Democracy Uprising
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      When Undocumented Activists Infiltrated ICE

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      Four Ways of Looking at an Aztec Eagle

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      When Sanctuary is Resistance

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      The Massive Immigrants Rights Protests of 2006 Are…

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      This new model for upholding labor law may…

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      Democrats Won Power in Several States. Will They…

      Labor

      The Case for a Social Distancing Wage

      Labor

      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

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      Reviving the General Strike

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      Jeff Bezos Has Enough! It’s Time for a…

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      Jordlösa kombinerar radikala visioner med praktiska reformer (Swedish)

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      Hacer Que Nuestras Demandas Sean Tanto Orácticas Como…

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      Wall Street quiere que les estemos agradecidos

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Democracy Uprising

  • About
    • About Mark Engler
    • About Democracy Uprising
  • Books
    • This Is An Uprising
    • How To Rule the World
  • Topics
    • All Book Reviews Environment Essays / First Person Global Economy Immigration Labor Latin America Social Movements Religion U.S. Politics / Elections War / Militarism
      Latest Articles

      Could we be entering a ‘movement moment’ against…

      Social Movements

      Trump’s backpedaling shows he’s not invincible

      Blog

      It’s going to take multiple strategies to win…

      Social Movements

      A new wave of movements against Trumpism is…

      Social Movements

      How to make sure your disruptive protest helps…

      Social Movements

      Why protests work, even when not everybody likes…

      Latest Articles

      Harold Washington’s lessons for taking on a political…

      Social Movements

      Strategy is a Craft

      Book Reviews

      The Pan American

      Book Reviews

      The Godfather of Microcredit

      Book Reviews

      Capitalism as Catastrophe

      Book Reviews

      Four Ways of Looking at an Aztec Eagle

      Book Reviews

      The Ascent of Niall Ferguson

      Book Reviews

      Ordinary Outrages

      Book Reviews

      No Better Place

      Book Reviews

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      Environment

      Why Wendell Matters

      Environment

      The Gulf at the Gas Station

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      Climate Disobedience

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      Farming the Everglades

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      The Winter of the Climate Denier

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      Climate of Change: An “Inside-Outside” Strategy Against Global…

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      Provoking an American Climate Crisis

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      The Real “Farmer” Story: So God Made High-Fructose…

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      Is Rambo Still A Republican?

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      Meet the Bailout’s New Slush Fund for Corporate…

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      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

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      Jeff Bezos Has Enough! It’s Time for a…

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      The Amazon Effect: Sweat, Surveillance, Exploitation

      Global Economy

      The Godfather of Microcredit

      Global Economy

      Capitalism as Catastrophe

      Global Economy

      Immigration Economics: An Interview with Professor Giovanni Peri

      Global Economy

      The World Is Not Flat

      Immigration

      When Undocumented Activists Infiltrated ICE

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      The Children of Intervention

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      Immigration Economics: An Interview with Professor Giovanni Peri

      Immigration

      Science Fiction From Below

      Immigration

      Four Ways of Looking at an Aztec Eagle

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      Treated Like a Criminal

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      When Sanctuary is Resistance

      Immigration

      The Massive Immigrants Rights Protests of 2006 Are…

      Labor

      This new model for upholding labor law may…

      Labor

      Democrats Won Power in Several States. Will They…

      Labor

      The Case for a Social Distancing Wage

      Labor

      The Seattle Protests Showed That Another World Is…

      Labor

      Reviving the General Strike

      Labor

      Jeff Bezos Has Enough! It’s Time for a…

      Labor

      There’s Still Power in a Strike

      Labor

      The Amazon Effect: Sweat, Surveillance, Exploitation

      Latin America

      How movements can maintain their radical vision while winning…

      Latin America

      The Pan American

      Latin America

      Lessons from the Pledge of Resistance

      Latin America

      The Children of Intervention

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      Against Shithole Nationalism

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      The Last Porto Alegre

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      Kissinger Is Not Our Friend

      Latin America

      Even If You Have Nothing to Hide

      Social Movements

      Could we be entering a ‘movement moment’ against…

      Social Movements

      Trump’s backpedaling shows he’s not invincible

      Social Movements

      It’s going to take multiple strategies to win…

      Social Movements

      A new wave of movements against Trumpism is…

      Social Movements

      How to make sure your disruptive protest helps…

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      Why protests work, even when not everybody likes…

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      Harold Washington’s lessons for taking on a political…

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      Strategy is a Craft

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      Toward the “Rights of the Poor”

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      The Pope and the Poor

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      Will the Next Pope Embrace Liberation Theology?

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      John Paul II’s Economic Ethics

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      Against the God of Free Trade

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      Could we be entering a ‘movement moment’ against…

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      Trump’s backpedaling shows he’s not invincible

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      It’s going to take multiple strategies to win…

      U.S. Politics / Elections

      A new wave of movements against Trumpism is…

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      Strategy is a Craft

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      This new model for upholding labor law may…

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      Does It Make Sense to Protest a President…

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      Is Rambo Still A Republican?

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      War: The Wrong Jobs Program

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      The Ascent of Niall Ferguson

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      Those Who Don’t Count

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      Six Essays About War and About Peace

      War / Militarism

      The Dangerous Dignity of War

  • Translations
    • All Arabic Thai Chinese Deutsch Español Français Italiano Japanese Português
      Translations

      Jordlösa kombinerar radikala visioner med praktiska reformer (Swedish)

      Español

      Hacer Que Nuestras Demandas Sean Tanto Orácticas Como…

      Italiano

      C’è più di un modo per colpire il…

      Português

      As reformas não reformistas de André Gorz mostram…

      Español

      Las reformas no reformistas de André Gorz

      Deutsch

      Die nicht-reformistischen Reformen von André Gorz

      Italiano

      Richieste dei movimenti: sia pratiche che visionarie

      Chinese

      泛美洲人 爱德华多·加莱亚诺的世界 (Chinese)

      Arabic

      Abandoning the World Bank (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      The Return of Daniel Ortega (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Where’s The Jubilee? (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      The Last Porto Alegre (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Seattle At Five (in Arabic)

      Arabic

      Is Market Access the Answer to Poverty? (in…

      Arabic

      Mexico’s Democratic Transition Still Incomplete (in Arabic)

      Thai

      Progressive Good Tidings of 2007 (in Thai)

      Thai

      2006: A Global Justice Year in Review (In…

      Thai

      WTO: Best Left For Dead? (In Thai)

      Thai

      Is Market Access the Answer to Poverty? (In…

      Thai

      Bush’s Bad Business Empire (In Thai)

      Thai

      The Last Porto Alegre [Thai]

      Thai

      Globalizers, Neocons, or… ? (in Thai)

      Chinese

      泛美洲人 爱德华多·加莱亚诺的世界 (Chinese)

      Chinese

      Why Wendell Matters (in Chinese)

      Chinese

      Globalization’s Watchdogs (in Chinese)

      Deutsch

      Die nicht-reformistischen Reformen von André Gorz

      Deutsch

      Als Martin Luther King seine Feuerwaffen aufgab

      Deutsch

      Mikrokredite: Die Entlassung eines Nobelpreisträgers

      Deutsch

      CAFTA – am besten stillschweigend beerdigen

      Deutsch

      Bush in Mexiko

      Deutsch

      Das globale Duell in Evian

      Deutsch

      Die Rückkehr des Daniel Ortega

      Español

      Hacer Que Nuestras Demandas Sean Tanto Orácticas Como…

      Español

      Las reformas no reformistas de André Gorz

      Español

      ¿Adoptará el nuevo papa la teología de la…

      Español

      Wall Street quiere que les estemos agradecidos

      Español

      Si Las Monjas Se Fueran a una Huelga,…

      Español

      ALEC retrocede; a la derecha le da un…

      Español

      ¿ALEC disgustado ante la pérdida de patrocinadores? Se…

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      La vida en la nación prisión

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      Le dynamisme du mouvement pour la paix

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      La déroute de l’ALCA dans une Miami en…

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      Ceux qui ne comptent pas

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      La guerre en Irak : une expo des…

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      C’è più di un modo per colpire il…

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      Come il movimento Occupiamo Wall Street si sta…

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      As reformas não reformistas de André Gorz mostram…

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      A vida na Nação Prisão

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      Outro pretexto?

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      O império hipotecado

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LaborPast FavoritesFrom the Archives2011-2012

Ai-jen Poo: Organizing a Movement for Care

by Mark Engler November 30, 2011
written by Mark Engler November 30, 2011
Ai-jen Poo: Organizing a Movement for Care

Talk to Ai-jen Poo about her work and it won’t be long before you hear language you don’t often hear in the midst of intense social movement campaigning.

Published in Yes! Magazine, Ms. Magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor.


Talk to Ai-jen Poo about her work and it won’t be long before you hear language you don’t often hear in the midst of intense social movement campaigning. For one, she does not shy away from talking about “organizing with love.”

A 37-year-old organizer based in New York City, Poo was founder of Domestic Workers United (DWU), a group that waged a successful campaign for landmark legislation in New York State recognizing the labor rights of nannies and housekeepers. Now, as Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), she is spearheading an even more ambitious effort, a Caring Across Generations campaign designed to address the crisis in how we care for our children, our elders, and the disabled in this country.

“I believe that love is the most powerful force for change in the world,” Poo says. “I often compare great campaigns to great love affairs because they’re an incredible container for transformation. You can change policy, but you also change relationships and people in the process.”

How does this view square with the fact that campaigns often require a lot of conflict and acrimony?

“I think that you can love someone and be in conflict with them,” she says. “And I think that it’s the same thing when we’re trying to transform a fundamentally unequal society. There’s a level of discomfort and conflict that has to happen in order for us to achieve a more loving fate.”

This focus on love has had a profound effect on many of Poo’s colleagues. “So many of us wouldn’t be the leaders we are without her,” says Danielle Ferris, Director of Hand In Hand, an organization for employers of domestic workers. Prior to creating Hand In Hand, Ferris recounts, “I had dinner with Ai-jen and told her my idea. And she said, ‘Do it. This is needed in the world.'”

“If that dinner hadn’t happened I don’t know whether I would have had the courage to found an organization. She has that effect on people, to make us believe in ourselves and believe that we can do what’s needed.”

* * * * *

Through the Eyes of Women

Willowy and soft-spoken, Poo has emerged over the past decade as one of the country’s most visionary organizers. She says that she never could have predicted her current career path, but she had strong role models early on. Her parents were immigrants from China, her father a scientist who had been a pro-democracy activist in Taiwan. She was even more influenced by her mother, a doctor, and her grandmother. “They were both really strong women with a lot of wisdom,” she says. As a women’s studies major at Columbia University in the mid-1990s, her admiration was reinforced. “I always knew that if we could just see the world through the eyes of women we’d have a much clearer picture of both what the problems are and what the solutions are.”

Poo first experienced the power of organizing as a student activist. In the spring of 1996, she was one of more than 100 students who occupied the rotunda of Columbia Univeristy’s Low Library. They demanded that the university hire more faculty members in fields of ethnic studies and broaden its curriculum in order to acknowledge the diversity of the student body. The students stayed overnight in the library despite threats from the administration, and next morning 22 of them were arrested. Subsequently, the activists staged a five-day takeover of one of the college’s main administrative buildings, highlighting their demands by teaching their own courses in the occupied space.

The pressure led to gains including the creation of the university’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race. Poo says, “Working with a really diverse group of students around our shared goals gave me a sense of how powerful campaigns can be if they’re strategic—how it is possible to really make change.”

* * * * *

The Work That Makes All Other Work Possible

After graduation, Poo’s took up organizing that highlighted the experience of women in the low-wage workforce. At the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, she participated in outreach efforts that targeted women workers who were among the most underpaid and vulnerable to exploitation in New York City. Domestic employees emerged as a key group. Along with farmworkers, domestic employees were explicitly excluded from New Deal labor rights protections. This overwhelmingly female workforce is made up largely of immigrants from the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. They at once provide essential support for their employers’ families—”doing the work that makes all other work possible,” as Poo has put it—while also raising their own children and often sending money to family members abroad.

Traditionally, domestic workers have been considered impossible to organize. “We call it ‘the Wild West,'” Poo says. Nannies and housekeepers have no centralized employer and no employee break room where they might commiserate with others. In fact, few statistics exist to even show how many people have been hired to work as caregivers in private homes. Workers must negotiate their employment relationships individually, with no clear standards or public oversight. Absent any effective labor protections, domestic employees calling in sick or taking time to deal with a family emergency risk losing their jobs. Even though they are among the lowest-paid workers in the country, some caregivers are expected to be on-call around the clock. Those who are undocumented immigrants fear that speaking up could jeopardize their ability to stay in the country.

By the late 2000s, DWU was pushing for legislation in New York State that would recognize the rights of these caregivers for the first time. Poo travelled tirelessly to the state capitol alongside DWU members to lobby lawmakers. She says, “I remember asking Angelica Hernandez,” (a DWU leader), “how many times she’s been to Albany. She said 27 times, to tell her story.”

Hernandez and others at times spoke of finding families who treated them with dignity, and of their affection for the children and elders they cared for. But they also described abuses, such as working 12 to 15 hours per day and being paid only $135 per week.

“In 2007, I began working for a family in Manhattan, cleaning their apartment; I would later also begin to take care of their child,” Hernandez said. “I had to clean, do laundry, iron, take clothes to the dry cleaners, go food shopping, and prepare food for the entire family. I used to work constantly, day and night, taking care of the child and then cleaning while he slept.”

After Hernandez attended a DWU meeting, her employer demanded to review the materials the group had given her. “She was not pleased with the information about our rights as workers, how we, who do this work, deserve training and protection.” Within days, Hernandez was fired. Her employer said, “that I was born to be a servant, not a nanny—and that Domestic Workers United didn’t know what they were talking about because I did not have rights.”

Mona Ledesma, a Filipina immigrant who had worked for eight years as a nanny and housekeeper in the United States, testified about having to resign a full-time job to avoid the sexual advances of a male employer, and about being accused by another employer of stealing a $2 can of Niagara starch for ironing clothes. She told the State Assembly, “I am not a thief. I am not an object for sexual pleasure. I am a human being.”

* * * * *

No Unlikely Allies

Such testimonials, combined with six years of determined effort on the part of DWU and its allies, paid off in September 2010, when New York passed the nation’s first Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. The legislation gave groundbreaking legal recognition to domestic workers, guaranteeing at least three paid days off per year, at least one day off per week, and overtime pay for work-weeks of more than forty hours.

“It’s been transformative for me to participate in a movement where you actually see a historic breakthrough,” Poo says. “When we first got to Albany we were told, ‘Good luck with that. This legislature will never pass it.’ And we just thought, Why on Earth would people be against such a basic measure that’s about equality and opportunity?”

Ferris, who works with employers of domestic workers, points to Poo’s focus on building coalition as an important factor in the bill’s success. “One way in which Ai-jen’s leadership has been so critical is that she doesn’t see any group of people as unlikely allies,” she says.

One might expect that those who hire domestic employees—the constituency targeted by Ferris’s organization—would oppose the organizing efforts of these workers. But DWU and its allies saw that many families valued the fact that domestic employees are caring for the most precious people in their lives. In 2009 they held a Children and Families March, made up of employers and children cared for by domestic workers, walking alongside DWU members and their own kids—all in support of the bill of rights.

* * * * *

Strength In Connection

Poo’s current organizing is also about making connections. Whether as parents looking for quality day care for their kids, people with disabilities, or immigrants seeking a path to citizenship, we all have a stake in the care crisis in the United States. Elderly citizens need assistance to continue living in their homes, families struggle with rising care costs, and women of color who do care work are often underpaid and under-respected. Poo believes that we should all be part of a movement to address this crisis.

On July 12, more than 700 grassroots leaders—along with officials such as Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis—gathered in Washington, D.C., to launch the Caring Across Generations campaign, Poo’s brainchild. Domestic workers groups, women’s organizations, disability rights campaigners, elder advocates, immigration reformers, unions, and faith-based groups announced a unified drive to confront issues raised by the “Age Wave” in America, where, every eight seconds, someone in the country turns 65. The campaign aims to create two million new care jobs, protect programs like Social Security, provide training and safeguards for workers, advance immigrants’ rights, and make care more affordable.

Its goal, Poo has written, is to “transform public policy so that we can be a nation that takes care of one another, across generations.”

Poo has brought her focus on coalition-building into the new campaign. “Her vision is of bringing together organizations that never sit down together,” Ferris says. “Of having people concerned with senior rights, and disability rights, and unions come together and say, ‘OK, what would it really look like to find policies that work for all of us?'”

NDWA Field Director Jill Shenker adds of Caring Across Generations, “There are some pretty radical ideas in the campaign, yet we’re doing it. Ai-jen has the audacity to put forward these bold ideas, and has a clear strategy for moving them forward to make the impossible possible.”

Beyond organizing Caring Across Generations, Poo has been busy carrying the momentum of the 2010 success in New York forward in other parts of the country. The NDWA is now active in 17 cities and 11 states. Several states, including California, are considering versions of the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. Recently, Poo and her organization have used the theatrical release of The Help, a movie about domestic workers in the 1960s, to draw attention to ongoing abuses faced by domestic workers—pointing out that most have no greater legal protections than their counterparts of a half-century ago.

When asked what she thought of the movie, Poo laughs and confesses that she has not yet had a chance to see it and was only partway through the book. Finding time to live a balanced life is something Poo seeks to emphasize in her organization. She tries to go hiking near Woodstock, N.Y., when she’s able, and she maintains a dedicated yoga practice. “It’s a really big part of my life,” she says of her yoga. “It allows me to stay centered and connect to my purpose in times of conflict or obstacles.”

In the coming year, Poo’s work will involve reaching out more broadly than ever. Following up on the Washington, DC event in July, other “Care Congresses” will be taking place in more than a dozen cities across the country. And they will involve an ever-greater number of allies.

“To us, it’s really important that people see this as a movement to transform care for everybody,” Poo says. “I think our campaigns are about saying that everybody’s lives are valuable, about saying that we should have a society and an economy where everyone’s human dignity is recognized. The only way to get there is through love and through harnessing the power of how we are connected and interdependent.”

__________

Photo credit: Erica Camille for YES! Magazine.

Mark Engler

Mark Engler is a writer based in Philadelphia and an editorial board member at Dissent magazine. His latest book, written with Paul Engler, is entitled This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century.

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Mark Engler is a writer based in Philadelphia and an editorial board member at Dissent magazine. His latest book, written with Paul Engler, is entitled This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century (Nation Books). Mark’s full bio is available here.

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