Gerald W. Schlabach

GeraldSchlabach.Net

Menu
  • About
    • Interview
    • Mennonite Catholic
    • Benedictine
    • Bridgefolk
    • A few convictions
      • A statement of faith
      • On Christian education
      • On the “core questions” for a liberal arts education
    • Family mission statement (1996)
  • CV
    • Table of contents
    • Personal data
    • Education
    • Books published
    • Articles in peer-reviewed journals
    • Articles in other journals & anthologies
    • Conference papers & public presentations
    • Other publications
    • Professional experience
    • Service activities
    • Professional organizations
  • Commentary (blog)
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Talks
  • Poetry, etc.
  • Resources
    • Dom Hélder Câmara
      Speeches to the Mani Tese Youth Movement, 1972
    • Courses
      • Syllabi
    • Handouts
      • A sense of history: some components
      • The ten commandments of good historical writing
      • Tips on reading Thomas Aquinas
  • Contact
Menu

Relentless Persistence: Nonviolent Action in Latin America

Posted on April 21, 1991December 13, 2020 by Gerald Schlabach

Phil McManus and Gerald Schlabach, co-editors
With an introduction by Leonardo Boff

“A tremendous contribution toward documenting the courage of thousands of people throughout Latin America who struggle for a world of peace, justice and human dignity.”

–Isabel Letelier

“This is not only part of the Latin American story. It becomes part of the North American story as we reflect on what ‘relentless persistence’ could mean in our own lives.’

–Robert McAfee Brown

rpIn the face of enormous disparities of wealth and despite brutal repression, Latin America is alive with movements for change. Struggles for human rights, community organization and political participation have enabled Latin Americans to assume their role as authors of their own history. Relentless Persistence illustrates in human terms the vitality and diversity of those movements — and their often astonishing results.

How did popular pressure in Uruguay drive the military dictatorship into retreat? How are the indigenous people of Peru continuing their 450-year-old tradition of resistance to subjugation and acculturation? What are base community organizers doing to create real democracy in Chile? In answering these questions Relentless Persistence gives us inspiring examples of human creativity and commitment, explores the rich relationship between faith and politics, and demonstrates the dynamic integration of reflection, strategy and action that can lead to liberation.

Here are the stories of cement works in Brazil who maintained militant nonviolence throughout a twelve-year strike; of four women whose hunger strike brought Bolivia to a standstill until tin miners’ rights were restored; of Honduran peasants whose land occupations enable them to feed their families; of the Argentinian Madres de Plaza de Mayo, whose bold actions awakened the conscience of their nation. Through case studies and personal testimonies, Relentless Persistence offers both the fascination of remarkable success stories and a deeper understanding of how ordinary people can create dramatic change.

For North Americans, conditioned to expect quick results, Relentless Persistence provides perspective for the long haul — a healthy antidote to easy discouragement. It is above all a strength-giving book full of moving examples of people acting with great determination and a profound joy of life.

Click here to order reprint edition.

 

Recent posts

  • Washing All Our Relatives’ Feet:
    A Homily for Creation Care
  • Of Elves and Theologians
  • Where Have You Gone, Malcolm Gladwell?
    An Open Letter
  • A Pilgrim People:
    Becoming a Catholic Peace Church
  • Ars Profetica
  • We Are All Monks Now
  • The Mystery in Ordinary Churches

Search

Affiliations

  • Bridgefolk
  • Catholic Nonviolence Initiative
  • Department of Theology, University of St. Thomas
  • St. Peter Claver Catholic Church

Scholarship

  • Academia.Com
  • Catholic Peacebuilding Network
  • Catholic Theological Society of America
  • Society of Christian Ethics
  • The Tolkien Society

Archives

©2025 Gerald W. Schlabach