Scan barcode
Reviews
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
yikesbmg's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book because a few of people I respect (adrienne maree brown, Aminatou Sow) have referred Grace Lee Boggs at one point or another. I wanted to read GLB’s autobiography but it wasn’t on Libby, so I settled for this instead.
I found myself wanting specifics over and over in this book, which contains mostly essays and one interview at the end. I think a lot about scale and governance, and GLB sort of sets of the scale question aside since we are not at that stage of things. Her stance on government is a bit unclear because she’s so focused on grassroots, communal efforts and encourages people not to turn to representative democracy or state powers to solve issues. While I understand her rationale (US economic system that created the middle class was fully a result of colonialism, we win while half the world suffers) I, at this point, refuse to give up on the idea of having functional governments that can do good work at scale.
Setting that side though, I am giving it 4 stars because it opened up my perspective in a way I hadn’t expected it to. I credit this opening to (1) how the book talks about uncertainty and hope and (2) GLB’s emphasis that we create the next major revolution in the U.S., we can’t just expect pat revolutions to unfold again. Those were the two big takeaways for me from this text.
I found myself wanting specifics over and over in this book, which contains mostly essays and one interview at the end. I think a lot about scale and governance, and GLB sort of sets of the scale question aside since we are not at that stage of things. Her stance on government is a bit unclear because she’s so focused on grassroots, communal efforts and encourages people not to turn to representative democracy or state powers to solve issues. While I understand her rationale (US economic system that created the middle class was fully a result of colonialism, we win while half the world suffers) I, at this point, refuse to give up on the idea of having functional governments that can do good work at scale.
Setting that side though, I am giving it 4 stars because it opened up my perspective in a way I hadn’t expected it to. I credit this opening to (1) how the book talks about uncertainty and hope and (2) GLB’s emphasis that we create the next major revolution in the U.S., we can’t just expect pat revolutions to unfold again. Those were the two big takeaways for me from this text.
othersideoftherain's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful book and truly a breath of fresh air. Boggs offers a clear-cut and precisely worded look at her experiences in activism and what she sees as a way forward. Activist circles tend to be--understandably--places of anger, and though that anger is righteous, it doesn't fuel us into true change. That's something I've been feeling lately and grappling with myself, and to see Boggs so skillfully dive into how hope as a practice is more useful than anger could ever be made me feel a little more sane. I particularly enjoyed Boggs' discourse on rebellion versus revolution, and the idea of creating something complete new instead of simply installed our preferred people into the existing systems of power.
Though of course, Boggs does not speak very much on ways to directly combat the political system as it is currently, her vision for the future is lush and verdant, and it makes me feel hopeful. A must-read for anyone engaging in activism on any level--from community gardeners to movement leaders.
Though of course, Boggs does not speak very much on ways to directly combat the political system as it is currently, her vision for the future is lush and verdant, and it makes me feel hopeful. A must-read for anyone engaging in activism on any level--from community gardeners to movement leaders.
lunabbly's review against another edition
5.0
"Not only should we not depend on some large entity o bring about these changes, but we must recognize that such projects will be transformative only when grassroots members of the community are moved to act. They must discover their own meaning of change in the process of building a movement to bring it about," (pg 125)
I had heard of Grace Lee Boggs and was eager to read after watching the documentary directed by another Grace Lee.
Boggs is inspirational, visionary, and has a way of defining human without it sounding white-washed and decentralized from humanism. Some aspects that were difficult to get through was that she can be very theory-based and can throw out a lot of names, but I kept a tracker and will be reading works from the people she named too. Ultimately, I loved the casual tone of this book, and appreciated the many real-life historical examples Boggs illuminated to fill the gaps that have been pulled or forcefully removed from history books.
I'm eager to read more of her books and continue to learn about her and her legacy. May she Rest In Peace.
I had heard of Grace Lee Boggs and was eager to read after watching the documentary directed by another Grace Lee.
Boggs is inspirational, visionary, and has a way of defining human without it sounding white-washed and decentralized from humanism. Some aspects that were difficult to get through was that she can be very theory-based and can throw out a lot of names, but I kept a tracker and will be reading works from the people she named too. Ultimately, I loved the casual tone of this book, and appreciated the many real-life historical examples Boggs illuminated to fill the gaps that have been pulled or forcefully removed from history books.
I'm eager to read more of her books and continue to learn about her and her legacy. May she Rest In Peace.
kfernandez's review against another edition
5.0
Grace is a beautiful person who spent her life creating real, quantifiable positive change. I aspire to do at least a tiny fraction of the good that she has done. Such a lovely soul.
mlnguyen91's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
arat's review against another edition
4.0
Very slow start, but the rest of it is a steady elaboration of why grassroots will always be preferable to pure theorizing. Online twitter revolutionaries will continue screaming into the void for a decade while people like Boggs will be trying to genuinely understand the lives of the people around her and improve them for the better.
Who cares about moral high grounds and niche political hot takes when no momentum will be generated? Congrats, you're perfectly correct on an issue, what has been done about it?
Never knew about her before this book: thankful to know about her now.
Who cares about moral high grounds and niche political hot takes when no momentum will be generated? Congrats, you're perfectly correct on an issue, what has been done about it?
Never knew about her before this book: thankful to know about her now.