From Thought to Action: Developing a Social Justice Orientation

by Amy Aldridge Sanford

From Thought to Developing a Social Justice Orientation empowers readers to successfully navigate their individual social justice journeys and channel their increased consciousness into activism. The book provides robust historic, cultural, and social context for social justice work, assists readers in managing the discomfort that often accompanies raised consciousness, and offers step-by-step instructions for initiating social justice campaigns and projects.

The text examines the history of liberal activism in the United States, various types of activism, significant social movements, the art of dialoguing through disagreement, the importance of leadership, and the risks and rewards associated with activism. Readers learn about the challenges and successes of activists past and present, and are encouraged to recognize the struggles and achievements that define their own journeys. An extensive list of causes is provided, along with strategies for getting involved, empowering readers to identify causes that are important to them and to take action.

232 pages, Paperback

Published September 10, 2019

About the author

Amy grew up in rural Oklahoma with her mom, dad, and younger brother Andy. Her community of 1,600 was quite homogeneous, but she was clueless to its lack of diversity. (She also could not spell, define, or pronounce homogeneous). Amy was Pell grant eligible, and after high school, took advantage of the government program, along with a slew of scholarships earned as a result of her involvement in competitive forensics.

Throughout her many years of college, Amy's consciousness related to social justice was continuously challenged. She had a composition teacher at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma who called out another student in class for his racism. While in graduate school at the University of Iowa, a fellow student unapologetically told Amy that she used the wrong pronoun when referencing him during his FTM transition. She graduated with her PhD in communication studies from UI in 2006, a completely changed person than she was when she entered college 11 years earlier.

Today, Amy is the associate provost and a professor of communication studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, an Hispanic-Serving Institution of 12,000 students in South Texas. Her greatest wish is for her "forever" students to think critically, sympathize with the marginalized, and seek a life's work that is fulfilling. She wrote "Developing a Social Justice Orientation: Moving from Thought to Action" for them. Amy is a frequent presenter at national conferences and university campuses, using qualitative methods to explore the role of communication in leadership, gender, student activism, pedagogy, intercultural communication, identity, and privilege.

Amy is the immediate past president of the Central States Communication Association, an organization that serves 13 states in the Midwest. She has been honored with many local, state and national awards, including Corpus Christi Under 40, YWCA's Y Women in Careers, University Communication Educator of the Year in both Texas and Oklahoma, and Outstanding Administrator from the National States Advisory Council of the National Communication Association.

Amy lives in Texas with Gene, her spouse of 13 years, and their six rescued pets. One of Amy's favorite roles is being aunt to Jenna, Taylor, Justin, Lennox, Finn, and Channing.

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book does a great job of simplifying the complexities of activism and making social justice more approachable. By employing countless examples of activists and various social justice movements, it makes the steps to becoming an activist seem more plausible. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to enter the realm of activism or wanting to reevaluate their position as an activist.

Overall, I really enjoyed it!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am one of the people who needed this book. I contacted the author for advice in situations. I agree with the necessity of the book. The book is easy to read and hard to put down. It gives step-by-step procedures to get started and how to overcome obstacles. I could see this being a book students would actually read in class. As a faculty member, sometimes I do not always know how to help students begin the next steps of their social justice steps. This book provides excellent details on how people feel during the process as well as actual steps to take to go through the process. The examples that were provided explained the history as well as current situations to help the reader have a better understanding of social justice.

[Betsy Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've worked in education for 20 years and often felt on the front lines of social issues without fully understanding. This book was incredibly informative and inspiring! I highly recommend it for anyone seeking to understand and/or take their first steps toward activism!

[Ashley Kumm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was able to read this for a public health principle and practice class and I'm so glad I did. It's a great introduction book to social justice advocacy and there are a lot of other resources for finding out more! I would definitely recommend this book!

[Ginnie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource, not only for personal reflection and discovery, but for practical application and understanding of the the self, systemic injustice, and privilege.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Someone starts the work, moves it along as far as possible, and finds successors...[they] move the work along until the work is finished. To sit still is to let the oppressor win."
#socialjustice