If you want to empower your students to effect changes in laws, regulations, and other types of policy at all levels, you will find this text the perfect resource to do so.
The United States has more people locked up in jails, prisons, and detention centers than any other country in the history of the world. Exploring the history and foundations of mass incarceration, Dominique Gilliard examines Christianity’s role in its evolution and expansion, assessing justice in light of Scripture, and showing how Christians can pursue justice that restores and reconciles.
People have been advocating and standing up for social justice issues throughout history. From one social movement to the next, from one influential person to another, we as an American society are constantly attempting to progress towards a better tomorrow. If you've ever found yourself passionate or upset about any or all of the issues and causes going on in the United States, you're not alone. People often feel the same way, but don't know where to begin to even try to make a change. Some may even think there's no use because they don't know where to start. That's where this handy book comes in! In this guide, we'll go over everything you need to know to get started on the exciting path of social justice advocacy, including: - A brief overview of how the United States government works - How to build relationships with government officials - Different kinds of social justice events - Basic aspects of advocacy everyone should know - Glossary of important terminology - Resources for further learning - ...and more! So, choose a pencil or pen and grab a notebook, or I suppose a tablet or computer nowadays. Then find a seat, get comfortable, and welcome to Social Justice Advocacy 101! About the Expert Selys Rivera is a writer with a passion for social justice. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Writing and a Master of Social Work. She has worked and volunteered at organizations focused on a variety of causes, including helping farmworkers, the Hispanic and Latinx community, and at-risk high school students. She has also been published in magazines and blogs covering different social justice topics, including urban poverty, food and land justice, immigration, and sexual violence on college campuses and in the church. She is grateful for the opportunity HowExpert has given her to share her knowledge of the advocacy world that she has accumulated over the years. She also wants to dedicate a special shout out to her friends and family for their support in the creation of this book, whether it was from something as small as cheerleading to as large as editing. You know who you are. Thank you! HowExpert publishes quick 'how to' guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.
This title explores social justice advocacy for human rights violations. The text examines issues at a local and global level, theoretical foundations, and a range of advocacy responses. Students will be about to answer the questions: 'What is advocacy for social justice?', 'Who in our world needs advocacy the most, and why?', 'How can advocates help?', and 'What can we do?'
Christians around the world are awakening to the Biblical call to "Do Justice"--but what does that look like in practice? Through a series of compelling and illuminating letters, a renowned philosopher and the founder of a ground-breaking Honduran justice organization draw on decades of personal experience to discuss theology, politics, human nature, and the messiness of making government systems work to defend rights and uphold justice.
This edited volume examines the role of local civil society in shaping understandings and processes of transitional justice in Africa – a nursery of transitional justice ideas for well over two decades. It brings together practitioners and scholars with intimate knowledge of these processes to evaluate the agendas and strategies of local civil society, and offers an opportunity to reflect on ‘lessons learnt’ along the way. The contributors focus on the evolution and effectiveness of transitional justice interventions, providing a glimpse into the motivations and inner workings of major civil society actors. The book presents an African perspective on transitional justice through a compilation of country-specific and thematic analyses of agenda setting and lobbying efforts. It offers insights into state–civil society relations on the continent, which shape these agendas. The chapters present case studies from Southern, Central, East, West and North Africa, and a range of moments and types of transition. In addition to historical perspective, the chapters provide fresh and up-to- date analyses of ongoing transitional justice efforts that are key to defining the future of how the field is understood globally, in theory and in practice Endorsements: "This great volume of written work – Advocating Transitional Justice in Africa: The Role of Civil Society – does what virtually no other labor of the intellect has done heretofore. Authored by movement activists and thinkers in the fields of human rights and transitional justice, the volume wrestles with the complex place and roles of transitional justice in the project of societal reconstruction in Africa. ... This volume will serve as a timely and thought-provoking guide for activists, thinkers, and policy makers – as well as students of transitional justice – interested in the tension between the universal and the particular in the arduous struggle for liberation. Often, civil society actors in Africa have been accused of consuming the ideas of others, but not producing enough, if any, of their own. This volume makes clear the spuriousness of this claim and firmly plants an African flag in the field of ideas." Makau Mutua
Domestic violence accounts for approximately one-fifth of all violent crime in the United States and is among the most difficult issues confronting professionals in the legal and criminal justice systems. In this volume, Elizabeth Britt argues that learning embodied advocacy—a practice that results from an expanded understanding of expertise based on lived experience—and adopting it in legal settings can directly and tangibly help victims of abuse. Focusing on clinical legal education at the Domestic Violence Institute at the Northeastern University School of Law, Britt takes a case-study approach to illuminate how challenging the context, aims, and forms of advocacy traditionally embraced in the U.S. legal system produces better support for victims of domestic violence. She analyzes a wide range of materials and practices, including the pedagogy of law school training programs, interviews with advocates, and narratives written by students in the emergency department, and looks closely at the forms of rhetorical education through which students assimilate advocacy practices. By examining how students learn to listen actively to clients and to recognize that clients have the right and ability to make decisions for themselves, Britt shows that rhetorical education can succeed in producing legal professionals with the inclination and capacity to engage others whose values and experiences diverge from their own. By investigating the deep relationship between legal education and rhetorical education, Reimagining Advocacy calls for conversations and action that will improve advocacy for others, especially for victims of domestic violence seeking assistance from legal professionals.
Something clearly is wrong with the current justice system in which repeat incarceration is high, injustice is rampant, and 25 percent of African-American males can expect to spend time behind bars. Colson's biblical ideas for reform have the potential to turn the system around, keep innocent people out of prison, and give victims some relief.
Working for Justice, which includes eleven case studies of recent low-wage worker organizing campaigns in Los Angeles, makes the case for a distinctive "L.A. Model" of union and worker center organizing. Networks linking advocates in worker centers and labor unions facilitate mutual learning and synergy and have generated a shared repertoire of economic justice strategies. The organized labor movement in Los Angeles has weathered the effects of deindustrialization and deregulation better than unions in other parts of the United States, and this has helped to anchor the city's wider low-wage worker movement. Los Angeles is also home to the nation's highest concentration of undocumented immigrants, making it especially fertile territory for low-wage worker organizing. The case studies in Working for Justice are all based on original field research on organizing campaigns among L.A. day laborers, garment workers, car wash workers, security officers, janitors, taxi drivers, hotel workers as well as the efforts of ethnically focused worker centers and immigrant rights organizations. The authors interviewed key organizers, gained access to primary documents, and conducted participant observation. Working for Justice is a valuable resource for sociologists and other scholars in the interdisciplinary field of labor studies, as well as for advocates and policymakers.
