Yes You Can!: Your Guide to Becoming an Activist

By Jane Drake and Ann Love

Every time our society takes steps forward, segregation becomes illegal, child labor is exposed, and companies that poison our air are called to account. Behind those steps are people who identified problems, worked together, and created change. Lifelong environmental activists, Jane Drake and Ann Love present the nine steps to social change and much more. From fascinating accounts about the founding of organizations such as Amnesty International, Pollution Probe, and Greenpeace to the nuts and bolts of how to run an effective meeting or write a petition, to words of inspiration, Yes You Can! Your Guide to Changing the World is great reading and encouragement for every person who wants to make the world a better place.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 12, 2010
• ISBN: 9781770492356

Jane Drake

The author was born and lives in South Wales UK. She trained as a nurse but for most of her career worked as a midwife and bereavement counsellor, in the National Health Service. She is now retired. Her Christian faith is very important to her. It has helped her through pain and difficulties in her own life but has also enabled her to comfort and encourage others. She has always enjoyed making up stories for her children and grandchildren. But this is the story she felt she had to write down.

Reviews for Yes You Can!

[_zoe__1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is a very thin book, and a lot of it is still filler. A good 20% consists of timelines of significant events in categories like American Civil Rights or Air and Water Pollution. Even worse, these timelines don’t contain enough information to make the reader appreciate or care about the events listed. For example, one entry reads “A.D. 1978, United States: Governments evacuate hundreds of families from a subdivision in Niagara Falls, New York, constructed on toxic waste, used to fill in an old man-made waterway called the Love Canal.” I still remember vividly how horrified I was after reading about Love Canal for the first time in my ninth grade geography class, more than a decade ago. The bland statement in this book evoked none of that emotion.Another major part of the book consists of more in-depth discussions of particular topics, like Rosa Parks or smoking laws. These 3-5 page sections were probably my favourite, because they actually provided interesting information in a readable format. They were only marginally related to the supposed topic of the book, though: this is supposed to be “a step-by-step guide to successful social change”. But there’s a huge gulf between reading about the progress that has been made by others (in the case of the smoking laws, it’s not at all clear how regular individuals made a contribution) and knowing how to bring about that progress ourselves.The book does contain sections about how to be an activist, but I found them less than helpful. The advice dealt with questions like how to run a formal meeting and how to give an interview to a reporter. This is all well and good, but there’s an earlier stage that seemed to be missing. How do you build up interest so that people actually come to your formal meeting? How do you attract the interests of journalists so that they contact you for an interview? I would have liked to see a much greater focus on how to get started from nothing. What are some small initial steps that can be taken immediately to work toward the change we care about?Ultimately, I don’t think I learned a lot from this book. It also took me forever to read, because it didn’t hold my attention. I’m glad I’m finally done with it.

[nickelini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In 2010 I found myself thinking about social activism more than ever, so when this book became available through the ER program, I jumped at a chance to read it. I didn't realize that it was marketed for a teen audience. That wasn't a detriment, however, as most of the information in the book is applicable to a wider-audience. This slim volume is well organized and packed with information. The chapters, or "steps" as the authors call them, tackle one issue each. They include an inspirational background story (for example, the beginnings of Greenpeace, or a short history of Gandhi), a section on useful strategies and tips for skill development, and finally conclude with a timeline of milestones and setbacks of a particular movement. Regardless of whether your area social activism is at the neighbourhood or global level, this book has helpful information, inspiration and advice to get you moving on your chosen cause. The writing is clear and concise and doesn't condescend to the audience. I also appreciate that the publisher included a useful index. Recommended for: anyone who is interesting in getting involved in social change, whatever their age. Basic information and inspiration for the beginner, and not someone who is already an activist.

[khrystibooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book jacket reads "A step-by-step guide to successful social change." I don't quite know if that's accurate. While this book offers a look at the process activism usually follows, there are less direct strategies and more stories of activists. There are a few helpful exercises, however. I liked that the book did not seem to be pushing one agenda, though the authors seemed to hint at discussing smoker's rights vs. non smokers rights and then only discussed the latter. There are some interesting nuggets about how much the U.S.A. sucks at environmental policy, but they are only facts in time lines, nothing pushy. All in all, this book offers an interesting look at how change is affected, and it does make me want to do something worthwhile in my community. I sense that this accomplishes the authors' true purpose.

[sarahehwilson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is directed toward teenagers and young adults, not full-grown adults, who want to see change happen--not an age category you'd necessarily realize looking at the cover. That said, it's certainly not unuseful for older folks, especially if they're beginners in the world of activism themselves. This book isn't exactly a practical guide, though. There's not a lot of nitty-gritty detail on methods or laws or statutes for change. It's better to think of it is a psychological guide to becoming an activist, which the subtitle sort of implies; it's about becoming a certain kind of person, rather than doing a certain kind of activity. There are assumptions in the book that mildly grated on my nerves, like a timeline that glorifies the declaration of human rights in the French Revolution without bothering to mention the swift onset of the guillotine while predictably denouncing the Inquisition without bothering to mention Christian leaders in human rights. Also, while most of the examples are of the kind nobody could object to, there is certainly sympathy with some kinds of activism while others are ignored. And though generally there is the suggestion that non-violent actions are the way to go, there are a few examples, for instance from Greenpeace, where violent tactics were employed, so you're not quite sure where the authors are at on the subject. If nothing else, though, it's an inspirational overview of how ordinary people got impassioned at injustice and actually managed to change it--something everyday cynics could benefit from remembering.

[jrlibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The subtitle of this book is, Your Guide to Becoming an Activist, and I think that if the book is geared to people who are not yet activists, this will not be the book that jump starts them. The focus on very large organizations would be overwhelming to someone who is just considering "doing something", and the history of those organizations would not be that exciting. For those reasons, this is not the book I would be reaching for to encourage a young person who wanted to start making a difference.

[sdunford_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm a community organizer by trade, and very passionate about what I do. And since I'm entering my "golden years" and seeing the need to pass-on what I've learned I was very excited to get this book. I read through it the first day, and put it down, very disappointed. There is no doubt that the book is well-meaning, and well-written, but it had so little connection to my experience that it seemed to come from another world. But then (northern ?) Canada is a world away from inner city Bronx where I've worked.The format of the book was disjointed. It was less a guidebook than a history of causes. I also think the focus on "big ticket" organizations like Greenpeace, Red Cross, and Save the Children removed it very far from a beginning activists' reality. And there was not enough time paid to the admittedly transferable skills, usable by a beginner. It just didn't relate.So I gave the book to my 13-year old niece. She liked the parts about this history of organizations and movements, but barely noticed the "nuts and bolts"So I left the book for a few weeks and then read it again and unfortunately (because we need books like this very badly, I have to conclude that this book - while being a decent history of change-making organizations, fails at exactly what it bills itself as - a guidebook.

[mamakats · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Last nite, Jon Stewart, on the Daily Show, dubbed the 2010 mid-term election results to be the "Maybe We Can't" voters' response and a referendum against Obama's "Yes We Can" campaign so popular a mere two years ago. As my loveys know, I have been a busy mama this campaign season volunteering in a big way for a local school board candidate. My sassy-ass wit and well-researched snark afforded me the really great opportunity to be a speech/campaign writer. It's been a great ride and the votes are still being tallied but alas, it looks like my candidate is not likely to win. As if working on this campaign was not enough to keep me out of trouble, I started up a brand new PTA with all the workings of non-profit tax status and organizational paperwork to be done while managing my household and the the special needs of my children. Whew! Now that I type it all out that does seem busy!And while I was polling, writing and making calls for my candidate, filing paperwork, and waiting for special education meetings for my kids, avoiding folding the laundry, I was also reading this little book that had the terrible misfortune to be published now, rather than the timely two years' ago time frame. The book, entitled Yes You Can!: Your Guide to Becoming An Activist by Jane Drake and Ann Love seems so ill-timed this week. As I watch the news crews fall all over themselves to gaffaw and slobber all over the Republican Wave and Tea Party Mandate results of the 2010 election I'm kinda bummed that the book title seems quaint and kinda tragic today.Still, the book is largely a good tome on becoming a young activist. It seems taken from the dated and widely read (in activist circles, anyway) text, Rules for Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky in 1971. Sisters, Drake & Love, attempt to update and break up the the steps toward becoming an activist by inserting anecdotes presumably associated with each one. Mostly this idea works, but the tactic does strike this post-modern mama as smacking a little too much of an identity politics stunt that seems dated in itself. Each anecdote is based on a personal story of an activist that is likely to be unfamiliar to a young reader and therefore slightly disjointed from the associated step and it's explanation.So for each step there is a STORIES section, a STRATEGIES section, a SKILLS section, and a TIMELINE: Milestones and Setbacks section. This seems like a thoughtful and creative way to attempt to make the material accessible for a young reader. However, more often than not, I was left wondering how the story, timeline and anecdote connected to the step being described. The step or focus of the chapter seemed to get lost in the extraneous information that was supposed to bolster the point. For instance: in the Step Five: Baby Steps, Giant Leaps chapter, there is an introductory anecdote about Janie and her Poppa dying of lung cancer as impacting the personal battle for getting Janie's parents to quit smoking. Then there is the Story of Smoking vs. Nonsmoking: a Seesaw Battle of Rights followed up by the Strategies section of Gandhi: Non-Violent Change - One Step At a Time and the Skills section with The Elements of a Good Poster/Posting only to be followed up with the Timeline Milestones & Setbacks section of Tobacco and Non-Smoker's Rights. What?!I am a long time activist and student of activist literature as well as political theory and philosophy hobbyist. I personally can kinda draw the connections between Gandhi's brand of activism and the baby steps that Janie might have had to take in order to make the giant leap to a smoke-free household. I can appreciate that information because I have an educated background that helps me make those connections. But a young reader, with little knowledge of Gandhi or the history of the smoke-free public spaces movement will have very little context for making the connections between Gandhi's non-violence actions and the smoke-free successes. Complicating the Step Five chapter even further is the addition of the Skills section about making a poster or writing a relevant facebook post. Again, I can make the connection between Gandhi's non-violent efforts and a good communiqué because I have the expertise to do so, but I do not think a young reader is able to make this connection. Finally, in getting back to the timeline of Tobacco Users vs. Non-Smokers Rights is to lose all sense of what the original intent of Step Five is all about.I want to be clear though; the information in this handbook is rock solid. I kept thinking to myself that the step-by-step guide and skills could be photocopied for easy dissemination amongst young activists as a really handy pamphlet. Separately, the timelines with related anecdotes make a really interesting brief history of social change activism for young readers. I am just not so sure that the organization of the information together is as easy to connect with as the authors intended.This was a lofty vision to be sure. Each chapter is so chop full of information that I often felt overwhelmed in reading despite none of the material or ideas as being new to me. I kept worrying over a young reader trying to make sense of the information without the benefit of my knowledge-base. When I asked my 16 year old son to look over the text, he confirmed my worst fears. I kinda wondered if maybe this book would benefit from a slight re-organization with some graphics and points of interest to break up the density of the text. Maybe that would help "air out" some of the big ideas and separate the supportive anecdotes from the important steps' descriptions.Despite my concerns, I do really like this book and feel that with some support in the reading (maybe an activist seminar or class) that a young person could really learn a lot from this material and take away a new process for successful social change strategizing. And even though Jon Stewart laughingly says, "maybe we can't" I say I hope that our kids will. I want a world filled with kids who want better and work for a positive way of living. With a book like this available, maybe they just might.

[philcott · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a well-written book; an easy read. I read the entire book in one setting, but it's worth keeping around. It was evidently written for a juvenile audience, but may be more useful for adults.It's a step-by-step manual for taking on an issue, and getting something done about that issue. The chapters are well-organized and the method is clear. The authors use great examples, and it's clear that they have some personal connection with some of the examples given. It's an excellent book, and I'll be keeping it in my library, and occasionally recommending it to people. However, it's missing a couple of things that would have made it a much better book. First, unless you know who Jane Drake and Ann Love are, the authors come without credentials, and they fail to present their credentials. It would be helpful for the authors to explain to their audience how they came by this knowlege. If they have personal experience as activists (and it appears that they have), that would add credibility.The other missing item in the book is an awareness of faith-based activism, or even an awareness of faith. For example, one list of notable documents that set social standards starts with the Code of Hammurabi, but ignores the commandments of the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran. The authors use Ghandi as an example, but don't even nod to the religious basis of his activism.Particularly in a bood for young people, and particularly in a book that encourages people to act on their beliefs, it would be helpful to recognize that some of those beliefs are religious, as well as political, environmental or social. That said, it is still a good book, and well worth keeping on the shelf. It is as suitable for adults as for juveniles, and if it is successful as such, may mark a bit of a change in their writing career.

[cmcvittie_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Drake and Love lay out an easy to read, "how-to" for becoming a young activist. Each chapter is a step in the process and includes the story of the founding of a major activist movement, background for the strategy, one simple "how-to", and where the activist movement mentioned at the beginning is today in its work. At the end of the book, the authors have revisited the steps and included a checklist for those seriously beginning work on a project close to their heart. A great model of how this works is Step 5: Baby Steps, Giant Leaps. This chapter starts with Jane Drake's recollections of her grandfather and father smoking and how the attitude to tobacco has changed in 50 years. This is followed by the story of how Mahatma Ghandi opposed the salt tax with non-violence. The strategy in this chapter is using posters to bring attention to an idea and ends with milestones and set-backs in the anti-smoking movement. This book is an excellent companion to works like Three Cups of Tea or works by Craig and Mark Kielburger.

[saltypepper_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The authors of Yes You Can have taken the saying "It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness," to heart. This book is a good overview of how and why people become activists, and does a great job of helping young people understand that this is something they can do as well if there is an issue they feel strongly about changing. The descriptions of how various groups such as Amnesty International and the Red Cross were founded are clear and easy to read (though they can be a little simplistic), and factual without beating kids over the head with the idea that they're getting a (very abbreviated) history lesson. That's okay though, the point is to inspire kids to take action now about things they care about, rather than teach them all about things that someone else did about things that they may not feel as passionately about. There are checklists and ideas about strategies that have worked for groups in the past, so that budding activists do not need to reinvent the wheel for every issue.I think the book's optimistic tone will go a long way towards inspiring the next generation of activists to get an early start. I am going to donate my ER copy to the library at my kids' school. The publishers suggest that it's best for readers aged 11 and up, which seems right for a kid reading independently, but as part of a history class or project, for example, I think kids as young as 9 might be able to benefit from it.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Right away I have to say I wouldn't have classified this as "juvenile" literature. The language might be a little simplistic, definitely geared toward young adults, but the message is something we should all sit up and take notice of no matter what our age: if the world around you makes you sick do something. It's the age-old promise, "you CAN make a difference!" But first you have to DO something.Yes You Can is a how-to manual of sorts. Each chapter covers a different step to becoming an activist including an example of someone taking that particular step. The histories of organizations such as Amnesty International and Save the Children illustrate what can happen if the right steps are taken successfully. For every chapter there is a section on the historical time line of that step in action. There is also a section on the accomplishments as well as the challenges called, "Milestones and Setbacks" which put everything into perspective. Almost like a textbook there is a checklist to test what the reader has (or hasn't learned). My favorite piece of advice was "know your cause inside and out." The ability to see both sides of any argument can go a long way in the effort to sway opinion or make a change.