Life at the Center : Haitians and Corporate Catholicism in Boston

For years the Catholic Church, Catholic Charities, and the Haitian Multi-Service Center in Boston have helped Haitian refugees and immigrants attain economic independence, health, security, and citizenship in the United States. In Life at the Center,Erica Caple James traces this aid work and discovers at its heart a fundamental paradox, arising from what she calls corporate Catholicism": social assistance produces and reproduces structural inequalities between providers and recipients, which can deepen aid recipients' dependence and lead to resistance to organized benevolence. James documents how institutional financial deficits harmed clients and providers, yet also how modes of philanthropy that previously caused harm can be redeployed to repair damage and rebuild "charitable brands." The culmination of over a decade of advocacy and research on behalf of the Haitians of Boston, this groundbreaking work exposes how Catholic corporations strengthened-but also eroded-Haitians' civic power"

Author: Erica Caple James

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Publication Date: May 28, 2024

Number of Pages: 318 pages

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

ISBN-10: 0520400542

ISBN-13: 9780520400542