Altars in the Street: A Neighborhood Fights to Survive
This work is the poignant story of Chavis's and others' struggles to secure community pride, cooperation, and decent family living in the face of increasingly disruptive activities associated with crack use and crack-related crime in Lorin, an interracial community on the south side of Berkeley, California, where Chavis lived for 16 years. A survivor of a dysfunctional family, she is a privately employed investigator for the defense in death penalty cases. Her connections with the Zen Center and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship reinforced her commitment to nonviolent approaches to the community's myriad social and political problems. Despite some visible successes, the unalleviated stress in a neighborhood consumed by drugs and violence finally forced Chavis and her family to move out of Lorin. Chavis writes with conviction and compassion. Strongly recommended for professionals, academics, and lay readers alike.?Suzanne W. Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology, AlfredCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.