New Media We Recommend

Below is a list of new materials that we have read/watched in recent weeks. The comments are not a “review” of the material, instead sort of an endorsement of ideas and investigations that can provide solid analysis and even inspiration in the struggle for change. All these items are available at The Bloom Collective, so check them out and stimulate your mind.

Haymarket Scrapbook, edited by Franklin Rosemont and David Roediger – If you are looking for any good resources on the history of May Day, this collection of essays, poetry, graphics and reprints of old posters and pictures, is a fabulous resource. This is a re-print of a book from 1986, but its relevance is even more profound today. The oversized book includes a wonderful collection of essays on the Haymarket Affair, the Haymarket Martyrs and other related labor focused writings and reflections from the late 19^th Century. The old posters, political cartoons and graphics add so much more to ones understanding of the impact that the Haymarket Affair had on both US and International solidarity. This book is a treasure for radical historians and those wanting to learn radical history.

Hillbilly Nationalists: Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power, by Amy Sonnie and James Tracey – Ever wonder if there were White radicals in the 1960s and 70s who were involved in challenging the systems of power in the US that were not part of SDS or the Weather Underground? Well, there were plenty of groups doing incredible organizing work that, unfortunately, are not known by enough of the dissident community today. Hillbilly Nationalists looks at several White radical organizations that formed in response to the Black Power movement’s call for White people to go organize in their own communities. Relying heavily on interviews with those involved in various groups, this book introduces us to organizations such as JOIN, the Young Patriots, Rising Up Angry, the October 4^th Organization and White Lightning.  Each of these groups were an outgrowth of the radical organizing of the Black Panthers and other liberation groups in the US that did amazing things in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. An important piece of history that sheds light on what many White radicals were doing that to confront power.

Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution, by David Harvey – This book by radical historian David Harvey is not only an interesting look at urban revolution since the industrial era began, it is also a philosophical investigation into the conditions that have contributed to numerous urban uprisings from the Paris Commune to the current Occupy movement. Harvey also provide sharp economic analysis of industrial capitalism and neoliberal policies that helps frame our understanding of urban revolutions, but in fact acts as a call to new ones. At times it is a little heavy on analysis, but it’s still a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature that is calling for a radical reordering of society.

Introducing Capitalism: A Graphic Guide, by Dan Cryan, Sharron Shatil and Piero – This short graphic guide reads like a comic book, with short excerpts and fabulous illustrations of what capitalism is and has evolved to. Introducing Capitalism provides a sharp contrast to the explanations most of us have been given in the US educational system. The books does a wonderful job of presenting capitalist ideas such as surplus value, the role of the consumer, labor, inflation and state capitalism. In addition, the graphic guide looks at historical manifestations of capitalism and various critiques of this economic model from socialists, anarchists, situationists and other radical thinkers. A wonderful popular education tool for working class people and political dissidents.