Allan G. JohnsonNavigationHomeAboutBooksThe First Thing and the LastNothing Left to LoseThe Gender KnotPrivilege, Power, and DifferenceThe Forest and the TreesThe Blackwell Dictionary of SociologyForeign EditionsEssaysAllan’s New Blog: Unraveling the KnotFatal Distraction: Manhood, Guns, and ViolenceIdiots, Morons, Lunatics, and Fools: When Worldviews CollideIt’s Different for MenManhood and WarMen’s Silence about Men’s ViolenceOccupy ThisOur House Is on FireA Traitor to His SexThe ‘Job Creator’ MythThe Tree as MetaphorWhere White Privilege Came FromWho Me?Why Is There Poverty?Blog PostsPresentationsAudio & VideoThe First Thing and the Last on NPRNothing Left to Lose on NPRPeople, Systems, and MonopolyUnraveling the Knot of Race
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Stubborn Ounces
(To one who doubts the worth of doing anything if you can’t do everything)
You say the little efforts that I make
will do no good; they will never prevail
to tip the hovering scale
where Justice hangs in the balance.
I don’t think I ever thought they would.
But I am prejudiced beyond debate
in favor of my right to choose which side
shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.
PUT_CHARACS_HEREBonaro Overstreet
Allan G. Johnson is a nonfiction author, novelist, sociologist, public speaker, and workshop presenter who has devoted most of his working life to understanding the human condition, especially in relation to issues of social justice rooted in gender, race, and social class. He has spoken at more than 200 universities, colleges, corporations, and other organizations in 39 states. His nonfiction books include The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy, The Forest and the Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice, and Promise (both in new editions in September, 2014), and Privilege, Power, and Difference. His work has been translated into several languages and excerpted in numerous anthologies.
His first novel, The First Thing and the Last, a story of healing and redemption in the aftermath of domestic violence, was recognized by Publisher’s Weekly as a notable debut work of fiction and praised for its “lyrical prose, sympathetic characters and an unwavering sense of hope and compassion that make for a moving, engaging read.” His second novel, Nothing Left to Lose, the story of an American family in crisis during the Vietnam War, was published in 2011.
Allan’s memoir, Not from Here, a personal exploration of the meaning of being white in North America, will be published by Temple University Press in the spring of 2015.
Allan’s approach to social