Dry Bones Rattling

Dry Bones Rattling offers the first in-depth treatment of how to rebuild the social capital of America's communities while promoting racially inclusive, democratic participation. The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) network in Texas and the Southwest is gaining national attention as a model for reviving democratic life in the inner city--and beyond. This richly drawn study shows how the IAF network works with religious congregations and other community-based institutions to cultivate the participation and leadership of Americans most left out of our elite-centered politics. Interfaith leaders from poor communities of color collaborate with those from more affluent communities to build organizations with the power to construct affordable housing, create job-training programs, improve schools, expand public services, and increase neighborhood safety.


In clear and accessible prose, Mark Warren argues that the key to revitalizing democracy lies in connecting politics to community institutions and the values that sustain them. By doing so, the IAF network builds an organized, multiracial constituency with the power to advance desperately needed social policies. While Americans are most aware of the religious right, Warren documents the growth of progressive faith-based politics in America. He offers a realistic yet hopeful account of how this rising trend can transform the lives of people in our most troubled neighborhoods. Drawing upon six years of original fieldwork, Dry Bones Rattling proposes new answers to the problems of American democracy, community life, race relations, and the urban crisis.

Preface ix Introduction: Dry Bones Rattling 3 1. Cimmunity Building and Political Renewal 15 2. A Theology of Organizing: From Alinsky to the Moden IAF 40 3. Beyond Local Organizing: Statewide Power and a Regional Network 72 4. Bridging Communities across Racial Lines 98 5. Deepening Multiracial Collaboration 124 6. Effective Power: Campaigning for Community-Based Policy Initiatives 162 7. Congretional Bases for Political Action 191 8. Leadership Development: Participation and Authority in Consensual Democracies 211 9. Conclusion: Restoring Faith in Politics 239 Notes 265 Index 309