Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Regan describes the economic and political status of Robeson County shortly after the Robesonian hostage-taking, noting that it “contains patterns of poverty and oppression associated with the third world” (p. 11). He describes the formation of the Center for Community Action, with “a group of twenty-five people of all three races” (p. 11), and their first two major efforts, the Legal Justice Project and the Fair Employment Project. Legerton gives a clear, concise description of the philosophy and operating principles of the organization. He notes, “Unlike most peace and justice organizations, the Center for Community Action focuses primarily on building organization, relationships, skills, and campaigns to address local peace and justice concerns. . . . A strong constituency base is being developed and expanded to persuade decision makers on any level that changes are needed. . . . Our constituency must reflect the racial, ethnic, and economic diversity of our communities in order to determine which issues to take on and to plan specific, realistic, short-term and long-term campaigns” (p. 12).