Personalism and the Politics of Love: Revisiting the Radicalism of Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King Jr.

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-100
Author(s):  
Amanda Swain
Author(s):  
Robert Butler

Robert Butler’s “Invisible Man and the Politics of Love” rebuts the critique of Ellison as insufficiently engaged politically and alienated from authentic black culture, voiced most recently in Arnold Rampersad’s biography and Barbara Foley’s Wrestling with the Left: The Making of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Butler argues that this view of Ellison misreads the extent of Ellison’s authentic political commitment, which is far more rigorous and complex than Foley’s reductive treatment of his so-called flight from leftist extremism into “mythic individualism.” Butler explores what he calls Ellison’s commitment to Christian love and integration, bringing into relief a political vision that is far more harmonious with the Civil Rights activism of Martin Luther King than the outmoded Marxism that Ellison abandoned in the early 1940s. In Butler’s view, Ellison’s political concept of integration and mutual love is strongly attuned to the needs of America in the 21st century.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-27
Author(s):  
Monica Y. E. Chi

Non-faith-based social work educators and researchers have a poor understanding of what might motivate Christians in social work and whether Christian motivations have any place in social work. On the other hand, Christians have difficulty articulating actions inspired by their faith in ways that others can comprehend despite feeling misunderstood. The focus of this article is to present the framework of faith-inspired praxis of love and lay the groundwork for intergroup dialogue. The framework draws from the works of Jane Addams, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jean Vanier, and Mary Jo Leddy, five notable leaders in Christian spirituality and public initiatives, to discuss their conceptualization of faith, love, and praxis. Practice and research implications of this framework for social work are discussed.


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