More Praise for Creative Community Organizing
"Make room, Howard Zinn! Si Kahn's Creative Community Organizing deserves a place on the must-read shelf next to A People's History of the United States. Warm, cheerful, candid, and wise—just like the man himself—Si's book is more than a how-to for justice seekers, more than a gripping memoir from the front lines of bodacious modern activism. It's the up-close and creative story of how the ‘people's history' gets made."
—Jay Harris, Publisher, Mother Jones
"Si Kahn's latest book is a great addition to strategic community organizing, offering nuanced insights into the difficult and often life-saving fights organizers wage on a daily basis for social justice, human rights, and progressive change."
—Rinku Sen, President and Executive Director, Applied Research Center; Publisher, ColorLines; and coauthor of The Accidental American
"Creative Community Organizing reminds us of the power of music and storytelling for deep transformation. Magic happens when we bring together creativity with strategy. Si gives us the recipe for moving to a future where human rights for all can become possible."
—Mallika Dutt, Executive Director, Breakthrough
"Si Kahn is a Renaissance man for the social movements of our generation. He is a troubadour, a poet, and a lyricist; a thoughtful and reflective writer; a committed organizer and institution builder; and a carrier of his family's and his faith's deepest values. Most of all, he is a passionate believer in social justice and the power of ordinary people to stand up and determine their destinies. Reading this beautifully written and uplifting narrative will give faith and hope to all who read it and take it to heart."
—Miles Rapoport, President, Demos
"Creative Community Organizing documents Si Kahn's career of working for justice in ways that are deeply affecting, personally and culturally. Si is truly Democracy's Troubadour, bringing us not just the songs and stories of democracy and justice but also the practical strategies to deepen our democratic roots."
—Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin
"Si Kahn is an organizer and an activist. He's also a poet, a songwriter, a preservationist, a historian, a documentarian in song. He's a stark realist and simultaneously an unflinching optimist. The tender reverence he holds for the people whose struggles he has facilitated spills over into his writing, keeping their stories alive, connecting us to them—and ultimately, ourselves."
—Kathy Mattea, Grammy-winning singer
"Over a lifetime of social justice activism—much of it spent on the front lines—Si has kept the faith with courage, creativity, and humor. His bedrock belief in the power of people working together to create a just world is the spirit that guides this remarkable book."
—Alan Jenkins, Executive Director, The Opportunity Agenda
"The true moxie of Creative Community Organizing comes from Si Kahn's brilliant storytelling and his own distinguished career as an organizer, folksinger, and all-around rabble-rouser—exemplifying all that is great about fighting for justice and working for progressive social change. This book is a great primer for organizers, activists, and those dedicated to movement building."
—Pronita Gupta, Director of Programs, Women Donors Network
"Si Kahn has been my mentor, song leader, and conscience since I started organizing two decades ago. From his strategic wisdom, I've learned about organizing smart campaigns, about winning and losing and never giving up. From his songs and stories, I've been connected to the beauty and pain and shared vision that make it possible to keep on fighting. Si combines the brass tacks of organizing with the soulful, collective, creative yearning for the world-as-it-should-be."
—Brad Lander, New York City Councilmember, 39th District (Brooklyn)
"In this marvelous book, Si Kahn leads us through his own history as an organizer for progressive social change and in the process provides an education for future generations to get involved in bringing justice to more of the world's people. His insights on the importance of integrating artistic expression into strategies for change are invaluable."
—John Stocks, Deputy Executive Director, National Education Association
"Classic recipe: Mix classic storytelling with 2 cups autobiography, 3/4 cup textured folk/movement/gospel poetry set to music, 1/2 cup U.S. history, 2 spoons tested advice, a dash of nostalgia, and a smidgen of medieval history and literature. Blend well with love, encouragement, rejuvenation, faith, and a lifetime of commitment. Get Si Kahn's classic book, Creative Community Organizing: a great lesson plan for teaching organizers but also a must-read for anyone who cares about progress and how to make it happen."
—Congressman Mel Watt
"Si Kahn has the heart of a poet, the wit of a comedian, the hands of a seasoned political operative, and the ability to explain to the rest of us how to translate dreams into day-to-day reality. This is one of the most illuminating and personal books ever written by a real-life progressive hero."
—Danny Goldberg, author of Bumping into Geniuses
"There is so much hope in Si Kahn's new book: it is filled with stories spanning four decades of his creativity tackling some of our country's toughest problems. He may not have invented the term ‘creative community organizing,' but he has certainly shaped its past and future."
—Geraldine Laybourne, founder, Oxygen Media
"In Creative Community Organizing, Si distills forty-five years of experience for another generation that is already picking up the fight for a just and democratic future. Poet, songwriter, and storyteller par excellence, he weaves memoir and organizing manual into a unique and inspiring tapestry. This book is a gift to the rest of us, a challenge never to lose faith in human possibility or to back off from doing the work of joining with others to build a better world."
—Sara M. Evans, author of Born for Liberty
"My union brother Si Kahn and I have been friends for over thirty years. His first book, How People Get Power, was my introduction to organizing and my initial inspiration for what has been a wonderful life working to build collective action and to struggle together for the common good. What better hope for Creative Community Organizing than that it will help create that dynamic in the lives of others."
—Stewart Acuff, Assistant to the President, AFL-CIO
"Si Kahn's compelling portraits remind us that creative community organizing is all about people—real-life individuals who use their skills to take on enormous challenges and those whose lives are made better as a result. This is an inspiring and instructive read."
—Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
"Si writes with a calm passion. This book is a kind, caring friend and mentor for we who are engaged in the struggle to help our country live up to the promise of what America was meant to be."
—Ben Cohen, cofounder, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream
"Si Kahn's powerful, stirring story of his lifelong journey for justice and lessons learned will captivate and energize all who care about equal justice. This is the handbook for rabble-rousers everywhere!
—Ada Deer, Distinguished Lecturer Emerita, School of Social Work and American Indian Studies Program, University of Wisconsin–Madison; former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs; and past chair, Menominee Tribe
"In his forty-five years as a labor, civil rights, and community organizer, Si Kahn has maintained his unshakeable faith in the capacity of working people to shape their own destiny and his passionate belief that what this country needs more than anything else is a strong progressive labor movement. His work and his songs are a testimony to the power of the union."
—John McCutcheon, President, Local 1000, American Federation of Musicians, AFL-CIO
"Organizing is not simply a toolbox of strategies, charts, and tactics. Organizing for social and economic justice demands deep relationships, core unshakeable values, humility born of experience, and appreciation of the creative spirit in all of us. Si Kahn, a marathon runner for justice, crams a lifetime of experience and wisdom into this highly readable and inspirational book—a must-read for anyone in the trenches or thinking about joining the struggle for justice."
—Kim Bobo, Executive Director, Interfaith Worker Justice
"Si Kahn's unique combination of folk songs and prose provides a riveting memoir and analysis of class struggle as well as an inspirational organizing tool. This book will become a cornerstone of the movement for social justice."
—Stephen Nathan, editor, Prison Privatisation Report International, London, England
"Reading a Si Kahn book is like listening to his music—organizing stories come alive and we learn while listening and imagining. This is an equally great read for community and workplace organizers."
—Larry Cohen, President, Communications Workers of America
"Si Kahn, the grandchild of immigrants, is a gifted storyteller who conveys the story of community organizing in a way it's never been told. His account of the campaign to abolish so-called immigrant family detention leaves the reader with hope and inspiration."
—Daranee Petsod, Executive Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
"Creative Community Organizing provides the reader with an opportunity to listen to and learn from one of the field's legendary practitioners. As someone who has benefited firsthand from Si's insight and inspiration, first as an organizer and more recently as the CEO of the Jewish Funds for Justice—the foundation Si helped create to fund community organizing—I commend this book to anyone seeking to understand what organizing at its best can look like."
—Simon Greer, President and CEO, Jewish Funds for Justice
"Si, master organizer, storyteller, and musician, uses his poetic, lyrical prose to teach and inspire. This is a book you'll read in one sitting and remember the lessons because the stories will stay with you forever."
—Jackie Kendall, Executive Director, Midwest Academy
"Si Kahn beautifully weaves poetry, song, stories, remembrances, analysis, and prescriptions into a rich tapestry. He transports the reader through forty-five years of community and labor organizing, from roots with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1965 through recent decades as founder and executive director of Grassroots Leadership. This is a deeply personal book, firmly planted in his religious Jewish upbringing by his father, a very musical rabbi, and his mother, who taught him the love of poetry. Read this book to learn from a consummate organizer, educator, and cultural worker."
—Neil Tudiver, Assistant Executive Director, Canadian Association of University Teachers
"If ‘the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice,' as Martin Luther King said, then Si Kahn has devoted his life to riding that arc. His powerful impulse to service, combined with deep compassion, is a force of nature. I put Si in the same category as Woody Guthrie, as Pete Seeger, and in a strange way, as my dad, who shared his righteous sense of humanity and his love of the ‘meek,' who he truly believed would ‘inherit the earth.'"
—Rosanne Cash, writer and musician
"When we start singing again, we'll start winning again. Si Kahn is the bridge between organizing and singing for social justice, and his new book is an inspiration."
—Robert Kuttner, coeditor, The American Prospect
"Those who know Si Kahn's work will want to sign on and march once again with this uniquely moving and cheerful leader! Si's new book, embellished with many of his lyrics, is touching, personal, and stirring, filled with practical advice and analysis about organizing that can be found nowhere else. Si will convince you that you can change the world and that you should."
—Tim Coulter, attorney; founder, National Indian Law Resource Center; and member, Citizen Potawatomi Nation
"This beautifully written book captures the connections of Jewish values and American democratic ideals as memorably, movingly, and vividly as any I have read. An inspiring, remarkably insightful, and urgently needed treasure for social justice activists everywhere."
—Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
"This book is the perfect road map for activists and the average citizen, a testament to the power of the human spirit, and a fantastic journey through history with a tour guide who regularly exhibits compassion, accountability, and integrity."
—Melissa Bradley, Senior Strategist, Green for All
"Si Kahn's stories and songs tell us about him and about ourselves. Like all great songs, these stay in your head and in your heart. Si tells about his own roots and the wins, near wins, and nowhere at all near wins—and we learn to look into our own roots, our own wins, our own stories for sustenance and wisdom."
—David Beckwith, Executive Director, The Needmor Fund
"Si Kahn draws on his multiple gifts as an organizer, historian, songwriter, and storyteller to give us a new book that makes a compelling case for the integration of cultural work into traditional community organizing. Grassroots Leadership's campaign to end immigrant family detention, which is part of larger struggles against for-profit prisons and for equal justice, shows again the powerful impact of culture, self-knowledge, and knowledge of other people's histories. This campaign has ignited a movement of allies centered on those directly affected by the policy but reaching far beyond. This is organizing that will outlast any one campaign."
—Taryn Higashi, Executive Director, Unbound Philanthropy
"Si does a superb job in this book, as he does in life, of bringing the songs and stories of the movement into his organizing. This book speaks so well to the culture of organizing that Si has developed around him and that I have learned so much about through him."
—Jacob Flowers, Executive Director, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center
"Si Kahn, a gifted grassroots organizer, welcomes us to his lifelong struggle for justice, telling us how culture can help people who are marginalized, disenfranchised, and dispossessed build power to achieve equity and justice for all. The book is a powerful guide to action and to achieving transformative change. It is great reading whether you are a potential organizer or just a regular Jo/Joe. Get your beverage and sit down for a great journey."
—Joanie Bronfman, sociologist, musician, and activist
"Si Kahn's book is chock-full of compelling stories drawn from his four decades of experience as an organizer in many of the most important social movements of our time. The book itself is powerful evidence for one of Si's themes—that telling stories is the most powerful means of communicating the culture and values that lie at the core of the movement for social and economic justice. You'll love this book if you are an experienced organizer or if you've begun to wonder if you should stop just studying history and start making it."
—Robert Creamer, organizer, strategist, and political consultant and author of Stand Up Straight
"Si Kahn's guide to creative community organizing is an extraordinary tour de force, as only he could write it—passionate and intensive, wise and comedic. It is a brilliant and moving mixture of autobiography, song, American history, and vision, striving always toward the future we hope to build."
—Ruth W. Messinger, President, American Jewish World Service
"In Creative Community Organizing, Si Kahn reminds us of the transformational capacity of our organizing work and challenges us to engage in a contemplative practice that is capable of making sense of how and why we struggle. His text is a deep and profound narrative of respect for those who, like him, have been compelled to dedicate their lives to the cause of social justice and human dignity, and we are immeasurably enriched by his words."
—Joseph Jordan, Director, The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History
"Si Kahn is not just an organizer. He's a Jewish organizer, a ‘secular rabbi,' as he calls himself, raised and rooted in those areas of Jewish history, tradition, and religion that cry out for democracy and equity. As a Jewish feminist, I hope that whatever faith or secular commitment people may have, they will also find the courage to lift up the parts of their tradition that reach out toward openness and reject any text or teaching that, based on gender or sexual orientation, sees any human being as less than any other."
—Barbara Dobkin, founder and Chair, Ma'yan: The Jewish Women's Project
"CrossCurrents is a new foundation that works at the intersection of art and social justice and instigates collaborations with other funders and artists organizing to strengthen our democracy. In this new book that itself weaves together art and activism, organizer/artist Si Kahn makes a powerful case for culture and cultural work as critical components in any movement for justice."
—Ken Grossinger, Chair, CrossCurrents Foundation
"Restorative for those of us who cut our teeth on movements past, encouraging for those who didn't, moving for all who still believe that we can make justice roll down like water if we do it together and sing."
—Marie C. Wilson, President and founder, The White House Project
"As a union organizer, community organizer, singer/songwriter, and author, Si Kahn has spent his life at the confluence of union and community organizing and art and activism. His books, trainings, and teachings have taught and inspired a generation, and his latest effort, Creative Community Organizing, continues this incredible legacy."
—Anna Burger, Chair, Change to Win labor federation, and Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU
"In this powerful new book, Si Kahn shows us how organizing can help build a society where everyone, including lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people, is guaranteed basic equal rights and the full recognition of her and his humanity. It's a vision worth fighting for."
—Harry Knox, Director, Religion and Faith Program, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
"Out of the richness of Si Kahn's history, woven together with songs he has written, tied with his warmth and decency of human concern, comes this insightful book about how, through organizing, we can build a better world. It can help anyone who cares about justice understand how to make that more likely to become reality. This book moves and inspires."
—Heather Booth, President, Midwest Academy
"Si Kahn and this guide are stuffed with knowledge, advice, and inspiration that are invaluable to anyone organizing for justice."
—James Haslam, Director/Lead Organizer, Vermont Workers' Center, part of Jobs with Justice and Grassroots Global Justice
"Few people can match Si Kahn's experience of community organizing for social change. This beautifully written book will be a source of much-needed ideas and inspiration for many years to come."
—Michael Edwards, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos, and author of Small Change
"There is an ethical dilemma in all journeys for justice. We must struggle with making sure we do not ask of others that which we are unable to give ourselves. Si casts light on the complexities, risks, and rewards of community organizing. In doing so, he elevates the process of social change to the status it deserves, a way of life, with plenty of hills and valleys, not just a ‘day job' with a clear beginning and end."
—Selena E. Serme?o, PhD, psychologist, peace and human rights educator, and dialogue facilitator
"For over thirty years, social workers and social work students have relied on Si Kahn's books as trusted friends and guides. His new book, Creative Community Organizing, tells us not only how we can do our community organization work most effectively but why what we do matters so much. It should be on every social worker's desk."
—Barbara White, Dean, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, and past president, National Association of Social Workers and Council on Social Work Education
"The powers that be have so much money they think they can co-opt any one organization. But what are they going to do about the millions of small efforts and organizations going on in communities in every country in the world? Read this book, and learn how you can be part of this great international grassroots movement."
—Pete Seeger, musician
"All those interested in walking even a little way down the road toward change in their own communities or countries will profit from a guide like Si Kahn. Familiar himself with carpentry, auto mechanics, and organizing, Si is not afraid to get his hands dirty. He is a mentor of the highest order who has created a guide to organizing that will allow his experience to benefit us for years to come. This is a legacy-extending book that should reach well into the twenty-first century. I hope it remains in print for one hundred years."
—Scott Ainslie, musician/producer
"A precious gift for our children and their children who dream of making the world a better place, this book weaves memories, stories, songs, political analysis, and histories of struggle into a brilliant, joyful tapestry of organizing and political education that speaks truth to power. This book can haunt and inspire you to action, make you chuckle and laugh out loud!"
—Chandra Talpade Mohanty, author of Feminism Without Borders
"You've got to read Si Kahn's Creative Community Organizing. It's filled with great stories, empowering lyrics, essential history lessons, and a storehouse of wisdom accumulated from forty-five years of ‘pulling his shift,' as he puts it. A joy to read and to share. Pass it on!"
—Matthew Rothschild, Editor, The Progressive
Once again, for public/feminist philosopher Elizabeth Minnich, my partner and spouse of more than thirty years, my best friend for over fifty, who carries on the work of her teacher, Hannah Arendt, by trying to understand how and why decent people sometimes agree to participate in sustained group violence; why they sometimes choose to resist; and how democratic education can strengthen our ability to say no to collective evil.
