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    In the Spirit of Alinsky
    Community Organizing's Fight to Strengthen Democracy

    Robert T. Gannett Jr. (Author)

    9780252089299

    Paperback / softback, published 15 July 2026

    188 pages, No art
    22.9 x 15.2 x 1.1 cm, 0.313 kg

    Community-based organizing stands at a crossroads at a time when anti-democratic headwinds and authoritarian impulses threaten American society as never before. Robert T. Gannett Jr. draws on a forty-year career as a grassroots activist to make an impassioned plea for citizens to create the robust infrastructure of organizing that is necessary to sustain modern-day democracy.

    As Gannett shows, the methods pioneered by legendary activist Saul Alinsky provide the means for channeling citizens' anger and frustration into meaningful social change. Gannett weaves his personal journey as an "outside agitator" through in-depth studies of successful and unsuccessful campaigns. Gannett places financial sustainability, political independence, and a commitment to process as much as to purpose at the core of organizing. He also focuses on the importance of veterans mentoring the next generation to meet the challenges of the future.

    Hard-headed but hopeful, In the Spirit of Alinsky distills decades of on-the-ground experience into a guide for effective radical action.

    IN THE SPIRIT OF ALINSKY:
    COMMUNITY ORGANIZING'S FIGHT TO STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY

    Robert T. Gannett Jr.

    CONTENTS

    Frontispiece
    Acknowledgments (to be added)

    Author's Preface 1
    1. A New Political Form 18 Community organizing's origins and current crossroads, intellectual roots,
    varied structures, and lessons learned

    2. Generation 1 (1939-1972): The Welding of Community Crucibles 52
    Saul Alinsky's axioms of power, reading of Tocqueville, racial conundrums,
    success in Southeast Asia, and legacy downsides

    3. Generation 2 (1972-1991): More Than an Ink-Blot 83
    Post-Alinsky urban powerlessness, "do or die" moments, "50% plus 1"
    organizing, and city- and state-wide campaigns
    4. Generation 3 (1991-2010) and Generation 4 (2010-present): 152
    Expanding Spaces and Raising Stakes
    A Millionaire Tax in Massachusetts, a community-based
    mental health system in Chicago, and a plan for affordable homes
    in Bronzeville

    5. Looking Ahead 190
    Towards new understandings of community, power, partnerships,
    and financial resources

    Works Cited 222 Index (to be added)
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