A review by stompyboots
Joyful Militancy: Building Thriving Resistance in Toxic Times by carla bergman, Nick Montgomery

5.0

Beautiful, cogent, crucial. Joyful Militancy is one of the most important books I've ever read. This book describes inflexible tendencies that have contributed to the demise of social justice movements, and encourages us to shift our perspective and behaviors to avoid those pitfalls. Had I read it ten years earlier, I could've prevented SO much pain and despair in local justice movements. If folks in the 60s-80s had these ideas crystallized, we would live in a different world today. Don't delay-- read it!

Regarding folks concerned about its overly academic language, I disagree and found it very accessible as someone with limited formal schooling. You definitely do need direct experience as a social justice organizer to grasp the authors' broad descriptions of rigid radicalism, though.