ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with a theoretical discussion of the "dialectics of citizenship and community". It focuses on African American women excluded from the political process, "Dishonored Citizenship" and their struggle to gain "honorable" citizenship. The book also focuses on immigrant Indigenous berry pickers from Mexico, some who speak neither English nor Spanish, in the northwest and analyzes how their struggle to establish their rights was, a la Agamben, outside and beyond citizenship. It provides a profound discussion on the question of sovereignty and citizenship. The book addresses the conflict between sovereignty and citizenship for the tribal communities. It addresses the right of communities to live in one's urban space, "residentship", in the context of a politics of urban development that deems the land more valuable than the community itself.
