Last week, a political candidate took a swipe at the work of community organizers, in an attempt to denigrate the work of another political candidate who was once a community organizer.

That attempt to score political points on the backs of people who do good work in this country bothers me.

It bothers me a lot.

Without getting too political, I’d like to point out 15 important or interesting books inspired and/or written by community organizers (and they’re neither all black, all American nor all of the same political persuasion):

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley, Malcolm X and Alex Haley
• Letter from the Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr.
• Living History, Hillary Clinton
• Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela
• Elizabeth Dole: A Leader in Washington, Eileen Lucas
• Paul of Tarsus: A Visionary Life, Edward Stourton (And don’t forget about Paul’s epistles in the New Testament. People who denigrate community organizers may even have heard of them, as they’re some of the most important works ever written)
• Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965, Juan Williams and Julian Bond
• Moses: A Life, Jonathan Kirsch
• The Black Napoleon: Toussaint L’Ouverture, Liberator of Haiti, James Jess Hannon
• Reaching Up for Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America, Geoffrey Canada
• Juliette Gordon Low: Founder of the Girl Scouts of America, Deborah Kent
• Gandhi: An Autobiography, Mohandas K. Gandhi
• A Pilgrim’s Journey: The Autobiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Ignatius of Loyola
• Failure Is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words, Lynn Sherr
• St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography, Philip Freeman

Do you have a favorite book written or inspired by a community organizer?

See a list of more bloggers writing about community organizers as part of ‘I am a Community Organizer – A Day of Blogging for Community Organizing Justice’ at Electronic Village.