The Life of an Activist

The Life of an Activist is a non-fiction narrative that describes key steps on how to become and evolve into an effective activist and community leader. The book describes social movements and provides useful advice on how to successfully manage non-profits to accomplish positive social change that truly improves people’s lives.The author is a lifelong activist who was born in the United States but was deported to El Salvador as a baby. He spent his childhood in El Salvador but moved back to the United States and grew up in South Central Los Angeles during the tumultuous and violent decades of the late 1970s and 1980s. He has also lived and worked in Rochester, Minnesota; Madrid, Spain; Washington, D.C.; and Alexandria, Virginia. In each of these cities, he observed and learned a great deal about social movements and activism.This book is a must read for anyone who wants to improve their own lives and communities through activism. As Gandhi stated, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” The Life of an Activist: In the Frontlines 24/7 will truly be life-changing and inspirational.

“The book offers a glimpse into his experience as an activist and community organizer, especially as a Latino.... Ertll writes about well-known activists like Malcolm X, but also about his own experience. He has spent the last 20 years participating in different movements and campaigns spanning environmental, human rights and education issues. He gives advice for budding activists, like how to raise money, write newspaper columns, organize fundraisers and deal with boards of directors and bureaucracies.”

The book offers a glimpse into his experience as an activist and community organizer, especially as a Latino. . . . Ertll writes about well-known activists like Malcolm X, but also about his own experience. He has spent the last 20 years participating in different movements and campaigns spanning environmental, human rights and education issues. He gives advice for budding activists, like how to raise money, write newspaper columns, organize fundraisers and deal with boards of directors and bureaucracies. Pasadena Star-News
In an audacious effort to foment a more conscious approach to fighting for a cause, author and activist Randy Jurado Ertll has written a book, perhaps a manual, to demystify the image of the anger-driven protestors identified with social causes. His voice is one of great experience; growing up with a divided reality between his Salvadorian and American identities he understands the lack of education and need for action within disadvantaged communities. Indiewire
Ertll provides a concrete roadmap of events, organizations, and people, a map that he has developed over the past twenty years of active involvement in Los Angeles community life. . . . This will be a book to give to your grandchildren when they ask, ‘What was it like back then?’ -- David E. Hayes-Bautista, PhD, professor of medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and director, Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture
Randy Jurado Ertll has spent a lifetime in the activist trenches, and his book shows it. In it, he offers nitty-gritty details and advice for anyone interested in the non-profit world. The reader will be much more knowledgeable and wiser after having read The Life of an Activist. -- Amitabh Pal, managing editor, The Progressive magazine
Randy Jurado Ertll has written about his life as an activist in ways that inspire readers to recalibrate their own lives. . . . Perhaps more than anything else, what Randy gives us is the opportunity to face ourselves in the mirror and ask the hard questions that lurk always at the edge of consciousness. -- Terrence J. Roberts, Ph.D., one of the “Little Rock Nine” who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957
Randy Jurado Ertll’s book on activism, The Life of an Activist: In the Frontlines 24/7, is a gripping story that captivates any reader. It is an insight into what it means to be an activist and how to become one. Ertll intrigues his readers with his wit. It is hard to put his book down; as reader, you want to know what is next. His book reveals his life in the frontlines of activism and serves as a voice for those needing to be heard. His work is a powerful storytelling. I highly recommend it. -- Alma Alfaro, Ph.D., professor of language, literature, and culture at Walla Walla University
Randy Jurado Ertll once again paints a powerful picture of his life as a committed community activist, leader, writer, organizer, and builder of a successful non-profit organization. Ertll provides a thoughtful pragmatic, energizing blueprint for community activism from the national policy-making level as exemplified by President Obama to the street level as exemplified by activists from Malcolm X to Cesar Chavez. They all figure prominently in Ertll’s narrative. Ertll’s book is a must read for anyone who seeks to understand, and better yet, become a positive change maker in their community. -- Earl Ofari Hutchinson, political analyst and author of The Latino Challenge to Black America: Towards a Conversation Between African Americans and Hispanics
Randy Jurado Ertll, whom I met when we worked together trying to improve Pasadena public schools, has written a highly readable and inspiring story about his role as an advocate for social justice. At once idealistic and pragmatic, The Life of An Activist provides an excellent primer for readers interested in getting involved in a cause bigger than themselves. -- Richard D. Kahlenberg, author, All Together Now: Creating Middle-Class Schools through Public School Choice

Randy Jurado Ertll is the executive director of El Centro de Acción Social in Pasadena, California. He has worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., published numerous opinion columns in newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, La Opinión, and the Houston Chronicle, and has been interviewed by networks such as NPR, CNN, PBS, Univisión, and Telemundo. He is an alumnus of Occidental College and obtained his master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University.

The Life of an Activist is a non-fiction narrative that describes key steps on how to become and evolve into an effective activist and community leader. The book describes social movements and provides useful advice on how to successfully manage non-profits to accomplish positive social change that truly improves people's lives. The author is a lifelong activist who was born in the United States but was deported to El Salvador as a baby. He spent his childhood in El Salvador but moved back to the United States and grew up in South Central Los Angeles during the tumultuous and violent decades of the late 1970s and 1980s. He has also lived and worked in Rochester, Minnesota; Madrid, Spain; Washington, D.C.; and Alexandria, Virginia. In each of these cities, he observed and learned a great deal about social movements and activism. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to improve their own lives and communities through activism. As Gandhi stated, "Be the change you want to see in the world." The Life of an Activist: In the Frontlines 24/7 will truly be life-changing and inspirational.

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