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: srhodes@wfubmc.edu

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

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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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