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Combining classical Marxism, psychoanalysis, and the new labor
history pioneered by E. P. Thompson and Herbert Gutman, David
Roediger's widely acclaimed book provides an original study of the
formative years of working-class racism in the United States. This,
he argues, cannot be explained simply with reference to economic
advantage; rather, white working-class racism is underpinned by a
complex series of psychological and ideological mechanisms that
reinforce racial stereotypes, and thus help to forge the identities
of white workers in opposition to Blacks.
While the story of history may be most often defined through its winners, long forgotten, "defeated" movements and their ideals sometimes reemerge with renewed popularity, offering perhaps a better glimpse into society's future. So argues this unique collection, which gathers reflections by scholars and activists that reconsider the historical impact of the Black Panther Party (BPP) - the most significant revolutionary organization in the US in the later 20th century. Compared with more entrenched organizations like the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) or the NAACP, the 14-year existence of the Black Panther Party seems brief indeed. Yet the BBP gave organizational expression to a tendency in the revolutionary movement that long predated it - the idea that the entire system is corrupt and needs to be reconstructed. Dozens of groups dedicated to revolutionary change appeared in the US in the 1960s, but only the BPP was able to develop a mass following and appeal to a broad constituency. These articles offer a fresh and
"Writing from the barren confines of his death row cell, Mumia
Abu-Jamal provides a remarkable testament about the Black Panther
Party. . . .an amazing book that illuminates the truth of what his
membership in the Party was about, and reveals the extreme price
extracted from him for having learned, and for now telling the
truth." -Kathleen Cleaver, from the Introduction Mumia Abu Jamal,
America's most famous political prisoner, is internationally known
for his radio broadcasts and books emerging "Live from Death Row."
In his youth Mumia Abu-Jamal helped found the Philadelphia branch
of the Black Panther Party, wrote for the national newspaper, and
began his life-long work of exposing the violence of the state as
it manifests in entrenched poverty, endemic racism, and unending
police brutality. In We Want Freedom, Mumia combines his memories
of day-to-day life in the Party with analysis of the history of
Black liberation struggles. The result is a vivid and compelling
picture of the Black Panther Party and its legacy. Applying his
poetic voice and unsparing critical gaze, Mumia examines one of the
most revolutionary and most misrepresented groups in the US. As the
calls that Black Lives Matter continue to grow louder, Mumia
connects the historic dots in this revised/updated edition,
observing that the Panthers had legal observers to monitor the
police and demanded the "immediate end to police brutality and the
murder of Black people." By focusing on the men and women who were
the Party, as much as on the leadership; by locating the Black
Panthers in a struggle centuries old-and in the personal memories
of a young man-Mumia Abu-Jamal helps us to understand freedom.
Tracing a life of radical activism and the emergence of a
grassroots organization in the face of disaster, this chronicle
describes scott crow's headlong rush into the political storm
surrounding the catastrophic failure of the levee in New Orleans in
2005 and the subsequent failure of state and local government
agencies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It recounts crow's
efforts with others in the community to found Common Ground
Collective, a grassroots relief organization that built medical
clinics, set up food and water distribution, and created community
gardens when local government agencies, FEMA, and the Red Cross
were absent or ineffective. The members also stood alongside the
beleaguered residents of New Orleans in resisting home demolitions,
white militias, police brutality, and FEMA incompetence. This
vivid, personal account maps the intersection of radical ideology
with pragmatic action and chronicles a community's efforts to
translate ideals into tangible results. This expanded second
edition includes up-to-date interviews and discussions between crow
and some of today's most articulate and influential activists and
organizers on topics ranging from grassroots disaster relief
efforts, both economic and environmental; dealing with
infiltration, interrogation, and surveillance from the federal
government; and a new photo section that vividly portrays scott's
experiences as an anarchist, activist, and movement organizer in
today's world.
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