“Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement” by Angela Y. Davis

Angela Davis has long been a legend in the fight for global justice. Like most prominent activists, she combines passionate advocacy with cool, analytical commentary. She’s lived a rare old life. At one point she was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List; she’s been imprisoned and demonized particularly by Reagan; she was fired…

Seven Great Banned Books

In celebration of Banned Books Week – Sept 25-Oct 1 – here’s some great literature that governments banned at one time or another. Rather than the usual suspects — Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Lolita, the Harry Potter series (witchcraft!), and pretty much everything Orwell and Solzhenitzyn wrote — I’ve gone for a few of the more…

Brooklyn Book Festival, September 18, 2016

What a great festival! It was my first time. At the opening party for authors, Jacqueline Woodson was honored with an award and she made an excellent speech: humble, articulate and funny. My session was a reading for debut novelists and I was privileged to share a stage with Natashia Deón, R.J. Hernandez, Matt Gallagher,…

Black History in the Smithsonian

This month’s Smithsonian magazine is dedicated to African American history. It’s a special issue to celebrate the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, in Washington. The museum took 101 years to come to fruition. That’s not a typo. It was first suggested by African American Civil War veterans in 1915….

The Perfect Book for Labor Day

“Work. Capitalism. Economics. Resistance.” is a strikingly original book. For a start, it’s written by CrimeThinc. ex-Workers’ Collective. Secondly, its introduction (which is not called an introduction; actually, it’s not called anything) claims: “this book isn’t just an attempt to describe reality but also a tool with which to change it … What qualifies us…