Photo by Nate Sahilu
In the first iteration of 1919’s Community Syllabus, our community members explored the text “Assata Taught Me” by Donna Murch in a 5 week reading circle program. Reading and discussing the text allowed us to explore major themes in the book including policing, mass incarceration, the war on drugs, youth mobilization, and surveillance, while also interrogating larger themes and connections to abolition, revolution, internationalism and anti-colonial struggle. Over the course of this reading circle, we were able to bridge connections to different material we’ve encountered in our political education. This is a list of supplemental reading material and additional resources compiled together through this community learning initiative!
Black Panthers A Quick History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yw9k7__Vqw
The Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Platform and Program https://revolutioninourtime.com/reading-list-resources/
What We Don’t Learn About the Black Panther Party — but Should https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/what-we-don-t-learn-about-the-black-panther-party-but-should/
Nalini Mohabir, “The Fire That Time: Transnational Radicalism” (Text)— On Black student organizing in the Canadian context, specifically in Montreal.
“Resistance” Podcast Episodes:
“F Your Everything” https://open.spotify.com/episode/4jcEwXZ8uVzGGdGfNtU2P5?si=Vz-jjVxmSyKnRYyefmtf0g&nd=1
“Jesus was an enemy of the state” https://open.spotify.com/episode/7Fkc6dAcQhlFCbOVbDc60T?si=Ss6SdPcVTbO80IQQ81cMow&nd=1
Ruthie Gilmore, "When the Prison Industrial Complex Masquerades as Social Welfare" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0uoA8EWyKk
Angela Davis The Shifting Concept of the Prison Industrial Complex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktaov17VNLQ&t=203s
Saidiya Hartman, “Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments” (Text) https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/605415/wayward-lives-beautiful-experiments-by-saidiya-hartman/9780393357622—Exploring the history of anti-black racism and criminalization that targeted Black women and gender non-conforming folks in Philadelphia and NY at the turn of the 20th century.
Cedric J. Robinson, “Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition” (Text)
Jared Ball, “The Myth of Black Buying Power” (Text)— Critiquing the proponents of buying Black, banking Black and its limitations in securing our liberation
“Groundings” Podcast featuring Dr. Jared Ball exploring the Myth of Black Buying Power https://groundings.simplecast.com/episodes/buying-power
1919 Radio Episode featuring Dr. Jared Ball exploring the Gentrification of Black Music and the Myth of Black Buying Power https://1919mag.com/1919-radio/2021/4/24/the-gentrification-of-black-music-and-media-and-the-myth-of-black-buying-power-with-dr-jared-ball
Joy James on the rise of the Black bourgeoisie – critiquing ideas of “Black excellence” and the history of Black capitalism, governance and their effects on our communities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHyHZPOrJgo
The Pharmacist (2020) – Netflix documentary exploring the pharmaceutical industry's role in creating the opioid crisis
Mariame Kaba, “We Do This ‘til We Free Us” (Text)— Great resource for learning abolitionist principles and how to bring them into our everyday lives.
Cooperation Jackson – A community initiative striving to establish relationships between residents and institutions based on non-exploitative and non-extractive terms through cooperatives. https://www.google.com/urlq=https://cooperationjackson.org/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1668385216985276&usg=AOvVaw1RA3RBHrNXZSmAzWc4LQYi
Combahee River Collective, “How We Get Free” https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1108-how-we-get-free
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, “From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation” https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/from-blacklivesmatter-to-black-liberation_keeanga-yamahtta-taylor/11327911/item/23827213/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxLWlrYe0-wIVrMiUCR3wkA0jEAQYASABEgK9bfD_BwE#edition=10841970&idiq=19793270
