Professional Resources

• Collective Behavior and Social Movements 
  Students of social change and social movements congregate in the American Sociological Association (ASA) Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements, though they also are disproportionately drawn to the Sections on:
  • Peace, War, and Social Conflict
  • Political Sociology
  • Labor and Labor Movements recently formed an ASA Section of their own.
     
• Mobilization 
  Mobilization is a new international journal of research and theory specializing in social movements, protests and collective behavior. 

Data Resources

• The Sentencing Project 
  “The Sentencing Project is a national organization working for a fair and effective criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing law and practice and alternatives to incarceration.” Statistics can be found by state. Publications, news, and advocacy information about issues including sentencing policy, racial disparity, felony disenfranchisement, drug policy and women in the justice system are all available.

Other Resources

The following Web sites are run by social movements and other organizations to advance their social change efforts and should not be taken as objective sources of information on the topics in question.

Abortion:

• The National Abortion Federation (NAF) 
  The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers in the United States and Canada [self-characterization].
   
• The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League 
  The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League: Our goal at NARAL is to help find sane, workable answers that will ultimately reduce the need for abortions. . . .Until we achieve our goal, it is critical that those who value the freedom and independence we enjoy in this country work hard now to protect a woman’ s right to choose [self-characterization].
   
• The National Right-to-Life 
  The National Right-to-Life is the largest and most influential organization dedicated to fighting “the culture of death” through public policy.
   
• The Pro-Life Action League 
  The Pro-Life Action League is dedicated to saving the lives of the unborn through the use of nonviolent direct action [self-characterization].

Civil and Human Rights:

• Amnesty International  
  Amnesty International is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards.
   
• Civilrights.org 
  Civilrights.org is a joint project of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Leadership Conference Education Fund. The goal of civilrights.org is to recruit, educate and mobilize individuals of good conscience in the ongoing struggle for equal opportunity.
   
• NETWORK 
  NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, educates, lobbies, and organizes to influence the formation of federal legislation to promote economic and social justice.
   
• SojoNet 
  SojoNet is the online presence of Sojourners, a Christian ministry whose mission is to proclaim and practice the biblical call to integrate spiritual renewal and social justice.
   
• People for the American Way 
  People for the American Way is dedicated to making the promise of America real for every American: Equality. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right to seek justice in a court of law. The right to cast a vote that counts. The American Way. Our vision is a vibrantly diverse democratic society in which everyone is treated equally under the law, given the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams, and encouraged to participate in our nation’s civic and political life. Our America respects diversity, nurtures creativity and combats hatred and bigotry [self-characterization].
   
• The Society for the Study of Social Problems in Pursuit of Social Justice 
  The Society for the Study of Social Problems in Pursuit of Social Justice is an organization located at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. According to the web site, the purpose of the organization is “to promote and protect sociological research and teaching on significant problems of social life and, particularly, to encourage the work of young sociologists; to stimulate the application of scientific method and theory to the study of vital social problems; to encourage problem-centered social research; to foster cooperative relations among persons and organizations engaged in the application of scientific sociological findings to the formulation of social policies; to foster higher quality of life, social welfare, and positive social relations in society and the global community and to undertake any activity related thereto or necessary or desirable for the accomplishment of the foregoing purposes.”