The French Revolution, “confronted with the colonial question,” had to “confront itself,” and “the principles from which it had sprung,” Aimé Césaire writes. It hesitated, wavered, and ended up engulfing itself. But it also learned, thanks to the determination of Toussaint Louverture and his slave army, that freedom is not a force you can stop…
Category: rights
Rodrigo Karmy Bolton: “The ashes of the Republic”
[] the French situation shows us the global situation of which we are witnesses: unlike modern revolutions, contemporary revolts are not guided by the horizon of “progress” but, rather, by that of its destitution. In this sense, they are both more radical and labile than modern revolutions: “radical” because they call into question the modern…
Mansa Musa interviewed: “George Jackson’s unfinished revolution”
“52 years since his death at the hands of California prison authorities, George Jackson’s legacy has left an indelible imprint on the ongoing struggles for liberation from capitalist exploitation and the prison state.”
Laura Vicente: “Mujeres Libres: A genealogy of anarchist feminism”
‘This was “their revolution of life”, a long-term transformation that began to change ways of life, personal relationships, work, “care” and an endless number of other aspects, paying attention to the small, to the quiet, to the intimate, to the breath of each body. These women glimpsed other possible worlds and, despite the defeat, they…
Christina Heatherton: “How the Mexican Revolution shaped radical politics worldwide”
“From 1910-1920, armed peasants and workers reshaped Mexico in a democratic and agrarian revolution. The Mexican Revolution rippled throughout the world, influencing radical politics from Chicago to Moscow. Despite its potent effect on contemporary revolutionaries, the Mexican Revolution’s legacy has gone somewhat unrecognized today, particularly within the US. Author Christina Heatherton joins The Marc Steiner Show to…
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor: “The Unknown History Of Black Uprisings”
“More than fifty years after the Kerner Commission, we have seen in the past eight years the return of Black rebellions in response to growing inequality that has been managed by the forces of racist and abusive policing. This is not history repeating itself; it is evidence that the problems that gave rise to earlier…
Sahar Delijani: “Watching From a Distance As Women Fight for Freedom in Iran”
“There is a revolution in the making, and you must rush to make impressions of its traces, its familiar faces. You must learn to listen to its heartbeat, memorize it, keep it safe. For, this is for you too. This struggle. It encompasses your life, your freedom, your beliefs, your dreams of a better world.…
David Palumbo-Liu: “Rise Up in Anger and Hope: How Eruptive Protests Can Propel Urgent Issues to the Center of Political Debate”
“When politicians and governments are held accountable for defaulting on their promises to support democracy and to practice it, the streets become a place where unofficial, yet highly visible plebiscites can take place.”
Deion Scott Hawkins: “Not all insurrections are equal – for enslaved Americans, it was the only option.”
“In my view, rebellions of the enslaved can aptly be classified as insurrections. From the early 1600s, historians estimate that there were around 250 insurrections in America that involved 10 or more enslaved people using violence to fight for equal rights.”
“In a Hospital Ward, the Wounds of a Failed Democracy Don’t Heal”
“Tunisia’s road to democracy began with a self-immolation, and such cases have filled hospital burn wards ever since, as elected leaders failed to deliver on a promise of prosperity.”