Freedom Is a Constant Struggle : Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement

Product Information

Angela Davis reconnects Black movements history in the US with other movements that previously started in other countries, such as Cuba, China, and South Africa. and as I continue to read and learn about history that shaped THIS country, and how it brought us to where we are, I should expand that to encompass other countries that have, and are still, fighting for equality and freedom - not just racial, but feminist and gender based, and LGBTQ+ and all manner of intersectionality. Watch the full video of our event with Ruth Wilson Gilmore on Covid-19, Decarceration, and Abolition, hosted by Naomi Murakawa. Reflecting on the importance of black feminism, intersectionality and prison abolitionism for today’s struggles, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles.

The points about the connections from Ferguson to Palestine weren't really completely filled out, because it was just quick mentions in various speeches. Inform yourself about Palestine, the Prison-industrial complex, abolition movements, Black freedom struggles, and many other interconnected struggles. Freedom Is A Constant Struggle is an extremely urgent and timely text and one that I would highly recommend to seasoned and new readers.Davis demonstrates that this isn’t merely a coincidence but more so, the operating logic of capitalism: technologies of violence are developed and perfected on the dispossessed, then exported around the world to manage dissent. She emerged as a nationally prominent activist and radical in the 1960s, as a leader of the Communist Party USA, and had close relations with the Black Panther Party through her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement despite never being an official member of the party. His many books include Race Matters, Democracy Matters, and his autobiography, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. This felt a lot like having coffee with a friend who's letting you ask them all the questions about something they're an expert in.

A little disappointing, but maybe this was a good starting point for me anyway, because this was a collection of speeches (and one interview) from different talks and appearances that Davis made around the world in the 2010s, and as such, it covers a WIDE array of topics, but in short bursts. Though my interest waned towards the end, it was because I read it all at once instead of over time. Antisemitism also only gets mentioned in regards to the confederacy, never as part of the conversation on Israel-Palestine.Angela Davis once again offers us an incisive, urgent, and comprehensive understanding of systematic racism, the grounds for intersectional analysis and solidarity, and the importance of working together as equals to unmask and depose systems of injustice. Davis complains that people say the conflict is complicated in an attempt to shut down conversation.