Ignoring the complexity of what constitutes violence is where the (non)violent thought and praxis represented by white, liberal Christians in the United States falls short. In this book, twelve scholar-activist interviewees share perspectives and effective practices that destabilize traditional rationalizations of violence, including those from the institutions and practices of a dominant Christian theology.
The author calls on communities committed to (non)violence to invest in a model for social change which:
1) ROOTS ITSELF IN CONTEXTUAL, HISTORICAL ANALYSIS;
2) INCLUDES OTHER-THAN-HUMAN LIVES AS NECESSARY PARTNERS;
3) VALUES PRACTICES THAT DISMANTLE VIOLENCE OVER THEOLOGICAL ABSTRACTIONS;
4) EMPHASIZES CREATIVE COMMUNITIES OF ACTIVE, COUNTER-CULTURAL RESISTANCE OVER INDIVIDUALISM;
5) EXPERIMENTS WITH DIVERSE, DISRUPTIVE TACTICS; AND
6) URGES A SELF-CRITICAL SOLIDARITY THAT WELCOMES DIFFERENCES REGARDING VARIOUS MEANS OF SOCIAL CHANGE.
The Interviewees: Rita "Bo" Brown (B¿), Ward Churchill, John Dear, Vincent Harding, Dolores Huerta, Derrick Jensen, Kathy Kelly, Alice Lynd, Staughton Lynd, Katherine Power, Sarah Schulman, Akinyele Umoja
