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Articles by Joy James
Anarchism and the Black Revolution The Definitive Edition
Description ‘A powerful – even startling – book that challenges the shibboleths of ‘white’ anarchism’. Its analysis of police violence and the threat of fascism are as important now as they were at the end of the 1970s. Perhaps more so’ – Peter James Hudson, Black Agenda Report Anarchism and the Black Revolution first connected Black radical thought to anarchist theory in 1979.
Attica Was More Than a Riot. It Offered a Framework for Revolutionary Struggle.
The 1971 Attica prison uprising — and subsequent massacre — remains the most famous prison rebellion throughout the world. Lesser known is the prison organizing — and repression — that flourished in prisons in New York state and around the country both before and after the infamous rebellion.
The Alchemy of Abolitionisms | Joy James | INQUEST
Editors’ Note: In the four-part series Abolition Alchemy, Kalonji Changa and Joy James engage in an extended conversation with imprisoned intellectuals and organizers. A new installment will be posted at this time each month throughout the spring. The series kicks off today with an adapted excerpt from James’s most recent book, , which offers reflections on alchemy in abolition struggles that emerged from the analyses of Stephen Wilson, an incarcerated author in Pennsylvania.
In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love: Precarity, Power, Communities
Joy James's Revolutionary Love is umph-degree love; or love beyond measure. It is anything love. It is love without reckoning. It is love that dares all things, beyond which others may find the spirit-force to survive; to live to fight another day. Such love is also fighting itself, for the sake of ensuring that others may live. --Mumia Abu-Jamal To take the path of Revolutionary Love is to take a risk. It means walking the razor's edge. This is not a politics of the heart, not a politics of charity.
From Palestine to US Prisons, Radical Love Can Guide Our Fight for Liberation
What will your conversation heart say this Valentine’s Day? Will it replicate the possessive politics of modern heteronormative love — summed up by phrases like “be mine” — or will it communicate the idea that love is always political, and that the greatest act of love is to work toward collective liberation?
Kevin Johnson Speaks From Death Row About His Impending Execution This Month
The United States promotes itself as being the “leader of the free world.” Yet, its legal apparatus and carceral systems have built a bloodthirsty, parasitical machine obsessed with domination, captivity and torture — under the guise of justice. This country considers itself “civilized,” yet the death penalty is legal in 27 states.
“We Can Save Ourselves”: An Interview with Onyesonwu Chatoyer | Black Agenda Report
Onyesonwu Chatoyer of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party and BAR Book Forum Editor Roberto Sirvent talk about how "We Can Save Ourselves." Roberto Sirvent: Can you both please share a little bit about your background, including how you became involved with the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (AAPRP)? Onyesonwu Chatoyer: I’m an African woman whose ancestors were dropped off by the slave ship in Honduras and Haiti.
“We Can Save Ourselves”: An Interview with Onyesonwu Chatoyer | Black Agenda Report
Onyesonwu Chatoyer of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party and BAR Book Forum Editor Roberto Sirvent discuss how "We Can Save Ourselves." Roberto Sirvent: Can you please share a little bit about your background, including how you became involved with the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (AAPRP)? Onyesonwu Chatoyer: I’m an African woman whose ancestors were dropped off by the slave ship in Honduras and Haiti.
Another 101 Black Inventors and their Inventions|Paperback
English 1800943431 Following on from 101 Black Inventors and their Inventions, come and meet another 101 of the world's greatest Black inventors ranging from superb scientists to incredible innovators to exciting entrepreneurs who have changed the face of technology and design! Another 101 Black Inventors and Their Inventions introduces you to more groundbreaking historical and modern-day Black inventors.
SPEECH: The Black Revolution is Part of World-wide Struggle, Malcolm X, 1964 | Black Agenda Report
Malcolm X reminds us of the deceit of liberals, the power of international thinking, and the coming of Black revolution. Two massacres of Black people by racist police on either side of the Atlantic remind us how little Black life is valued globally. On June 24, 2022, Moroccan police humiliated, beat, and then slaughtered somewhere between 47 and 200 Black asylum seekers trying to cross over to the Spanish-held enclave of Melilla - a land bridge between the African continent and Europe.
What We’re Reading
by the Staff at Harvard Review As you might guess, we’re big readers at Harvard Review. From histories to YA fantasy series, from beloved novels to the latest poetry releases—our staff reads it all. Here’s a taste of what we’ve been dipping into this past year. Christina Thompson, Editor A lot of my reading these days is related to the history of epidemics—as a way, I suppose, of understanding the times we live in.
Legacy of a Black Revolutionary: Black Agenda Report (BAR) | Black Agenda Report
Glen Ford's legacy is recognized all over the nation. Japanese- American newspaper Rafu Shimpo printed this tribute to his work. As 2021 comes to an end, and the U.S. approaches the one-million mark of American lives lost to Covid-19, I would think holiday celebrations should include more somber notes than usual.
A Tribute to bell hooks
JANUARY 15, 2022 Introduction by George Yancy AS I THOUGHT about how to frame what to say about bell hooks (who died of end-stage renal failure just before the new year, on December 15, 2021), no phrase or terminology came to mind with ease that captured exactly what I felt.
TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies
This keynote (article) examines political theory and organizing against anti-Blackness and police violence. It reflects on community, vulnerability and care, and political agency from the perspective of the “Captive Maternal”—a gender diverse or agender function of caretaking, protesting, movement and maroon-building and war resistance emanating from communities stalked by anti-Blackness and the legacy of 500 years of chattel slavery in the Americas.
TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies
Articles Davina Bhandar, Catherine Kellogg, Michael C. K. Ma 43, pp. 1–8 First published online: September 1, 2021 First Page | Full Text | References | PDF (127 KB) 43, pp. 9–23 First published online: September 1, 2021 Abstract | Full Text | References | PDF (144 KB) 43, pp. 24–43 First published online: September 1, 2021 Abstract | Full Text | References | PDF (194 KB) 43, pp. 44–58 First published online: September 1, 2021 Abstract | Full Text | References | PDF (165 KB) 43, pp.
Black Agenda Report
The response to Black rebellion are all distinct types of “reforms” to politically sedate Black surplus populations and sustain white settler-capitalist hegemony.
Black Agenda Report
Historian Elizabeth Hinton’s book reveals that, in the late sixties and early seventies, there were hundreds of local rebellions against white violence and racial inequality.
BAR Book Forum: Cisco Bradley’s “Universal Tonality” | Black Agenda Report
Jazzman William Parker’s work is a bold art of resistance to capitalism, colonialism, racism, and the runaway train that is our present-day America. “The role of the artist is to incite political revolution.” In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Cisco Bradley. Bradley is Associate Professor of History at the Pratt Institute. His book is Universal Tonality: The Life and Music of William Parker.
Revolutionary Love in Shades of Darkness
Combined with Revolutionary Love, we grow power through mutual aid, political education, release of the incarcerated, and community control over police. Given the long history of U.S. volatility and racist violence, those attentive to white supremacist and fascistic ideologies were dismayed but not surprised at the January 6 breach of the Capitol.
Black Voices in the Public Sphere: A Fellowship for Emerging Media Professionals
Feb 25, 2021 3 Min read time Photograph: Adobe Stock Announcing a fellowship to prepare and support the next generation of Black journalists, editors, and publishers. Boston Review is now accepting applications for the Black Voices in the Public Sphere Fellowship, designed to prepare and support the next generation of Black journalists, editors, and publishers. It is no secret that there is a profound lack of diversity in the media.
Revolutionary Love in Shades of Darkness
Given the long history of U.S. volatility and racist violence, those attentive to white supremacist and fascistic ideologies were dismayed but not surprised at the January 6 breach of the Capitol. A militarized mob endeavored to block the certification of the Biden/Harris election and harm, if not kill, elected officials seeking to uphold constitutional norms. The following month, the Senate acquitted Donald Trump for inciting sedition that inflicted trauma, injuries and the loss of life.
Myers Education Press
Womanish Black Girls Women Resisting the Contradictions of Silence and Voice Dianne Smith, Loyce Caruthers and Shaunda Fowler Foreword by Joy James Paperback Published: March 2019 9781975500917 $42.95 Add to Cart Hardback Published: March 2019 9781975500900 $149.95 Add to Cart Lib E-Book Library E-Books We have signed up with three aggregators who resell networkable e-book editions of our titles to academic libraries.
Black Agenda Report
In the 1960s LA communities of color prioritized a radical tradition of care and the transformative power of art and politics. “How a rainbow of insurgent social movements tried to peel back the glitter, dismantle the police state, and replace elite white rule.” Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties Mike Davis & Jon Wiener Verso, $34.95 (cloth) In the summer of 1969, my mother decided we were moving to Los Angeles.
Black Agenda Report
Reactions to the Breonna Taylor murder, settlement and verdict all have one thing in common: Black people’s inability to protect our lives. “Even if a killing occurs on camera the only hope is that a family may get some financial restitution.” Regardless of life circumstances, income, or educational levels, discerning black people know that misfortune befalling anyone else in the race could easily be theirs.
Circulations of Knowledge and the 'Imprisoned Black Radical Tradition'
*This interview is part of our online forum on ‘The Imprisoned Black Radical Tradition,’ organized by Stephen Wilson and Garrett Felber. The forum is in honor of Black August, which recognizes the overlapping histories of Black resistance. Stephen Wilson: What makes a tradition a tradition? Does it mean having a history and a body of rigorous scholarship? Does it mean having distinguished figures? What determines inclusion?
Airbrushing Revolution for the Sake of Abolition
“Interest convergence” and “pragmatic compromise” are euphemisms for what might better be called opportunism and truth-avoidance. In their July 2020, post “Was Angela Davis a Panther ?”the Black Revolutionary Guard (BRG) asks and answers a query raised as a pretext for dismissing harsh critiques of an important progressive ally.
Black Agenda Report
Airbrushing Revolution for the Sake of Abolition “Interest convergence” and “pragmatic compromise” are euphemisms for what might better be called opportunism and truth-avoidance. “Progressive academics performed for Obama the labor that Van Jones provided to Trump.” In their July 2020, post “Was Angela Davis a Panther?”the Black Revolutionary Guard (BRG) asks and answers a query raised as a pretext for dismissing harsh critiques of an important progressive ally.
Airbrushing Revolution for the Sake of Abolition
In their July 2020, post “Was Angela Davis a Panther?”the Black Revolutionary Guard (BRG) asks and answers a query raised as a pretext for dismissing harsh critiques of an important progressive ally. They note that Davis was not a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP), but the Panthers considered her “a comrade and fellow traveler.” BRG rightly notes that Davis is not “an enemy of the people.” No progressive Black intellectuals/pundits seek to function as such. Yet contradictions exist.
#BlackLivesMatter: Anti-Black Racism, Police Violence, and Resistance
By Bianca C. Williams June 29, 2015 Cite As: Williams, Bianca C., ed. 2015. "#BlackLivesMatter: Anti-Black Racism, Police Violence, and Resistance." Hot Spots series, Fieldsights, June 29. https://culanth.org/fieldsights/series/blacklivesmatter-anti-black-racism-police-violence-and-resistance Gathered under the umbrella of #BlackLivesMatter, a movement has erupted in the United States and multiple locations across the globe, including the Dominican Republic and Brazil.
Presidential Powers and Captive Maternals: Sally, Michelle, and Deborah
Introducing the Captive Maternal Captive Maternals are self-identified female, male, trans or ungendered persons feminized and socialized into caretaking within the legacy of racism and US democracy. Captive maternals are designated for consumption in the tradition of chattel slavery; they stabilize with their labor the very social and state structures which prey upon them.
“The days that were have now”
Jan 13, 2016 in all eyes a witness. In every mouth, lies. The truth is a broken bone that can’t be set. Tender are the breasts’ proprietary bruises from the steering wheel. Nothing is more sexual than being trapped. Just ask, & a politician will sign anything, even a cast. The body’s made real through habit, the body’s made real through habit. Two blips meet on the street, in love or conspiracy— motives so close from 60 thousand feet, they’re almost indistinguishable.
Illuminated
Aug 9, 2019 A thousand years ago, France grew cathedrals like barnacles and women were horses: work animals. Luxury goods. And yet— under the microscope, a medieval woman’s teeth limned in blacklight blue, her mouth glowing like the abandoned warehouses of 90s raves. Ultramarine. A pigment so precious, few ever touched it. What shall we call her? Bookmaker? Painter? Scribe?
The Other Toni Morrison
Released only weeks before the author’s death on August 5, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am opens with artist Mickalene Thomas making a collage of an elderly Morrison superimposed upon an image of her as a young woman, embellished with flowers and patterned fabrics. The force of black art dominates the documentary—not only Morrison’s own words, but images from twenty-one prominent black artists including Kara Walker and Faith Ringgold, all shown atop a lush score composed by Kathryn Bostic.
The Other Toni Morrison
Image: Angela Radulescu A timely new documentary celebrates Morrison’s novels, but downplays the enduring power of her work as an editor and essayist. Released only weeks before the author’s death on August 5, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am opens with artist Mickalene Thomas making a collage of an elderly Morrison superimposed upon an image of her as a young woman, embellished with flowers and patterned fabrics.
Two Poems
Jul 19, 2019 I.M. Pei Sitting in the plaza of the Louvre my mother asks me if I remember being a child the summer we tried to visit an imperial garden in Beijing where there is a hotel designed by the same man who designed this glass pyramid behind us an architect famous for designing structures that harmonized precisely with their environments— did I think this Louvre entrance glittering with the sun that never seems to set on the European summer the plaza filled with pigeons walking through...
Lessons from the Past: Black Activism in the Revolutionary Era
Protesters march against police shootings and racism during a rally in Washington, DC on December 13, 2014 (Rena Schild, Shutterstock.com). Democracies of catastrophes emerge from exploitation, expropriation, and extraction of Black and indigenous lands, lives, and labor. The United States accumulates wealth through racial capitalism, militarism, law, and policing.
W. E. B. Du Bois, World War I, and the Question of Failure
W. E. B. Du Bois, World War I, and the Question of Failure *Editor’s Note: This week we are publishing our recent online forum on W.E.B. Du Bois in recognition of the anniversary of his passing on August 27, 1963. 2018 marks both the sesquicentennial of W. E. B. Du Bois’s birth and the continued centennial of World War I. That convergence of commemorations offers a unique opportunity to reflect on Du Bois’s legacy as it relates to the war, a pivotal moment in his long life and career.
An Alternative View of Du Bois’s Talented Tenth
*Editor’s Note: This week we are publishing our recent online forum on W.E.B. Du Bois in recognition of the anniversary of his passing on August 27, 1963. W. E. B. Du Bois published one of his most well-known and widely debated ideas in his 1903 essay titled “The Talented Tenth.” In it, he argued for the higher education of a tenth of the Black population from among whom would come the leaders of the race.
George Jackson: Dragon Philosopher and Revolutionary Abolitionist
International Revolutionary Struggle “People who come out of prison can build up a country. Misfortune is a test of people’s fidelity. . . .
The Captive Maternal and Abolitionism
Good evening. Thank you to the steering committee, and to everyone who is here tonight. Also, I am grateful for the wonderful people contributing on the panel. I know so much work went into putting this gathering together. “Thank you” to Davina for talking me down off the ledge so that I could renew my passport and travel to be with you; and, Davina, I like your therapy dog.
Anarchism and the Black Revolution
A revolutionary classic written by a living legend of Black Liberation Overview Author Biography Endorsements Contents Details ***This book has a rich history of being read by prisoners across the US, creating a bedrock of radical learning and dissent within the US prison system since the 1970s. To honor this, Pluto will donate copies to incarcerated comrades.
Engage
Indigenous, Black, and Afro-Indigenous Futures A roadmap to dismantle the colonizer state Overview Author Biography Endorsements Contents Details Engage is a tribute to the power of self-determined stories. This dynamic anthology of writings includes reflections by Black and Indigenous organizers and educators speaking in defiance of the violence and theft that has oppressed them for so long, imagining a future ripe for revolution.
Anarchism and the Black Revolution
***This book has a rich history of being read by prisoners across the US, creating a bedrock of radical learning and dissent within the US prison system since the 1970s. To honor this, Pluto will donate copies to incarcerated comrades. To help fund this effort, please use the coupon code 'ERVINSOLIDARITY' at the checkout, which will add a small amount to the price of the book*** --------- 'A powerful – even startling – book that challenges the shibboleths of 'white' anarchism'.
Beyond Cop Cities
Dismantling State and Corporate-Funded Armies and Prisons What happens when the police become an army? Overview Author Biography Endorsements Contents Details Since 1997, the US Department of Defense has transferred more than $7.2bn in military equipment to law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, the DOD is legally required to make various items of equipment available to local police and school police departments, from flashlights and sandbags, to grenade launchers and armored vehicles.
The Roots of Black Incarceration
A nineteenth-century memoir sheds light on the origins of the modern prison. Image courtesy of the New York Public Library. The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict Austin Reed, edited and introduced by Caleb Smith Random House, $30 (cloth) Austin Reed’s The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict is startling, instructive, and disquieting.
“Sorrow, Tears, and Blood”: Black Activism, Fractionation, and the Talented Tenth - Viewpoint Magazine
In the first decades of the 21st century, the men, women, and children detained, imprisoned or slain by U.S. police in excessive and grotesque uses of force remain disproportionately black.1 Rarely viewed as activists, they have formed a space between conventional progressive leadership and radical confrontations with police and state-sanctioned violence.
Black Lives: Between Grief and Action
This is the fourth in a series of interviews with philosophers on race that I am conducting for The Stone. This week’s conversation is with Joy James, a political philosopher who is a professor of the humanities and political science at Williams College. She is the author of “Seeking the Beloved Community: A Feminist Race Reader.” — George Yancy George Yancy: There are times when I’ve asked myself if philosophy can console in times of pain and suffering.
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