9226 Kercheval: The Storefront that Did Not Burn, With a New Preface

by Nancy Milio

In honor of the thirtieth anniversary of its first publication, we are happy to reissue Nancy Milio's 9226 Kercheval , a groundbreaking book which analyzes the success of the Mom and Tots Center in urban Detroit in the late 1960s. At the time of its first publication, Robert Coles called the book "rare and extremely important" and remarked, "I can only hope that all those concerned with urban problems might read this unusual and inspiring book."



Milio adds a new Preface to update readers on the fate of the center and the issues of poverty and health care which continue today.




From the original


"This is the story of a venture in the ghetto, of the development of a ghetto health project which still lives, and of its meaning as I saw it as director. It is a tale told twice, in alternating first as a factual account of events, then as a personal interpretation of those events--the story from the inside of the white outsider who was present. . . . The unfolding is literally and allegorically a story of involvement and change, the evolution of a new institution and of the people who made it. It is, in its parallel construction here, the public and private stories behind a benignly named storefront in a Detroit ghetto, the Mom and Tots Center, and of the inevitable intertwining of the two. . . . This book does say at least two things. First that health, as quality of life, as 'wholeness, unfolding,' must be mirrored in the process of undertakings intended to improve health. And that those who would involve others, especially the poor, in the process of healthful change, must themselves be the one who would change others must himself be changed."


Nancy Milio is Professor of Health Policy and Administration and Professor of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also the author of Engines of Using Information Technology to Create Healthy Communities and Challenge Public Policy and Nutrition Policy for Food Rich A Strategic Analysis , among others.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[Heather Barta]

Source: MELcat print

This was for my friend Pam’s “nurse book club”. I didn’t finish before book club, but still participated. They were a great group. It was interesting enough conversation that I did want to read the book… so just kept reading (until it was really late to the library!)

This was a powerful read. I was teary by the end. What an amazing gift to this community. I really wish that we could do better with creating organizations that can support communities at the community level. It’s a challenge to me to look for opportunities to raise up leaders, support leaders, so that they can do the work that needs to be done in their area.

I’m grateful for the learning more about this particular “day care” in this particular time in history. Incredibly inspiring!

[katen moore]

this book continues to resonate with me, read it in nursing school a long time ago...read it, it is not long, but very very powerful. The only storefront not burned down..saved by the community for the value it was

[Nora Gaskin Esthimer]

A compelling recollection of the '60s in Detroit, when a riot proved no match for people of good will who came together to make things better. If you don't quite know what "community organizing" is, read this book. If you believe in better angels, you'll find them here--and you'll find out how tough they are.

[Whitney]

Great book for community health class.