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5.08k reviews for:
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement
Angela Y. Davis
4.46 AVERAGE
5.08k reviews for:
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement
Angela Y. Davis
4.46 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
Angela Davis is an extraordinary person. It boggles my mind-well, I know why not-that we don't hear from her more when it comes to current events. This is the second collection of hers that I've read and not only are global circumstances different, but so was the backdrop of her writing. While the other work of hers I read was written during the W Bush administration and squarely focused on the horrors of the Iraq War (Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, etc., etc.), much of the lectures in this book are from the immediate aftermath of Michael Brown's murder in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner's murder in New York. As such, while not the main topic of any but the last speeches/interviews, intersectionality and the narrative of "where do we go now?" are the text's throughlines.
With mass demonstrations in the wake of continued police violence against Black people in the US, it's easy to read this book about demonstrations from the last round of major demonstrations and feel like we're going nowhere, but seeing how much has changed is invigorating. In one interview, Davis mentions that she is afraid the demonstrations surrounding Ferguson would burn out too soon because there was no organized apparatus to keep them going. Now, in the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others' deaths, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Dream Defenders, and other localized groups are bearing that responsibility.
On top of just how salient the book is, Davis is just great to read. Reading too many of her speeches from one period of time back to back you begin to see some repeated talking points, but she is an incredibly intelligent and well-spoken orator. More than just about anyone else I find myself frantically taking notes of books to read while I read her speeches. Her ability to highlight the importance of dialectical thinking and intersectionality when talking about nearly anything is impressive.
If you aren't convinced, here's a brief excerpt from the last speech in the book:
"This [recognizing connections between prison abolition and feminism more broadly] means that we have to examine various dimensions of our lives-from social relations, political contexts-but also our interior lives. It's interesting that in this era of global capitalism the corporations have learned ho to do that: the corporations have learned how to access aspects of our lives that cause us to often express our innermost dreams in terms of capitalist commodities. So we have internalized exchange value in ways that would have been entirely unimaginable to the authors of Capital."
Give it a read and then channel your anger towards systemic racism, global racial injustice, and the proliferation of global capitalism into protesting, donating and educating yourself and others. That's what my plan is.
With mass demonstrations in the wake of continued police violence against Black people in the US, it's easy to read this book about demonstrations from the last round of major demonstrations and feel like we're going nowhere, but seeing how much has changed is invigorating. In one interview, Davis mentions that she is afraid the demonstrations surrounding Ferguson would burn out too soon because there was no organized apparatus to keep them going. Now, in the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others' deaths, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Dream Defenders, and other localized groups are bearing that responsibility.
On top of just how salient the book is, Davis is just great to read. Reading too many of her speeches from one period of time back to back you begin to see some repeated talking points, but she is an incredibly intelligent and well-spoken orator. More than just about anyone else I find myself frantically taking notes of books to read while I read her speeches. Her ability to highlight the importance of dialectical thinking and intersectionality when talking about nearly anything is impressive.
If you aren't convinced, here's a brief excerpt from the last speech in the book:
"This [recognizing connections between prison abolition and feminism more broadly] means that we have to examine various dimensions of our lives-from social relations, political contexts-but also our interior lives. It's interesting that in this era of global capitalism the corporations have learned ho to do that: the corporations have learned how to access aspects of our lives that cause us to often express our innermost dreams in terms of capitalist commodities. So we have internalized exchange value in ways that would have been entirely unimaginable to the authors of Capital."
Give it a read and then channel your anger towards systemic racism, global racial injustice, and the proliferation of global capitalism into protesting, donating and educating yourself and others. That's what my plan is.
i love angela davis. but i think to get to the 5 star mark i needed a little more in-depth analysis of the topics covered here
challenging
informative
"That when we see the police repressing protests in Ferguson we also have to think about the Israeli police and the Israeli army repressing protests in occupied Palestine"
I have truly been in a sociology reading kick lately! I think it's because I want to read of hope and continuing to fight for a better world from people that have lived through hell and continued to believe we can work towards a better world.
It's funny because I've referenced this book in uni without having read the whole thing. What I referenced then and what I continue to love as the key concept is the way in which Angela Davis operationalises intersectionality - as not just in terms of identity, but in terms of the intersectionality of struggles. How drawing connections across the globe of how histories, oppressions, and struggles are connected grows the building blocks of solidarity.
I also really loved her emphasis on the collective as opposed to the individual - whether than be an individual "hero" or perpetrator.
It was also interesting to learn more about the prison abolitionist movement.
The below chapters were my highlights!
Chapter 1: Progressive Struggles Against Insidious Capitalists Individualism
Chapter 2: Ferguson Reminds Us of the Importance of a Global Contexts
Chapter 3: We Have to Talk About Systemic Change
Chapter 4: On Palestine, G4S, and then Prison-Industrial Complex
Chapter 6: From Michael Brown to Assata Shakur, the Racist State of America Persists
Chapter 10: Transnational Solidarities
I think I'm only not giving this a higher rating as I wanted more direct essays and some of the formats of previous speeches and interviews didn't work well that well with me. But am keen to read more of her work!
"Sometimes we have to do the work even though we don’t yet see a glimmer on the horizon that it’s actually going to be possible"
I have truly been in a sociology reading kick lately! I think it's because I want to read of hope and continuing to fight for a better world from people that have lived through hell and continued to believe we can work towards a better world.
It's funny because I've referenced this book in uni without having read the whole thing. What I referenced then and what I continue to love as the key concept is the way in which Angela Davis operationalises intersectionality - as not just in terms of identity, but in terms of the intersectionality of struggles. How drawing connections across the globe of how histories, oppressions, and struggles are connected grows the building blocks of solidarity.
I also really loved her emphasis on the collective as opposed to the individual - whether than be an individual "hero" or perpetrator.
It was also interesting to learn more about the prison abolitionist movement.
The below chapters were my highlights!
Chapter 1: Progressive Struggles Against Insidious Capitalists Individualism
Chapter 2: Ferguson Reminds Us of the Importance of a Global Contexts
Chapter 3: We Have to Talk About Systemic Change
Chapter 4: On Palestine, G4S, and then Prison-Industrial Complex
Chapter 6: From Michael Brown to Assata Shakur, the Racist State of America Persists
Chapter 10: Transnational Solidarities
I think I'm only not giving this a higher rating as I wanted more direct essays and some of the formats of previous speeches and interviews didn't work well that well with me. But am keen to read more of her work!
"Sometimes we have to do the work even though we don’t yet see a glimmer on the horizon that it’s actually going to be possible"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism, Deportation
informative
inspiring
dark
hopeful
informative
Angela has such a great way of connecting so many different issues together in way that doesn't feel overwhelming to track.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced