Michael Ansara was on the front lines. In this fascinating memoir, he traces an arc of discovery: from the hope and moral clarity of the Civil Rights Movement to the ten-year struggle to end the war in Vietnam, with its sit-ins, marches, confrontations, and antiwar riots.
Ansara takes the reader into the minds of the activists detailing their successes as well as their mistakes. The Hard Work of Hopeshows how he learned to become a more effective organizer and build the Massachusetts Fair Share organization. The book explores issues that remain urgent. How does a movement build support when large parts of the country are opposed to its goals? How do you connect with people who disagree with you? How do you build organizations that unite across racial lines? How can we make progress on the unfinished business of the hard work of hope?
Michael Ansara has been a dedicated activist and organizer since the 1960s, starting with the civil rights, student, and antiwar movements. His poetry and essays have been featured in numerous journals.
Ansara will be in conversation with Heather Booth, is one of the country's leading strategists about progressive issue campaigns and driving issues in elections. She started organizing in the civil rights, anti-Vietnam war and women's movements of the 1960s. She started JANE, an underground abortion service in 1965, before Roe. She was the founding Director and is now President of the Midwest Academy, training social change leaders and organizers. She has been involved in and managed political campaigns and was the Training Director of the Democratic National Committee. Booth has been a consultant on many other issues and with many other organizations. She is a member of the consulting firm Democracy Partners.
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