REVIEWS
of The SEARCH FOR A CIVIC VOICE: CALIFORNIA LATINO POLITICS
"Advances the thesis that Latino involvement in electoral politics occurred much earlier than is commonly understood and was achieved by mobilizing voters and developing coalitions."
– The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education
“The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics provides in-depth, extensive coverage of the development of Latino politics in California that has implications for studies of Latino politics across the United States.”
– Jessica Lavariega Monforti, Journal of American Ethnic History
"impressively researched, with good use of oral histories . . . emphasizes the importance of coalition building . . . a 'who's who' of the state's Latino leaders, activists, and political organizations"
– Andrea Gill, Journal of the West
“Written in a lucid, non-academic style, The Search for a Civic Voice is a refreshing throwback to when histories were not only meant to be informative but dramatic and entertaining...The Search for a Civic Voice should become a classic on 20th century Hispanic politics in California.“
– Rosa Martha Villareal, Tertulia Magazine
“Kenneth C. Burt's The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics is a compelling historical walkthrough of the political empowerment strategies used by Latinos in the 1940s through the 1990s and the present.... Using more than 200 oral histories, archival research and academic literature from a number of fields, the narrative of Civic Voice reflects the author's own career in politics as a participant-observer [i]n the tradition of Ernesto Galarza and Carey McWilliams...“
– David Pacheco, Californiana, Center for California Studies, California State University, Sacramento (pdf)
“...explores the rise of the Latino vote... California Federation of Teachers political director Kenneth Burt, also a historian, has written a very good book on Latino politics called 'The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics.“
– Lisa Vorderrueggen, political editor, Contra Costa Times
“Kenneth C. Burt [is the] author of an excellent new book. The Search For A Civic Voice: California Latino Politics. Burt tells the story of Latino politics from before World War II to the present day. His book explains the long and difficult Latino rise to present day influence and shows the complexities and subtleties of the Latino community in a way missed by the mainstream news media.
“The characters in his story are amazingly diverse--business leaders, small shop owners, publishers, Communist Party members, priests, politicians, union leaders, housewives, factory workers, doctors, teachers, social workers, Republicans, Democrats and many more.“
– Former Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Boyarsky, LA Observed
“Kenneth Burt has written an exceptional book: he proviodes readers with a clear lens to view the past and to understand the rise of Latino politics.“
– Marty Bennett, Community College Perspective (pdf)
“Burt hopes to spread a history lesson he believes Latino activists should heed: Latinos have gained politically when they have formed working coalitions with other groups, and they have foundered when they have focused inwardly“.
–Timm Hurdt, Ventura Star
“The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics, by Kenneth C. Burt with foreword by Antonio Villaraigosa, looks at the growing Latino political influence in California. It tells the story of how Latinos emerged from the sidelines of civic life to the large and expanding role Latinos currently hold.
“The book attempts to answer how modern Latino politics began and identify the players involved in the legacy of these political pioneers. It connects the state of politics in California today with how it was influenced by its predecessors.
“'Though The Search For a Civic Voice begins as a story of firsts, these events do not emerge in a vacuum. The study of the coalitions built by Latino political pioneers and their descendents among labor, business, religious and other groups sheds light on the organic process of an immigrant community finding its civic voice,' Burt writes in the introduction. The author is the political director of the California Federation of Teachers.
“Villaraigosa comments, 'This book provides inspiration and insight into better understanding both of the past seventy years and ongoing political developments. Finally, this is a powerful tribute to the sacrifices, struggles and successes of women and men who were often unsung heroes.'”
– “New Reads,“ Hispanic Link Weekly Report
“With a time frame that begins in the late 1930s and runs to the present, Burt takes his time analyzing the reasons for and results of Latino political power in the state... His original research is impressive... His analysis of the debates over strategies and tactics of the emerging Latino civil rights movement sparkles with insight.”
–Seth Sandrosky, Sacramento News & Review
“…the San Francisco Bay Area Labor History Workshop[‘s]...annual dinner honored the publication of Ken Burt’s awaited book The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics.”
–Don Watson, Newsletter of LAWCHA: The Labor and Working-Class History Association, Duke University
“Kenneth Burt has finished his long-awaited study of Latino politics in California. Significantly, Burt pays special attention to the Catholic dimensions of this issue, a dimension which is often neglected.”
– Dr. Jeffrey M. Burns, Newsletter of the Friends of the Archives of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
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