Broschiertes Buch

Civil Rights and Structural Attacks

Conversations with Walter Riley

Herausgeber: Strauss, Jesse

Beschreibung

Profound lessons from someone who has seen it all in US freedom movements In Civil Rights and Structural Attacks Walter Riley, from his more than eighty years of political organizing, begs readers to throw haymakers--to take action. Raised among the entrails of chattel slavery in Durham, North Carolina, Walter shares political reflections and lessons from decades of movement experience. This includes 1950s and early 1960s mobilizations against Jim Crow apartheid laws and welcoming Freedom Riders to Durham, followed by later 1960s student and labor organizing with the Progressive Labor Party, early Black Panther Party formations, anti-war activities, and co-leading the Peace and Freedom Party's Black Caucus. By the 1970s, Walter had become a leader in the national Progressive Labor Party and led labor and welfare organizing in Chicago and Detroit. In the 1980s he became a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer and challenged South Africa's apartheid system from the Bay Area. He also addresses his more recent work, supporting infrastructure for Haitian movement-building as well as challenging police violence in Oakland.  This text is a multi-generational conversation between legendary Civil Rights organizer Walter Riley and longtime friend and Oakland anarchist Jesse Strauss. Together, they reflect on the importance of political action as the primary venue for learning and reflection. Walter Riley has a never-ending commitment to building a better world and he'll challenge readers to avoid the paralysis of analysis that slows movements down and to avoid getting caught in the missives of ego. Includes a foreword by Walter Riley's son, Boots Riley.

Autor

Jesse Strauss is an abolitionist organizer, cultural worker, activist, musician, and journalist born and raised in Oakland, California (unceded Ohlone/Chochenyo land). He works with Pacifica Radio's flagship station, KPFA, on the Law & Disorder show, and has written for Al Jazeera. Walter Riley grew up as a civil rights activist in the Jim Crow South, chaired Durham, North Carolina's Young Adult NAACP, organized voter registration, sit-ins, job campaigns, and was a Field Secretary for CORE in the Southeast Region. He became a San Francisco State University activist for ethnic studies, and was a member of the Black Student Union and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Riley has worked as a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer since the 1980s. He is a loving father and grandfather. Boots Riley is a writer, director of the film Sorry to Bother You, musician, rapper with The Coup, and producer from Oakland, CA.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: AK Press
• Seitenzahl: 264
• Erscheinungstermin: 23. Juni 2026
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 178mm x 127mm x 19mm
• ISBN-13: 9781849356336
• ISBN-10: 1849356335
• Artikelnr.: 74916495