Essential Readings

Essential readings to enhance your understanding of the issues.

Black Radical Tradition

Articles

• The Defection of Eldridge Cleaver & Reactionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton
• Beyond Vietnam by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Letter From A Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• I've Been To The Mountaintop by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• The Transformation Of Silence Into Language by Audre Lorde
• What Did Cedric Robinson Mean By Racial Capitalism? by Robin D. G. Kelley
• Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis
• Women, Race, & Class by Angela Davis
• Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon]
• A Dying Colonialism by Frantz Fanon

Books

• I Write What I Like by Steve Biko
• Malcolm X: The Last Speeches
• The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution by CLR James
• Urbane Revolutionary: C. L. R. James and the Struggle for a New Society by Frank Rosengarten
• There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack by Paul Gilroy
• Die Nigger Die : A Political Autobiography by H. Rap Brown (Jamil Abdullah Al Amin)
• Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley
• The Political and Social Thought of Kwame Nkrumah by Ama Biney]
• The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther by Jeffrey Haas
• How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney
• Black Power: The Politics of Liberation Kwame Ture & Charles V. Hamilton

Documentaries / Speeches

• Black Panthers: Vanguard of a Revolution by Stanley Nelson
• 13th by Ava DuVernay
• Stokely Carmichael "Black Power." Speech given at UC Berkeley, 1966
• Ida B. Wells Speech on Lynching Law, Chicago, 1900
• "Not just an American problem, but a world problem", Malcolm X address in Rochester, NY, February 1965
• Fred Hampton Speeches on Spotify
• Documents of the Fifth Pan African Congress Manchester, England 1945, edited by George Padmore
• Stokely Speaks: From Black Power to Pan-Africanism, by Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)
• It's A Class Struggle Goddammit! by Fred Hampton, November 1969

Syllabi and Reading Lists

• A Time for Treason: see Black Liberation section

Authoritarianism/Threats to Democracy

Articles

• The rise of American authoritarianism
• Against Normalization: The Lesson of the 'Munich Post'
• You're the fact checker now
• America’s system of checks and balances might struggle to contain a despot
• Why the world is turning to Hannah Arendt to explain Trump
• Sarah Kendzior, expert on authoritarianism
• Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco
• Autocracy: Rules for Survival by Masha Gessen
• We’re heading into dark times. This is how to be your own light in the Age of Trump by Sarah Kendzior
• Neoliberalism: the deep story that lies beneath Donald Trump’s triumph. by George Monbiot, 14 November 2016
• Ctrl-Alt-Delete: The origins and ideology of the Alternative Right by Matthew N. Lyons, January 20, 2017 : An overview of the Alt Right’s history and beliefs, and their relationship with other political forces.
• How to Culture Jam a Populist in Four Easy Steps by By Andrés Miguel Rondón, January 20, 2017 Venezuela

Books

• The Anatomy of Fascism by Robert O. Paxton
• Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy by Sheldon Whitehouse and Melanie Wachtell Stinnett
• Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
• Democracy in the Dark: The Seduction of Government Secrecy by Frederick A.O. Schwartz Jr.
• The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics by Bruce Bueno De Mesquita, Alastair Smith
• Fascism: A History by Roger Eatwell
• The Great Suppression: Voting Rights, Corporate Cash, and the Conservative Assault on Democracy by Zachary Roth, 2016
• It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
• Media Bias, Perspective, and State Repression: The Black Panther Party by Christian Davenport
• Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram
• The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt
• Ratf**cked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy by David Daley
• Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny 20 simple tips for resisting totalitarianism, from a WWII-era historian
• [1] Account of the opposition to European fascism in the 1930s by an organizer the Nazis tried to frame for the Reichstag fire, and who beat them in court.
• [2] Togliatti was on the ground in Italy, fighting Mussolini every step of the way as the fascists, with a help from the rich, seized power.

Syllabi

• Understanding the authoritarian turn in US Politics by Brendan Nyhan
• A Time for Treason: see Anti-Fascism/Fascism History and US Repression and McCarthyism sections

Building Movements and Organizing

Articles

• A Conversation with Noam Chomsky on Organizing
• Fighting Authoritarianism: 20 Lessons from the 20th Century by Timothy Snyder
• When Does Protest Actually Work? by Erica Chenoweth
• The Art of the Protest by Tina Rosenberg
• Why Some Protests Succeed While Others Fail by Jesse Singal
• 5 Practical Principles to Guide Our Work Under Trump by Stephen Lerner and Maurice Weeks
• Preparing for President Trump by Peter Dreier
• We're About to See States' Rights Used Defensively Against Trump by Heather Gerken
• An Inside-Outside Strategy for Defending the US Republic by Maria Stephan
• Interviews for Resistance, The Baffler magazine

Books

• Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World by Srdja Popovic and Matthew Miller, 2015
• Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow by Daniel Hunter
• Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff
• From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation by Gene Sharp
• Hell No: Your Right to Dissent in Twenty-First-Century America by Michael Ratner and Margaret Ratner Kunstler
• How Nonviolent Struggle Works by Gene Sharp, 2013 (free online)
• No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age by Jane McAlevey
• Rules for Resistance edited by David Cole and Melanie Wachtell Stinnett
• Rules for Revolutionaries: How Big Organizing Can Change Everything by Becky Bond and Zack Exley, 2016
• This Is an Uprising by Mark and Paul Engler
• Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky
• Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential by Gene Sharp
• When We Fight, We Win: Twenty-First-Century Social Movements and the Activists That Are Transforming Our World by Greg Jobin-Leeds

Syllabi and Reading Lists

• Albert Einstein Institution: readings on nonviolent action
• A Time for Treason, Comprehensive reading/documentary list
• Jury X: Deliberations for Social Change, Harvard and EdX
• Fearless Books for Perilous Times, list of Resistance-related and other relevant books
• Impact College, courses on social impact
• Organizing: People, Power, Change by Marshall Ganz
• Practicing Democracy by Marshall Ganz
• Radical Political Action reading list
• Resistance School
• A Time for Treason: see Resistance Tactics section
• Rights, Action, and Social Responsibility book lists

Economic Issues / Capitalism / Socialism / Poverty

Books

• Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism by Ha Joon Chang
• The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer by Dean Baker
• Evicted by Matthew Desmond
• The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
• The Least Among Us: Waging the Battle for the Vulnerable by Rosa DeLauro

Syllabi

• History of capitalism, particularly in America—syllabi and resources
• Race, Justice and Urban Design reading list

Education

Books

• Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy by Tressie McMillan Cottom

Environmental Justice

Articles

• The Hard Facts About Fracking
• Desmog Blog

Syllabi and Reading Lists

• Decolonizing Science Reading List
• Energy within Environmental Constraints, from Harvard and EdX

Foreign Policy and International Affairs

Books

• The Accusation by Bandi: Short stories smuggled out of North Korea that are "heartbreaking yet hopeful"

Articles

• Eyes on Aleppo: Visual Evidence Analysis of Human Rights Violations Committed in Aleppo
• Syria News: collection of articles, blogs, and other information on Syria

General Readings

Articles

• Comprehensive Noam Chomsky Articles Archive
• Noam Chomsky on Trump's Election
• Democracy Now: Harry Belafonte in Conversation with Noam Chomsky, December 2016
• Kathleen Cleaver and Noam Chomsky at MIT, 1997
• The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein
• No Logo, Naomi Klein]
• As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela: Underground Adventures in the Arms and Torture Trade by Mark Thomas]
• The United States Since 1980 by Dean Baker
• Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri
• Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky
• Footnotes to Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky

Books

• Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Davis, 2016
• Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth Century America by Richard Rorty, 1998
• We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang, 2016
• A Message to Garcia by E. Hubbard, 1899
• A Force More Powerful: A Century of Non-violent Conflict by Peter Ackerman, Jack DuVall
• Political Emotions: Why Love Matters for Justice by Martha C. Nussbaum
• The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl R. Popper
• The End of Protest: A New Playbook for Revolution by Micah White
• The End of Protest: How Free-Market Capitalism Learned to Control Dissent by Alasdair Roberts
• Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit
• Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts by Clive James
• Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
• The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence by Gary A. Haugen (specifically, chapters 7–10 on colonial legacies in extractive vs. inclusive policing, historical & intentional corruption in police forces, and broken justice systems)
• Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky
• Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
• Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies by Noam Chomsky
• Noam Chomsky Bibliography & Archive
• Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

Syllabi

• American Government, Harvard/EdX
• Standing Up for Racial Justice, political education site

Immigration and Refugee Issues

Books

• We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future by Deepa Iyer

Syllabi and Book Lists

• I'm Your Neighbor, children's books and reading projects to build bridges between communities
• Immigration Syllabus, University of Minnesota
• 25 Great Books by Refugees
• 12 Nonfiction Books about Immigration
• A Time for Treason: see Resisting ICE and Deportations section

Intersectionality

Syllabi

• 15 Indigenous Feminists to Know, Read, and Listen To
• Black Disabled Woman Syllabus by Vilissa Thompson
• Decolonize All the Things: Freedom School Syllabus
• Decolonizing Science Reading List
• Hidden Figures Syllabus
• Library of Resistance
• Radical Reads
• A Seat at the Table syllabus
• Women of Color Feminisms syllabus from the University of Pittsburgh

Jewish Issues

Antisemitism

• A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism by Phyllis Goldstein
• A Rumor About the Jews by Eric Bronner
• Anti-Judaism: A Western Tradition by David Nirenberg
• Antisemitism: Myth and Hate from Antiquity to Present by Marvin Perry and Frederick Schweitzer
• Persecution, Polemic, and Dialogue by David Berger
• That's Funny, You Don't Look Anti-Semitic: An Anti-Racist Analysis of Left Anti-Semitism by Steve Cohen

Zionism and Israel

• Liberal Zionism in the Age of Trump

Media and Surveillance

See also Media Literacy

• Calling Bullshit syllabus
• A Time for Treason: see Security Culture/Surveillance State section

Muslim Issues/Islamaphobia

Articles

• I Was A Muslim In Trump's White House
• A People’s History of Muslims in the United States

Syllabi and Reading Lists

• A Time for Treason: see Muslim Surveillance/Muslim Resistance section

LGBTQ+

Articles

• ACT UP Oral History Project (see esp. "Interviews")
• Notes on "Camp"
• A Clockwork Trauma
• Why Equality Is Toxic to the Transgender Movement

Books

• LGBTQ Stats by David Deschamps and Bennett Singer
• That's Revolting!: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation

Syllabi

• LGBTQ+ topics syllabi
• A Time for Treason: see Feminist History, Reproductive Health, Trans and Queer Rights section
• Transgender Studies syllabus from the University of Pittsburgh

Native American/Indian Issues

Native American History

• Violence Over the Land
• Custer Died for Your Sins (chapter: The Disastrous Policy of Termination)
• The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King

Police and State Violence

• The Colonialism of Incarceration
• Standing Rock Syllabus

Tribal Sovereignty

• Sovereignty Matters
• A Tribal Perspective on Taking Land
• Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life Across the Borders of Settler States

Two-Spirit Issues

• Decolonising the Native Body

Other

• A Time for Treason: see Indigenous Resistance section

Race

Articles

• Our Kind of Ridiculous: Yous, Me and Blackness as Probable Cause
• Paper Tigers: What happens to all the Asian-American overachievers when the test-taking ends?
• See also Institutional Racism

Books

• Three Worlds of Relief: Race, Immigration, and the American Welfare State from the Progressive Era to the New Deal by Cybelle Fox
• Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King
• Faces and Masks by Eduardo Galeano

Syllabi

• Black Lives Matter Reference Guide by Malcolm Teller
• Black Lives Matter Syllabus by Frank Roberts
• Charleston Syllabus—racial violence
• Race, Justice and Urban Design reading list
• A Time for Treason: see Chicano Oppression and Resistance; The Border, The Wall; and Black Migration sections

Policing and Prison Reform

Articles

• Immigration Policing In the Age of Trump
• Must Local Police work for ICE?
• Why the ATF is hobbled in their Ability to Fight Gun Crime
• The Tiahrt Amendment

Books

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Race, Police, and the Making of a Political Identity: Mexican Americans and the Los Angeles Police Department, 1900-1945 by Edward J. Escobar

Syllabi

• Prison Abolition Class from Black and Pink
• Prison Abolition Syllabus

Trump/Trumpism/The Right

Articles

• Post-Election Response Paper
• 20-Point Guide to Defending Democracy
• Indivisible: A Practical Guide to Resisting Trump's Agenda
• I Misunderstood What Happened on Election Day
• Explaining White Polarization in the 2016 Vote for President, by B Schaffner, M MacWilliams, & T Nteta
• A Guide to Resistance for Youth, with an emphasis on emotional and sexual health by Scarleteen
• I Spent 5 Years with Some of Trump's Biggest Fans by Arlie Hochschild

Books

• Dark Money by Jane Mayer
• Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Hochschild

Syllabi

• Trump Syllabus: How Trumpism fits within a legacy of racism, sexism, nativism, and imperialism
• The Stop Trump Reading List from Haymarket Books
• Trump Syllabus 2.0
• Fuck Trump Reading List from Verso Books

White Privilege

Articles

• Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
• The Complexity Of Identity
• Invisible Privilege, What White Men Don't See
• I, Racist
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard To Talk To White People About Racism
• The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Privilege: A Quick and Dirty Guide by Sian Ferguson
• Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is by John Scalzi

Books

• You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson
• White Innocence: Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race by Gloria Wekker

Syllabi

• Curriculum for White People to Educate Themselves
• A Time for Treason: Alt-Right/U.S. Neo-Nazis reading list

Women and Feminism

Articles

• Fear of a Feminist Future by Laurie Penny

Books

• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
• Wolf Whistle Politics: The New Misogyny in America Today, edited by Diane Wachtell
• Women, Race, and Class by Angela Y. Davis
• Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks

Documentaries

• Miss Representation by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Kimberlee Acquaro
• She's Beautiful When She's Angry by Mary Dore

Syllabi

• Feminist Action Brigade Book Club
• Feminism 101 reading list by Autostraddle
• Women in Computing History—includes readings on meritocracy
• A Time for Treason: see Feminist History, Reproductive Health, Trans and Queer Rights section

Learning Modules/Curricula

• WriteaWinningCampaignPlan is a 7-hour self-led online training in campaigning & organizing, free with discount code "democracy"
• Organizing: People, Power, Change
• Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies Core Curriculum