Each One Teach One: Up and Out of Poverty, Memoirs of a Street Activist

by Stephen Blackburn

Each One Teach One chronicles Ron Casanova's struggle out of poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction to find dignity and purpose in life. Through his own awakening, this Black, Puerto Rican activist ultimately finds his answer in helping other people. Born into a dysfunctional family and placed in an orphanage on Staten Island at an early age, Casanova faced overwhelming odds. His story illuminates some of the major events of our time, including the "police riot" at Tompkins Square, the "Housing Now" march of the homeless on Washington, and community takeovers of housing in Kansas City, New York, and Philadelphia.

Underlying Each One Teach One , with its vivid cast of characters and intimate descriptions of Harlem and other urban areas, is the profound sense that no matter what your circumstance, you can use your past experience to help others. Ultimately, Casanova's story is a message of hope for the future and for the possibility of self-sufficiency and self-empowerment for each individual.

250 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Demetriu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for activists, really highlights the pitfalls that those today often don't see until after the fact. The work by Ron Casanova still holds sway in many circles of the homeless movements today.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put this one down. A harrowing story of a heart that just wouldn’t quit and by happenstance and sheer grit developed into a justice seeker for others.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a chronicle of the events surrounding the 1988 Tompkins Square Park Riot, the second half of this book might be of value to readers interested in recent NYC history, and particularly the history of the City's policies towards the homeless. As a memoir, the book is prone to meandering reminiscence, and as a guide for activists and policy makers, its conclusions are few and contradictory.

One solid conclusion is the focus on the need for homeless people to speak for themselves. Casanova shows repeatedly how advocacy organizations that limit or exclude the voices of the populations they serve have the potential to misrepresent or work counter to the interests of those populations.

[Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book offers insights into one man's poltical awakening. It is refrehsingly un-academic in its approach and unfortunately drags at a frustrating pace. Powerful history that evokes the development of political vision born out of needs rather than out of a college campus hackey-sack circle. Despite its downsides it should be read by anyone looking to underatnd how to emgage in social movements but want to avoid the paternalistic potholes that are all too common.