Recomended Reading

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation provides a rigorous analysis of structural racism, mass incarceration, and economic inequality in the United States, completely puncturing the narrative of a "post-racial" America. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor contextualizes the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement out of the uprisings in Ferguson and Baltimore, exploring how systemic oppression has historically been obscured by political rhetoric that blames Black culture for systemic issues rather than addressing structural failure. Critiquing both conservative and liberal approaches—including the limitations of the Black political elite and the Obama presidency—Taylor argues that the fight against police terror is a vital catalyst. Ultimately, she demonstrates that true Black liberation is fundamentally incompatible with modern capitalism, offering a powerful call for solidarity and organized, working-class resistance to dismantle the deeply rooted structures of American inequality.

Hegemony How-To

A Roadmap for Radicals

Jonathan Smucker

Published in 2017, Hegemony How-To serves as a practical, blunt guide to political strategy and power for grassroots activists and progressive movements. Drawing heavily from his personal experiences, including behind-the-scenes organizing within Occupy Wall Stree, Jonathan Smucker confronts the common internal dysfunctions of modern activist subcultures, pulling no punches regarding the left's tendency toward self-defeating insularity and paralyzing moral purism. Smucker argues that movements too often settle for making a righteous but doomed symbolic stand rather than doing the messy work required to actually acquire power and change society. By utilizing the concept of hegemony (building broad cultural and political alignment), the book provides a vital playbook on how to move past the "usual suspects" of existing activist circles and engage the broader public, offering concrete strategies to build the massive, durable coalitions necessary to shift the political landscape.

Unrig the Game

What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone About Winning

Vanessa Priya Daniel

Unrig the Game serves as a vital leadership playbook exploring the essential, yet often underrecognized, role women of color play in driving major social justice and progressive victories in the United States. Drawing from her own 25-year career and candid interviews with 45 prominent movement leaders, Vanessa Priya Daniel details the unique strategic "superpowers"—such as a 360-degree vision that simultaneously tackles interlocking systems of oppression—that make these individuals exceptionally effective change-makers. At the same time, she frankly exposes the treacherous, rigged organizational barriers and "glass cliffs" that frequently undermine and bench these leaders. Ultimately, the book functions as both a master class for women of color navigating leadership and a practical guide for allies on how to meaningfully protect, resource, and flank them so that movements can sustainably win.

Free the People, To Free the Money, To Free the People

An Organize the Rich Anthology

Michael Gast, Marian Moore and Alex T. Tom

Free the People to Free the Money to Free the People documents a vital 50-year history of organizing wealthy individuals to actively redistribute their resources toward social, racial, and economic justice. Moving past traditional, top-down philanthropy where the rich act as "saviors," this anthology brings together personal accounts and essays from "radical rich kids" of the 1970s to modern wealth-holders navigating today's massive wealth transfers. Through these raw, cross-class stories, the book offers a practical roadmap for how people with class privilege can dismantle systems of inequality, moving both money and power to act as true co-conspirators alongside working-class movements.

When to Talk and
When to Fight

The Strategic Choice Between Dialogue and Resistance

Rebecca Subar

When to Talk and When to Fight is a powerful guide to navigating conflict with clarity, integrity, and strategy. Drawing on decades of work with social change movements, negotiators, and community organizations, Rebecca Subar offers a practical framework for deciding when to engage in dialogue, when to build power, and when to resist.