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Reviews
Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism by Amy Richards, Jennifer Baumgardner, Winona LaDuke
yeahohyeahyeah's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I could find a book like this but not so specifically American. Or, maybe more inclusive of Canada?
cvterica's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I appreciate the transparency of Amy and Jennifer in sharing their journey through activism and organizing. It inspired me to find small, everyday actions to engage in social justice.
jmcdbrock's review against another edition
3.0
Only on the 2nd chapter. Winona LaDuke wrote a nice introduction reminding readers that great things can be accomplished while planning and organizing from your own sticky kitchen table. Amen, sister!
veleda_k's review against another edition
2.0
While not without its useful bits, Grassroots is severely hampered by its assumption that the reader enjoys a significant degree of privilege. Do you need a few thousand dollars to make your project work? Just ask your friends to chip in! Or your mother's friends. What a person is supposed to do if their mother's friends can't spot them $1000, or if they don't have a cousin who works in the mayors office, or an old babysitter on the school board, is not clear. "Work your connections," is good advice, but this book seems to assume that everyone has influential connections.
I very nearly put the book down for good after the authors championed unpaid internships. Apart from the problems inherent in unpaid internships, again it's assumed that the reader can go a semester or year without income.
A later chapter claims that the best way to affect environmental change is to buy green products and make individual choices as consumers. The idea that we just need to buy different light bulbs to save the environment is not backed up by facts. What's needed is genuine structural change as to what corporations are allowed to get away with. (I'm not saying don't buy eco-friendly light bulbs. I buy eco-friendly light bulbs! But it's not The Solution, and shouldn't be presented as such.) This seems to come from the same sort of mindset that informs the rest of the book.
Very disappointing.
I very nearly put the book down for good after the authors championed unpaid internships. Apart from the problems inherent in unpaid internships, again it's assumed that the reader can go a semester or year without income.
A later chapter claims that the best way to affect environmental change is to buy green products and make individual choices as consumers. The idea that we just need to buy different light bulbs to save the environment is not backed up by facts. What's needed is genuine structural change as to what corporations are allowed to get away with. (I'm not saying don't buy eco-friendly light bulbs. I buy eco-friendly light bulbs! But it's not The Solution, and shouldn't be presented as such.) This seems to come from the same sort of mindset that informs the rest of the book.
Very disappointing.
blythebeary's review against another edition
3.0
This isn't a particularly riveting or fascinating read, but it was inspiring. I found myself reading a page or two and then spending the same amount of time trying to decide if that's something I can do too. It definitely made activism more accessible for me and it inspired me to really think deep about what resources I do have, as well as inspiring me to look at what other resources I might have access to if I drum up enough courage to just ask.
webster_reads's review
2.0
This book was a bit outdated for me, once I got around the outdated terms and Transphobia that was hidden in the phrasing of talking around trans people.