When teaching first-year composition, I noticed how uncomfortable students became at the prospect of talking about politics in the classroom. The science majors were vocal in proclaiming the importance of limiting the use of plastic bags, and the nursing students vehemently argued for the necessity of vaccinations. These impassioned voices, though, quieted when faced with social justice issues regarding feminism or racial inequality. Indeed, as a first-time teacher, I felt ill-equipped to recognize how much was appropriate conversation. However, as my course was titled “Writing and Rhetoric,” I recognize how deeply connected the content was to politics and issues of social justice, especially as I was teaching at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in a classroom with a diverse student population. My classroom would have benefited from implementing Amy Aldridge Sanford’s From Thought to Action: Developing a Social Justice Orientation as she provides helpful strategies for communicating about social justice topics and making actionable change. 

While Sanford is a communication scholar and professor, her book addresses the questions rhetoric and composition scholars have raised on the importance of social justice and public writing in the classroom as well as how to approach it ethically (Welch 2005; Daniel 2017; Sundvall & Fredlund 2017). Weisser (2004) explains how public writing can provide students with the ability to recognize the voices that are silenced in conversation and those that are allowed to speak while Sundvall & Fredlund (2017) assert that rhetoric and activism provides students with the skills to think critically and choose what kinds of citizens they want to be. Further, Diab et al. (2013) emphasize the importance of making anti-racism and racial justice actionable. Sanford’s book provides historical context on activism, brief reviews at the end of each chapter for students new to social justice, and discussion starters which can help teachers to bring social justice into the classroom. Thus, though Sanford is not a rhetoric and composition scholar and thusshe does not focus predominantly on social justice through student writing, her work speaks directly to questions about how we define activism and provides information that can encourage students to implement social justice activism through their writing.

The preface and first chapter allow Sanford to describe her personal investment in social justice activism and her wish for her students to do more than talk but to “take action” (xvii). Readers who are concerned that Sanford might try to speak for people of color or other marginalized communities should know she does not. Instead, she recognizes her privilege and speaks honestly about her past growing up with racist and homophobic parents. As a multiethnic woman, I felt that familiar anger and discomfort when reading about how Sanford’s mother spoke about mixed children and interracial relationships, but Sanford’s honesty provides hope that people growing up in racist households can escape it and make a change. With her admittance of her past, Sanford states “[t]he purpose of the book is to help students (a) focus on common humanity, (b) feel less isolated during their social justice journeys, and (c) figure out how to move from thought to action” (xvii). She uses her past experiences to reach people who were once like her and to present them with the ability to embrace a social justice orientation. However, this book is not only for white students but for students of color who might also come from families against the idea of social justice or who have never been introduced to activism. While the book cover names first-year students as “ideal” readers, this book also works well to address community-based researchers and writers who care about making actionable change and bringing information to people new to social justice.

These readers who are new to social justice activism will find chapters two and three particularly helpful as they introduce the history of social justice movements. These chapters covered a broad range of issues from the abolition of slavery to the Chicana/o Civil Rights Movement and Red/Power American Indian Movement. Though Sanford fit a lot of information into these sections, what is beneficial to people who are new to social justice activism is that Sanford points out how “history is predominantly told from the side of the victor” (33). She then destabilizes that very history by giving attention to those who are often ignored. For example, she attends to how women’s suffrage was focused predominantly on white women’s issues, often excluding women of color and lesbians. Thus, Sanford provides a depiction of history that is often unheard of for students new to social justice. These chapters also include timelines and suggestions for further reading, indicating that Sanford intended this book to be a stepping-stone for first-year students and used within a classroom setting, encouraging students to look more deeply into these historical movements on their own.

After gaining insight into the history, chapters four, five, and six guide new activists in understanding social justice turning points. I found chapter four particularly beneficial for first-year students as it goes over the “language of experienced activists” such as “heteronormativity” and “patriarchy.” Though some of us who are more experienced in social justice activism might find this chapter to be overly simplistic, we must remember that this language is not well known to everyone. Indeed, many freshmen college students today might have only interacted with the word “triggering” in relation to a joke or a meme on social media. When integrating this book in a first-year writing classroom, teachers might think about using this chapter as a conversation starter and allow the students to branch off and discuss their previous assumptions and understandings about these words and how has cultural experiences and contexts perhaps changed the meaning over time. This chapter would be a great opportunity to not only teach the students, but to learn from them. Chapter five then describes historical turning points of social justice activists in women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, disability awareness, and more, similar to the historical overviews in chapters two and three. However, Sanford moves from historical knowledge in chapter six and instead focuses on “choosing a cause and taking action” (91). This chapter provides specific information on community involvement such as boycotting, letter writing, social media activism, and even a checklist for readers to fill out and reflect on what causes they find most important. Thus, Sanford moves from history—which can sometimes seem abstract to students—into the realm of actual community involvement.

The last four chapters of the text follow the assumption that readers want to become involved in social justice within their own communities, discussing the risks and rewards. Chapter seven is particularly important as it addresses the difficulties that come with conversing about social justice issues, recognizing that some people who belong to marginalized groups might “have unresolved historical trauma” (115) and feel unsafe speaking up. On the other hand, chapter eight encourages those with privilege to “call out (or call in) injustices” (140) while not speaking over marginalized voices. Further, this chapter discusses that being a leader involves “(a) good communication skills, (b) the desire to call out injustices, (c), a willingness to be vulnerable, (d), the ability to see people as individuals and share power with them, and (e) a need to be involved in the communities in which they live” (137). This breakdown works well to embody the mindset that Sanford wants of her students—to take action. While the last few chapters describe the possible consequences of being involved with social justice which can result in losing friends, experiencing injury and even death, Sanford balances these consequences with rewards which include “ending oppression, making the world a better place, taking care of the environment, promoting equity” (182). Sanford interlaces stories of real people within this chapter such as Colin Kaepernick and Ruth Bader Ginsburg as examples of activists who make change happen. With examples that students will be able to recognize, Sanford’s call to action encourages students to get involved with activism in their communities.

Upon finishing Sanford’s book, I recognize that some teachers might find it to be overly generalized. Some classes that are focused heavily on social justice in a specific topic, particularly those in HSIs, might use a few chapters from this book while supplementing it with books like Maylei Blackwell’s ¡Chicana Power! or Marc Simon Rodriguez’s Rethinking the Chicano Movement because these books emphasize “an alternative historiographic framework” focused specifically on Chicana/o history (Blackwell 2011, 4). What is beneficial about Sanford’s book, though, is the way in which it can be worked into any social justice course, whether that course be focused on the Chicana/o movement, African American Civil Rights, or LGBTQ+ Rights. Additionally, From Thought to Action may work as a valuable resource for designing a social justice course or used in the context of first-year writing to provide students with more opportunity to examine their thoughts and how they can make their activism actionable. From Thought to Action provides a structured framework, concise overview of important historical figures in social justice movements, and careful discussion of language used by “experienced activists” (59). This book is highly accessible to students new to social justice and teachers who might not know how to begin talking about these important issues in the classroom. Indeed, even though I have emphasized how this book will benefit people new to social justice, I, too, learned new things while wishing I had this book for my “Writing and Rhetoric” course as a new teacher and planning on how to implement the book in future classes. 

References

Blackwell, Maylei. 2011. ¡Chicana Power! Austin, TX: The University of Texas Press.

Daniel, James Rushing. 2017. “Freshman Composition as a Precariat Enterprise.” College English 80 (1): 63-85.

Diab, Rasha, Thomas Ferrel, Beth Godbee, and Neil Simpkins. 2013. “Making Commitments to Racial Justice Actionable.” Across the Disciplines 10 (3).

Rodriguez, Marc Simon. 2015. Rethinking the Chicano Movement. New York, NY: Routledge.

Sanford, Amy Aldridge. 2020. From Thought to Action: Developing a Social Justice Orientation. San Diego, CA: Cognella.

Sundvall, Scott and Katherine Fredlund. 2017. “The Writing on the Wall: Activist Rhetorics, Public Writing, and Responsible Pedagogy.” Composition Forum 36.

Welch, Nancy. 2005. “Teaching Public Writing in a Post-Publicity Era.” College Composition and Communication 56 (3): 470-492.