The Culture of Protest: Religious Activism and the U.S. Sanctuary Movement

In this closely observed but often dryly academic study, anthropologist Coutin examines two examples--in the San Francisco Bay area and in Tucson--of the U.S. sanctuary movement that aided undocumented Central Americans seeking refugee status. Mixing analysis of the academic literature of social protest with her fieldwork from 1987 and 1988, Coutin concludes that these grass-roots, religious-based activists created an ongoing practice of resistance rooted in daily life, and that their critique of American life went beyond the immediate goals of the sanctuary movement. She describes how the movement began, how border crossings and the overall effort led volunteers to reshape their views of American life, making them question their own values and those of their country. She offers testimonies from some Central American refugees and relates a 1985-86 trial of Tucson sanctuary workers on charges of conspiracy and alien smuggling, which led to eight convictions. Most intriguing is Coutin's observation of the sanctuary workers' inverse ``Orientalism,'' their tendency to idealize the non-Western values of the Central Americans they helped. (July)