BOOK REVIEW
Meredith Minkler: Community Organizing and CommunityBuilding for Health (2005)
Scott D. Rhodes
Published online: 5 December 2008
� Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008
As editor, Dr. Meredith Minkler continues her important
contributions to the field of public health education with
the second edition of Community Organizing and Com-
munity Building for Health. Published in 2005 and in its
third printing, this edition includes a variety of contribu-
tors, each of whom is well known for his or her expertise in
community organizing and community building for health.
The volume focuses on (1) development and dissemination
of innovative ‘‘best processes’’ (as opposed to ‘‘best prac-
tices’’) to assist communities in using their own voices to
define and elevate health concerns and (2) community
mobilization through broad, strategic partnerships among
community members as well as with representatives of
community-based organizations, health departments, and
academic research institutions. This book is a key resource
for professionals in community health promotion, health
planning, social work, and other fields that apply asset-
based approaches to community health promotion and
disease prevention.
Initially Minkler concisely outlines the historical back-
ground and disciplinary foundations of community
organizing and community building for health (COCB for
the purpose of this review). She describes various ‘‘change
models’’ of community organizing including locality
development, social planning, and the social action models
as well as application and modification of these models.
The concepts or ‘‘constructs’’ associated with COCB are
also defined, including empowerment, critical conscious-
ness, community capacity, social capital, issue selection,
participation and relevance. The models and concepts
provide a foundation for community members, practitio-
ners, and researchers who seek to link COCB to an
established framework.
Part II explores the inherent challenges in COCB as a
formalized process by examining (1) philosophical and
practical challenges of ‘‘professionalizing’’ COCB for
health; (2) effective use of media for advocacy; (3) iden-
tification and reconciliation of conflicting loyalties; (4)
cross-cultural challenges, particularly around issues of
racism, privilege, and power; (5) assurance of genuine
rather than token community participation; and (6) the role
of securing resources to initiate, nurture, and sustain COCB
efforts. The contributors also encourage practitioners to
question whose ‘‘common good’’ is being served by the
organizing effort and warn of potential unanticipated con-
sequences of organizing. Health educators and others
promoting COCB for change are advised to engage in
frequent, thoughtful, and ethical reflection.
Communities are not infallible, and as I have witnessed in
community organizing and capacity building research in
North Carolina, community members and members of
community-based partnerships may have strongly held
prejudices about one another. For example, some community
partners within a now defunct multiracial, multiethnic men’s
S. D. Rhodes (&)
Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Division
of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School
of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem,
NC 27157-1063, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
S. D. Rhodes
Section on Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal
Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical
Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, USA
S. D. Rhodes
Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, Wake Forest
University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard,
Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, USA
123
J Immigrant Minority Health (2009) 11:334–335
DOI 10.1007/s10903-008-9214-7
community organizing health partnership with the Univer-
sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill advocated against the
priorities expressed by Latino partnership members. Some
community partners expressed negative sentiments towards
Latino community members whom they perceived as
‘‘undocumented’’ and thus ‘‘unwelcome.’’ Furthermore,
stereotypes about and stigma surrounding HIV trumped
undeniable community needs that would have warranted
some level of prioritization of HIV prevention organizing
within the African American community. Some African
American members of the health partnership saw HIV as a
‘‘gay disease’’ ‘‘contracted by sinners.’’ This volume can
provide support to professionals who are challenged to effect
change through COCB in a manner that not only reflects the
priorities of the community but is also consistent with social
justice: there should be little tolerance of prejudice or bias.
Part III outlines processes for identifying and defining
communities and assessing priorities and resources. Con-
tributors propose criteria for selecting and refining an issue
of focus and a process for ‘‘cutting the issue’’ or translating
goals and objectives into prioritized ‘‘bite-sized’’ steps to
move the effort forward. Without this practical and sys-
tematic guide, the effort can be daunting. This section also
offers examples of COCB within and among diverse
communities. While recognizing COCB efforts among and
with people with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgendered people, among others, the book specifically
focuses on experiences among and with women of color
and senior populations. An important ‘‘take home’’ mes-
sage is that models of COCB must be flexible. The lived
experiences and realities of diverse and vulnerable groups
often differ from those groups that initially developed
COCB models.
Because community coalitions have emerged as an
approach to address complex public health issues, Part VI
addresses roles coalitions play in change and the linkages
between coalitions and COCB. Contributors outline a
conceptual model with key characteristics of coalitions,
including leadership and decision-making processes,
communication patterns, and target activities. Contributors
later outline alternative forms of COCB, including pro-
moting consciousness rising, critical thinking and dialogue
through the arts and internet. Given the need for new ways
to reach diverse communities and support them in gener-
ating knowledge and mobilizing, such creativity seems
particularly important. The ways that undocumented Latino
adolescent immigrants, for example, discover their voices
and are heard are very different from processes in other
communities.
Contributors also describe participatory and empower-
ing evaluation through COCB that not only builds
community capacity but also has the potential to develop
new ways of measuring and ‘‘capturing’’ change. Recog-
nizing that policy advocacy remains a neglected
component of most health promotion and disease preven-
tion efforts, contributors offer guidance through examples
and frameworks that demystify the process. A thorough set
of appendices provides resources for both the practitioner
and researcher. For example, Appendix 1 provides guid-
ance for early community assessment using an effective
(and, unfortunately to date an obscure) technique known as
‘‘action-oriented community diagnosis.’’
Community Organizing and Community Building for
Health, second edition, is a powerful tool for those who are
working shoulder to shoulder with communities to effect
change. It is accessible to multiple audiences and moves
the reader—and learner—from historical foundations and
models of community organizing and community building
to real-world applications. It provides step-by-step guid-
ance in the practice of community organizing and
community building and offers concrete tools to jumpstart
the process. The usefulness of this book cannot be under-
estimated for all of us working for change within
communities.
J Immigrant Minority Health (2009) 11:334–335 335
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