Description
Through interviews, written testimonies, and documents, the development of Barrios Unidos - or literally, united neighborhoods - is reconstructed from its early influences and guiding principles to its larger connection to the on-going struggle to achieve civil rights in America. The text is complemented by historical photos and commentaries by leading civil rights activists Harry Belafonte, Dolores Huerta, Tom Hayden, Manuel Pastor, and Constance Rice. Mandatory reading for anyone interested in peace and social justice, The History of Barrios Unidos gives voice to contemporary inter-generational leaders of color and will lead to the continuation of necessary public dialogue about racism, poverty, and violence.
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Los Angeles native Jesús Acosta has worked with a number of nonprofit organizations in California, most recently directing a California Wellness Foundation grant-making program, the Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI). In this text, he tells the story of Barrios Unidos (BU), a Santa Cruz-based organization supported by the VPI. With its roots in the Mexican American civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s and 1970s, the BU uses the power of culture and spirituality to rescue at-risk youth, provides avenues to quell gang warfare, and offers a model for building healthy and vibrant multicultural communities, which has already been adopted in several cities around the U.S. No subject index. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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