Finalist, 2020 C. Wright Mills Award, given by the Society for the Study of Social Problems Honorable Mention, 2021 Asian America Section Book Award, given by the American Sociological Association An inspiring look inside immigrant youth’s political activism in perilous times Undocumented immigrants in the United States who engage in social activism do so at great risk: the threat of deportation. In Organizing While Undocumented, Kevin Escudero shows why and how—despite this risk—many of them bravely continue to fight on the front lines for their rights. Drawing on more than five years of research, including interviews with undocumented youth organizers, Escudero focuses on the movement’s epicenters—San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City—to explain the impressive political success of the undocumented immigrant community. He shows how their identities as undocumented immigrants, but also as queer individuals, people of color, and women, connect their efforts to broader social justice struggles today. A timely, worthwhile read, Organizing While Undocumented gives us a look at inspiring triumphs, as well as the inevitable perils, of political activism in precarious times.

Millions of domestic workers experience exploitation in the privacy of their employers’ homes; also in South Africa they are to a large extent beyond the reach of legal protection. This book sums up four years of research on ways of realising their rights. It highlights their essential role, both as care-givers and in enabling their employers to work outside the home. Against the background of the Constitution and international law it examines ways of adapting the legal framework as well as alternative mechanisms, including new forms of organisation, for translating basic rights into effective regulation.

Part of the Queer Ideas series, edited by Michael Bronski QUEER IDEAS-a new series of LGBT hardcovers that address important intellectual questions facing the movement. The debate over marriage equality for same-sex couples rages across the country. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage boldly moves the discussion forward by focusing on the larger, more fundamental issue of marriage and the law. The root problem, asserts law professor and LGBT rights activist Nancy Polikoff, is that marriage is a bright dividing line between those relationships that legally matter and those that don't. A woman married to a man for nine months is entitled to Social Security survivor's benefits when he dies; a woman living for nineteen years with a man or woman to whom she is not married receives nothing. Polikoff reframes the debate by arguing that all family relationships and households need the economic stability and emotional peace of mind that now extend only to married couples. Unmarried couples of any sexual orientation, single-parent households, extended family units, and myriad other familial configurations need recognition and protection to meet the concerns they all share: building and sustaining economic and emotional interdependence, and nurturing the next generation. Couples should have the choice to marry based on the spiritual, cultural, or religious meaning of marriage in their lives, asserts Polikoff. While marriage equality for same-sex couples is a civil rights victory, she contends that no one should have to marry in order to reap specific and unique legal results. A persuasive argument that married couples should not receive special rights denied to other families, Polikoff shows how the law can value all families, and why it must. "A much-needed intervention in the contemporary debate about marriage and family. Polikoff's argument is provocative, illuminating, and original." -John D'Emilio, author of Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin "Polikoff mobilizes an impressive array of legal history and contemporary court cases to show how marriage, whether same-sex or heterosexual, has ceased to be the only place where people incur long-term obligations. She argues vigorously that our society needs to find new ways of determining when legally-enforceable responsibilities and entitlements have accrued in interpersonal relationships." -Stephanie Coontz, author, Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage "This book really matters. It is brilliant and thoughtful, not simply about a set of laws, but as a manifesto to transform the way we understand, recognize and respect the reality of our diverse and complex family compositions. Polikoff grounds her arguments in the 35 year history of social change activism in this country to construct a passionate and nuanced argument for expanding our same sex marriage activism to include all of the ways people love, form families and build community." -Amber Hollibaugh, Senior Strategist, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and author of My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming her Way Home "Passionate but completely grounded in reality, Polikoff challenges LGBT rights advocates to see beyond gay equality arguments and question the fundamental fairness of limiting family recognition based on marriage, gay or straight. It is a powerful call for social justice." -Nan D. Hunter, founder of the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project and Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School "A provocative and perspicuous intervention in one of the most devilish recent debates in U.S. law and politicshellip;In a principled yet pragmatic analysis, Polikoff mounts a compelling case against the continued grip of 'conjugalism'on our family law and policy. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage challenges us

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title Overworked and Undervalued: Black Women and Success in America is a collection of essays written by Black female scholars, educators, and students as well as public policy, behavioral, and mental health professionals. The contributors’ share their experiences and frustrations with White America which continues to demand excessive labor and one-sided relationships of Black women while it simultaneously diminishes them. The book describes the ongoing struggle for women of color in general, but Black women in particular, which derives from the experience that only certain parts of our identities are deemed acceptable. The essays reflect on the events of the last few years and the toll the related stress has taken on each author. As a whole, the book offers its readers an opportunity to gain insight into these women’s experiences and to find their place in supporting the Black women in their lives.

Have you ever felt like you're shouting into the void for someone to just see you and to acknowledge that you exist, that you have value, that you are loved? That feeling-like no one can really see who you are, like no one really gets it, that's loneliness. The truth is everyone feels lonely. It is a universal emotion, one we all experience at one point or another, but we have also been made to feel ashamed, oppressed and stigmatised about experiencing it. Being seen means that someone notices you and includes you. Being heard means to be listened to without interruption, gaslighting or invalidation, but rather with compassion and understanding. Being valued means being respected and treated with compassion and kindness. When all three of these needs are met, we experience a sense of belonging. Human beings need more than access to food, sleep and water to survive. We also need to feel that sense of belonging, understanding and support. This book will help you reduce your shame around loneliness, to help you manage it, and to foster a sense of belonging. It will help you identify how loneliness may show up in your own life, understand how it impacts you, and help you discover some actionable steps you can take in order to feel seen, heard and valued. You deserve nothing less.

“When she woke up every morning, she would see everyone getting ready for the office, it scared her. Even the building acted like a monster, as if it kept on laughing about her shattered life.” ''She was living in the city where her ex-boyfriend was living. She wanted to patch up with him but he had moved on. He met her just to be intimate” “She felt shattered that her 15 years of friendship had now ended. She couldn't digest it but kept on moving forward.” “She never knew what she wanted to do.” “But, one right person, at the right place and the right time healed her completely.” The story of Little Joanne is a complete roller coaster ride filled with drama created by herself because of her indecisiveness, overthinking, unclear mind and the judgmental people all around her. It’s all about the criticism, destiny, healing, hard work, determination and support from the right person. She never flourished until destiny had some other plans for her. “Destiny will always have some plans, if you are willing to do the hard work.”